Tuesday, December 22, 2009

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You may not be coaching an elite team, but coaching younger players can be a very rewarding experience. Imagine yourself being a role model to kids and the huge part you will be playing in the way they will eventually look at life in general, not only on softball.

But you should know that coaching young players can be quite a challenge in itself. Kids think and see the world differently than older ones so, you should always remember that.

I hope that the softball coaching tips that I’ll be sharing with you here will make it a lot easier and more rewarding for you to coach young players.

1. Always Keep the Fun in the Game

You could be very competitive when it comes to softball, but to children, softball is still just a game. And as a game, you want them to enjoy every second of it. That’s why you should always put in the element of fun in their game.

Of course there will be days when they’ll fall into a slump and start getting frustrated. But it’s your job to help them pick themselves up from there and make playing softball fun again.

Another benefit of keeping the game fun is that younger players generally understand concepts much easier if there’s an element of fun in it. So don’t turn your instructions into a huge sermon. Instead, I suggest that you design or look for drills that are fun and at the same time, teach them the basics of the game.

2. Teach Them Concepts Bit by Bit

The brains of young players are fascinating in the sense that they are much capable of learning faster than the brain of adults. However, their brains aren’t that complex yet that they cannot process anything complicated at this stage.

Therefore, you could let them learn the game much easier if you try feeding them with just the general concepts first then gradually progress into teaching them the nitty gritty of the game.

For example, you don’t want to confuse them by teaching them the different types of pitches right away. Instead, you’d want to teach them how to properly throw the ball first. Once they’ve nailed that, you can work your way up from there. Start with the building blocks first and furnish it with the more complicated concepts.

3. Be a Good Role Model to Them

At this stage of their lives, young children are looking for people to look up to. And since you’re in the position of authority, it would be natural that at least some of your players will look up to you.

Because of that, you should try to be a good role model to them. It may not be easy, but try to lead them by example. Teach them the concepts of sportsmanship, for example, by showing them how you gracefully accept wins or defeats.

Remember that you’re not just molding future softball players here, but young minds who will eventually grow up and make decisions for themselves. Maybe your examples will help them in making decisions later on in life.

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[Via Recreation & Sports]

ะพ 11:46 AM

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