2023 Colorado Springs �Little League Coaches Clinic

Agenda

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• Coaches Clinics Plan and Resources
• Keys to being a good Coach
• Communication with Parents/Guardians
• Empower your assistant coaches
• Establish goals for each player
• How to Run a Good Practice
• How to Prepare for Games
• Final Thoughts

Colorado Springs Little League

Coaches Clinics Resources

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Colorado Springs Little League

• CSLL Website – https://www.coloradospringslittleleague.com/default.aspx?portalid=7392

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• Little League Int’l Website -- www.littleleague.org/university/coaches/

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• USA Baseball Coaches Clinics and Trainings > https://bit.ly/3dnKLy4

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• Division VP, Board Members - https://www.coloradospringslittleleague.com/Default.aspx?tabid=715226

Keys to being a good Coach

• Communication with Parents/Guardians
• “You can’t over-communicate!”
• Introductory email
• Weekly email outlining schedule for upcoming week
• Reinforce team rules…
• Be on time, support teammates, hat/uniform, water bottle, etc.
• Highlight key teachings…
• Ex: Know the situation, Eye on ball, etc.
• Homework
• Ex: Have a catch, swing a bat, watch MLB on TV!, etc.

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Colorado Springs Little League

• Empower your Coaches
• Identify the strengths of each coach and give them responsibility
• Encourage parents to volunteer as “part-time” coaches for practices
• Need to go through background checks
• Openly discuss game situations and strategy with your coaches

Keys to being a good Coach

• There’s room for everyone on the nice list…have fun!
• Lead by example (be on time, be positive, be kind…)
• Always use positive reinforcement LOUDLY
• Correct mistakes quietly
• Show the umpire, other coaches and other team respect, and your players will too.

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Colorado Springs Little League

• Establish goals for players
• Different players at different levels. Assess them and ID how/where they can improve.
• Give players something to think about or work on at practice, a game or for the season.
• Encourage/Celebrate progress.
• Praise proficiency.
• Identify new goals and repeat.

Keys to being a good Coach

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Colorado Springs Little League

How will your players remember you?

• They will remember how you treated them more than wins or losses…
• They will remember whether you were encouraging or discouraging to them…
• They will remember how you treated their teammates, the umpire and the other team…

You aren’t going to make any of them into Major Leaguers, but you can help make them good human beings!

How to run a good practice

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Colorado Springs Little League

• Have a plan or focus going into each practice (hitting, fielding, etc.)
• Start with stretching and running (outfield or bases)
• Have players warm-up their arms
• Split team for infield and outfield practice (stations), hitting stations, bullpen sessions
• Practice your pre-game I/O – use that as a teaching opportunity for positioning, throws, situations…
• Finish with 5 mins on “three things we did today”…

Practice Resources

Practice Presentation

• https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1QMETfWKSL9CdGp1twMdwIS1nChjVpbQ3uyjq3fMNyQs/edit?usp=sharing

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How to prepare for games

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Colorado Springs Little League

• Ask your coaches for input to the game plan (competitive)
• Create a season plan to develop pitching and catching skills
• Give a pitcher an inning, or 6 batters, or 20 pitches
• Get different kids behind the plate
• Ensure you are rotating players for equal playing time
• Rotate players in batting order to create different situations
• Plan coach’s responsibilities in advance
• Remember, kids will remember if it was FUN, not if they won or lost!

Resources

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Colorado Springs Little League

• CSLL website https://www.coloradospringslittleleague.com/Default.aspx?tabid=705705
• Rules and expectations by Division

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• Little League Int’l website > www.littleleague.org/university/coaches/
• Entire section dedicated to drills, insights and recommendations on how to coach/manage little league baseball/softball
• USA Baseball Coaches Clinics > https://bit.ly/3dnKLy4
• Virtual Coaches Clinics on multiple topics
• Other Links:

https://www.facebook.com/Domin8thediamond/ https://www.baseballcoachtraining.com/home-page https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk6JqaSf3XA5Poj4I99vzqA

• Softballexcellence.com – blog, videos, tons of resources
• Sklz.com – training videos
• The Talent Code – book and blog
• Brian Cain - 2 books and a blog/online resources
• Championship Productions – tons of videos
• Championship Coaches Network
• Positive Coaching – book by Jim Thompson
• Fastpitch TV Network - Online
• Gamechanger –App
• Ubersense/Right View Pro - video app

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Resources continued

Pre-season Coaches To Do List (Timeline)

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Colorado Springs Little League

• Contact Coaches - Introduction, Explanation of Coaches roles during games, practices, etc…
• Contact Team - Introductory email to team - get confirmation from parents, updated email/contact list
• Method of Communication - Email, Text, Game Changer App
• Coordination with Division VP about pre-season and in-season practice schedules
• Equipment/Uniform inventory - Contact Division VP or equipment manager if you are missing any items
• Plan to distribute uniforms and collect medical release forms before or at the beginning of first practice

Sample Introductory Email to Parents/Guardians

• Folks, my name is (Insert Name) and I'll be managing your son/daughter this spring in Colorado Springs Little League. Our team name is (Insert Team Name) and along with Coaches #1, #2, etc. We are looking forward to a fun spring season of baseball/softball.
• I will be sharing practice and game schedules soon. In the meantime, please let me know if you'd like me to add anyone else in your family to this email distribution.
• Also, please let me know if there are any medical or other issues we need to be aware of -- asthma, diabetes, dietary restrictions, etc.
• Lastly, my cell phone # is xxx.xxx.xxxx and you can reach me via cellphone or this email address if you have any questions or issues throughout the season. Thank you.

3/23/21

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Colorado Springs Little League

Final Thoughts

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Colorado Springs Little League

• Coaches have a lot of responsibilities!
• Share the load with your assistant coaches.
• Encourage parents/guardians to ”be involved”
• Talking, working outside practice/games helps
• Positive reinforcement will generate positive results
• Negative reinforcement will generate negative results…
• What you say or do has a tremendous impact on your players
• Be respectful to the umpire, other team, etc.
• Treat each player as an individual

On behalf of the Board of Colorado Springs Little League, our sponsors, all Parents/Guardians, and the hundreds of young boys and girls in our program:

THANK YOU FOR

VOLUNTEERING!!!