Communication and organization are two of the most important skills a coach can have. Together with your manager, you should have a file for each player that includes contact information and any other relevant other information such as medical conditions that you need to know.  You and your manager are the two primary points of contact with your team and their parents/caregivers. As the coach, you are responsible to communicate regarding various aspects of the game, training drills, skills development, player injuries/illness and strategy while the manager will be responsible to communicate with the team regarding administrative aspects of the season such as draws, training schedules, social events and providing information from the club or league. 

The Concord Baseball Club uses WhatsApp as our primary communication tool, so we’d recommend the Manager set up a team chat at the start of each season to clearly communicate with all parents.

As the coach, you are ultimately responsible for the safety of the players while they are in your care regardless of whether or not the players parents are in attendance at the game or at training. You should also be familiar with your players’ medical backgrounds and any unique precautions that may be necessary.

Before every game or training, the field should be assessed for safety and anywhere your players are meeting for a league function should also be assessed for safety.  Err on the side of caution when it comes to playing in adverse weather conditions.

Safety first should be the rule of thumb. One of the most common hazards will be lightning during a storm and it can be very dangerous for kids holding metal bats and playing near metal fences when there is lightning present. Please make sure you are familiar with guidelines issued by Baseball NSW (BNSW) regarding safety in times when there is lightning present.

During a game the umpire will be responsible for stopping a game if the conditions are deemed unsafe however regardless of the umpires decision, if you feel it would be too dangerous to take then you should not do so even if this means your team forfeits the game. No game is worth risking injury to your players. You should also take care in extremely hot conditions and make sure your players keep well hydrated.

The club has provided you with a kit that includes most of the equipment needed for a game other than the players’ personal equipment such as a glove, cleats or appropriate studded footwear as specified in the league rules.

Protective cups are required to be worn by all players (including female players) during training and games however mouth guards are optional. For players wishing to purchase their own equipment such as bats, make sure you advise parents on the legal bats as specified in the league rules. 

Children (and parents) can quickly detect a lack of confidence so you need to have confidence in yourself and what you are trying to communicate.  Be firm but fair with your players and “let your yes mean yes and your no mean no”.

Establish that you are in charge and not the players or their parents.  Establish control right from the start, the sooner you are able to command control the sooner that your practices and games will run much smoother. 

However, above all remember that the players are there to learn and develop new skills and to have fun and enjoy the season. One of your challenges will be to balance the needs and wants of players against the needs and wants of the team. Players need to be given equal opportunity to try different positions and feel they are a valued member of the team.

One of the best ways to gain confidence is to do some homework and learn a bit about coaching kids.  Always plan your training sessions and show the kids that you are organised and in control.

One coach can run a team but will NOT be able to maximise what they can do with the team during games and especially training. During games, it is always better to have an extra set of eyes in the dugout (we are dealing with children after all and they are going to misbehave from time to time). Additional coaches are an absolute necessity to run effective training. Use your manager and other parents to help but again you need to be organised and give clear instructions on what you expect them to do. For example, if you have two additional coaches plus yourself then you can run infield drills, the second coach can run some outfield drills, and the third coach can run a bullpen session with a pitcher and a catcher, and this can be done all at the same time. This not only maximises the use of the time set down for training but also stops kids from standing around, doing nothing and getting bored.

But please note that any helpers dealing with children must have their Working With Children Check (WWCC).

It is so important to lead by example and be an appropriate adult role model for your players. Your players are going to look up to you, or at the very least look to see how you react to situations to figure out what is acceptable behavior on your team. If you scream and shout at umpires, get thrown out of games, and disrespect the opposition then your players will follow your lead.  You need to be positive at all times, even when your team is losing.

Always focus on the positives and don’t dwell on mistakes during the game but use them to identify areas to work on at training. Remember, most kids don’t remember or care about the result of the game half hour after the game is finished and its usually parents that have dwell on losses.  However the kids will remember the good hit or catch or simply the fact that they enjoyed a game with their team mates.

It is important that you lead by example and dress appropriately at all times. Instill in your players that they should take pride in their uniform and to wear the complete uniform during a game. The club has issued training shirts so encourage your team to wear these to training so that you look like a team.

