**Official** KSB's Head Tee Ball Coach

[KSB2424 3,083]

Today I was officially named Head Tee Ball Coach of my son's team. Not quite as prestigous as winning the Nobel Peace Prize or a Rhodes Sholarship, but very close.

 

As a former First Team All Conference (5A school) selection baseball player in High School (look at me!) and a lover of the game itself I feel qualified for such a position. This thread is dedicated to document my journey this tee ball season as well as to ask the peanut gallery that we call the Geek Club for any tee ball or general coaching advice. I believe quite a number of you turds have kids and probably have experience.

 

Boys and Girls ages 4 and 5. Coaches meeting is Monday March 11th at 6:00pm.

 

A few questions to get it started:

 

1. Do I go ahead and roll or shave the tee ball bats now or should I wait until closer to the season?

 

2. Do I wear baseball pants and stirrups too?

 

3. Is crying in tee ball allowed?

 

4. Is it okay to recruit good players from surronding towns to play for my team as winning is everything.

 

Thanks for your help in advance!

 

 

Sincerely,

 

Coach

[TimmySmith 2,782]

Parents love the long ball, I think you know what to do.

[Recliner Pilot 61]

No sweater vests for jerseys.

[KSB2424 3,083]

No sweater vests for jerseys.

Would something like this suffice?

 

My link

[Daddio 0]

Well, at least you have a starting SS already...

 

Make sure you have MILF factor high on your ranking sheet if you get to eval and draft players. Makes the end of season pool party more fun.

 

Enjoy this time with your boy!!

[KSB2424 3,083]

Parents love the long ball, I think you know what to do.

You aren't implying to lace the chicken nuggets with HGH are you?

[BunnysBastatrds 1,920]

Wear the stirrups. MILF's dig stirrups.

[KSB2424 3,083]

Well, at least you have a starting SS already...

 

Make sure you have MILF factor high on your ranking sheet if you get to eval and draft players. Makes the end of season pool party more fun.

 

Enjoy this time with your boy!!

I will not play favorites!@#! With that said I'm sure my son will be the best on the team and play shortstop.

 

And thanks for the heads up on the MILF angle. I didn't think of that; You saved me from making a rookie mistake.

[hoytdwow 202]

Make sure you have some Dominicans on your team

[montana 89]

I'm sure you can have "COACH" screen-printed on the back.

http://www.foulmouthshirts.com/gay-t-shirts/images/I-HEART-COCK_4.jpg

[Meglamaniac 380]

1. Before you have yuor first practice schedule a mandatory parents meeting and explain to them face to face what is expected of them as parents. If it were me I would have a parent handguide and contract that I would have them sign. There are many programs out there, this is one that I would recomend

 

http://josephsoninstitute.org/sports/

 

2. Make learning ever kids name a priority, even more so that teaching the game. Kids don't care what you know until they know you care.

 

3.Let each kid have a shot at every position.

 

4. Have fun

[parrot 789]

Just rememeber; Blue Slushies are for WINNERS!

[Patriotsfatboy1 1,432]

Hold the end of their bat as you put the ball on the tee or you will catch a bat in the nuts.

[SUXBNME 1,337]

Poor kids

[KSB2424 3,083]

A big thank you to all so far who have replied.

 

I think tonight I will stand in front of the mirror and practice my 'rounding third and send them home' gesture as I will probably be 3rd base coach too.

 

Should I go with the windmill maneauver or the more simple one armed and point towards home stance?

[Patriotsfatboy1 1,432]

A big thank you to all so far who have replied.

 

I think tonight I will stand in front of the mirror and practice my 'rounding third and send them home' gesture as I will probably be 3rd base coach too.

 

Should I go with the windmill maneauver or the more simple one armed and point towards home stance?

Windmill is the way to go, you need to be moving backwards from 3rd to home as you do this. Practice not tripping.

[Recliner Pilot 61]

Forget hand signals. Practice yelling at the top if your lungs.

 

At that age they will be looking at bugs in the ground or waving to mommy in the stand, not watching yer dance moves at third.

[shotsup 832]

Forget hand signals. Practice yelling at the top if your lungs.

 

At that age they will be looking at bugs in the ground or waving to mommy in the stand, not watching yer dance moves at third.

 

 

This.

[nikki2200 4]

A big thank you to all so far who have replied.

 

I think tonight I will stand in front of the mirror and practice my 'rounding third and send them home' gesture as I will probably be 3rd base coach too.

 

Should I go with the windmill maneauver or the more simple one armed and point towards home stance?

 

I would go with the windmill for dramatic effect.

[tikigods 76]

A big thank you to all so far who have replied.

 

I think tonight I will stand in front of the mirror and practice my 'rounding third and send them home' gesture as I will probably be 3rd base coach too.

 

Should I go with the windmill maneauver or the more simple one armed and point towards home stance?

