Youth baseball is played in approximately 6,500 communities across more than 80 countries around the world, but wherever youth baseball is played in the world, this is a common Little League mission and belief in empowering youth baseball players teaching them life lessons to build stronger individuals within their communities.  

The Big Baseball Picture

Baseball is just a game, and games are meant to be fun.  Sports in general can be impactful vehicles for youth in their character development.  By getting caught up in the little details of the game, especially when a game is on the line, there is a perspective of coaching youth athletes that need to be factored into their growth.  THE PERSON, THE ATHLETE, THE TEAM.

THE PERSON

Encourage Progress

Youth athletes need constructive criticism to improve.  In order to truly factor this improvement, its important to provide specific and truthful praises as well.  In the balance of criticism and praise, youth athletes will be more likely to accept the constructive criticism as a result of building even more confidence from the previous engagement of praise. This provides a realistic sense of where the athlete needs to improve and how to do so.

Prioritize Sportsmanship

Baseball is one of the hardest game to play in the world. The greatest character trait baseball can teach is sportsmanship.  We teach athletes about sportsmanship by explaining what it is and what it’s about, such as: playing fair, being honest, follow the rules, respect officials, teammates, coaches and the opponents. Golden Rule: Treat others as you would like to be treated. 

Keep a Positive Environment

Youth athletes achieve more when they are having fun.  The key here is to keep praising when they do skills well, allowing them to stay loose, only as long as they are still on task to the skill being coached.  Mixing fun and competitive activities with drills in a practice is crucial in building a positive environment while the youth athlete continues to develop. 

THE ATHLETE

BE Specific

Promoting a goal for athletes to learn helps them set both individual and team goals.  Setting specific goals is a great motivational tool for athletes to work in there seasonal play.  We want to foster the intrinsic motivation as a driving force for the ball player, and generally they will feel more motivated and excited.

BE Measurable

Ensuring that athletes track their goals with the coach, allows them to see their progress by still identifying challenges that are attainable, whether as an individual or team.

BE Relevant

As we encourage goals for athletes, question WHY they want to achieve them.  Any goal set should be important to an athlete,and ensuring this goal is attainable will inspire commitment while removing frustration in a tough (higher odds of failure, rather than success) sport of baseball. 

THE TEAM

Show Care

We encourage our CYA ballplayers to be engaged in the community/schools and share stories amongst teammates during games and practices.

Create Autonomy

We allow athletes to make decisions and empower conversations to assume responsibility for their actions, and not rely on the coach to make every in-game decisions and athletes attain more ownership of the game they play.

Avoid Excessive Pressure

We train and support our coaches to not place too much pressure on athletes, trying to pump them up for a game. Oftentimes, added pressures can make the player nervous and afraid to make mistakes.

Mike R. Vives, CYA LL Player Development Coordinator
USA Baseball Coach "B" Certification

References: USA Baseball Youth Baseball Manual, March 2023