Parents! Coaches!
How do you teach 6-year olds to play and enjoy baseball? I recently prepared this for my son, who is coaching these beginners. I feel like I can do this because I have played and loved the game. I coached for many years, and still offer clinics in hitting and fielding. With very young kids, the challenge is to make if fun, to encourage them, and to be supportive as they grow more and more competant.
My book (the link is below) is directed to the parents and coaches of beginning-level little leaguers. While I address batting stance, hitting, fielding, catching fly balls, and positions, I see the most important thing for kids 6 – 9 is to make sure they enjoy it, and to encourage them. Save the criticism for the coach who understand that one doesn’t criticise in front of a stands full of relatives and friends, but does it quietly at a practice session.
I also emphasize that children mature at different rates, and baseball skills are dependent on the development of muscular systrems and hand-eye coordination. Not every child can be an early maturer! The book has valuable tips for coaches and parents.
Doug Ross
8/27/2011
Child Development Research shows that kids 6 years old are not physically mature. Their musculature, nervous system, and especially, eye-hand coordination are developing and a team of kids will all be at different stages of development.
- You can’t force the physical systems to mature and learning to either walk or talk are good examples of behaviors that can’t be successful until the systems mature.
- Each skill has a critical period when the systems ARE mature, and that is when practice leads to improving skill. In baseball you see this in batting, throwing, and catching a ball.
- Kids watch each other and know who is better and who is not. This is how they evaluate themselves.
- Kids will decide whether they can and want to improve. The motivation has to come from within. Your role is to be encouraging.
- We have to start with fundamentals and progress at whatever rate the individual child’s physical and motivational state allows. You can’t push a rope!
- As parents and coaches, it has to be understood that kids will make mistakes, have errors, miss opportunities, etc. They don’t need criticism, but they do thrive on encouragement. The coach and parent are role models. They will watch you and copy how you act. You have to be together, especially coaches. You are teaching by example.
My book, available in paperback or as an eBook, expands on these ideas. The book is called, Baseball; Preparing Your Child To Play.