 

I saw some dooshbag coach from a 12U softball team doing this and the focker did a face plant into the sand between home and third. I was the home plate umpire so every time he complained about something after that I told him he probably missed it because there was still dirt in his eyes from his fall.

[jerryskids 5,206]

If you want to run a first class program, supply the Red Man yourself, don't make them buy it.

[IGotWorms 3,315]

Do not, I repeat DO NOT, take up GFIAFP on his offer to be your assistant coach.

[BudBro 117]

on a somewhat serious and "productivity" note: point your finger, or set your finger, on the top of the baseball while it is sitting on the tee and have their eyes focus on the top of the ball....not the back of the ball. if their eyes are high, none of them will hit the tee below the ball. you will have lots of hits on the first swing and the game will run smoother and be more enjoyable because they will get to play more innings. trust me on this one.

[KSB2424 3,083]

on a somewhat serious and "productivity" note: point your finger, or set your finger, on the top of the baseball while it is sitting on the tee and have their eyes focus on the top of the ball....not the back of the ball. if their eyes are high, none of them will hit the tee below the ball. you will have lots of hits on the first swing and the game will run smoother and be more enjoyable because they will get to play more innings. trust me on this one.

Word.

 

While I am indeed having fun with this thread, I would welcome any pointers, tips or tidbits like the one above.

 

Thanks.

[pimptastic69 0]

Word.

 

While I am indeed having fun with this thread, I would welcome any pointers, tips or tidbits like the one above.

 

Thanks.

 

Don't expect any of your mad baseball skills to come into play anytime soon. You might as well consider yourself a short-term daycare provider until you get well into your 3rd or 4th year with the kids. The kids suck, the parents suck, and you'll wonder WTF you just got roped into.

 

Don't get discouraged though. The payoff is huge.

 

The kids become sponges and you'll be amazed at how quickly they turn the corner from barely understanding the game to being an actual team.

[Recliner Pilot 61]

Whoever said something about a parent contract was dead on.

 

You will have some parents who want to coach from the stands.

 

You will have some who won't bring their kid to practice, but expect him to start at "pitcher".

 

Things like that.

 

Get things spelled out before you start or you will regret it.

[Lord4GL 4]

1. Before you have yuor first practice schedule a mandatory parents meeting and explain to them face to face what is expected of them as parents. If it were me I would have a parent handguide and contract that I would have them sign. There are many programs out there, this is one that I would recomend

 

http://josephsoninstitute.org/sports/

 

2. Make learning ever kids name a priority, even more so that teaching the game. Kids don't care what you know until they know you care.

 

3.Let each kid have a shot at every position.

 

4. Have fun

 

Those are good tips. Coaching is a lot of fun. At this level, many of the kids don't know what they are doing. So spend time teaching them to throw properly and how to play positions well. Middle infield seems to be the toughest. Putting a kid at every position can confuse the kid a little. Find out what they might like and try them at positions when you think they could play well. So don't put fat kids at short.

[Recliner Pilot 61]

Those are good tips. Coaching is a lot of fun. At this level, many of the kids don't know what they are doing. So spend time teaching them to throw properly and how to play positions well. Middle infield seems to be the toughest. Putting a kid at every position can confuse the kid a little. Find out what they might like and try them at positions when you think they could play well. So don't put fat kids at short.

The kid who can scoop a grounder best plays pitcher. That's where most hits will end up at that age.

 

The one kid you have who can catch goes on first.

 

Only way to get outs.

[southcarolina 166]

Tee ball = herding cats. Any actual baseball that is played is purely accidental.

 

In youth sports, the younger the participants, the crazier the parents. Make sure they understand that an inning in the outfield isnt ruining their Little Johnny's chances at the pros.

 

Get someone to take lots of pictures for you. I helped coach so many of my kids youth teams, and virtually no pics exist of those teams.

 

The best T ball coach is the one with the best post game snacks.

 

Half your team wont know which one is first base. The other half wont know where any position is. Working on the basics in practice will make games go smoother.

 

The key to efficient T ball game management is having a good dugout coach. You will not have time to do it. Nothing slows a game down to a crawl faster than every single kid having to find a specific helmet, specific bat and specific batting gloves AFTER its their turn to hit. You need someone who is LONG on patience, but forceful enough to get 12 or so 5 year olds to listen to him/her.

 

Encourage any parent that wants to to help coach. I was kind a standoffish guy who got roped into helping coach one season, and found out i loved it. I even was the head coach for two full soccer seasons, 7-8 year old division (14-1-1 TYVM)

 

Enjoy the f0ck out of it. It will be at times hilarious, inspiring, maddeningly frustrating, joyous, sad and probably the best experience of your life. You'll love it, hate it, swear you'll never do it again, and the next season, you'll be first in line to sign back up. My youngest just made the local AAAA high school program's C team (all 7th graders), and to a certain extent i miss the T ball days.

