Book Description
Coaching Youth Softball is written especially for the unprepared parent thrust into the role of coaching his or her 8- to 12-year-old child's softball team. Upbeat and inspirational, it schools new coaches in the fundamentals of controlling, motivating, and encouraging a disparate group of kids in the art and science of softball.
Parents learn the logistics of running a youth team and the specifics of coaching softball. They learn how to match drills to a player's skills and motivation level and gain a wealth of detailed instructions on such specifics as how to run a successful practice and manage during a game.
- Takes a drill-based approach to teaching basic skills
- Reviews softball fundamentals for inexperienced parents
Customer Reviews:
Great Book!.......2005-04-22
This book is another great in the series of A Baffled Parent's Guide. These books are thorough and complete - a coach's bible, especially a new coach. The book covers everything from basics of the game to working with the children and dealing with the parents. I highly recommend books from this series.
good book for beginning coaches.......2002-06-23
I have yet to coach a girls' softball team, but I am really interested in doing it. This book has some great advice on how to handle beginner players and their parents. The thing about this book that I found great was that it told you some characteristics to look for when selecting a pitcher, something that I would not have had a clue about doing. Highly recommended.
Excellent for beginner or experienced coach.......2002-05-11
This is an AMAZING book! Even if you have never coached, played, or even heard of softball, it helps you out. It breaks every aspect of the game down and puts it in simple terms so you can explain it to your team. It gives you practice advice and schedules as well as drills you can use for team members to improve, or establish, softball skills. It also gives you advice on how to become the best coach, dealing with gender issues and how to handle difficult parents. This book is a MUST for EVERY coach!
Excellent Coaching Book for New Coaches.......2001-04-28
I am not a parent but nonetheless, this book is excellent! This book gets right down to the heart of coaching. It tells you step by step how to teach someone how to throw, catch, pitch, hit and play every position. It also tells you what type of girl would be good for positions of pitchers and catchers which is important since most girls at this age have no experience in many positions. The drills have diagrams and there is glossary in the back to help with the terminology. There are not that many good softball coaching books (believe me I've looked), so grab this one!
Book Description
Coaching young players, developing their skills, and cultivating a love for the sport may be the most rewarding experience baseball can offer. Cal and Bill Ripken understand this like few others.
From their father, Cal Sr., a legend in the Baltimore Orioles organization for 37 years, they learned to play the game the right way. Those lessons, paired with their combined 33 years of big league experience, helped develop the Ripken Way, a method of teaching the game through simple instruction, solid explanations, encouragement, and a positive atmosphere. In Coaching Youth Baseball the Ripken Way, Cal and Bill share this approach to coaching and development.
Whether you're teaching your children at home, managing the local travel team, or working with high school-level players, Coaching Youth Baseball the Ripken Way will help you make a difference both on and off the field, with these features:
- More than 50 drills covering defense, hitting, pitching, and baserunning
- Age-specific practice plans for players ranging from 4 to 15+
- Strategies for setting goals and reasonable expectations for your players and team
- Advice on communicating with parents, players, and staff
- Methods for creating a positive and fun environment in which kids can learn the skills and strategies of the game
Bill Ripken was once voted by his peers as one of the big league players most likely to become a manager. Cal Ripken, Jr., known as baseball's Iron Man, is a member of the game's All-Century Team and a future Hall of Famer. Together, they are proof positive that the Ripken Way is the right way to teach the game of baseball.
Customer Reviews:
Fundamentally Sound coaching book.......2007-04-03
Very well written book on coaching baseball for all ages. I read this book to get more informed on how to coach 5-6 year old T-Ball. This book provided a very good framework for this age group. many well timed photograps used to describe practice drills.
Table of contents
Part 1
1 Responsibilities of Coaching
2 Realities of Coaching
3 Reasonable Expectations
4 Baseball Practice Basics
Part 2
5 Hitting and Baserunning Drills
6 Throwing and Pitching Drills
7 Fielding drills
Part 3
Practice Planner
8 Practice Particulars for Ages 4 to 6
9 Practice Particulars for Ages 7 to 9
10 Practice Particulars for Ages 10 to 12
11 Practice particulars for Ages 13 to 14
12 Practice Particulars for Ages 15+
Favorite parts of the book:
Page 6
As coaches, we need to be able to cater to the needs of the kid who can't catch one ball and still make baseball fun and exciting for the kid who can. It's a difficult balance but one that's important to understand at all levels.
Book Description
The quickest way to become an experienced coach.
You thought you were going to sign your kid up for the local youth league. Now, here you are, a newly appointed coach. Part of the successful Baffled Parent's series, Coaching Youth Baseball has everything you need to manage, motivate, and encourage an eight to twelve -year-old ball team.
