By Brian Gotta, President of Upstart Sports

The first time you go out on the field with your new team can be a little unnerving if you’ve never coached before. You may be an important person in your community and a leader in business, but the prospect of facing a group of six year-old boys and girls has your mouth dry and your palms sweaty. The meeting you had with the CEO at lunch was a breeze, but this? This is intimidating.

The best advice I have for you when coaching small children is to make yourself small as well. When you talk to kids individually, or in team meetings, take a knee. Take two knees. You can even sit in a circle with your players so that you’re more like one of them. Too many coaches ignore this simple technique, consequently, their players always have the feeling they are being “talked down to”, instead of coached. The younger your players are, the more time you should spend on their level. As you know, most things are already kind of big and scary to kids this age. Do what you can to make the coach less big and scary, and they’ll listen, behave and perform better.

The best thing about this technique is how it benefits you. Because when you get down to your players’ level and begin to feel more closely connected with them, you see things from their perspective, and many of the barriers and fears you both may have had in the beginning disappear.

Brian Gotta is a former professional recreational youth baseball coach and volunteer Little League coach and board member. He is President of Help Kids Play, a collection of companies whose mission is to further the development and enjoyment of youth sports.

By Brian Gotta, President of Upstart Sports

There are many kids you’ll coach who don’t have the same skill level as your son or daughter. Though you are probably fairly involved in your child’s sports activities, (as evidenced by the fact that you’ve volunteered to be a coach or manager), many parents are, for whatever reason, not as committed. You’ll have kids on your team who have never played before, or who don’t have as much passion as others. This means that there will be many boys and girls to whom you will be the first instructor, mentor, and coach. In many cases these kids will remember you for the rest of their lives. The rewards for managing a team at this level are many, but the responsibility is great. Keep in mind that, above all else, your mission is to make each child want to come back and play again next year, and you’ll look back on your season as a success, regardless of wins or losses.
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Brian Gotta is a former professional recreational youth baseball coach and volunteer Little League coach and board member. He is President of Help Kids Play, a collection of companies whose mission is to further the development and enjoyment of youth sports.

By Brian Gotta, President of Upstart Sports

I find if interesting to look at the origins of the word, “Coach”. The word originates in England, from “coach” as in “carriage”; a vehicle that transports one from where they are now, to where they want to be. University students in 19th century England likened their instructors to carriages, “guiding” the students through their classes and exams. The word in that sense first appears in the written record in 1848. The “instructor” sense was then applied to sports trainers by 1885. If you hold the belief that your job as a youth sports coach is to transport the children put in your charge from where they are now to where they want to be, you’ll be on your way to great success.
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Brian Gotta is a former professional recreational youth baseball coach and volunteer Little League coach and board member. He is President of Help Kids Play, a collection of companies whose mission is to further the development and enjoyment of youth sports.

By Brian Gotta, President of Upstart Sports

Why are so many parents reluctant to volunteer to coach their son or daughter’s youth sports team? I believe a large reason is that they are afraid of appearing incompetent. Let’s face it, being the coach is putting yourself out there on display in a very public fashion. And since most only measure success in terms of winning or losing, the tension and fear of failure are heightened. However, there is a single, easily attainable goal that any coach can achieve, which would result in their season being judged a success. Here is an article that explains what that goal is, and how to accomplish it.

Brian Gotta is a former professional recreational youth baseball coach and volunteer Little League coach and board member. He is President of Help Kids Play, a collection of companies whose mission is to further the development and enjoyment of youth sports.

By Brian Gotta, President of Upstart Sports

There are many different reasons, some better than others, that people get into coaching. Some do it for the love of sports and because they would like to share their knowledge with others. Some coach for more selfish reasons, because they want to make sure that their sons or daughters have as many advantages as possible. Others sign up for the first time because they see other coaches who are in so far over their heads that they’re sure they would be an improvement. And some people end up coaching because there are simply no other volunteers willing to take the job and they heroically “step up to the plate” and volunteer to carry the equipment bag to practices and games.

Whether you’re coaching for one of these reasons or a combination, whether you’ve ever coached before or not, and regardless of how many years and at what level you’ve played the game yourself, you’ve been given a great responsibility, opportunity, and privilege.

If any of this talk of “responsibility” makes you nervous, don’t let it. It’s mostly a lot of fun. And though there are some fundamentals you’ll want to know and teach to your team, its not that complicated. The four basic cornerstones to this season should be:
1. Keep it safe
2. Make it fun
3. Teach fundamentals
4. Make every player want to come back
That’s it. If you can keep those four goals in mind through every practice and game, you’ll have done a great job.

Brian Gotta is a former professional recreational youth baseball coach and volunteer Little League coach and board member. He is President of Help Kids Play, a collection of companies whose mission is to further the development and enjoyment of youth sports.

By Brian Gotta, President of Upstart Sports

While most kids this age are pretty limber by nature and don’t have much in the way of muscles to pull, it is always a good idea to get them to warm up their throwing arms before every game and practice, and to have them do some stretching exercises. I also recommend you start each practice and game with a short, medium paced jog out to centerfield and back. And though it is unusual to see muscle pulls and strains in six and seven year-olds, it is still a good idea to get them stretching at an early age if nothing more than for the good habits it forms for later. Besides, it’s fun to watch a group of six year-olds in a circle together trying to touch their toes and doing jumping-jacks.

​Brian Gotta is a former professional recreational youth baseball coach and volunteer Little League coach and board member. He is President of Help Kids Play, a collection of companies whose mission is to further the development and enjoyment of youth sports.