All players on the team should be given the same amount of respect and attention from you despite skill level. For example, a skilled player shouldn’t be given special treatment, and a less skilled player shouldn’t get less batting practice or less opportunities to play different positions. As players develop and approach early teens, they will most likely start to specialise into two or three positions and players need to have the opportunity to try different positions and develop different skills.

As a coach your job is to develop all your players and bring out the best in them which means that at times you may have to spend more time with the less skilled players or to work on specific areas with players. However players will have different personalities, and you may need to adjust your approaches to get your message across and adjust your approach to suit the age of the children that you are coaching.

Coaching a 7 year old requires a far different approach to coaching a 16 year old and players will also develop at a different pace.

We have already mentioned that kids usually handle defeat far better than parents, especially in the younger age groups. However when helping your team cope with defeat, especially in the older age groups the last thing you want to do is play the blame game such as blaming the umpire for poor calls on singling out players that might have made crucial errors. 

Baseball is very much a team game and everyone that plays the game will make errors from time to time or simply have a bad day. As mentioned earlier, most of the very young players don’t remember or care about the result soon after the game. For the older age groups you should talk about the positives that came out of the game and the areas you need to improve.  Most experienced players know what went well and what didn’t and don’t need to be told about errors. Even after a win you should always talk about what you did well and where you need to improve. Above all, you should always show good sportsmanship and respect towards your opposition and  your team mates regardless of the result.

Physical and mental errors should be treated completely differently; they are two completely different types of errors.A physical error is dropping a fly ball, booting a ground ball, or making a bad throw. After a physical error, it is important to encourage all players to support their team mates, as mentioned earlier, everyone that plays this game will make errors.  A mental error is missing or ignoring signals, throwing to the wrong base after you called the play out several times, or not hustling. 

As a coach, you need to find the best way to keep your players focused, this might mean switching a player to a different position or making sure that all your players encourage and support their teammates with plenty of positive talk whether it be on the field or from the dugout. 

One of your most important tasks is to teach you players the skills they need to play the game. Players that can play the game well will usually enjoy the sport a lot more and return to your team each year. Not every player will have the same skill levels and if you can improve the skills of your players over the season you have done a wonderful job as a coach.

Training sessions should be no longer than about 1 hour for U7’s to U9’s  and no longer than around 2 hours for U14’s and up. Depending on the age group, you should save the last 15 to 30 minutes for something fun that the team wants to do like a mini practice game.

You need to plan your training sessions ahead of time, so that you are not wasting valuable field time trying to figure out what to do next and you need to include some variety so that training does not become too routine or mundane. However there will be some fundamental elements that you will need to work on each week such as hitting, fielding, pitching & catching and you can add variety to these training by using different types of drills to practise these skills. 

For example, for batting drills, you can do live batting, batting from a Tee or batting using soft toss. Do not teach too many different skills in one practice, because there is only so much the young mind will retain especially in the very young age groups. However you can gradually introduce the more advanced skills or strategies such as run downs as a means of adding variety to your session.

Organisation is important in everything you do as a coach and especially important on game day. You should set-up game day routine so everyone in your team knows what to expect and what is expected from them. For example, you should have an arrival time to give you plenty of time to organise the team and ensure a proper warm up.

You need to make sure that if a player is not available on the day or will be unavoidably late, that they give you plenty of notice. The same applies with injuries and in the older groups where players might be playing in other competitions such as representative competitions you need to know if players are subject to any player restrictions*. This information helps you plan your line up for the game.

You should aim for an arrival time that allows at least 30 minutes of preparation and warm up before the game for U7s and U8s and at least one hour for the older age groups. You should set your expectations that the game preparation time is an important part of game day and expect players to be ready. 

Its great that your players want to socialise with their teammates before the game however this should be done before the warm up commences. You should make it clear that on game day you expect their full concentration from the time your warm up commences until after your team talk at the end of the game. 

In the older age groups from the live ball age group and up, there are usually restrictions placed on players. These are aimed at preventing injury of players from overuse of their arm and are typically around limiting the number of pitches thrown by a pitcher or the number of innings a played by a catcher in that position. For players playing in other tournaments or competitions, or playing a number of games over short periods, these can significantly impact on how a player is used during a game and can be very complex. Coaches need to familiarise themselves with player restrictions of the league as well as those currently in force through Baseball NSW and available on their website (usually called “Player Protection Policy).