Written by a four-time New England Coach of the Year, it shows novice coaches exactly how to go about building skills, developing teamwork and sportsmanship, and creating an experience that both kids and coach enjoy.
Bill Thurston leaves no question unanswered. He addresses both broad organizational issues like how to get uniforms or arrange for practice time and more focused specifics like what to do at the first practice. The Baffled Parents Guide is the ultimate coaching guide for the uninformed.
Customer Reviews:
Great book on Coaching youth sports.......2006-06-02
This entire series is great for beginning to intemediate coaches. Plenty of great ideas to try on your team.
Worked for me.......2004-09-11
I bought this book after I had volunteered to coach a Pinto League (7-8 yr old) team that my son was on. This book provided a good starting point for getting organized and creating a good practice worksheet. Sound baseball fundamentals, being organized and having fun in a supportaive environment lead to a successful and happy Little League experience.
Good Starter Book.......2002-03-02
A Well Organized book, as a rookie coach last season, it gave me what I needed to know. I particularly liked the overview of safety presented up front -- too many people take this for granted and stupid injuries can result.
Be Advised though that the rest of the Baffled Parents Series doesn't necessarily live up to the standard set by this book - I found the Basketball book very average.
Baffled No More!.......2000-07-08
This was the first "Coaching" book I have purchased. The book provides excellent insight into what is truly involved in coaching a youth baseball team. The practice planner section was a big help in conducting an organized and effectice practice. I highly recommend this book to beginning coached like myself or seasoned veterans.
Book Description
Designed to fit in any coach's back pocket, The Perfect Season guides little league/youth baseball coaches, parent, and players through a complete baseball season, from that first parents' meeting to a season-ending celebration, with its main focus on six preseason practices that are presented drill-by-drill and cover all aspects of the game. These fast-paced workouts emphasize skills development, good sportsmanship, and teamwork while allowing coaches to easily evaluate player's abilities and focus on areas for improvement. Sections on baseball strategy, scoring, parenting tips, and much more round out this comprehensive yet simple, start-to-finish approach to the season for anyone involved in youth baseball.
Customer Reviews:
great little book.......2006-11-10
I've been coaching youth baseball for several years now. I got this book at the start of the 9-10 yr. group winter ball season. It has some great ideas on how to manage and run the practices and interact with the families. It has some really good drills that the kids like to complete. Not much on specific mechanics and skills, e.g. you won't find how to teach a kid to pitch, or what specifically to look for in a struggling batter. If you're a little nervous about moving up a level, or how to fill up your first several pracices, I recommend this book.
Great Book for Mangagers of 9-10 year olds.......2005-04-29
I had been looking for a book on how to conduct practices with 9-10 year old players. This book's title was "perfect". It outlined my first 5 practices and gave me precise instructions on how and when to conduct each drill. I consider myself a knowledgeable baseball guy but always had trouble on what drills to run for this age group. This book gives easy to understand detail of each drill with diagrams when needed.
I have just completed my fifth practice and have had parents of the players come up to me and tell me that they think my practice and drills are great. I owe it all to this book.
The twinkie eating contest at the end of the first practice was a player favorite. Also, as a graduate of Eastern Illinois University, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the author was from Charleston, IL.
It's Okay for Young Kids, but There Are Other Books Too.......2005-01-08
This is a fine, middle-of-the road book on coaching kids. It's especially aimed at coaches of 8 to 10 year-old teams. After reading all the 5-star reviews, I was expecting a tour-d-force and this book, while valuable, simply is not that special.
It has some interesting drills for young players, but is devoid of any real baseball skills descriptions. The book focuses on the basic throwing, catching, and hitting skills. It all flows together if you're a post-Tball and pre-skilled-play coach. It does have some handy cut-out diagrams and a very good bibliography.
This book also has some good tips for dealing with parents. However Dr.Fortanasce's "Life Lessons from Little League" is a much better book on a coach's relationships with his players and their parents. Similarly, Ripkin, Bouroughs, Cluck, Kendall, Voorheis and others all have more in-depth books on baseball skills.
Check out Amazon and look at the wide range of coaching books available.
Simple and Effective.......2004-03-29
There are numerous books out there for coaches that have the same goal as The Perfect Season: to arm the coach with tons of drills at his disposal to get the most out of his players. Unlike other books, these drills aren't needlessly complicated, don't require all kinds of pricey equipment that isn't standard in your bag (you probably want to purchase a tee and some simple cones, but that's all I needed), and won't confuse your children as they try to execute them.
Also, Bartlett provides solid estimates for the time to complete every drill, allowing you to mix and match to meet the needs of your team and your timeframe. I've found myself falling in love with many of the drills, and the players do enjoy them. This book doesn't eliminate time spent standing around, but it reduces it exponentially.
