Mets

In addition to our NMBOLL Day at the Marlins on May 7, the Marlins are hosting Youth Baseball & Softball Days on May 27,28; September 10, and October 1. If any team wishes to go, you: • Receive 50% on selected seats • Pre-game parade around the warning track • Team name displayed on JumboTron • Post game Diamond Dash(Sundays only) In addition, the Marlins are putting on their annual Youth Baseball Invitational on July 8 @ Dolphin Stadium. Coach-Pitch and T-Ball teams ages 4-8 play two games on the field at Pro Player Stadium. The entry fee is to purchase 50 half-price tickets (Terrace Box or Club Level B or C) for game July 16 vs. Houston, or July 23 vs. Pittsburgh. The event is limited to 40 teams, so register early. Also, August 20 is Youth Baseball & Softball Salute to Champions Day. Each team name and their accomplishments will be announced over the public address system. For more information on any of these Marlin events, call Mario Signorello 305.626.7256 or e-mail him at msignorello@flamarlins.com.

January 31, 2006 - By John Habyan So your pitchers have followed my preseason throwing plan. They have been throwing twice a week for eight weeks, doing resistive tubing exercises to strengthen their rotator cuffs, strengthening their legs and core muscles in the weight room and building their cardiovascular endurance. Now it’s time to leave the gym and get out on the field. It’s time to get into game situations. What do you do with your pitchers? Developing a preseason routine when there are no games or full team practices scheduled is the easy part for coaches. When practice starts for real, managing a pitching staff becomes a bit more complicated. As with most aspects of coaching, however, a common-sense approach usually serves you well. By the time practice begins, often there are only a couple of weeks until teams start scrimmaging. Once scrimmages are underway, it may be only another couple of weeks before teams start competing in league games. There isn’t much time to help your pitchers take the important final steps from mound throwing and drill work to game readiness. Hopefully, when practice begins officially, your pitchers are physically prepared to throw two full innings in a game setting. That’s when it is a good idea to start playing intra-squad games, with each pitcher throwing 35 pitches followed by a 15-minute distance run. They then will have two or three days of playing light catch, long-tossing, distance running and strength training (one lower-body workout the day after throwing, core strengthening and rotator cuff exercises). A sample rotator cuff program can be found at http://ripkenbaseball.com/cc/?zone=notebook&id=6697 and other pitching-specific strength-training exercises can be found at http://ripkenbaseball.com/cc/?zone=notebook&id=6540. At this point there are no side mound sessions between game throwing for the pitchers – just playing catch and long-tossing for 5-10 minutes each day. The next intra-squad throwing session lasts for three innings or 45-50 pitches, again followed by two or three days of catch, long-tossing, running and strengthening exercises. By now it should be time to begin scrimmages, and you should have a good idea as to who your starting pitchers will be. Those are the pitchers who need to be sure to get their innings in during scrimmages. For the first outing they should be prepared to throw four innings and 55-60 pitches, and for their last preseason outing they should be ready for as many as five innings and up to 80 pitches. That will set them up to be able to throw 85-90 pitches in their first regular-season start. They should not throw from a mound for three full days in between outings as the season approaches. For many regions of the country, the weather plays an important factor in preseason preparation. Coaches have to be prepared to keep their pitchers on schedule in the event of bad weather. Although it can be time consuming, pitchers should stay with their routines by throwing simulated innings with batters standing in on days in which they are forced inside. Make sure that two pitchers work at a time as if it is a game situation. They should go through their warm-up routines, with one pitcher taking the mound first and the other resting. Then they alternate innings just like they would in a real game. This allows their bodies to get used to periods of intense throwing followed by a few minutes of rest. Once the season begins, most starting pitchers will be throwing in games no more than once per week. Relievers can stay in a similar throwing routine to the preseason – throwing from a mound to hitters or throwing simulated innings with batters standing in every three days or so when they are not seeing game action. They need to continue with their catch and long-tossing, distance running (building to 25 or 30 minutes) and strength work between throwing sessions. Relievers also can incorporate drill work from shortened distances in between appearances to help correct mechanical flaws (please see http://ripkenbaseball.com/cc/?zone=notebook&id=7180 and