re: Need advice - coaching a 9-10 Y.O. baseball team

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You can learn the basics of what they are suppossed to do but if they aren't practicing at home or have natural talent then they will suck.. Baseball is all about reps to gain a comfort level..

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I agree with this. There are only so many things a coach can do during practice at this age to get the kids better. If they aren't practicing at home, chances are you wont improve them that much. They just dont allot enough time for the coaches. It's not your fault. There may be 2-3 kids that will catch on just through your teachings.

With that said, if I had to focus on 5 things with the kids, it would be these.

- fielding a ground ball & catching a fly ball. The proper way to hold your glove based on the angle of the ball. Keeping your glove down and eye on the ground ball. Same thing with the fly ball.

- base running. Teach them how to run through the bag. Then teach them how to round 1st. Teach them to angle around 3rd. How to tag up. How to get a secondary jump.

- hitting. Instill in them not to be afraid of the ball. Be confident, swing confident. Head down on the ball. Repetitious soft toss, batting cage hitting is ideal for developing hand/eye.

-pitching, teach them it is like a free throw. You want to throw strikes, and when you do, attempt to process exactly what you did right. It's a "feel" thing, some 10year olds will understand this once they get some innings under their belt. Teach them to throw to the catchers mitt. A good way to teach them to hit corners is to have the catchers over exaggerate outside corner by setting up out there with his whole body, not just the glove. The corners are a kids best friend. Umps have wide zones at this age.

-positions. You are going to want your best player at SS. He should be the kid that can command the field over his peers. Best fielder, strong arm. First baseman and catcher should be similar. Guys that can catch. You cant afford extra outs at this age by 1st baseman dropping regular throws. Or catchers continually letting balls go by them. You want your LF and CF as your best at catching fly balls. RF is the weakest position. Put your worse player there.