There are many reasons you might have started coaching little league baseball. Maybe you were a professional baseball player and your children are playing on the team, or maybe you picked the shortest straw among the teams’ dads. Whatever the reason, every little league coach can use some coaching of their own.

The following tips are from Tom Cannavo’s years of coaching little league from children ages 6 – 11,  and all skill levels.

Safety First!

Little league is great for kids’ self confidence, team building, etc. No need to get hyper competitive. First priority should always be safety. Make sure you have a First-Aid kit filled to the brim with the necessities. If there is heavy rain better to postpone the game, the kids aren’t pros… yet. Also, know your team. If any of the children has a medical issue it’s important to know and take the proper precautions. 

Confidence, Coaching and Dealing with Children

Whatever the reason you got into coaching little league, I’m guessing you have children of your own. So you know it’s not always easy, like herding cats. For that reason you need to be confident, kids respond to and listen to confident people. Next, you need to learn to couple your confidence with coaching and teaching. Confidence will help in dealing with parents as well.

Set up a Process of Communication

Google Drive and Email. There will be documents, forms and so forth and I’m pretty sure the early adopters of email, Dropbox and Google Drive were little league coaches and engaged parents. One cannot trust a 7 year old to give something to their parents. Whatever the process you decide on to communicate with parents, make sure everyone knows.

Know the Rules

There is a good chance that if you are reading this you have never played baseball and need to learn how to coach to play it. Learn the rules and terminology of baseball first and then familiarize yourself with the league specific rules, policies and locations. You will be interacting with umpires, officials, and overbearing parents, better to know what they’re talking about.

Part Two of Little League Coaching Tips Coming Soon!