One of your most difficult challenges as a junior coach is deciding on your line up each week. Do you use a line up that will give you a better chance of winning the game or do you want to give players equal game time and a chance to play in different positions?

It is extremely unlikely you will ever have a team made up players that all have equal ability that you can play in any position and in many cases you may not even have a say in the selection of the team so your task as a coach is to try to mould this team the best way you can and balance what are often competing objectives. Whatever you decide on your line ups you will almost certainly encounter criticism from time to time. If you structure your line up aimed at winning there will be those that criticise you for not giving all players opportunity and if you go the other way there will be those that criticise you for sacrificing a win. 

There is no simple answer other than to keep the following points in mind:

1. Unlike professional sports, where players are often paid very well for their services and a team’s success is measured by results, this is junior amateur sport where players pay for the opportunity to play the sport and all players in the team are entitled to be treated equally. Team results will generally only form one measure of success and success is usually measured by a range of other factors including the level of enjoyment of players and the team as a whole, the amount of individual and team development and whether the players remain in the sport over time;
2. Notwithstanding the above, the level of importance placed on achieving competition results in junior amateur sport will vary considerably depending on the age group and type of competition. In the younger age groups from U7s to about U11s, priority should always be given to player enjoyment and ensuring players have equal opportunity including the chance to play different positions and to develop their skills as much as possible. From about the U10s age group we might start helping kids specialise in different positions to a limited extent and at the LL Senior Division 1 (U16 Div1) which is considered our premier competition we will probably start seeing players specialising in two or three positions. 
3. Setting expectations and communications is also important. For example, at club level there is an expectation that players will be given equal opportunity and a fair level of game time. However the same doesn’t always apply to representative teams which do have a greater focus on winning and players  are generally selected to play in one or two positions following a rigorous selection process. Quite often in representative teams the amount of game time level of opportunity offered to players to play in different positions is driven by what is best for the team and not the individual preferences of the player. However in representative teams, these expectations are usually set at the start of the selection process.
4. Understand your players and what is important to them. Even at the higher levels of competition, we should always give players the opportunity to try something new. One way to do this is to give players the opportunity to try a new position at training and when they have demonstrated a level of competence at that position let them try that in a game. Conversely some players will be reluctant to play in positions outside their comfort zone and best not to push them too hard to play in those positions until they feel they are ready.
5. Finally, try to understand what’s important to your players and the team. Quite often in junior sport, team results are of more importance to parents or coaches and not that important to players. While we all play to win, playing and participating is more important for the kids. This is especially true in the younger age groups. Most U8s or U9s won’t remember the result an hour after the game has finished but they will remember that good hit or catch, or simply that they got to play with their friends that morning.

The most important tip is always keep in consideration that you are coaching youth and allow them to have fun. Create a fun environment for your team.

Maintain an up to date team list, and provide copies to the players, parents/carers , coaches, scorer and umpire.  Include on the team list the player # … it helps to identify players on the field … Note that due to privacy laws you will need to get approval from parents to distribute this information within the team.

Make sure you have a scorer for each game and an umpire for each home game. 

Important Note – Umpires and Scorers

All teams are required to have at least one scorer (two is recommended to cover absences). Teams are also required to provide an umpire for home games (mandatory) and may provide a umpire for away games (optional). Our club will provide an umpire for your home games from a pool our qualified umpires however teams are also encouraged to find parents/carers in your team to become umpires and join our umpire pool. Our umpires are paid from the umpire levy which is included in your registration fee. Courses and training for parents wishing to become umpires will be provided during the season.

Ensure that you check the latest versions of the team draws on-line and advise your team of any changes as soon as possible. (Note: The draw is likely to change during the season, particularly during the first few weeks and there may be team re-grades).  Remind people at training, and/or via an email during the week of where the next game is to be held.  The draws can be found on the RHBL website at:

Ensure all players have the correct uniform and wear it to each game. 

Advise players/parents, coaches, scorer and umpire of any late changes to the game.

Cancellations due to wet weather.  

