I received an urgent phone call one February asking me to coach some 15 & 16-year olds. The league was to return their sign-up money because they had no coach.

After I told them NO for the 4th time (hey, I was really busy running a young but substantial company), I got to thinking about those 13 kids, most of whom had just been cut from their respective high school teams.

Every Kid Who Wants To Play This Game Deserves A Place to Play!

Ninth grade boys, recently humiliated in front of their peers and told they weren’t good enough, and yet here they were signing up for some spring baseball league just weeks later.

In the words of Annie Savoy from my favorite Baseball movie, Bull Durham,
“You’ve got to admire a player just trying to play out the string!”

I had to say YES and entered into this with the plan that the assistant coach/dads would ultimately learn & be confident-enough to take over this age group. A win-win if I could just carve out the time.

Here’s The Point
As Usual There Is A Baseball-Life Lesson To Be Learned or Quoted

This game wants and needs you badly and it really doesn’t care about your lack of background or qualifications. (inadequacy may only be in your mind). Not everyone has college or pro baseball experience and that shouldn’t intimidate you unless you are directing players with an imminent college or pro ball path!

Pedigrees are for dogs, not amateur baseball coaches!
Simply do what it takes to become qualified to coach youth players

OK, What’s It Take To Become Competent & Qualified Enough To Help?

1. You have to love kids (not just yours)
2. You have to accept being a role model and understand that you are NOT a teammate
3. You need to have or develop a sane perspective on winning & losing
   Can you handle items 1 through 3?
   IF YES, keep reading.
   IF NO, forward this article to someone else you think can help a group of boys.
4. You need to be organized
5. You need to find knowledge
6. You need a few tools

Item #4 – It’s not as hard as you think. Have a written plan and simply stay ahead of the next chores, practices, games, etc. by using a 3-ring binder. Read the article I penned on the subject called Plan To Succeed. This will absolutely get you started stress-free!. Bottom line is to make sure you plan tomorrow, today. Plan next week, this week and note that other than batting practice, no drill should last more than 20-25 minutes… keep em moving and on the clock. Boredom sucks and baseball gets a bad rap because of lazy-ass coaches who think 90 minutes of BP is a practice
(90 minutes with by 13 players and each gets less than 7 minutes of batting practice) HELL, I’D QUIT!

Item #5 – Check out the baseball knowledge found online in books, dvd’s, downloads and YouTube Video sets. Type in “practice organization” and you could easily be overwhelmed, yeah; there’s that much you can choose from! Parents spend lots of money on lessons, so why not begin a library of teaching materials to use and refer to… forever! Oh, and bring your 3 ring binder with a simple lesson plan and some notes you made while watching, rewinding and re reading and watching some more… and if you can, use your own player to practice a few things (this also makes him the perfect player to use for demonstrating)!

Item #6 – Consider fun tools to assist you (not toys found in Wal-Mart or a sporting goods store). View these as tools you collect and re-use. Start with a few and add as your budget allows. Kids crave entertaining ways to learn. It’s used in the classroom and on the ball field. May I be so l bold to suggest our Baseball Training Equipment Page!

Finally
Some year soon, you’re going to run into one of your “ex-players,” all grown up. Beard, girl on his arm and maybe not even recognizable.
Undoubtedly he will still call you coach and you are going to be flooded with the feels you didn’t know you owned
AND IT WILL ABSOLUTELY LIGHT YOU UP!
You may have been there during some of the best days of his life.

Chances are that you will get more out of this experience than some of your players!
You can do this & you are needed. Now don’t talk yourself out of it!
Life Is Calling You and its calling you COACH!

Coach John Peter, presently aged 60 something, is the publisher of Baseball Tips.com and a lifelong student of the greatest game on earth. After being asked to find a more suitable occupation at age 26, many seasons after donning his first uni at age 7, he transcended his skills into the much more important role of coach and especially as an instructor.  “This game has been wonderful to my family and has afforded me a lifestyle to instruct any local player or coach who seeks my knowledge! If we stop doing our part to pass this game down to the next generation, it’s over!”