http://ripkenbaseball.com/cc/?zone=notebook&id=6388). Starters are ready to throw 85-90 pitches once the season gets underway. Distance running no longer is done after game throwing, but instead on off days between starts. They should work in two lower-body strength workouts during the weekly cycle – one the day after their start and another at least two days before the next start. Intense strength training never should be performed the day before a scheduled outing. Distance running can extend up to 25 or 30 minutes, while rotator cuff and core strengthening can be done just about every day. Again, taking a break the day before a start is okay. From a throwing perspective, starters should play light catch the day after their start and long toss the following day. Day three should include a mound throwing session. The length of the session will depend on the pitcher’s previous outing. If a pitcher went deep into the game, he might only throw for 10 or 12 minutes. A pitcher who got roughed up and made an early exit might throw for 20 minutes. Use your judgment here. All pitches should be thrown, with the time split equally between the stretch and wind-up. The drills highlighted above can be used to correct mechanical problems. The power position drill is effective for troubleshooting flaws in the upper body, while the 1-2-3 drill is helpful for dealing with lower-body issues. The mound session is followed by two days of long-tossing and flatwork (drill work from flat ground). Drill work from the mound at a shortened distance is fine on these two days as well. The day before the next start should be free from any serious throwing or strength work. Jogging is okay. The best time for pitchers to get their running in is right at the beginning of practice or during batting practice sessions. This is the plan that I use for my high school players, however it really translates to pitchers at just about any level. Remember the common sense approach. If you coach a younger team that only plays six innings – or if you are in a league in which a pitcher is limited to a specific number of innings or pitches – your pitchers don’t have to build up to 90 or 100 pitches. Figure that an average inning is 12-15 pitches and do the math from there. Younger pitchers probably don’t need to run for more than 15 minutes. Always keep in mind that players who pitch and play other positions need to mix distance running with sprints or baserunning drills. Don’t be afraid to alter this plan to better fit your schedule or your staff’s ability or level of commitment. Let us know what works and what doesn’t by sending an email to newsletter@ripkenbaseball.com. Good luck!

February 28, 2006 - By Bill and Cal Ripken Making the decision to become a coach, whether you are a parent volunteering to coach t-ball because no one else was willing to do it or a former player accepting your first high school job, carries a tremendous amount of responsibility. At the youngest ages, coaches serve as authority figures, models of behavior and even heroes to the kids on their teams. They have an opportunity to create a fun and positive experience that fuels an interest in baseball among their team members that can last a lifetime. As the players get older, coaches have the ability to impact the lives of their team members on a different level – passing on life lessons that make a lasting imprint as the players move forward in baseball and school. These lessons can be powerful, carrying over well into adulthood and eventually getting passed down to future generations. So, while you may not be the best athlete or feel that you know that much about the game of baseball, as a coach you will make a big impact on your players through your actions. Some of the coaches kids remember most are those who make the game fun and really show that they care about each member of their teams. If you keep this in mind at all time and remember the responsibilities you have as a coach that are listed below, you will be successful. Be an Effective Communicator One of the most frequent excuses that we hear from coaches is that other parents aren’t willing to help – that it is impossible to run effective practices or coach effectively when flying solo. We feel that many times this is a simple issue of communication. A meeting with the team’s parents before the season and an open line of communication during the season can eliminate this problem. Before the season begins the coach should hold a meeting with all of the team’s parents. In this meeting the coach should discuss what he or she hopes to accomplish with the team during the season. This should be in line with age-appropriate goals that the coach has established. However, it is important for the coach to stress that in order to run efficient, fun and effective practices and to make the experience as enjoyable as possible for the kids, parental assistance will be needed. Most times a coach will ask for one or two volunteers to serve as “assistant coaches.” Trying to find one or two more people with the free time to be at every practice can be quite a challenge. What generally