Coach Resources/Manual

Many of our volunteers have been coaching for 5+ years while others are stepping into this role for the first time. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to our President or Registrar. This could include:

• How to run a practice
• Game day protocols
• How to line the field
• How to record game details in the scorebook
• Questions about rules
• How to set up your schedule in Crossbar or add parents

Some of these details are covered in the coaching manual but please speak up if we can provide any additional information or assistance. Below are just a few items that might you might want to think about but we're happy to provide additional feedback on any topic:

All Levels:

• Throwing - Making sure that you're getting your girls warmed up at the beginning of each practice and game and teaching them the right way to throw (this will have an impact throughout their playing career as it's tough to fix when they don't do it the right way from the beginning)
• Catching - Building confidence that the ball won't hurt them is key at an early age. Making sure gloves and bodies are positioned correctly greatly helps with this.
• Pitchers/Catchers - This is not an area where SLSA has deep knowledge and we recommend getting private instruction/coaching at these positions.

6U:

• Hitting a thrown pitch - 6U may be tee ball but getting these girls accustomed to hitting a moving target is very important for their development. The teams that use a tee exclusively consistently have players that are behind the teams that hit from a coach pitch. This is evident when they move up to 8U & 10U. We have some tips on this that could help!
• Running through 1st base and home plate - If the girls are conditioned to stop at each base, this causes problems when they get into older age groups. Teach them to run through 1st and home and to stop at 2nd and 3rd.
• Calling the ball - Start this now. Every time they catch the ball, charge the ball, or shag a fly they should be saying "Got it!" or "Mine!"

8U:

• Coverage - All balls go to 1st base in 6U. In 8U the girls need to start to recognize that there may be a play at another base and know where they're supposed to be (including backing up...especially 1st base). There are drills that can help with this.
• Pitching - While 8U is technically coach pitch, by the end of the season, the girls need to start getting some reps from the circle. We can help provide some drills the girls can follow to get used to the pitching motion and mechanics (because it's way different vs. a typical throw).

10U:

• Sliding - This is critical for (a) safety and (b) avoiding an out. The girls need to be confident in their ability to drop going into a base. We have cardboard in the sheds/boxes that can help with this and we can walk anyone through some good drills that are really effective.
• Running on contact - Don't look at the ball. Don't look at the coach. Don't wait for the upire to say something. When they hit a ball, they need to RUN until someone says otherwise.
• Calling the play - Our girls need to know where the ball can go to make an out. Set the expectation early that every time a new player is up to bat (or even every pitch) that the fielders are saying how many outs and where the play is.

12U:

• Stealing - Every base is up for grabs. Girls need to be conditioned to listen to their coaches so they know when to round a base, when to stay put, and when to steal. This builds on the importance of sliding.
• Dropped third strike - This is a foreign concept when girls get to 12U but is important as they will have many opportunities to steal 1st base if they learn this rule early and know to run when they hear "strike three".