How NOT to Be a Youth Baseball Coach - Part 2 of a Series

By Frank Thompson

One of the most rewarding things that an individual who loves the sport of baseball can do is give back to the game by teaching it to young players. In part 1 of this series, we looked at probably my biggest pet peeve when it comes to coaching youth baseball - running a terrible practice.
In this part of the series, I want to focus on a few drills and exercises that many coaches do or don't do that are far more detrimental to a child's development in the game than many realize.
A really big "no no" when it comes to coaching youth baseball is actually rotating all of your players through each defensive position, both in practice and in games.

I know that there are good intentions, and that this is done to "expose" each player to each position, but that is not a very good assessment of why it is done. It is done because most coaches do not have the guts to tell any of the players' parents that their child is not good enough to play a certain position, so the politically thing that they do is just play them everywhere.
Well, ask the band director if your child, who plays the trombone, should be "exposed" to the percussion section at their next recital. That would not go over too well.
So why should it go over on the baseball field?

When a coach that doesn't have the guts to tell a player or their parents that they have not developed enough skill to play a certain position rotates players through those defensive positions, they show an utter lack of respect for the game.

Truthfully, not one baseball defensive is that easy to learn on its own, let alone ALL of them.
So the next time you coach a youth baseball team, teach a life lesson and be honest with the players and their parents.

Or if you are on the other end of the discussion, be strong and accept that your child needs to get better in order to get the playing time in that position.

It is a life lesson well learned at that age. For both the adults and the youth involved.

Keep following my series on How NOT To Be A Youth Baseball Coach... Frank Thompson has been writing articles online for over two years now. Not only does this author specialize in coaching and youth sports, but you can also check out his latest website Erie Auto Insurance which reviews and compares Erie Auto Insurance to other auto insurers.

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