Before we can think about how to structure a well-run Tee-Ball practice we need to first understand the perspective of the kids. For them
Tee-Ball is just another version of tag. Playing tag is almost a daily rite for kids ages 5-7. In this case the goal is to hit the ball and be safe at a base. Being ‘safe’ is the central thought for these kids; not their throwing skills, not their batting skills, not their fielding skills –
just getting to a base and being safe is a big deal.
As we get into teaching skills and the basics to the kids, we must keep in mind that elements of 'tag' and being 'safe' will drive much of how the kids respond to activities on the field.
The concept of playing tag on a baseball diamond does not end with Tee-Ball. If we watch kids, up through the age of 9-10, we will see that they too are playing tag. At the older levels, the base runners are faster and bolder.
They recognize the difficulty the defense has in throwing the ball accurately, catching it and then getting a tag on a base or a runner. Many of those kids are looking for any opportunity to
run to the next base and be ‘safe’ before they can be ‘tagged’ (see the Coaches page – ‘Aren’t We Playing Tag?’)
On offense, when the ball is in play, the kids' experience is a mad dash of anxiety in hopes of getting to the next base "safely". They are not particularly conscious of times when they are going to get to the next base without a play being made on them. Some kids, because of the fact that when they are running between bases they are not 'safe' will be reluctant to leave a base even when there is a runner coming up behind them from the previous base.
The defensive side of the ball is where the majority of our teaching challenges lie. For these kids this game of tag is a little more complicated because catching, throwing and catching that darn ball doesn't always work out real well. For most kids on defense, simply being the one who comes up from the bottom of the pile with the ball is plenty to call it a successful day.
Our goal as coaches (and the many parents that help out at each practice and game) is to for the kids to gain an understanding that there are three bases and home plate, which need players to cover. One player gets the ball initially, but that player is going to toss the ball to another player at a base. Over the course of the game, everyone will get to handle the ball plenty
Next we need to recognize a few realities of this level of play:
1. This is not baseball
2. The kids can’t catch
3. The kids will find interests other than baseball during practice (and games)
Please do not view these statements as negatives. Accepting that these points are true and being prepared to experience these points each day on the field with the kids will enable us all to enjoy the experience so much more.
This is Not Baseball
If, as a Tee-Ball coach, we go into the season thinking we are going to experience baseball we are setting ourselves up for a lot of frustration and disappointment. If we approach the season for what it is, spending time with our child and their friends, watching them run around, laugh while they work to develop skills to catch, throw or hit that little ball then we can have a great time as coaches.
Keep in mind that as adults we are going to the park thinking ‘baseball’, while the kids are going to the park thinking
‘I get to see my friends and run around a lot’. We want to see the activity from a kid’s perspective and teach and manage them within their perspective. We want to recognize that the activities at the park are not always going to look like baseball. However,
given the ideas in this section, over time, we can be successful in helping our kids learn the game and develop some skills over time.
The Kids Can’t Catch
Scientific research has determined that the human brain, on average, does not develop the capability to coordinate both eyes in what is called ‘binocular vision’ until around age 7 or 8. Until both eyes learn to work together we humans lack a keen sense of depth perception, which plays a big role in catching a flying baseball. It is important recognize that, short of a few exceptions,
kids this age have not developed the motor skills required to catch a flying ball with much proficiency.
In addition to the lack of brain and motor skill development needed to execute this skill; the fact is that most have had very little experience or practice in this skill. Ideas and activities to help kids develop this skill are discussed in this section. As the spring progresses the kids hey will improve and they will begin to catch the ball more often. The most important thing is that we adults go into our tenure as Tee-Ball coaches with a clear understanding of the physical limitations of kids in this age group.
The kids will find interests other than baseball during practice
We can give our kids a glove, a bat, take them to a ball field and talk about baseball until we are blue in the face, but this is no guarantee that our kids will be thinking baseball the whole time they are at the park. Other things they will find of interest include: other kids to poke, grab, talk to, and chase; bugs, dirt, birds, airplanes, fire trucks, etc. These all can and will trump baseball in importance at times during a practice or game. Adults who recognize these realities, accept them and work baseball in along the way will enjoy their time with the kids much more. Coaches who resist accepting the reality of the Tee-Ball world will experience high levels of frustration, bewilderment and blood pressure.
