This blog is more than just a blog. It’s a community focused on providing the best information for coaches and parents on teaching children to play teeball. Feel free to check out the site and the about page for further details. Looking forward to a new year and a new season!
Take care,
Cal
Baseball opening day started last week.
Rain and thunder cancelled a teeball practice earlier this week but sunny weather came through today as day one started with opening day followed by our first game.
This reminded me of a cancelled practice last year that I wrote about here.
First game of the season
I wasn’t as prepared for opening day as I’d like to be but the players did great overall.
No matter how much a coach knows about teeball, the coach has to have a lot of patience.
Trying to get the batting order ready, placing the players on the field, and coaching the players to maintain their focus. For this age group, five and six-year olds, they’re still learning.
As long as the players learn to hit, catch, and learn the fundamentals of the game, that’s all I’m really looking for.
As the season goes on, the players will only get better.
Mechanics
Players need to know two basic steps.
There are many steps a player must know but if you really break it down, it is covered in two steps. These two basic steps are the basis for playing the game.
Hitting
A player has to know how to hit. I’ve covered several articles last season about hitting.
If you don’t know, I put a teeball bat in my son’s hands before he even turned two years old.
I wanted my son to play this great game so I started early.
Once a teeball player hits the ball, they’ll run the bases – first base, second base, third base, and then back to home plate.
A teeball player hits off a batting tee. This prepares them as they get older and hit off a pitching machine and then live pitching.
Hitting off a batting tee improves a player’s hand eye coordination.
Once the ball is hit, they’ll run the bases.
Catching
This is an area I wished I would have spent more time on with my son. I took catching for granted.
Catching is very important and plays a critical role. Catching builds a player’s confidence and improves their hand eye coordination.
A player may not always play teeball but other sports also requires catching – basketball, football, dodge ball, and others.
Catching should never be neglected. It only takes a few minutes a day to toss a ball around.
I spent some time on non-practice days this past week to work with my son on catching.
It is frustrating for a player whenever the ball is missed. Reassure the player every time the ball isn’t caught otherwise they’ll get frustrated and not want to play the game again.
I can’t wait for the next day of practice.
How is your season going? I’d love to hear about it.
Take care,
Cal
Practice started this week for my team.
I’m sure practice is starting for many teams especially since Major League baseball season also started last week.
To help you get the season started, I highlighted a few posts I previously wrote. These will help your player get their season started as the season begins.
Remember the key point is to make teeball fun. Don’t force a child to play. Find something they like and offer that as a reward. It doesn’t have to be a toy. It can be a treat, take them to the playground, and plenty of others.
If you force your player, they’ll have a bad feeling about this great sport.
Take it easy with them and slowly give them a little push when they don’t have the enthusiasm to play on some days. Trust me. It’ll happen.
Try to find a reward to encourage them to play on some days. It’ll make things easier for you.
Here are some older posts I recommend:
http://teeballbaseballblog.com/buying-baseball-pants/
http://teeballbaseballblog.com/little-tikes-totsports-t-ball-set-review/
http://teeballbaseballblog.com/every-player-should-have-their-own-teeball-bat/
http://teeballbaseballblog.com/start-out-with-a-plastic-teeball-bat/
http://teeballbaseballblog.com/category/girls-teeball/
http://teeballbaseballblog.com/tee-ball-practice-drills/
Be sure to pass this post on to others you know who may be interested.
I’m sure there are a few parents who have questions but never have a chance to ask.
First teeball set
Take care,
Cal
Things have been busy lately with my day job so my blogging took a back seat. I’ll update you on what’s been going on and provide you with a few tips as the teeball season is about to begin.
If you play fantasy baseball I’m sure you can relate to this. I just finished picking my team in a draft with a few other coaches. I didn’t recognize any names on the list other than my son’s name.
I quickly picked players who ranged in ages 4 years 11 months to 6 years old. For the league that I coach, players are in the five and six-year-old age group.
For this age group, most players may have a year or two of teeball experience and I’m sure there are a few who have never played before. So I have to find a balance when I start practice in a few weeks. The key point is to keep every player engaged or they’ll get bored easily.
While drafting players, I didn’t waste any time and quickly picked a range of boys and girls for the team. Since I didn’t recognize any names from the previous year, I just selected the players.
In most drafts especially in professional sports, most players have a history in the sport that they play in. Since the teeball players are still young, they have a lot of years to improve on their performance. I plan to get them off to a good start as we begin the season.
Teeball stretches
These are not your ordinary stretches you would expect. There’s a lot of movement in teeball that requires agility. These are a few drills I did when I was a kid and you would never really think these were drills you would do for teeball.
Crossover drill
In this drill a player moves laterally to the left or right. While standing straight, a player will move to the side instead of moving forward as you do when you walk.
I recommend using cones or an object so players know how far they have to go to do this drill. For young players I recommend 15 feet. As players get older the distance increases.
This is not a race but it’s a drill to get the legs and hips warmed up. A lot of teeball movement makes players move to their left and right as they play the field trying to catch the ball.
Arm and shoulder rotation
In this drill, a player will loosen his arm and shoulder.
This allows the player to get their arms prepared to throw the ball and swing the bat; these are two important parts of playing teeball.
Run the bases
I like to start and end the practice with players running the bases. This gets the routine in the player’s mind the direction they need to go after they hit the ball. It’s also a good warm-up and cool down exercise.
I wanted to get this post out so you can incorporate them in your practice and drills.
Do you have any tips you want to share? I’d love to hear them.
Take care,
Cal
Michell Zehr is a contributing writer for Gold Star Games, your tailgating games company.
Every child has a role-model. Whether they aspire to be a baseball player, football player or hockey player, every child has a professional athlete that they want to be just like when they grow up. In Major League Baseball, the pickings for role models seem to slim. In the age of performance enhancing substances, it is hard for children to pick a role model that their parents approve of. Here are a list of some of the top baseball role models in the past decade.
Who is your favorite baseball role model?