The drills are good for all ages, as even high school players would benefit from some. However, it's perfect for coaches in 9- and 10-year old leagues, where kids are first able to bunt and steal and coaches struggle to teach and strategize these new tools. If you coach in a league for 9- and/or 10-year olds, I would recommend you order this immediately. Everyone will benefit from it, but that demographic needs it.
Buy copies of this book for your coaching friends!.......2004-03-24
I own more than a dozen books on how to coach youth baseball, so when a fellow coach dropped "The Perfect Season" on my lap, I wasn't exactly excited about reading it. I figured that I already knew it all. I was wrong. I was so impressed with this book that I am writing this review as I place an order for four more copies, which I plan to pass out to my baseball-coaching friends. Any baseball coach who deals with pre-teens -- from T-ball teams to U-12 travel teams -- would be neglecting his duty to his players and their parents if "The Perfect Season" weren't in his library. This book covers the needed basics for both new coaches and veteran youth coaches, from dealing with parents who fly into rages to dealing with the infield fly rule. I especially liked the detailed descriptions of fun drills that I had never even heard of. The book's main emphasis is to teach youth how to play baseball by improving their individual techniques and their game strategies. The author recognizes that creating better baseball players is a more important coaching goal than finishing a T-ball season undefeated. More power to him!
Book Description
If you are a baseball fan, then coaching youth baseball is one the most enjoyable and rewarding activities you’ll experience. But what if you’ve never coached before? Or you haven’t played the game in a while and have forgot some key points to the sport?
No worries! Coaching Baseball for Dummies guides you through the rules of the game, explaining all the essential skills and the best ways to teach them to your players. Covering different age groups and great practice routines, this guide is all you need to have a fun-filled season. You’ll discover how to:
- Fulfill the role of being a coach and parent
- Develop a coaching philosophy
- Understand how your league works
- Evaluate your team
- Teach your players fundamentals
- Understand all kinds of children
- Create your practice plan
- Prepare for game day
- Overcome challenges and problems
This plain-English guide also shows you how to run all kinds of drills, from hitting and pitching to fielding and base running. And when your team is tense or low on morale, it shows you how to relax your players and keep them focused on the game. There are also suggestions for making your season, and theirs, a memorable one. Coaching Baseball for Dummies shows you how much fun it can be to train kids to be athletes, have good sportsmanship, and work together as a team.
Book Description
Use Youth Baseball Drills to develop players' understanding, skills, and love for the game. The activities presented will help you make each practice more educational and fun.
This handy coaching tool contains a variety of both tried-and-true and innovative drills that build on and reinforce your technique and tactic instruction of 7- to 12-year-olds. Drills are easily located by topic in the seven chapters, and they progress in difficulty so that you can choose the most appropriate ones for your players' abilities in each facet of the game. And, because attention spans are short at those ages, each drill is designed to maximize the number of players involved on the field.
Helpful tips throughout the book make on-field practice, organization, and time management much easier. Youth Baseball Drills is your guide to fun, productive practices so that your players get the best possible experience playing the sport.
Customer Reviews:
A "must- have" for the beginning coach and old hands too.......2006-04-20
The name says it all. Seriously though, if you want a drill to run, be it for a catcher, infielder, outfielder, pitcher, batter, base runner, you name it, the drill is in here. Not just one drill either, but many for each position. Situational drills such as how to call time out after sliding into a base are also included. Detailed descriptions on what equipment is needed for each drill, the number of players for the drill, number of coaches and/or parents for the drill, the skills learned for that drill, and related drills. This is one of the best coaches aids I have ever seen. Having fun while practicing is a must, for the players and the coaches. Learning to play baseball while having fun helps the players to remember what to do during the game.
Youth Baseball Drills.......2005-03-09
Great book for new coaches expecially for the younger player. I am in my second year of coaching 6 & 7 year old girls and I wish that I had the book last year. Mr Schupak knowledge and approach to teaching a well run practice is excelent. I would also recommend his "59 minute practice" dvd/video. With these two items and a bucket of ball you will be set for a fun season for all.
Variety in practice.......2005-03-01
I think this would be great, especially for young coaches or coaches working with the very young, "minor" or "farm" teams. Drills are basic with great variety to keep interest during practice.
Book Description
Baseball Skills & Drills is both a comprehensive instructional guide and a useful practice tool for coaches and players at all levels. Written by three of baseball's top teaching coaches-Pat McMahon of Mississippi State University, Mark Johnson of Texas A&M University, and Jack Leggett from Clemson University-and developed in cooperation with the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA), this is a book that you'll use as often as your favorite bat. Master all the fundamentals through the book's expert instruction, numerous photographs, and essential drills. The 17 chapters cover all the bases in teaching the best techniques for
• hitting,
• baserunning,
• fielding,
• pitching, and
• catching.
