Athletics

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.

March 31, 2006 - By Bill and Cal Ripken Over the past three years we have written more than 100 articles for Coach's Clipboard. With youth baseball seasons getting into full swing, this month we thought it would make sense to re-run some of the articles we think are most appropriate for this important time of your seasons. The first topic we are going to address is setting general team goals. Youth baseball coaches often fall into the trap of trying to teach too much. Remember that baseball is a simple game. In general, the teams that throw, catch and hit the best are the ones that are the most successful. What determines whether a game, practice or season is successful? Success in youth baseball should not always be about wins and losses. In fact, winning should be way down on the list of priorities. If the baseball experience is enjoyable for the kids and they learn something, as coaches, we should feel very good about that. It is imperative for coaches to set goals for their teams and to celebrate all of the successes – small or large. There are general goals that cut across all age levels and there are age-specific goals. If these goals are accomplished, regardless of the team’s final won-loss record, the season should be considered a success. Sometimes all of the goals are not attained. Circumstances beyond our control can intervene to prevent us from accomplishing some things we set out to accomplish. In these instances it is human nature for a coach to be hard on his or herself. It is important to look back at what you as a coach might have been able to do to accomplish more, but don’t beat yourself up too much about it. If the kids had fun and learned something the experience was more than worthwhile. This article is designed to discuss general goals that should be set by any amateur baseball coach. A past article discussed age-specific goals. General Goals for Coaches of All Ages There are basic goals that all baseball coaches should strive to accomplish with their teams – even coaches at the highest levels. In the broadest sense these goals are a good barometer of how successful the season was from a coaching perspective. As a coach, continually ask yourselves these questions to help determine if you are on the right track: Are the kids having fun … Baseball is a game. We stress that over and over. It should be fun. You can tell very easily whether a group of kids is having fun. Do they move quickly to the field when they arrive or do they have to be forced to play? Are they smiling when they are on the field or do they appear to be sad or bored? Is there a lot of laughter and energy or are the kids lethargic? Do they ask to stay and practice or play longer or do they want to leave early? Kids are not hard to read. If they are having fun, keep doing what you are doing. If they appear lethargic, sluggish, bored or unhappy, take a look at what you are doing and make some adjustments, remembering that kids of all ages have limited attention spans. Some suggestions for keeping the game fun: * Keep them in small groups during practices. * Keep them active and moving around. * Provide them with a variety of activities. * Turn drills into contests. * Give out prizes. * Give your players nicknames. * Create a rotation where every player gets to play every position. * Be demonstrative in a positive manner – enjoy yourself on the field! Are the kids improving? One of the most rewarding things about coaching youth baseball is getting to see the players improve. It is not a stretch to say that kids can improve each and every time they practice. At our camps we often come in contact with groups of kids who literally have trouble playing catch at the beginning of the week. By the end of the week in our afternoon games we actually will see some of these kids turn double plays. One of our past articles dealt with age-appropriate goals. There we got into a deeper discussion of motor skill development and what types of skills can be taught successfully at different ages. It is important that the skills that are emphasized are not too difficult for the kids to master. Kids have an innate desire to learn and improve. When they are successful, and those successes are celebrated, the thirst to learn more increases. As coaches we have to put the players in positions to experience success and then go out our way to point out the improvement. This sounds like an oversimplification, but just like throwing and catching, success and positive reinforcement are as important for the 8-year-old as they are for the 22-year-old. Are the kids learning? Every day at our camps we make a point to review what we did the day before. At the beginning of each session we ask questions about what was covered the previous day to reinforce the lessons and make sure the concepts were understood and absorbed. If we find that the kids are struggling with a lesson or concept, we need to spend more time on the review to make sure that they have grasped the lesson completely. If the kids understand everything we move on to a new lesson. The following day we will repeat the same process, reviewing everything that has been taught to that point. It is important for coaches to make sure their players are learning something in addition to having fun. Learning and fun go hand in hand. As kids learn and understand they get better and want to learn more. When they improve they have more fun. By keeping the kids active and being creative we can make sure that they learn while having fun. If kids are having fun they often don’t realize that they are learning or practicing, which means you can hold their attention longer. This leads to more efficient and effective practices. When coaching, especially when dealing with skills that build upon one another, it is important to review and make sure that the players have grasped the initial lesson before something that is more complex is introduced. Introducing new concepts that the players are not prepared for can lead to failure. Repeated failure often leads to frustration. Frustration can cause kids to quit playing baseball and to try something different At our camps we like to use different buzzwords to emphasize our teaching points. For example, for the soft toss hitting drill all we want the kids to concentrate on is “loose hands, quick bat.” For weight shift and hitting off of a tee we say that you have to “go back to go forward.” In the infield we catch a ground ball with a “wide base, butt down, hands out in front.” You will find these buzzwords throughout our instructional materials. Use them to help your kids understand and remember the lessons you teach them. Try to come up with some terms of your own, too, and email them to us at newsletter@ripkenbaseball.com. The bottom line is to do whatever it takes to help the players learn what you are attempting to teach them.