Goals for the Season
1. The kids learn that their legs power their bodies; that moving their feet is the key to playing in the field and that controlling head movement is a big factor in successfully hitting and throwing a ball.
2. They come to recognize that “Baseball is a Game of Movement”. On defense when they are not playing the ball they have to cover a base or back up a throw. They always move somewhere the moment the ball is put into play. (see the Defensive Responsibilities page - ‘Infield Base Coverage’)
3. They remain active and having fun at all times that they are on the field (especially during practices, which always conclude with them scrimmaging). We want them to leave the field each day having had a blast. And at the end of the season express a Desire to Sign-up and Play Again Next Season.
In the end,
our primary purpose as Tee-Ball coaches is to help the kids develop a love of the game and create an environment that leads to them wanting to continue playing the game. (We need to get the kids to stick around until age 8-9. At that time the game begins to resemble something like ‘baseball’. Kids who make it to this age are likely to continue on with the game to age 12 ...and hopefully beyond.)
Skills We Want to Focus On
Throwing and Receiving Throws
As noted above, kids this age are going to struggle with catching a thrown ball …so how do we deal with this issue? First, when teaching and providing feedback we keep our remarks focused on the actions of catching not the result. If we focus on the result we very rarely will have the opportunity to give the kids praise. When we focus on actions we can praise their efforts most every time.
Receiving (catching) a throw has three key action points:
1. “Ready Position” (moving from a standing position to a Ready Position is and action)
2. ”Move Your Feet to Catch”
3. ”Reach Forward to Catch
Any child on your team can perform these three fundamental skills every time, though they will not likely catch the ball very often. When they perform these actions in their attempt to catch, we can praise those actions and they will remain eager to keep trying ...and will make progress faster in their skill development.
“Ready Position”
Instruct he players to stand with their feet wider than shoulder width and with their hands (and elbows) held out in front of their body. This stance is difficult for a child because of their lack of leg and shoulder strength, but they can do it. However, we will need to remind them over and over and over again. Saying, “
Ready Position” is one of the primary things we will be doing when coaching Tee-Ball.
“Move Your Feet to Catch”
We want to remind our kids that the ball does not always come straight to them. They will need to “Move Their Feet” in order to take their hands to the ball to catch it. We “Move Our Feet to Catch”; we “Catch the Ball with Our Feet”.
“Reach Forward to Catch”
When a player (at any age) extends their arms and hands out in front of them; not necessarily ‘in front of their face’, but in front of the space occupied by their body. The result is they have both the ball and their glove in their line of sight. This positioning of the glove, within the player’s line of site, and gives the brain a better chance of coordinating the glove with the ball. Most young children, because of the lack of shoulder strength to support the weight of their arms (and the glove), hold their glove (and elbows) close to their body when preparing for, and attempting to make, a catch.
Important Note: We will often see the kids position their glove outside their shoulders when attempting to catch. They recognize they will often miss the ball and are smart enough to not stand directly in the flight of the ball. However, a child can still extend their glove out ‘in front’ of where their standing and not have their glove directly in front of them.
Throwing at this age is not going to look pretty early on for most kids. Not much at this age will look pretty, but it all is cute and fun if we adults see the game of Tee-Ball from the proper perspective.
Before teaching throwing we need to clarify a misconception that most every kid (and many adults too) has; they think the ball is thrown with their arm. We need to state emphatically to the kids, “You don’t throw the ball with your arm!” “…you
throw the ball with your legs, by ‘
Moving Your Feet to Throw’”.
First, explain to the kids that when they are preparing to throw they want the ‘glove side’ of their body pointing at their target - NOT their chest. Next they want to lift their elbows up to shoulder height and point their glove elbow at their target (or, if it’s easier, have them point their glove). They are now in a "Power Position" (a term found throughout the rest of the Coaching Guide on this site) Now they are ready to throw…
We instruct them to shuffle towards their target (“Move Your Feet”), with their head pointing at their target (“Your head is your steering wheel”). After a couple of shuffle steps they pull their glove elbow back and snap their throwing arm and hand toward their target. The teaching phrase is, “
Shuffle, Pull, Snap”.