Winning baseball teams are solid in all facets of the game, whether at bat, on the mound, or in the field. Use Baseball Skills & Drills to develop the consistent, proper execution of the fundamentals needed to be a winner.
Customer Reviews:
Baseball Skills & Drills: American Baseball Coaches Association.......2007-01-30
Purchased for my husband. He said that the book gave him more insight in to the basic fundamentals and explains the different positions more indepth. He recommends this book for any little league coach.
Book Description
Are you ready to coach the Cubs to a championship victory? How about a little league or T-ball championship? Not ready for either one? We can help!
Absolute Beginner's Guide to Coaching Youth Baseball is a beginning youth baseball coach's ultimate reference guide. Your practice time is probably already limited, so don't waste it trying to figure out what to do. Plan ahead with our easy-to-follow chapters that cover: identifying your roles and expectations as a coach, tailoring instruction to your age group, creating a safe playing environment, knowing how to coach effectively during games, celebrating victories and much more. Our book web page will be a coaching resource as well, with downloadable practice plans, emergency information cards, injury reports, awards and certificates, and season evaluation forms. Go into day 1 as if its day 1001 of your coaching career with the help of
Absolute Beginner's Guide to Coaching Youth Baseball.
Customer Reviews:
Great starter guide for the clueless!.......2007-04-22
This book was exactly what I needed as a first time coach - with zero experience. It is an easy read with numerous photos of little leaguers performing the actions described. It not only covers the basic rules and offensive and defensive tactics, but goes into the psychology of what makes a positive coaching experience for both the coach, kids and parents. Most helpful were the numerous examples of drills for practices. Kids get bored and distracted easily and this book gives you numerous tips on keeping them focused on learning the game and still having fun.
Nice .......2005-08-04
Great book. Help guide our youth to play the game better. Will use as a reference many times in the future.
Book Description
Coaching Youth Baseball, Fourth Edition, stresses fun, safety, and effective instruction, helping you create an environment that promotes learning, encourages a love of the game, and motivates your athletes to come out year after year.
Numerous coaching books present the skills and drills of baseball. But here's a book that teaches you how to convey these skills to your athletes in an engaging and positive manner. Coaching Youth Baseball's focus on teaching offensive and defensive skills through gamelike drills sets it apart from the current lineup of baseball coaching books.
Sporting a reorganized format geared for sequential learning and quick reference, the fourth edition features a line-up of 11 new drills and 40 age-specific coaching tips that are sure to jump-start your planning and practices. The expertise of Coach Tom O'Connell and essential coaching skills--communicating with parents and officials, motivating players, and preparing for games and practices--make this book a must-read as you prepare to meet the challenges and enjoy the rewards of coaching young athletes.
Customer Reviews:
More On Non-Technical Ideas.......2003-07-24
This book does cover more of the non-technical aspects of being a youth coach, but it does a good job at covering those. Many of these items are not covered in other books, so it is very helpful. Perhaps not as good as a "... for Dummies" guide might be, which are much better than their titles indicate, but it comes close. Certainly worth checking out.
coaching youth baseball.......2000-03-23
The author does not know the actual fundamentals of baseball, incorrect hitting an bunting techniques. concentrates on the politics of youth baseball and not drills and skills.
Customer Reviews:
a must for beginner coaches.......1998-01-21
terrific section on running weekly practices. complete analysis of each player position, what type of child does best at various positions and how to promote better skills at each position.
Books:
- Coaching Youth Softball: A Baffled Parent's Guide
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- Devlin's Boatbuilding: How to Build Any Boat the Stitch-and-Glue Way
- Devlin's Boatbuilding: How to Build Any Boat the Stitch-and-Glue Way
- Dream Golf: The Making of Bandon Dunes
- Echoes of Cincinnati Reds Baseball: The Greatest Stories Ever Told
- Fifty Places to Fly Fish Before You Die
- Fish Florida Saltwater: Better Than Luck--The Foolproof Guide to Florida Saltwater Fishing
- Florida's Fabulous Canoe and Kayak Trail Guide (Florida's Fabulous Nature)
Books Index
Books Home
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- Let That Be the Reason
General
| Parenting
| Parenting & Families
| Subjects
| Books
Coaching Girls' Softball: From the How-To's of the Game to Practical Real-World Advice--Your Definitive Guide to Successfully Coaching Girls
Coaching Youth Softball, Fourth Edition
Softball Skills & Drills
Defensive Softball Drills
101 Offensive Softball Drills
