The Little League Coach

Tired of the “Somebody is Going to Get Hurt” Excuse

Please allow me to preface this with, I in no way shape or form want to put kids in harm’s way. That said, I tired of people playing the “I don’t want anyone to get hurt” card when they know they are going to get their clocks cleaned by a more powerful team.

There are two ways to structure your program in the fall. You can use 2008 ages, or 2009 ages. Most programs around the world use the 2009 ages for the 2008 fall season. The reason for this is the fall is an instruction year where we are training kids to move up to the next level in the spring. Why any league would not do this is beyond me, but some do.

The problem this creates is that a team of kids moving up sometimes has to compete against a group of kids that stayed down. This happens in all leagues, not just Little League. I know of a travel program that keeps their kids down in the fall so they can win???? Why???? I guess the parent’s egos need to be stroked, I am open for anyone to provide a legitimate explanation for this, but I have no idea why a bunch of 10 year olds would want to go beat up on 9 year olds, or 12 year olds beat up on rising 11 year olds. Again, make an argument, I will listen.

My teams always lose in the fall. This is by design. Today we played a team that pitched their starting pitcher the whole game, played every girl in the same position all game long, and beat us on the last play of the bottom of the 6th inning. This while we developed three pitchers, had girls learning new positions and gaining an understanding of the game, and hit their star pitcher very well. Think we won’t easily take them in the spring? Maybe not, but I would not bet against us, we have been in our district championship game two years in a row.

But what really irks me the most is coaches and managers that play the “Somebody is going to get hurt” card because they don’t want to get 10 run ruled. Why do they do this? Why don’t they take this as a learning opportunity and say hey, look over there, they are 3 years older than us, but who knows, any team can beat any team at any time. After getting crushed, point out the good things the team did and point across the field. Tell them, that is something to strive for, in fact, if you tell them if they work hard they will actually be better than them in three years.

What to we teach kids by complaining and refusing to show up and play? We teach them to complain and blame others for their circumstances. If we teach them to accept what is, deal with it as best as they can, and then put forth their best effort, then emphasize that they are winners for doing this regardless of the score, then we have succeeded. Nobody’s going to get hurt.

Kids rarely have bad injuries in baseball. The Little League report I referenced in this article about injuries in Little League supports my position. Go out, take your beating, and move on. Don’t put kids that can’t catch in the infield for that game just as you wouldn’t put them at first base in a regular game. Especially from 90′, they have plenty of time to react.

How do you deal with teams when you know you are over matched? How do you motivate your kids? How do you keep them focused?

General
baseball, Baseball field, injury, List of baseball jargon, little league, Little League Baseball, Pitcher, Sport
5 October 2008 comment [1] TrackBack-URI

Get Their Arm Back First!

More than One Way to Skin a Cat

There is a lot of controversy out there about teaching pitching to children. First, there are a number of ways to skin a cat, and I don’t portend to be the end all be all for pitching. I do have 18 years experience teaching pitching to young children though and have tried a number of different methods to teach them.

This article refers to the initial training of the pitcher, the first step.

Spring Training

First we must agree that separation of the arm must occur and the arm must be back to properly throw over the top. This we can all agree on, how we get there is open for debate. To look at this objectively, we must first look at how we teach them to throw in the first place.

Step 1: Put them on a knee w/ their arm back
Step 2: Have them throw across their body
Step 3: Have them stand up sideways, separate and throw w/ thumb first to thigh, then the sky (and back)
Step 4: Have them step and throw

This is a quick synopsis of just about every Little League Coach’s first practice around the league. (or at least it should be!)

Then we step aside, and have them throw. What happens? They stop getting their arm back almost immediately! If we all had a dollar for how many times we said “get your elbow up when you throw” or “get your arm back” we would all be rich! We, of course, are all volunteers so we are all broke! But we know how they should be throwing! lol.

Avoid Arm Stress

At the younger ages, during the initial development of their pitching, they almost always don’t get their arm’s back. This means they are not throwing over the top and they are actually incurring undue stress on their arms. Therefore, the initial focus has to be on getting their arms back.

The way to accomplish this is to have them stop at their balance point. Then get their arm back bent at a 90-degree angle with their palm pointed towards center field. Once in this position, have them throw to the plate. They will instantly improve their velocity and accuracy.

Controversy

Here is where the controversy comes in.

The fact is, you want them to lock at the top and the bottom and separate while falling towards the plate. This is true, but this step comes AFTER they learn to get their arm back. Failure to initially teach them to get their arm back in the first place will result in them always throwing w/ what I call “Dinosaur Arms” (Tight, unextended arms). Minor league coaches should focus initially on getting the pitcher’s arm back, then having them separate later.

Success the Greatest Teacher

I have had very much success teaching this way. If you don’t teach them to get their arm back first, they struggle to learn it later. If you teach them to get their arm back at a young age, transforming the point at which they actually separate is easy for them to comprehend as they get older and the transition is easily made.

Failure to teach them to get the arm back in the first place risks injury and undue stress at a young age.

Do you have a trick to teach a young pitcher to get their arm back? If so, please share.

Other articles that may interest you:
Calm, Comfortable, Confident, Hitting
Pitcher’s/Catcher’s/Spring Break
Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo
Guess all the Secretaries are Rich Today
What Does it Mean to Volunteer as a Manager

General, Pitching, Practice
arm back, children, controversy, development, injury, over the top, Pitching, stress, success, throwing, training
5 April 2008 comment TrackBack-URI