Game days can be a little hectic at first, but you can make it easier by having a bit of a plan to manage youth baseball games:
- Pre-game routine – Make sure your kids put their things in the right dugout when they arrive, and establish some sort of pre-game routine to warm them up. They could throw in pairs and take some ground balls. Whatever structure and consistency you choose will start game day off right.
- Prepare the lineup in advance – Download a copy of this template (or try some more advanced versions at the bottom of this post), but create a lineup to start the game that meets the requirements to give kids equal playing time on the bench and balance between infield and outfield positions. Put your more evolved and aware players at pitcher, catcher and 1B—that’s okay.
- Identify game day roles – Decide who will coach first and third base when you bat. Assign a dugout coach to ensure kids bat in order and reach the right positions. Provide a scorekeeper for the flip chart if you’re the home team. Designate a coach to keep the on-deck batter in the circle away from spectators. Play some roles yourself or delegate to an assistant coach or parent.
- Get catcher ready between innings – Prepare your next inning’s catcher while they’re not batting or on base. Get them in their gear early. This minimizes downtime between innings.
- Coaching is observing – Your kids hear many voices during the game. They struggle to focus on what matters. Keep instructions minimal in the moment. Less is more. These two videos show how to handle coaching effectively.
This is soccer, but same applies… while you will address some things in games, addressing others in the next practice might be better.
If you’ve gotten these down you can also look at this video for some more advanced coaching approaches as you manage youth baseball games like designating someone to be the one voice for hitting, pitching and fielding: