Where to start...

The decision to coach is a big decision, but a rewarding one. Whether you are taking your first shot at this whole coaching thing or you've been doing it for decades it is important to understand your players and their developmental needs to help them fall in love with the game and progress in their technical skills and knowledge of the sport.

Around ages 8-10 years, players progress into a more technical stage. There should still be a large emphasis on making practices and games fun, positive, and encouraging so that players will continue to fall in love with the sport. A great coach will inspire a team of players who cannot wait to get to the diamond for practices and games. As players progress to this new stage, you will see more differentiated skill sets among your players. Continued fun, love of the game, and good relationships with teammates and coaches can keep lesser-skilled players involved as you work to help them improve through more technical coaching as they physically grow into their bodies. 

This is the time to begin introducing more technically focused activities while still keeping it fun and encouraging. Players are becoming able to process technical direction and connect their use of this instruction with the outcome.

Around age 10 and onward, you will see players progress into the next stage of development. Players will take the knowledge and skill learned in the technical stage, but are now becoming self-motivated to improve and refine skills. Many players become more competitive during this stage which can be a great when combined with lessons on honoring the game, sportsmanship, and applying the competitive drive beyond the field into school and other endeavors. Players in this stage often put extreme pressure on themselves to perform, so it is important that they receive unconditional support and encouragement from coaches and parents.

Planning your practices...

Planning a practice can be a daunting task. Just because you played the sport or love to watch it, does not mean you have the perfect activities or words to explain it to young of players. Below are some websites that provide a variety of activities to make your practices both fun and instructional.

6 Softball hitting Fundamentals to Teach Your Team on Softball-Spot.com

Softball Hitting Drills on Softball-Spot.com

Softball Fielding Drills on Softball-Spot.com

Softball Baserunning Drills on Softball-Spot.com

Softball Pitching Drills on Softball-Spot.com