happens is that the assistants volunteer and have good intentions, but because they are not head coaches, they find it easier to miss a practice or a game when another commitment arises in their lives. A more effective way to enlist support and ensure proper staffing of all practices is to explain that to run great practices and make the experience as fun as possible for the kids a certain level of support is needed. Explain the elements of a good practice – small groups or stations, a variety of activities, organization – and how those practices will benefit their kids. If the coach has a plan and is organized, most parents will see the value and try to figure out how to help. Developing an email list and sending out a short practice plan to all players and parents or sending out the batting order for the next game the night before also makes parents aware that the coach is organized and concerned. By keeping people informed, the chances of enlisting their support on the field increases. Coaches should always be accessible to parents who have questions, and questions should be answered in a timely and polite manner no matter the circumstances. For coaches of older and more advanced teams, good communication will help parents understand and appreciate the time commitment made by the coach and will eliminate some of the questioning that often goes on during a season and can be demoralizing and frustrating to a coach. Create a Safe, Enjoyable Environment When parents trust their kids with another adult, they want to be sure that their children are going to have fun and be properly supervised. It is imperative that coaches design their practices so that there is adequate supervision. For example, if there is only one volunteer assistant for a particular practice, it doesn’t make sense to divide the team into three groups. That means one of the groups will be unsupervised. Unsupervised groups generally don’t accomplish what they are supposed to, and the lack of adult supervision can lead to injuries. Baseball is a game and should be treated as such at all levels. Sure, winning becomes more important as the players get older and better, but if we are not dealing with professional athletes, the lessons to be learned through playing the game and the positives of being part of a team have a much bigger impact on the lives of those involved than winning or losing ever will. Those concepts should be stressed in hopes of making the experience less pressurized and more enjoyable – at all levels. Baseball games are always fun for the kids, but there is no reason that practice can’t be just as enjoyable – or even more enjoyable – than the games. Remember that baseball is a game that lends itself to a good deal of standing around. Practices should be created with an eye toward eliminating the standing around. Small groups moving from station to station every few minutes will help kids maintain their attention and excitement level. Understanding what skills certain age groups are capable of handling will keep the frustration level to a minimum. Getting creative by devising games and contests that help players learn skills will increase the level of enjoyment. It is recommended that all coaches be safety, first aid and CPR certified. However, until this is required by all youth baseball organizations, it is impractical that everyone will have the time or desire to obtain those certifications. It is important, however, to have a stocked medical kit on hand at all times and to be aware of the particular league or organization’s safety, emergency and lightning policies. Another good idea is to be aware of any parents on the team who may work in medical fields or be safety, first aid or CPR certified. This knowledge can be invaluable in emergency situations. It also is imperative that coaches make sure that all required protective equipment is worn by players at the proper times (protective cup, catcher’s gear, batting helmets, etc.) and that the protective equipment fits correctly and is in good working condition. Helmets should be worn by all players who are at a hitting station if possible. Be a Role Model Just as kids imitate their parents and teachers, they are going to take their cues from coaches when it comes to how they act on the baseball diamond. A coach’s attitude and behavior sets the tone for the atmosphere surrounding a team. If a coach gets visibly frustrated with his players, the more-skilled players on the team are more likely to get frustrated with the less-skilled players. The less-skilled players may get easily frustrated with themselves and not enjoy the sport. Similarly, a coach who yells at umpires is going to foster that type of behavior within his or her team – and among the team’s supporters. At the youngest levels this may translate into players who grow up thinking that abusing umpires verbally is part of the game. At the older and more advanced levels this type of behavior may create an ugly atmosphere that surrounds a team as coaches, parents and supporters get a reputation for being abusive toward umpires. Coaches at all levels should