Training Youth Players Training kids at this age takes patience. More patience than kids who have already been playing the game and the catching position for a while. Kids may display two spirits that the coaches need patience with… Fear Playfulness I would just say fear, but, playfulness is many times the way fear presents itself. Coaches are unaware of the fear that players are experiencing because all they see is the playfulness. When they see the playfulness they assum

Coach/Parent: “How was your game?” Player: “Good” or “Bad” Coach/Parent: “How did you do?” Player: “Good” or “Bad” Coach/Parent: “How did you hit the ball” Player: “Good” or “Bad” Have you ever had one of these conversations with a baseball or softball player? Maybe you’re a coach or a parent and you have had this exact same conversation with your player(s). I think we can all agree that this is a bad conversation. Oops, I just did it myself. I used the word ‘bad’ to des

“I think there might be some great talent being missed due to those pressures and those players not having the help they so desperately need. “ I'm 30 years old and I played baseball for 22 years of my life. I played little league, travel ball, school ball, Division 1 college, and professionally. Over those 22 years I had tons of different coaches. Some yelled, some didn’t. Some demanded, some were patient. Some encouraged, some discouraged. I wasn’t the type of player w