Levels of Achievement and a Warm Welcome

I would like to welcome all coaches to our new Virginia Baseball Club blog! We thank you for visiting, and hope you find it very useful for your upcoming season. We encourage you to share your thoughts in the comments section located at the bottom of the page.

For our first post, we have chosen to post the "Levels of Achievement" written by coach Mike Murray. This is a guideline for the mental, physical, and social development of the youth league baseball player. It contains goals specific to each level. The coach should incorporate these skills in designing his or her practice outlines. Strive to teach players all of these aspects (within a level) by the end of the season. Of course, each player varies in their cognitive, physical, and social development. Some players may exceed these stages and some may need more time to comprehend the skills.
The skill sets listed below are described in detail in the VBC Complete Baseball Coach’s Handbook. The VBC offers year-round instructional programs to help players develop and master these skill sets. The VBC offers an annual youth baseball coach’s clinic each February.

Note: This post represents only a portion of the Levels of Achievement. For guidelines for older players, please scroll to the next post and find the heading for the group you are interested in.

TEE-BALL/ COACH PITCH LEVEL (ages 5-6)

SAFETY
1) Never pick up a bat unless instructed to by the coach.
2) Never throw a ball to a person unless the person has a mitt and is looking at you.
3) The on-deck batter should stay in bench area when his team is at bat until the play is over.
4) Do not “pile-on” or grab for a ball that a teammate is fielding. (like telling dogs not to chase cats - we were most successful with this when telling the kids of this age to stay on their feet at all times when fielding the ball)
5) Never throw the bat after hitting, always place it on the ground.
MENTAL ASPECTS:
1) Ability to sit on bench during team at-bat, pay attention to game, and know when it is their turn to hit.
2) Ability to pay attention in the field and consistently see ball off bat.
3) Know to throw the ball to 1st base when it comes to them (or designated pitcher/parent).
4) Know each base by name.
5) Know each position by name.
6) Know the names of teammates and coaches.
7) Know the following baseball terms: foul line, fair ball, foul ball, dugout, single, double, triple, home run, on-deck.
SOCIAL ASPECTS:
1) Cheer for teammates when they are at bat.
2) Acknowledge good plays by teammates and players on opposing team.
3) Shake hands with opponents after game.
4) Do not tease or taunt players on opposing team.
5) Acknowledge that they, not others, are in complete control of their actions, so do not over-react to teasing or taunting if it does occur. THIS SHOULD BE TAUGHT AT EVERY LEVEL, THAT YOU ARE NOT A PUPPET FOR OTHER PEOPLE TO PULL YOUR STRINGS.
6) Thank coaches after practice and games.
PHYSICAL ASPECTS:
1) Hitting
a) Consistent stance: in relationship to home plate, wide (yet comfortable) stance.
b) Level swing-path through the ball.
c) Ability to make consistent contact.
d) Hold on to bat with both hangs throughout swing.
e) Ability to keep balance during swing.
NOTE: Coaches, make sure Tee is placed in front of the plate and no higher than the belt. Most tees are designed with the stem in the middle of the plate, which is the incorrect contact point of contact. Players will have much more success if the tee is placed six inches in front of their front foot.
2) Base Running
a) Know the names of the bases.
b) Run to first base after hitting the ball.
c) When on base, run to the next base when the batter hits the ball.
d) Know to run full speed and all the way to base. This is one that has to be worked on – seems about 5% of kids run full speed,
e) Learn to not pass runners in front of them.
3) Fielding
a) Ability to catch a ball thrown by a coach from 20’-30’.
b) Ability to field easy ground balls – start by teaching players to move feet so that ground ball rolls between feet, then put glove to the ground.
c) Catch a ball above the waist with glove fingers up. Catch a ball below the waist with the fingers down.
4) Throwing
a) Learn to rotate glove side shoulder to target before the throw. Start by standing sideways, instead of facing target.
b) Step toward target.
c) Consistently make accurate throws from 20’-30’.

SINGLE A LEVEL (AGE 7-8-MACHINE/COACH PITCH)
Prior to the season review the stages of development for T-Ball (including safety). You may want to dedicate the first few practices to review. We highly recommend that coaches/leagues begin to teach pitching and catching to players at this age during practice. Hold special weekly practices (or pre- or post-practices) for players who would like to learn how to pitch or catch.

MENTAL ASPECTS:
1) Knows the names of positions and role of each position.
2) Knows the meaning of the following terms: strike, ball, strike zone, out, force play, tag out.
3) How outs are made: strike out, force out, catch ball in air, and tag out.
4) What is a run and how they are scored.
5) How to get on base: Hit, Error, Fielder choice, Walk, and hit by pitcher
SOCIAL ASPECTS:
1) Learn and practice methods of coping with own mistakes and teammates’ mistakes. Learn to “pick each other up” after a mistake.
2) Demonstrate respect for teammates, umpires, and opponents. (Absolutely no teasing).
3) Learn to be persistent in effort.
4) Thank the umpire and coach after each game/practice.
5) Acknowledge that they, not others, are in complete control of their actions, so do not over-react to teasing or taunting if it does occur. THIS SHOULD BE TAUGHT AT EVERY LEVEL, THAT YOU ARE NOT A PUPPET FOR OTHER PEOPLE TO PULL YOUR STRINGS.
PHYSICAL ASPECTS:
1) Base Running
a) Know to run through first base, touching the foul-side of first base.
b) Know when they are forced to run and when they are not forced to run.
c) React properly to a ball hit in the air.
d) Learn to not run into outs.
e) Learn how to slide into a base.
2) Hitting – Be careful to not over-coach!
a) Proper stance: wide feet (yet comfortable), knees bent, elbows below hands, relaxed with some movement. – most kids will do these naturally.
b) Practice seeing the ball to the bat
c) Level swing-path through the ball
d) Balanced during and after swing
e) Make consistent contact.
3) Fielding
a) Learn ready position.
b) Ability to play catch with a teammate at 25’-30’ (ten throws without the ball touching the ground).
c) Ability to field easy ground balls and then throw the ball to first base or for force play.
d) Consistently use proper glove position to catch ball at upper body (fingers up) or below waist (fingers down).
e) Turn glove to backhand on balls to throwing arm side.
f) Move feet to catch or field balls hit or thrown to right and left.
g) Second/Short know when to cover 2nd and when to be cutoff man on a hit to outfield. Outfielders know to throw to cutoff person and not a base.
4) Throwing
a) Ability to consistently hit target from 30’-35’
b) Rotate shoulders when throwing – turning throwing hand away from head before throwing.