It will take a couple days for the kids to do two things at once: shuffle their feet and throw the ball ('walking and chewing gum'), but they will get it and the result will be stronger and more accurate throws. (We will need to stretch out the distance between the kids playing catch with each other).
Note: given the fact that this age group will have great difficulty catching the ball, the ideal practice scenario involves each player having an adult (mom or dad) as their throwing partner. Yes, you read correctly;
we should strive to have a 1:1 adult-player ratio at Tee-Ball practice. Parents, how long will our kids be this small and cute? We can make 60 minutes a day, a couple days a week, to spend time with our own child.
If we find that each child does not have an adult to play catch with it is critical that we immediately establish this very important rule with the kids, “NO CHASING MISSED THROWS!!!” If we allow kids to chase missed throws our practices will turn into kids chasing balls instead of developing skills. The solution is to have an adult or two behind each row of kids playing catch. These adults have a half a dozen balls in hand and when the kids miss the throw, those adults give them a new ball. (We don’t throw the ball to them – they can’t catch. We roll the ball to them or gently toss it to them on a bounce.)
Note: This practice is not unique to Tee-Ball. I have parents positioned behind 12 year olds while they are playing catch. The same rule applies, ‘
No chasing missed throws’ …this is the biggest time waster and skill development killer in the game of baseball and softball for kids aged 12 and below.
Receiving Throws at a Base
First we need to explain to the kids that the “The base belongs to the runners”. Kids on defense think if they are the first, second, or third baseman that the base is theirs. One of the first things they do when they go out to the field is stand on ‘their’ base.
A quick way to educate the kids is to take them over to a base (first or third is best). We stand at the first or third baseman’s position (approximately 10’ away from the base). We tell them “I am the first/third baseman”, and then we point at the base and ask, “Who does that base belong to?” Their response will be “The first/third baseman’s!!!” (kids love to show us how much they know). Then we go stand on the base and ask them, “I am the first/third baseman. When I stand on the base, am I safe?” They will give you a silent and bewildered look. Then ask them again, “Who does the base belong too?” Hesitantly, and likely in a much softer voice, one or two will say, “The base belongs to the runner?” – BINGO! …the base belongs to the RUNNER, NOT the fielder.
With that clarified we teach them where the defensive players’ positions are, and then we can teach them how to take a throw at a base.
Positioning: we want the first an third baseman to position themselves 10’ from the base. DO NOT tell them a distance (they will start doing a heel to toe measurement from the base to their position), tell them to stand “Four Giant Steps” away from the base when the batter is getting ready to hit. Have the shortstop and second baseman stand half way between the corner base and second base (maybe err a step toward second base from halfway). This is not 'regular' baseball positioning (remember: this is not regular baseball). The reason we position them exactly between the bases is addressed below.
Defensive Responsibility: When the ball is hit, if you are not fielding the ball, you run to the base to get ready for the throw. (see the Defensive Responsibilities page - ‘Infield Base Coverage’) RULE: “The defensive player is NOT allowed to touch the base until they have the ball”. The defensive player stands ‘near’ the base (the foot closest to the base can be within a few inches, but does not touch the base when waiting for a thrown ball). At that spot they stand in a “Ready Position”, NOT a stretch position.
Note: College and pro first baseman do not stand in a stretch position when they arrive at the base (not all teenage and high school first baseman have been taught how to properly take a throw at their base). They stand in a “Ready Position”. It is not until the ball is in the air, on its way to the base, and the first baseman sees that the throw is accurate that they move to a stretch position (many adults are not aware of this, either).
It is understood that early in the year most of the kids on defense will want to attack the ball and will not recognize that some/many balls that are hit, are not 'theirs'. The 'positional movement' drills will start the kids on their way to recognizing that one infielder gets the ball an the other infielders cover a base.
We then go back and review what the kids are being taught when playing catch: “Move Your Feet to Catch”. We add the point that they need to “Get the ball first, and then get the base second”’. We tell them “The ball is the key to the base”. Without the key, they are not allowed to touch the base. (This is not only a rule that frees them to move away from the base to catch the ball, it is also a safety issue. When a defensive player is standing on the base, there is a collision with the base runner waiting to happen.)