This often has to be followed up early on the morning of a game people should be encouraged to contact you if they are in doubt as to whether a game is going to be on or off.  (Please note that as a general rule if you don’t hear that a game has been cancelled – be there ready to play.) 

Advise players/parents and coaches of any late changes to the training. eg.  Cancellations due to wet weather.  This often has to be followed up during the day that training is scheduled, and often after school time … people should be encouraged to contact you if they are in doubt as to whether training is going to be on or off. (Please note that as a general rule if you don’t hear that training has been cancelled – be there ready to train.)

It is the home team’s (Coach or Manager’s) responsibility to notify their opposing team if a home game has been cancelled due to wet weather. A list of team contacts will be posted on the RHBL website. Your club will notify your teams Coach and/or Manager if your game at Majors Bay has been cancelled due to wet weather and unless you are advised by a Committee member of our club that your game has been cancelled or moved to an alternate ground, you should assume that your game will proceed as scheduled.

Request that players/parents keep you advised in advance of any planned absences through the season, and in instances where a player is not able to make the game at short notice (eg. due to illness).  You are then able to keep the coaches advised of who is/is not available for games.

On a few occasions during the season your team will be rostered to provide assistance with BBQ Duty and possibly Ground Duty.  You will need to organise volunteers from your team for the days/times required. These will be rostered to coincide with your home games but will also cover your game time so one or two volunteers on BBQ duty may need to watch the game from the BBQ station.

BBQ Duty involves getting volunteers to set up, work and pack up the BBQ usually from around 8:30 in the morning until  the last game concludes (1:00pm at the latest), typically 3 parent / carer helpers for each hour slot.

Please note:  Where possible, try to get parents/carers other than coaches, managers scorers umpires etc,  to volunteer for these roles … so that those already involved with the team can keep their focus on the game – they are already doing their part for the team.

Your team is responsible to help maintain our fields and facilities in good order (see part 3 Housekeeping).

Organise and encourage parents / carers / friends from your team to attend social activities that are scheduled – try to fill a table of your team if you can

At the end of the season arrange to collect ALL shirts from the players – so that you can return them to the club ASAP following the conclusion of the season (try to do this before or at the Presentation Day). 

Please note: playing shirts on loan remain the property of the club and should only be worn for the games.  Players should be asked to keep a spare shirt in their kit to change into after the game).

Organise and encourage people to attend the Presentation Day.

The manager is responsible for keeping the team organised and well behaved during the game and ensuring that all players do their job on and off the field including organising a “bat boy (or girl)”, ensuring bench players help warm up left and right field between innings and organising the “bullpen”.

Only players, team officials (including any designated parent assistants) and the bat boy/girl (if not a player) should be in the dugout during the game. It is important to keep the parents at a suitable distance to allow the coach to run the game easily and not crowd or confuse the kids.

The manager should provide the scorer with a result sheet and RHBL Match Result Sheet for each home game.

Keep track of the batting lineup, and have the next 2-3 batters kitted up and ready to go.  Encourage the next batters to find space for warm up swings with the pitch.

Each pitcher is only allowed to pitch a set number of balls or for a set number of innings (the numbers depend on the grade being played and if players have representative duties within the following few days).  This task simply involves marking off each pitch on a tally sheet, and letting the coach know when a change of pitcher is due. (copies of the tally sheet are available in the Team Folder cabinet located at the ground next to the canteen(bottom drawer).

Be ready to handle any ‘incidents’ that may require your attention … e.g. Emergency First Aid for injuries. We have a First Aid Kit that is kept in the Canteen.

Note: Any injury to a player must be recorded on the RHBL Match Report.

Get players, parents, and supporters to encourage team spirit and show their support for good play (by either team) in a positive manner.  Strongly discourage negative behaviors – and ensure that all adhere to the codes of conduct that are in force. 

Reference: http://www.rhbl.com.au/hawks-baseball/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Match-Report.pdf

It is extremely important that the club’s Results Coordinator provides RHBL match results for all competitive grades by Sunday evening each week, fines apply if no results are submitted or if submitted late.  Each manager is to provide Concord’s Results Coordinator details of match results as follows:

1. For Home Games: For all home games, including any home game played at an away venue, ensure that the completed Results Sheet for home games is returned to the tour team folder at Concord as soon as possible after the game. These will be collected each Saturday afternoon by the Results Coordinator and sent to RHBL.
2. For Away Games For all away games SMS the result to: 0468 471 184 or email: [email protected] (SMS preferred) no later that Saturday evening with the following information:

• Your team’s age group, division (and team name if there is more than one Concord team in your competition);
• The name of opposing team; and 
• The score.

