God help the children: I'm coaching T-ball this year...

[OnTheRiver]

4-6 year olds. Everyone bats. The league needed a couple of dads to pitch in since some of the other guys had moved up to the pitching machine league.

So I'm coaching my oldest son's team.

We're the Devil Rays.

So many jokes to be made here.

Anyone else ever do this? It's a 12-game season, which I figure gives me time to teach the kids how to swing the bat, where to run when the ball's hit, and how to make a good pile of dirt out behind second base. My goal's going to be selling them on the fun of the game. And how to spit like Lenny Dykstra.

Any other advice?

I need a Chico's Bail Bonds shirt and whatever beer Walter Matthau drank.

 

[mike311gd]

Pick the flowers in the outfield before the game. It'll eliminate one distraction.

 

[Theoldbenchwarmer]

I always like hearing when parents decide to coach their kids teams. At the t-ball level it's probably not TOO much of a time investment (do they even have practices??), so it should be good bonding time. Advice: teach your oldest the basics before the season starts (if he doesn't already).

When I have kids I'm going to try to coach their teams as often as I can. Good work OTR.

 

[slappy4428]

 

[Huggy]

I was a coach on my son's t-ball team last year. He picked up a lot of the basics in his first year and I coached with a guy who's son had been on his team in the first year.

Of the nine kids on the team we really only had three who could play, but we would practice once a week and always stressed baserunning, blocking the ball (we only had three who could catch so it was more important to stop it), where to throw the ball and we always ended with batting.

There was no scorekeeping for the first half of the season but once we got into the playoffs, we found baserunning (and more importantly the discipline not to lead off before the ball was hit which was an automatic out) and defence were more important than batting.

It was fun and I will be a co-coach this year when my son moves to atom (half t-ball, half coach pitch).

 

[Write-brained]

My lasting memory from T-ball is a kid on my team trying to avoid a tag. He led about six of the other team's fielder on a chase outside of the first-to-second basepath, into the outfield, out along the fence, back down the third base line and finally to home where he collapsed and was tagged.

He laughed the entire time.

 

[zeke12]

Make sure you ask how they're going to swing that lumber tomorrow if they don't go pound that Budweiser tonight.

 

[Kid Bro Sweets]

I co-coached 4s and 5s in tee-ball last year. It was pretty fun. I always played the field with the kids and ran around with them. The other guy was trying to make them play real ball, which ain't happening at 4. At this age, I'd just concentrate on goofing around with the kids.

I'm about to begin Season Two of 4s and 5s soccer. That's a little more complicated.

 

[slappy4428]

Remind em chicks dig the long ball..

 

[Boom_70]

coached my nephews team one year - had a blast - a few tips

1- hide all the bats but 1 so no one gets whacked with errant bat
2- teach the kids to run bases by having them line up behind you at home plate and run bases with them a few times around.
3 - When batting have one coach work plate to set balls on Tee and teach kids stance ect. have coach another line up all other batters well away from Tee
4 for fielding you control drills - for example have them all line up in row - throw each player grounder and have them throw it back to you
5 Don't forget to ice down your beer before you head to game.
6 If you chew be sure to spit well away from the kids.

 

[21]

Nothing matters except the snack.

Don't be the jerk who insists on healthy snacks, the kids will hate you.

 

[mustangj17]

Capri Suns after the game were always the greatest.

 

[Write-brained]

Nothing matters except the snack.

Don't be the jerk who insists on healthy snacks, the kids will hate you.

I don't know, I always favored the orange slices.

 

[Sam Mills 51]

Capri Suns after the game were always the greatest.

No way. Our favorite parents always had cans of soda and something sweet to eat, usually cookies. Parents should stress eating at least somewhat healthy at home, sure, but after a game/match? No way. :)

I was told by a good friend of mine and her mother while I was in school that I should coach a team. Same friend knows I have no patience, so I wondered where I was going to acquire that first.

 

[Boom_70]

Skoal comes in citrus flavor now

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

At the same time, forever_town is umpiring youth baseball this year.

http://www.sportsjournalists.com/forum/threads/53864/

 

[forever_town]

To beat 2muchcoffeeman to the punch:

OnTheRiver, right, and forever_town politely discuss f_t's call during a recent baseball game for 8-year-olds.

:D

;D

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

I wasn't going to repost the picture — that's even more blatant self-promotion than whitlock and more blatant post-padding than dooley. :D

 

[forever_town]

But it's much more entertaining than Whitlock!

 

[novelist_wannabe]

Pick the flowers in the outfield before the game. It'll eliminate one distraction.

Won't matter. Birds. Airplanes. Butterflies. They'll be distracted. My favorite was when not one but two kids on a team I coached sat down and took their shoes off during play. Clearly, I was a master motivator. Also, strange coincidence that Kicking and Screaming is playing on my TV as I read this thread ...