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The Best Free T-ball Resources and Articles by Coach Marty Schupak
Never Too Old For Fun Games !
Here is a story I witnessed years ago that I’ve told a lot. I am a huge NFL fan. I have followed the New York Jets forever, but love the NFL in general, and used to visit numerous team summer practices. Unlike today, these practices were grueling two a days that had a combination…
Rundowns, A Defensive Gift If Coached Correctly!
There are a few reasons why rundowns are not successful in youth baseball. First off when presented with a rundown a lot of teams are seeing it for the first time because they do not practice it. This is a game situation that has to be practiced with players rotating fielding positions, and as…
Why Can’t My Child Throw Correctly?
Why Can’t My Child Throw Correctly? In youth baseball and softball, too many times we see kids get to 9 or 10 years old and cannot for whatever reason throw correctly. As coaches and parents we are overly concerned that our kids are put…
Five Myths In Youth Baseball
In my 21 years of coaching youth baseball, I’ve been called a good coach, a great coach, an overrated coach, and a horrible coach. I guess it depends on which game or games people have seen me coach to determine my superlative. I like to think that my best coaching moves come from my gut…
Making The Outfield Interesting For Youth Baseball Players!
Right field, it’s easy, you know You can be awkward and you can be slow That’s why I’m here in right field Just watching the dandelions grow Right Field By Peter, Paul & Mary …
Motivating Kids To Get To Practice On Time
One of my pet peeves in life is being on time. My wife thinks I’m overly obsessed with it, and maybe I am. I just want to be on time whenever I have an appointment. This no doubt comes from my mother’s side of the family, who were never late for anything. I remember…
Baserunning, Baseball’s 10th Man
I have some great news for all youth baseball coaches who feel they have a weak team and still want to be competitive. Here it is. Baserunning. Hardly anyone practices this underrated skill. I started paying more attention to it after my first few years of coaching when a rival coach in the minors (9-10…
Baseball Practices Should Be Shorter
According to a study published by the Sports & Fitness Industry Association and the Aspen Institute (SFIA), athletic participation for kids ages 6 through 12 is down almost 8 percent over the last decade. According to SFIA and Aspen data, low-income households with kids are half as likely to play one day’s worth of team…
Second Baseman Must Back Up Wild Pitches/Passed Balls!
When I do my youth baseball coaching clinics around the country, I always end it with a question and answer session. I try to answer every question I can and if I can’t answer a technical question let’s say on a baseball skill, I will tell the audience that I’m not 100% qualified to answer…
Team Parents Meeting: A Must Have For The Youth Sports Coach
I am fortunate to go around the country each year running a youth baseball coach’s clinic. A small part of my 90-minute presentation covers the importance of running a parents meeting prior to each season. Whenever I follow-up with the organization on how they liked the clinic, I always get the same response. The coaches…