No one is harder to coach than six year olds that are brand new to baseball. We’re fighting decreased signups across the US, so if you care about Little League, we need to be mindful of how we teach and coach. As a coach, you can impact whether or not a kid comes back next year.

Idea 1:

Keep the goal the goal. The goal is to have kids that look forward to going to the field. You want your players are asking their parents “Mom, when can I go to baseball again?”

Idea 2:

Nobody touches a bat unless you [Coach] put it in their hands. I’ve seen unaware kids take practice swings, inches from a teammates unhelmeted head. I see these cuts in my nightmares.

Idea 3:

Even if you have a great plan and the best of intentions, your practices will mostly stink. IT’S FINE. There will be scattered moments of hope. A kid makes solid contact for the first time. Another kid accidentally catches a ball in his glove. Celebrate these.

Have a plan. Give a shit. You can’t just roll the balls out and have the kids play catch. Here’s some help:

1. As the coach, get there 10 minutes early to unload your gear. For gear: Buy some cheap bases.

   Stockpile a collection of mismatched, large, soft balls. They make a smaller version of the rubber kickball that we had as kids. Or search “gator skin dodgeballs.” The size is small enough that kids can grip and throw with one hand.
   
   Get the lightest bats you can find. Almost every bat is too heavy for these kids.
   
   Buy a decent tee. Get the heavy black rubber one from the baseball section at Dick’s.
   
   Buy a clean, never been used bathroom plunger (I’ll explain).
   
   The league should provide helmets. We didn’t have enough so I grabbed a couple extra from FBMP.
   

2. When the kids start arriving, give them 5 minutes to wrestle and play tag and say hello to each other. Some of them will have fallen asleep in the car on the way to the field. It can be tough being a little kid.
   

3. Call them in to take a knee [you’ll have to show them how to take a knee all season]. Start a clock in your head; you’ve got 90 seconds to give a chat. Talk about bat safety [again and again]. No one touches a bat unless a coach puts one in your hands. Tell them the plan. Ask for questions from the group. Go slow, be patient, listen. They will say funny things.

Some drills [you need two engaged parents to help you]

1. Scatter the kids in the tiny infield that you made from your floppy throw down bases. Positions are irrelevant and they don’t need gloves. We did not have a single six year old who could open and shut a glove. You’re going to stand at home plate and roll grounders to them with the large balls from your collection. Put another parent on first base.

   Start every rep with: “Sammy [sharply say their name to start the rep in case they are watching butterflies], scoop the ball and throw it to Coach Simpson.” Give each kid as many reps as you can before you start losing them.
   
   This drill will get them in the habit of fielding a grounder and throwing it in the general zip code of where it needs to go. Pay attention to the body position required to field the rolling kickball, it usually looks pretty good. Knees bent, butt back, hands out in front. Stop every few reps to demo “ready position!”
   

2. Hitting and fielding. Hitting is every kid’s favorite. This one works best with a small group of 6-8 kids [otherwise they wait too long before they get to hit]. If you have more kids, and helpful parents, set up two groups.
   
   Take your never crapped on bathroom plunger and flip it upside down [rubber cup facing the sky]. Shove the plunger handle down into the tee. You just made a tee that will hold your oversized balls. Everyone hits a laundry bag-full off the tee then hits a few soft tossed from a coach on a knee. They run on the last ball, make it a good hit.
   
   One coach needs to be standing by to constantly adjust their stance and their hands on the bat. You need to put your hands on the kids to get them in athletic positions.
   
   As you approach a kid holding a bat…GRAB THE BAT WITH YOUR HAND FIRST, so they don’t knock your head off with an unexpected practice swing. The only coaching words I used were, “try to smash this thing into the parking lot” or “hit this thing as hard as you can.”
   

3. Have them run the bases. Time them. Let them compete for the fastest time. You should do a walking tour of the bases, first. They don’t know the difference between first and third base.
   

4. Another parent arrives with pizza and Capri Suns. Make an email list and ask people to volunteer to grab pizza and drinks and paper plates each week. Our parents were delighted to chip in. Add a gluten free pizza to the order and don’t make the GF kid feel weird about it. Sometimes the ice cream truck shows up. Whenever he shows up, your practice is over.
   

5. Thirty minutes, maximum practice length.

Keep the goal the goal.