To: Parents and Coaches of Youth Baseball:
Ever notice as kids get older there are fewer and fewer teams and kids playing? There are several reasons kids stop playing youth baseball. One, is the increase in select , or traveling teams. This obviously pulls from the local recreational leagues. But even many of those teams have problems retaining and filling out rosters. There is also the increase of opportunities available for our youths in recreational activities. I think most parents and coaches will agree there is no shortage of some type of activity for our youths toaday to participate in. But the #1 reason kids stop playing is boredom. Who can blame them. We all have seen those teams where kids just sit in the field for an hour waiting on the ball to be hit to them.
Many of us now realize the best practices divide the kids into groups doing various drills. They get more repetitions on the basics that are the core of youth baseball. Ready position, catching, fielding, and throwing. You can even do hitting stations to where your kids are getting lots of swings focusing on their mechanics. This makes the live pitching go much faster and the kids are still getting a lot of swings.
If you want to learn more as a parent or as a youth baseball coach on how to effictevly increase your childs skills or the whole teams we recommend going to Coaching Youth Baseball for free youth baseball tips, drills, and downloads.
Another great site that is serious about youth baseball is PlayBallAcademy with a Free Coaches Kit.
