So, following my initial post on getting started as a T Ball Assistant Coach (or Tee Ball, still haven’t figured out which is the “official” moniker) and my experience with my son peeing his pants and hunting pinecones, we’ve had canceled practices and games due to rain each week and finally got to enjoy a game last weekend. It was rather interesting and of course, amusing. We had kids playing in the dirt, picking their noses, forgetting that you need to have a glove on to catch the ball, and there was mass confusion over where to throw the ball.  Since this is all new to me and I’m sure there are some prospective T Ball coaches out there thinking the same thing I was when I signed up, here’s some Q&A for the uninitiated Assistant/Tee Ball Coach:

Is it a lot of work?

Not especially.  There’s not a lot of preparation required prior to game time.  The drills are pretty straightforward and easy to learn (more on that later).  The roster is pretty simple, and we don’t keep score.  You really just need to show up at game time and have a lot of patience.  Regarding whether you should be a T ball coach or Assistant coach, our league requires that you have some prior Assistant Coaching experience under your belt before being able to be the Head Coach.  I think this is a good idea.  Even though I played baseball as a kid, I didn’t start this young and I would make a much better coach for my next son having performed the assistant coach duties this year.

What Tee Ball Drills did we perform?

Since we only got a few practices in this year, we aren’t “hard core” like some other teams out there inevetibly are.  However, we started off with the following drills:

• Simple grounders - teaching them how to bend their knees, move to the ball, get the glove down and catch it.
• Throwing – getting them to step and throw, rather than just plant their feet and hurl it.  We had to focus on making an “L” with their arm and following through.
• Catching a thrown ball in the air – getting them to overcome their fear of being hit by the ball and moving their glove to the ball.  The coach said there are “eyes in the glove, and those eyes should always be looking at the ball”.
• Hitting - teaching them the basics of swinging.  Choking up where appropriate, how to stand, how to line up the knuckles, where to place the feet, and not to throw the bat too far after hitting!
• Throwing to first base – we started off our game telling them where to throw and trying to force the out, but since these guys don’t even understand the most basic aspects of the game just yet, it was evident this was too advanced and we switched to just having them throw to first base each time.  The key is getting the first baseman to know the balls coming and catch it!  He’s usually looking at dirt.
• Running the bases – Getting them to touch every base was pretty easy; it’s getting them to stop!  This was a good drill when it was 50 degrees out though.  Every 10 minutes we’d just tell them to run the bases 3 times so they’d stop complaining about how cold it was.
• Practice Time - Even though practices were scheduled for 2 hours each, we’d only practiced for 1 hour and called it quits.  After an hour, at 5, they’re pretty much fried.

What are some of the main Tee Ball rules that differ from typical Little League rules?

• 3 Innings only – instead of the 7, then 9 I remember playing as a kid.
• Every batter hits, no matter what happens with outs.  We just batted around each time.
• Rotate the kids each inning – we didn’t leave 1 kid in the same spot for 2 consecutive innings.
• We didn’t keep score.

Is Coaching T Ball Worth It?

Absolutely.  My son’s kind of shy and I think if I weren’t there to keep him engaged and make sure he’s paying attention, etc., he might not even want to play any more.  Being part of the practices and games keeps me in the loop on what we should work on at home too.  I usually can’t even get him to practice outside of the team practice/games since he’d rather be playing pirate or hunting insects, but tonight I was able to coax him into practicing a bit and he did a great job.  I’ve also started pitching to him a bit to prep him for next year when he’ll be up against a pitching machine.  I’m not one of those crazy competitive dads that wants my kid to be the best in the league (thankfully, I haven’t met that dad yet, but I know they’re out there, even at the T Ball level), but I’d love to see him stick with it and prosper.  Being good at something, especially a sport, breeds confidence, acts a source to make new friends and teaches him fair play, respect and team work.  Baseball was my game.  If it’s not his, well, he says he runs so fast that he “makes wind” – so track would be next!

What are your Funny Tee Ball experiences?

Seriously, that's not me...