be positive and upbeat when dealing with their teams. If a coach is consistently negative the players are going to dread coming to practice. Even young players are very observant. If it looks as if the coach does not enjoy being there, why would the players enjoy being there? Coaches should NEVER single out a player about a mistake in front of everyone on the field. For one thing, that type of embarrassment can lead to a negative experience that may diminish a young player’s desire to play the game. Second, a player who has made a mistake on the field already is upset. He or she is worrying about the next play or what mom is thinking. At that particular time, that lesson is not going to be absorbed. Always wait until there is an opportunity to discuss the situation with the player in private. We like to call this a “teachable moment.” Then, at the next practice, a drill can be devised to re-create the situation without singling out a particular player. Be Organized Kids are very perceptive – often even more so than parents. If a coach is coming to practice without a plan and basically is flying by the seat of his or her pants, that will be evident to the kids. Of course, parents will pick up on this, too. By spending a few minutes the day before developing a practice plan (and preferably e-mailing that to all the players and their parents), the coach will show everyone that he or she really cares about creating the best possible experience for all who are involved. In addition, a well-organized practice will minimize any down time or standing around. If the coach can create a schedule and stick with it, the kids should move from one activity to another quickly, which will ensure that they maintain their attention and stay energized. Adhere to the Ripken Way After years of instructing thousands of youth baseball players, we have developed what we call The Ripken Way. By sticking to our philosophy – keep it simple, explain why, celebrate the individual, make it fun – it should be relatively easy for you to adhere to the responsibilities discussed in this chapter. Remember, if the environment you create is fun, safe and educational, you are off to a great start.

The NMBOLL day at the Marlins will be Sunday May 7, 2006. All team managers have been given the flier (also below in the handout) to distribute to their team. Team moms (or dads) who are collecting forms and money should remember that: 1. Ticket payments are made from parents to the Managers and NOT to NMBOLL. 2. Each Manager will write a check payable to NMBOLL for the total amount due. 3. We must have all orders by Friday, April 21, to have sufficient time to place the order with the Marlins, have the tickets printed, distribute the tickets to the managers, and for the managers to have sufficient time to distribute to players. 4. Parents are NOT to call board members with questions. Parents should ask the Manager, and the manager can the responsible Board member.

March 31, 2006 - By Cal and Bill Ripken We have provided you with a lot of information about coaching -- everything from goal-setting to the basics of running a fun and efficient practice to actual practice plans. If you continue reading you will find a quick reference sheet that you can call on to refresh your memory at any point during your season. Use this guide to help you organize your practices, communicate with your parents and chart your team's progress. Basic Teaching Philosophy Keep it Simple This doesn’t always mean basic or boring. Baseball is a simple game. The teams that throw and catch best often win. Reinforce basic fundamentals with simple drills. There are no shortcuts to becoming a good baseball player. The youngest player should catch a ground ball and throw it the same way a college or pro player does. The same fundamentals should be applied over and over. Eventually the young player will progress and be able to execute the fundamentals more effectively. You don’t teach players to make great plays. Once the fundamental skills are fully developed and become automatic, players will begin to make more challenging plays naturally as their bodies mature. Explain Why Why is a young person’s favorite question. As a coach, if you can’t tell a player why he should do something a certain way, you lose credibility. It also is more likely that the player will try to do something the right way if you can explain why that method will make him a better player. Lesson that come with an explanation are more likely to sink in and be applied effectively. Celebrate the Individual Every kid has a certain style or flair that he brings to the game. Don’t try to eliminate that. Celebrate it. As long as the players utilize the proper fundamental approaches and are successful, let them be themselves. Baseball is not a game of cloning. If you watch big league players you’ll see hundreds of different batting stances, but at some point all good hitters get to the same place technically and follow similar fundamental approaches. Other sports promote the different styles their athletes bring to their games; baseball should do the