Coaching youth baseball requires patience and dedication. Children 5 and 6 years old, new to the game, do not know the fundamentals of play, and need you to teach them everything, from base running to throwing a ball. Knowing the basics of coaching will help make the most out of your experience and benefit your team.
Make It Fun
At ages 5 and 6, children do not have long attention spans. To keep the kids interested, and teach them the basics of baseball, you must make it fun. The Baseball Drills & Coaching Tips website offers ideas to keep your team interested and motivated by incorporating creativity in your practices. During throwing practice, rather than having the children play catch with one another, set up interesting targets --- hula hoops or stuffed animals work well. When practicing fielding, have parents act as runners. Children enjoy trying to get the ball and throw their parents out at the base.
Repetition
Practice makes perfect. Repeating fundamentals often will help cement them in the minds of your players. When performing drills, repeat the same motions at least a few times before moving on to a new one. This allows children to not only repeat motions and commit them to memory, but also correct any mistake made during the first motion. Coaching Youth Baseball recommends separating the team into two groups for most drills, to maximize efficiency and allow for the most repetition.
Drills
Incorporate drills relating to the fundamental skills of baseball into practices. These drills should focus on throwing, fielding, and batting. For an effective throwing drill, Baseball Basics suggests using a plastic ball, and having your players throw the ball to a teammate or at an interesting target. As the children throw, observe their techniques, encouraging them to throw overhand, turn their shoulders perpendicular to the target, and step with the proper foot.
Batting drills for 5- and 6-year-olds should involve repetitive hitting of balls off the tee. If your league uses coaches to pitch, you may choose to practice without the tee as well. Using a larger ball when first pitching to your players may help them develop hand-eye coordination before moving to a smaller ball.
Fielding drills should focus on squaring up to the ball, using two hands, and keeping eyes on the ball. At first, you may want to have the children practice without gloves so they become accustomed to using two hands when fielding. You will need to show children the ready position, of knees slightly bent and hands off knees, so they can move easily from side to side to field balls not hit directly at them.
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