The season is upon us – the season of the jockstrap!  Well, not sure if my 4-year old needs one just yet, but we were at the sporting goods store picking him up a glove and bat for T-Ball and inevitably, there was a father donning the cup and jockstrap over his face saying, “Luke, I am your father” as his wife looked on in disbelief.   None of the other Dads judged him; we’ve all been there before.  There’s something about the jockstrap that just brings out the innovative spirit in boys and men…but I digress…

Kevin is my first son and he’ll be 5 soon, so he’s eligible for T-Ball this year.  One of the things I always look back fondly on is my baseball years.  My father had coached me and in retrospect, I pretty much took him for granted, which I anticipate from my children as well.  I recall being the kid who hit last in batting practice and didn’t always get the cool positions and attention during practice because my father spent plenty of time with me outside of practice, be it hitting balls to me, pitching to me, or teaching me how to pitch.  Meanwhile, there were kids on our team who either didn’t have a Dad or didn’t have one that paid any attention to them, so my Dad became the father figure of sorts. 

Now, I’m not out to be anyone’s father figure, I have my hands full now and I’m not always the winner of “Father of the Year” myself, but this this coaching assignment (assistant coach to be precise – you need to earn points from prior years of volunteering in order to be the head coach) has me looking forward to time spent with my son – seeing him grow, seeing his confidence built and his character honed by sportsmanship. 

Practice With Dad #1

I took him to the field we’ll be practicing at for some one on one the other day.  In typical fashion, the primary objective for Kevin was to find pinecones.  Eventually, I enticed him to come over to the field and start working on hitting off the tee and catching the ball.  After a few minutes of that and repeated questions about when we could go to the slides, I relented and said, “Good job Kev, we’ll do some more this weekend”. 

Practice With Dad #2

We didn’t make it there over the weekend due to the weather, so I took off from work a bit early and took him to the field earlier this week.  I had attended a coach’s clinic this weekend and picked up a few good tips on getting the little guys started and how to teach them.  So, I employed some of these tactics and within a few minutes, he was hitting the ball really well and catching grounders.  Just as he started to really get it, nature hit.  He screamed, “Daddy, I have to go”, grabbed his groin, ran in a circle and peed all over himself.  He was quite distraught and said he wanted to go home.  He hasn’t peed his pants since he was younger, but I guess with all the excitement, he forgot to go.  So, that was practice #2.  Next up, practice with the team for the first time on Saturday.

What Kind of Coach Will I Be?

What I remember about my Little League days is that my father always played every kid a few more innings than the minimum 2, no matter how bad they were.  He never showed me any favoritism and in fact, it was usually the opposite.  I ended up getting to play All-Stars each summer and many of the other kids didn’t make it; I didn’t need the extra attention or opportunities.  What still bothers me to this day is a conversation we had during that last fateful season.  As my competitive spirit started to manifest itself more prominently, prior to the last season I’d be playing in the 13-year old league, I actually asked my Dad if he’d mind not coaching that year.  It was a seemingly odd, but honest and blunt question.  When he looked a little bewildered, I explained to him that I appreciated everything he’d done for me and all the great times we’d had, but this year, for the first time – I wanted to win.  My father didn’t coach us to win.  He coached us so that every kid got to feel like a part of the team every game.  Every kid had an outlet from whatever existence they muddled through in the classroom or at home.  Every kid was an equal.  It didn’t really strike me at the time that it may have hurt his feelings and though he never showed it, I’d never had the guts to bring up the topic again. 

As I’ve grown up and moved on to a new phase in life, I’m not the ultra-competitive type and if there’s one person in the world that I emulate the most; it’s my father, perhaps even more so now that he’s gone.  I do wonder what sort of coach I will be though and how my sons will recieve my even-handedness and focus on character and teamwork over winning, because I know that the apples don’t fall far from the tree. 

I’ll be waiting for the dreaded conversation when my son asks if it’s OK if he plays on Jonny’s team next year because they win every year and I don’t coach that way.