For example:  LL Major  – Concord 12 bt  Gladesville 8

A summary of the playing rules for each age group (the Rules Guide) along with the full set of rules can be found at the RHBL Website: www.rhbl.com.au/

Game Day and Training – The first team playing / training on the Diamond is responsible to set up the field, this includes setting up the bases, setting up the cones and /or foul poles (if required), marking lines (if required), setting up zooka machines, and setting up benches (Diamonds 1 or 2) and scorers shelters and chairs.

For those fields that have Dolorite (dirt) around the bases, home plate and pitching mound these areas need to be raked prior to the game and immediately after the game or training from the outside towards the centre.  When setting up or packing up the field on Diamond 1 there are rakes usually stores in the lockbox next to the 3rd base dugout. When setting up /packing up the field on Diamond 2 you should bring two or three rakes from the storage container and keep them behind the diamond so that teams can use these during the day. 

If you are the last team playing or training on the day, you need to rake any Dolorite areas and pack up all ground equipment (bases, cones, foul poles, benches, wheel barrows, rakes) and return them to their place in the correct storage sheds or lock box.

Please ask you players to take their rubbish from the dugouts and use the rubbish bins provided near the canteen.

Important Note -Raking the Diamonds – It is essential that the Dolorite areas on the baseball Diamonds get raked before and after every game and after every training session, If you have two or three rakes available at the field you should ask your players or parents to help and it only takes five minutes to do.

Raking the diamonds ensures the Diamonds remain safe for our players and that pitching mounds and home plate areas retain their shape. When raking the Dolorite you must always rake towards the centre of the base areas, home plate or pitchers mound and never rake towards the grass as this form lips where the Dolorite meets the grass which becomes a hazard for players to trip or causes balls to have uneven bounces or hops. 

Always fill in the holes, especially on the pitchers mound, batting box and catcher’s area, When raked properly the overnight sprinklers on the field or rain helps settle the field in an even firm surface that is safe for our players. Please refer to the following  short video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHWZeUDTDkE.

At the end of the game, please make sure that the team clears the Dugout or Shelters as soon as possible to make way for the next team first team. Teams should make sure they remove all rubbish from the Dugouts/Shelters and surrounding areas and place all rubbish in the bins provided at the Diamond or near the canteen.

If there is a temporary shelter set up for scorers and./or spectators, the last team using that Diamond should pack it away and return it to the storage shed on the left hand side of the canteen along with any chairs (chairs and shelters should not be stored in the shipping container as this tends to get cluttered).

The storage sheds on either side of the canteen, contain umpire gear, tables, chairs, zooka machines and some team kit bags.  When using equipment from these sheds, please return the equipment to its correct place. Zooka machines need to be returned to their correct shed and placed on “charge” after use (including after training). 

Umpire gear and other equipment should be returned to the shelves and not left on the shed floor.  Plastic tables and chairs should be returned to the shed on the right hand side of the canteen. Please do not remove any equipment from another team’ skit bag left in the shed. If you need additional equipment please contact me.

The storage container contains our ground equipment (bases, cones, rakes, shovels, temporary nets, L Screen, benches and  wheelbarrows) and our uniform shop is located at the back. of the shed. When returning equipment, please make sure that you return it to its correct place. The nets used for the temporary Diamonds are to be stored in their buckets along with the pegs and hammers and the poles to be stored in their canvas bags. 

Wheelbarrows need to be emptied and left upright against the side of the container, benches and buckets containing nets are to be tucked under the shelves and bases placed on shelves or on the dedicated racks. 

NOTE: Please make sure that the passageway to the uniform shop at the rear is left clear.

If you are the last team to leave the ground on game days or training days, make sure that all equipment, chairs, shelters, and field equipment is packed away and that the storage sheds, shipping container, canteen and toilets are securely locked.