same. Let kids be kids! Make it Fun If we are going to keep it simple and stress repetition of fundamental skills and drills, it is imperative to add some excitement to maintain a high level of interest among the kids. By simply turning a basic ground ball or hitting drill into a contest and implementing a point system, you’ll find that kids will do the same drill they were getting tired of for as long as you’ll let them. Practice at the youth level is extremely important, but there’s no reason that it can’t be even more fun for the kids than the actual games. Be creative! Think fun first! Responsibilities of a Coach Be an effective communicator * Preseason team meeting to discuss goals, philosophy and ask for assistance from parents. o If you can’t get parents to commit to helping all year, ask for one or two different parents to help each week – explain how this will make the experience better for the kids. * Create phone and email lists of parents. o Send practice and game schedules. o Send announcements. o Send practice plans. o Do not rely on email lists for last-second or emergency situations. Call everyone about these. Not everyone checks email all the time. Avoid confusion. Create a safe, enjoyable environment * Have a med kit and ice for injuries (and water) on hand at all times. * Coaches should be first-aid/CPR certified if possible (if not, find out if any parents are). * Have proper equipment and make sure it fits. * Be aware of facility, its hazards and emergency resources. * Have parent phone list and local emergency phone list numbers in case of emergencies. * Long practices can lead to injuries as kids get tired and lose focus. Be a role model * Kids look up to coaches as heroes. Coaches can be very influential. Keep that in mind when you are dealing with players, parents, umpires and opposing teams. * Search for teachable moments to correct mistakes. Don’t single players out in front of spectators, opposing teams, teammates, etc. Pull them aside at appropriate times or address problems in the next practice. Be organized * Have a practice plan, communicate it and stick to it. * Keeps practice moving and shows your commitment level. Adhere to the teaching philosophies mentioned above as closely as possible Set Reasonable Expectations or Goals Ask these questions: * Are the kids having fun? * Are the kids improving? * Are the kids learning? Set age-specific goals – Every coach should set five basic goals that his team hopes to accomplish by the end of the season. These should be based on the team’s age and skill level and should focus on the following areas: * Rules * Throwing and throwing mechanics * Catching and fielding * Hitting * Positions/positional play (younger teams) and team fundamentals (for older teams – cutoffs and relays, covering on a steal, bunt defenses, 1st and 3rd defenses, pickoff plays, offensive plays and strategies, base running, etc.) Sample Practice Plan – Ages 12 and Under 10 minutes Base running o “Big League” base running and/or dynamic warm-up 20 minutes Stretch and throw o Stretch around mound or in center field o Go over practice plan in detail 45 minutes Stations – small groups, 15 minutes per station and rotate o Live Batting practice o Tee work/soft toss – use fences/backstops if necessary o Fielding/throwing station – while live batting practice is going on o Fly ball/throwing station – while live batting practice is going on 10 minutes Base running As always, common sense must prevail. For ages 4-6, a practice should not last much longer than an hour. Times should be shortened accordingly if the kids are struggling and don’t seem to want to be there that day. Practice can be extended at this age group, but only if the players ask to stay longer. Players ages 7-9 should be able to handle an hour just about any day and may even be able to maintain interest and concentration for as long as an hour and a half (try to keep practice to about an hour and 15 minutes for this age group). Players in the 10-12 age group can probably handle an hour and a half with regularity. Use this framework as a guideline and customize practices to fit your needs. Sample Practice Plan – Ages 13 and up 20 minutes Stretch, run, throw 20 minutes Ground balls and fly balls – use buckets and systems to minimize throws and maximize repetitions o Not taking infield o Two infield fungo stations o One outfield fungo station 20 minutes Team fundamental o Bunt defenses o First and third defenses o Cutoffs and relays o Pickoffs and rundowns o Team base running 60 minutes Team batting practice – four stations, 15 minutes each (or four stations, 10 minutes each if you want to do another team fundamental) o Stations can be rotated daily – always include free hitting Once in-season, coaches should prioritize which issues need to be addressed during team fundamental sessions. Another team fundamental session can be added, reducing batting practice by 20 minutes. Please note that the infield fungo station does not mean taking a full infield. Batting practice provides opportunities for pitchers to throw on the side and do their running.