In early May, many of you who have bravely chosen to coach T-Ball are well into practice and beginning to play your first games. At T-Ball University, we receive many questions from new coaches concerning how to handle game day situations. In this article, we’ll talk about some of the most common game day concerns, including stretching, warm-ups, coaching the game and post-game activities.
So let’s start at the beginning. When the kids first arrive for the game, we like to begin by warming up their muscles. We usually start with some simple warm up exercises, such as arm rotations and then a slow jog around the T-ball field. Once their muscles are warmed up, we’ll do five minutes of simple arm and leg stretches.
After stretching, we have the players warm up by throwing to the coaches and parents in the outfield, on our bench’s side of the field, (you should check with your league rules, to make sure parents are allowed on the field, some leagues require anyone who steps on the field to be certified or approved by the league). Usually, the home team bench is on the first base side and the visitor team bench is on the third base side.
Our warm ups include ground balls, which are hit from the coaches and parents are hit to our kids in the infield. If time is available, we try to take infield and outfield practice with the players in their first inning or starting positions. We’ll hit ground balls to each player in the infield and we instruct them to throw the ball to first base, as if they are trying to make a play. As the players become proficient with this, I then have the players fielding ground balls in the infield and throwing them to second and first bases for a double play. It may take a while before they actually make a double play, but that’s no reason not to get them in the habit of trying.
After we rotate through the infield, we hit soft line drives to the outfielders, who field the balls on one or two hops. We have them throw to the appropriate cut-off man (shortstop or second baseman) and then to the appropriate player covering second base (second baseman or shortstop). For those of you who are interested in subscribing, we demonstrate several good cut-off drills on our T-Ball University Website (www.tballu.com).
After warm-ups, we have the players come to the bench for a pre-game pep talk. We like to ask the team if they listened to their parents this week and then ask them if they listened to their teachers as well. If they say yes, which most of the time they do, we ask the parents if their children listened to them this week. This usually generates a look of panic from the players. We then tell the team they can play because they listened to their teachers and parents the past week. We try to stress that its important for each player to be a good student and athlete.
One of our coaches or parents is designated the “bench coach” and they are given a line-up card and it is their responsibility to have each child sit on the bench in the order they are hitting. The bench coach makes sure that batting helmets are worn on the heads of the first few children, depending on the number of available helmets. Players returning from the field take a seat on the bench behind the players that have not yet batted. It is very important that the bench coach makes sure that only one batter is in the on-deck circle taking his or her practice swings. Yes, it is normal and important for the bench coach to constantly be telling children to “put down the bat”. You should check on your league rules for on-deck swings, since some leagues ban all on-deck practice swings for safety.
We suggested that before each inning in the field, you have the players gather around you on the tee-ball diamond to receive their position assignments. We also suggest that you try to have as many coaches on the field as possible to assist the players in finding their positions.
One approach that has worked well for us is to let every player know where the next play is going by mentioning the base and the player’s name the ball is going to (e.g., Billy, you’re going to Sally at first base on a ground ball, etc). It sounds like a lot of instruction but you and your players will get used to it. This repetition on each play will eventually be retained by each player, so as time goes by, you might not have to remind each player what they should do with the ball if it is hit to them.
Also, have each player call out the number of outs in each inning (e.g., call it out, one out, etc), and have each player raise one of their arms with their fingers pointing appropriately with the number of outs each inning. Before a batter swings, make sure each player is prepped in the ready position to field the ball. An infielder should have knees slightly bent with their “alligator” position showing. An outfielder should have knees slightly bent with their glove and throwing hand resting comfortably on their knees.
If you feel that your players are not paying attention, or there is a lull in the action, yell to the whole team, “who wants the ball?” Each player will raise their hands responding “me!” Its important for each child to want the t-ball and be eager to make the play. Its important to work with them so they are not afraid to make a play.
For less accomplished players, we suggest that you have them make the ground ball play to first base. For more accomplished players, you can try to have them get the lead runner out. If a pitcher fields a hard hit ground ball, we try to have him throw to the lead base, whether it is first, second, or third base. We usually have the shortstop take the throw at second base for a potential double play at first base since his or her momentum is directed to first base. If a pitcher fields a softly hit ground ball and they have to charge off the mound to field the tee-ball, I have the pitcher throw the ball to first base only.
We also instruct the fielder covering a base to tag the runner upon receiving the ball, even if the runner is not forced on the play. It’s important that you do not take any of the player’s knowledge of the game for granted. We always assume that they do not know a thing about the game. We remind the children to tag the runner with the ball firmly held in the glove. At this age, it’s also common to see players attempt to tag the runner without the tee-ball in the glove.
After the inning in the field is over, we yell to them “Hustle in, we’re burning daylight. Don’t be the last one on the bench!” We belive that no one on the team should be walking during practices and games. Every team member should be hustling at all times.
Here’s a safety tip that can reduce a few bruises. During the game, we like to warn the other manager and coaches when we have a good hitter up at the plate. We ask that the coach move his pitcher back in the pitching circle as much as possible, to prevent any potential injury. We’ve seen a few well accomplished players hit a parent or coach with a line drive back up the middle. We’ve also seen a few instances where the pitcher took a line drive or ground ball in the face, not a pleasant situation. A few steps back can make a big difference.
When the game is over, we stand on first or third base, whichever is closest to our bench, and ask each player to line up. We ask them to extend their right arm and hand and the opposing team does likewise across the diamond. I tell the players to go and shake the hands of the other players and coaches who have participated in the game. We then ask each player to sit on the bench or gather their equipment and sit off to the side of the field, if another game is about to begin. We give the players a combination critique and pep talk. The critique always constructive and never negative. It is never loud. We praise each player for the things they accomplished during the game and repeat what we need to work on as a team for the next game. The parents scheduled to bring the snacks and drinks distribute them. While they are partaking of their treat, the coaches decide who should get the game ball. We give the game ball on tee-ball level to the player that pays the most attention. We try to distribute the game balls for each game evenly amongst the players that a game ball is given to each and every player before the end of the season.
We hope these Game Day Tips are helpful. For more information, drills, practice plans and more, visit our T-Ball University web site (www.tballu.com).
David Comora is a partner in Davids Productions, Inc. a producer of educational and training materials for adults and children. Over the past 25 years Comora has produced award winning programs in a variety of areas including sports, safety & healthcare. David has spent over 10 years coaching youth baseball and is a partner in T-Ball University.