Making Practice Fun March 31, 2006 - By Cal Ripken, Jr. My dad, Cal Ripken, Sr., used to say, “Practice doesn’t make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect.” He also used to say that baseball is a simple game. I grew up living and believing those sentiments, and I still do to this day. When working with kids, however, I have another philosophy that I preach in addition to those of my father: Make it fun! With a little creativity, there is no reason that baseball practice can’t be almost as fun – or even more fun – than games. If you take away the strategies and team fundamentals and then look at even the most complex plays in baseball, they can be broken down into very simple parts. A double play, for instance, is nothing more than someone fielding a groundball and throwing it to a teammate who catches it and throws it to another teammate who catches it. In its simplest terms a double play is no more than a catch, a throw, a catch, a throw and a catch. Simple, right? It is if a solid fundamental base has been developed. So, there’s no denying the need for fundamental development when we are working with baseball players at any level. What’s that you say? Fundamentals are boring? They don’t have to be. We do fundamental station and drill work every morning at our camps in four basic areas -- pitching, hitting, infield and outfield – and the kids have a ball. We make every kid go through each station because all players need to learn proper throwing mechanics (covered in the pitching station); all players need to learn how to field a groundball properly (infield station); all young players love to hit, which is the most technical part of the game (hitting station); and everyone on a baseball field, at some point, must catch a flyball or pop-up and learn to communicate effectively (outfield station). At first kids ask us why they have to go through all the stations. Even as 8-year-olds they often see themselves as pitchers, shortstops or center fielders. Another of our philosophies is to be able to explain why. There is solid reasoning behind everything we teach on the baseball field. Most times, when you can explain why, it gives you instant credibility as a coach and kids are happy to perform the tasks once they understand the spirit behind them. Once we have that out of the way, the fun begins. In our five years of running camps we have found that our methods of fundamental teaching are fun and allow for dramatic improvement even in a weeklong camp. The basic principles are: Put the kids in small groups so they get plenty of individual attention, understand their attention spans and move them to different stations after short periods of instruction and drills, and keep them active to avoid having players stand around for long periods of time. We also have found that these methods translate well when it comes to practice. Many volunteers don’t have the luxury of a full staff of assistants like we do at camp, but usually there are parents around to help. One solution is for the head coach to hold a preseason meeting to ask if one or two parents can help out at each practice. Parents can rotate throughout the season so assisting at practice does not become a burden. Practices should be geared toward a particular age group’s attention span. The youngest players should not practice for more than an hour. High school players should probably be limited to approximately two hours. Again, break the players into groups and rotate them among different stations: batting practice, baserunning, ground balls, fly balls, throwing, etc. Sometimes stations can be combined. For instance, one group can be hitting while another is working on baserunning and another is shagging hit balls. The group that is shagging can also be hit groundballs and flyballs between pitches. For older teams, if there are strategies or team fundamentals that need to be addressed, that can be accomplished together as a team, keeping in mind that kids’ attention spans vary. At some point, if they are not getting it, move on and come back to it later. Creativity is another key to keeping practice fun. Come up with creative ways to teach the fundamentals that we talk about in our newsletter, on our website and in our instructional products (books and CD-Roms available at www.ripkenbaseball.com). In fact, we would like to add to our own drill book. On the Coach’s Clipboard portion of our website (www.ripkenbaseball.com/cc), there is an area under the “Clipboard” section (accessed from the right navigation bar) that includes interactive tips. Here you can read tips from us or send us your own ideas. You also can email your drills and ideas to us (newsletter@ripkenbaseball.com). We will be compiling an online database of drills that fit within our teaching model. Remember, there are only so many drills. For kids, practicing the same drills over and over can become boring and tedious. We have found, however, that taking those same drills an introducing an element of competition increases the focus and enjoyment for the kids. Turn the drills into contests and award prizes to the winners. Keep in mind that competition drives all of us. Please use the tools and resources you will find here, along with your own creativity, to make the game fun for you, your kids or your team.