Youth Baseball: It's All About Having Fun

Do you have a child playing organized youth baseball? Is he/she having fun? They should be! If not, there is certainly something wrong because youth baseball is all about having fun. Of course, youth baseball teaches kids about the fundamentals of baseball. But there is a bigger picture here.

Participating in youth baseball is a way to teach our children life qualities and life experiences. Think about how they learn sportsmanship, teamwork, leadership, dealing with adversity and being competitive, all under the cover of having fun.

As a youth baseball coach, I can tell a lot about what the players have learned. But I really have fond memories of all the fun we've had together. It's like a big family; you spend a good four or five months together with kids from diverse religious and cultural backgrounds.

When I first started coaching youth baseball I was very structured and focused on the physical aspects of the game. But then I came to realize that kids should be having fun too! So I came up with some really fun things to keep the practice fresh and the kids interested.

Sometimes baseball practices can get repetitious, so I like to break it by having a coaches versus players game. Instead of the same old batting practice, play a few innings where the coaches and available parents play against the kids. We keep in simple and the adults don't get carried away. But boy, to see the smiles on the kids faces is priceless.

It's funny how they remember. Not too long ago I ran into a kid I coached 15 years ago. He told me how much he loved that coaches vs kids game that he uses with his youth baseball team.

Another drill the kids loved was the fielding practice competition. Instead of running the traditional fielding practice, I would break the kids into groups of 5 to 7 individuals (based on the number of adults who can help out). I have them form a semi-circle and then I roll ground balls randomly. I have two balls going at the same time to keep it moving fast. Whoever misses the grounder or doesn't throw the ball straight back to where I can catch it, is eliminated. Last one standing is the winner. The kids really love this drill.

Another idea is to let the kids choose up sides for an intrasquad game. This is a great way to get the more timid players involved by electing them as team captains. This helps avoid the "last player" syndrome and keeps the more talented players "honest".

To learn more about youth baseball, come join my Bobby B's Youth Baseball Newsletter. You'll even get a free baseball ebook downloadable immediately. You can find more baseball ebooks here!