365 Days to Better Baseball - Coaching Mistakes to Avoid

Saturday Secrets to Great Baseball Coaching "“

Avoiding these Coaching Mistakes

Many baseball coaches fall under one of these two scenariosand these coaching mistakes lead to a long season.

The under-coach tells players everything they know, or just learned at a coaching clinic, the first day of practice and then never really follows up with much coaching after that first day. They try to impress players with their knowledge but are not that interested in coaching much, just interested in playing games. This type coach is usually at the teenage and high school levels of baseball.

The over-coach never eases up, yells "what to do" during the action and constantly harps on the mistakes kids make, never satisfied with how they play. This may not seem like a terrible thing, but that type coach should only be at the highest level of sports. This type baseball coach is usually at the lower levels of baseball very gung ho but overbearing and impatient.

Nobody should expect volunteer coaches to be professional ones but the best coaches find a happy medium and develop a consistent approach.

How avoid these coaching mistakes:

1. Before the first day of practice, write out a personal coaching philosophy explaining your vision of what a youth coach entails.
2. Refer to the above statement during the season and add to it as necessary.
3. Plan practice time ahead and preferably written down also, remembering players have a short attention spans and that it is a long season, so not everything has to be coached the first few days.
4. Coach consistently, understanding that mistakes happen and that is why the coach is there.
5. Keep learning different terminology and drills to avoid saying and doing the same things day in and day out. Repeating the same words turn into unheard wordsafter a period in one ear and out the other.Coaches, who can avoid these coaching mistakes, create a fun season for all, especially for themselves.