Travel Teams & Lessons Learned

Been a while since my first post. I've got a year of 10U travel coaching under my belt. Lots of lessons learned, here are a few:

1. Managing expectations of parents is almost as important as managing the kids.
2. Have each player concentrate of 2-3 positions (depending on the athlete). Maybe two infield, and outfield.
3. Work on pitching in the off-season. I would love to have all 11 of my kids attend a pitching academy if possible. Mechanics are key for arm strength and to eliminate potential injuries.
4. Teach ALL players how to bunt.
5. Buy pancake training gloves to reinforce soft hands.
6. Work on baserunning in practice...getting out of the box, and getting good jumps when on the bases.
7. Be an aggressive baserunning team during games.
8. Communicate with parents throughout the season.
9. Set goals & reward players for positive achievements! For example: If team turns double play every kid gets to reach into candy bag. Or if team steals so many bases, each player recieves a pack of baseball cards at the end of game.
10. Enjoy your coaching time! For me, this is the most precious time I'll probably ever spend with my son. Make sure to not get caught up in the competition. After all baseball is a game, and these are 9 & 10 year old kids.

Hope this list helps, please leave comments and suggestions.

BTW- For our upcoming 2007 season we have put a solid group of players together. Here's a link to the baseball team's Website for ideas: http://www.hiltonbaseball.com.

Regards,
- Coach Pat