[jerryskids 5,206]

Those are good tips. Coaching is a lot of fun. At this level, many of the kids don't know what they are doing. So spend time teaching them to throw properly and how to play positions well. Middle infield seems to be the toughest. Putting a kid at every position can confuse the kid a little. Find out what they might like and try them at positions when you think they could play well. So don't put fat kids at short.

 

Greta advice. I was going to mention the "teaching to throw" part -- there is plenty of info/video on the interwebs. Hell, my daughter is 14 and playing HS softball; she didn't learn to throw properly when she started and I'm still trying to figure out how to unteach her bad technique.

 

On the multiple positions: we found as the kids got older that it was helpful if they had a single outfield and infield position they became familiar with. I'm not sure how important it is for T-ball though.

[Recliner Pilot 61]

 

 

On the multiple positions: we found as the kids got older that it was helpful if they had a single outfield and infield position they became familiar with. I'm not sure how important it is for T-ball though.

At T-ball age he will have to rotate kids into the infield. Kids in the outfield get very little action. Usually not a problem for the kids, but the parents are another story.

 

His job managing parents will be just as hard as managing the kids at that age. Remember, this is probably the first chance Dad gets to see his lil A-Rod play.......and most think their window-licker is A-Rod.

[southcarolina 166]

At T-ball age he will have to rotate kids into the infield. Kids in the outfield get very little action. Usually not a problem for the kids, but the parents are another story.

 

His job managing parents will be just as hard as managing the kids at that age. Remember, this is probably the first chance Dad gets to see his lil A-Rod play.......and most think their window-licker is A-Rod.

 

In every T ball league i was ever associated with, every kid plays in the field every inning. If you have 14 kids in the field, positions become relatively unimportant. IN fact most of the time,. every ball put in play becomes a footrace, and then a wrestling match between most of the kids. I remember having about 8 kids in a semi circle around the infield, and then about 6 more in a semi circle about 10 feet behind them in the outfield.

 

 

The bolded statement couldnt be more true though.

[Recliner Pilot 61]

In every T ball league i was ever associated with, every kid plays in the field every inning. If you have 14 kids in the field, positions become relatively unimportant.

I don't recall this being the norm when my son played.......but he is about to turn 23, and there has been a lot of alkeeehol run through me since then.

 

Seriously, I don't think that is how it was played, but my advice on infield/outfield bleeds into the first few years of coach pitch/kid pitch.

[southcarolina 166]

I don't recall this being the norm when my son played.......but he is about to turn 23, and there has been a lot of alkeeehol run through me since then.

 

Seriously, I don't think that is how it was played, but my advice on infield/outfield bleeds into the first few years of coach pitch/kid pitch.

 

 

 

Yeah tball here is pretty unstructured. But the league my kids played in (Majors state champs two years running) moves virtually every kid who is 5 or older and can halfway swing a bat and defend themselves with a glove up to Coaches Pitch. So Tball ends up being all the first year 4 year olds, and the five year olds that need a little more seasoning. I think last year we had 4 Tball teams and 14 coaches pitch teams.

[southcarolina 166]

Top secret video of KSB's first practice

 

[jerryskids 5,206]

Yeah tball here is pretty unstructured. But the league my kids played in (Majors state champs two years running) moves virtually every kid who is 5 or older and can halfway swing a bat and defend themselves with a glove up to Coaches Pitch. So Tball ends up being all the first year 4 year olds, and the five year olds that need a little more seasoning. I think last year we had 4 Tball teams and 14 coaches pitch teams.

 

Our tee ball was optional coach pitch; most kids wanted to do it, and if they missed a few we'd set it on a tee.

[Recliner Pilot 61]

Our tee ball was optional coach pitch; most kids wanted to do it, and if they missed a few we'd set it on a tee.

We started out doing that, but too many coaches were bringing the heat, brushing kids back, and taunting them to fall back on the tee.

 

Kinda got ugly.

[southcarolina 166]

Our tee ball was optional coach pitch; most kids wanted to do it, and if they missed a few we'd set it on a tee.

 

We did that too. Every kid got 3 pitches whether they wanted them or not

[KSB2424 3,083]

Update!@#!

 

Stopped at Dicks Sporting Goods on the way home from work tonight. Bought little KSB (he already had a glove) a tee ball bat. 25" 11oz Lousiville Slugger ATTACK bat. It's composite material which means it rakes. Look, its tee ball, but my team will have the best of the best. I'm making a statement out the gate, you play on Coach KSB's team, sh!ts gonna be real.

[BunnysBastatrds 1,920]

Word.

 

While I am indeed having fun with this thread, I would welcome any pointers, tips or tidbits like the one above.

 

Thanks.

 

 

Know the rules. If the catcher blocks the plate and one team blows that catcher up, call bullfawkingshit if it's not called for you.