By Dan Gazaway

The single best way to improve your bat speed is to work on the sources of your power and bat speed as a hitter. Hitting a baseball well is nothing more than moving the right parts of the body at the right time. Once you understand what parts of your swing mechanics are in charge of creating the most bat speed, you can target those areas with some baseball hitting drills. This is the first part to a three part series of articles that will help explain the three sources of power to your baseball swing. I will provide a good drill for you to use below.

The first source of power to improve bat speed is your back side. It’s a combination of movement of your back knee, thigh and back hip. Before I get into how this movement works, I need to make sure you understand how to maximize this movement. Prior to the pitch, it’s necessary to shift some weight onto your back leg. This “load” process will allow you to rotate your backside with some force IF you have enough weight loaded up on your back leg. Hitters who avoid loading properly won’t have any pressure on their back leg and consequently won’t rotate their back knee, thigh, and hip properly.

Ok, now that you understand what a proper load is, I’ll explain how this rotation occurs. After the pitch is thrown, the hitter begins to rotate his back knee, thigh, and hip toward the pitch. Simply spinning the back leg in a circle without gaining any ground on the pitcher is not effective and will not produce power. All of your baseball hitting drills should focus on taking energy towards the pitch. A good way to make sure you are doing this correctly is to see if your knee cap is closer to the pitcher than before you started your swing.

One good drill to work on is to begin in a pre-loaded position with a batting tee set up in the strike zone. At about 70% of your full swing potential, take some swings working on rotating and taking your back knee towards the pitcher. Keep in mind that it’s absolutely vital to keep your front leg fairly straight when you are doing this movement. A front leg that bends will prevent any power from being transferred into the second step.

When working on your baseball hitting drills on your own, work as long you can remain focused. Once you lose your focus, you’ll lose the intent of what you are working on. Look for Part II in this series next issue.

Dan Gazaway, a seasoned High Performance Coach, is passionately dedicated to guiding student athletes towards excellence, both on and off the field. With an unwavering commitment to coaching spanning 23 years, Dan has been instrumental in helping athletes fuel their minds with confidence and belief in themselves. He takes time to understand every athletes unique needs, current mental makeup and implements correct strategies so they can perform at a much higher level in the shortest amount of time possible. Learn more at www.dangazaway.com

There are many different reasons, some better than others, that people get into coaching. Some do it for the love of sports and because they would like to share their knowledge with others. Some coach for more selfish reasons, because they want to make sure that their sons or daughters have as many advantages as possible. Others sign up for the first time because they see other coaches who are in so far over their heads that they’re sure they would be an improvement. And some people end up coaching because there are simply no other volunteers willing to take the job and they heroically “step up to the plate” and volunteer to carry the equipment bag to practices and games.

Whether you’re coaching for one of these reasons or a combination, whether you’ve ever coached before or not, and regardless of how many years and at what level you’ve played the game yourself, you’ve been given a great responsibility, opportunity, and privilege.

If any of this talk of “responsibility” makes you nervous, don’t let it. It’s mostly a lot of fun. And though there are some fundamentals you’ll want to know and teach to your team, its not that complicated. The four basic cornerstones to this season should be:
1. Keep it safe
2. Make it fun
3. Teach fundamentals
4. Make every player want to come back
That’s it. If you can keep those four goals in mind through every practice and game, you’ll have done a great job.

Brian Gotta is a former professional recreational youth baseball coach and volunteer Little League coach and board member. He is President of Help Kids Play, a collection of companies whose mission is to further the development and enjoyment of youth sports.

By Dr. Patrick Cohn

Coach Brian Gardner of St. Louis, Miss. has coached ice hockey for 10 years and even led one team of 11- to 12-year-olds to a national championship.

Some of Gardner’s players’ parents drive for as long as 1.5 hours to get their kids to the ice rink. That’s a long time for parents to be alone with their kids after a game, says Gardner. Especially if they spend that time talking about the players’ performance.

“A lot of times, parents think more about their kids’ success than the whole team,” says Gardner. The result: They give too much instruction, which can undo Coach Gardner’s lessons and coaching system.

“At the least harmful level, the parents second-guess some of the systems we put in place, such as a power play system. They say ‘You should do this, not what Coach says,’” Gardner relates.

On a more harmful level, parents tell their kids that they played badly. Out of frustration, parents sometimes even suggest to kids they should consider giving up the sport.

This behavior, while well-meaning, is counter-productive to Coach Gardner’s efforts and not helpful for the players, he says.

What exactly is the best way to talk to a young athlete after a game?

First of all, it’s critical to support the coach. You’ll only confuse your child by disagreeing with the coach or offering counterproductive coaching.

Second, you need to encourage your child as often as possible. Even if your athlete’s team lost, you can find something positive to say about his or her attitude, effort or about two or three positive plays. As a sports parent, your goal is to build your child’s confidence—not tear it down.

During the car ride home, you should avoid discussions about what your child did wrong in the game. Young athletes know what they did wrong in a game and don’t need to dwell on it during the car ride home.

Let your athletes cool off after the game for 30 minutes to one hour before jumping in to discuss their performance. Let your child initiate the conversation rather than bringing up the missed pass that cost their team the win. Be as positive as possible.

Award winning parenting writer Lisa Cohn and Youth Sports Psychology expert Dr. Patrick Cohn are co-founders of The Ultimate Sports Parent. Pick up their free e-book, “Ten Tips to Improve Confidence and Success in Young Athletes” by visiting www.youthsportspsychology.com