Safety (and fun) Point: When the kids tag a base we tell them to ‘stomp’ on the base. They think this is a lot of fun, but more importantly it has a safety component. A player cannot run and stomp the base at the same time. In order to stomp on the base they must slow down. When we have the defensive player slow down to ‘stomp’ on the base we minimize the chances of the defensive player and the base runner running into each other.
Batting
The first statement we want to make to Tee-Ball kids (not to mention most other kids age 12 and under) is, “You don’t swing the bat with your arms”. Why?” …because you don’t. Nearly 100% of kids think (and many adults too) that the arms power the movement of the bat. The fact is that the majority of the effort in moving the bat comes from the legs. (Watch the baseball highlights on TV tonight. Only look at the batters from the waist down …you’ll see that there is a lot happening there.)
The most basic teaching point to convey to a young batter is that “Your legs swing the bat”. We teach them to think of their legs as a spring. They want to turn their knees back towards the ‘catcher’ a few inches (like they are compressing a spring) and then turn their legs and feet as fast as they can to start the swing. Their legs ‘Turn back, then TURN FAST!” ..then they snap the bat with their wrists to finish the swing*. While they do these movements we instruct them to “Keep Your Head in Place”. (When watching the batters on the TV baseball highlights tonight notice that when they are in their stance their head is centered between their feet and at the completion of the swing their head is still centered between their feet.
Note: the phrase ‘keep your eye on the ball’ is incomplete; we must also include (or replace with) the teaching phrase, “Keep Your Head in Place”. The last, but not least, point is that when a child stands at the Tee they want their front foot even with the ball/tee stem, their feet wider than shoulder width apart and we should be able to draw a straight line from their back toes to their front toes to the pitching rubber. (see the League Leadership page - 'Herding Cats' )
The kids’ swings will be far from perfect. We are not looking to produce perfect swings in Tee-Ball. We want to work to achieve
‘Goal #1’: they come to recognize that their legs power their movements.
Fielding
Watch the baseball highlights on TV tonight and take note of the players fielding and throwing the ball …watch their FEET. You will notice they “Move Their Feet” to get to the ball, they get their “Feet Wide (apart) to Catch” the ball and they “(shuffle) Move Their Feet to Throw” the ball. Fielding and throwing is all about footwork and “Moving the Feet”. (Occasionally the pro players, in situations where they need to make short, quick throws, will not move their feet to throw, but they are generating most of the power for their throws in their legs.)
When working with kids on their fielding skills we want to be using the word ‘Feet’ and the phrases ‘Move Your Feet’ and ‘Feet Wide’ constantly, all day, every day, all season long.
The cadence in fielding and throwing is ‘Fast, Slow, Fast’. We want the kids to run (move their feet) ‘Fast’ to the ball, ‘Slow’ down (and get their “Feet Wide”) to catch the ball, and then move their feet ‘Fast’ (shuffle) to throw the ball.
Note: when delivering ground balls in practice, don’t use a bat; instead throw or roll ground balls. It is difficult to consistently hit the ball accurately and at the correct speed when using a bat. We can consistently place the ball where we want it and deliver it at an appropriate speed when throwing or rolling ground balls. This technique is used in college practices around the country and in pro spring training drills for the reasons mentioned above. If throwing/rolling a ground ball is appropriate at the college and pro level it surely is OK at the Tee-Ball level. We can make it through the entire Tee-Ball season and never hit a ball with a bat …and we will be hugely successful in getting kids the good repetitions they need to develop their skills.
Practice Structure
“Kids don’t sign up to practice baseball, they sign up to PLAY baseball” – we want to incorporate a 50/50 practice which ensures that practice will be FUN every day and the result will be the kids wanting to go back to the park to play again. A 50/50 practice means that 50% of the practice time is drills and 50% of (every) practice is playing a game.
Skill and Drills Session (50% of practice)
Start practice with the entire team in a group and take the kids through their batting, throwing and receiving throws drills (see the Video page). This segment is limited to five minutes or less. The kids are not going to ‘get it’ right away and that doesn’t matter. What is important is to expose them to the teaching, get them a few reps and then keep things moving along. Over time they will learn the skills.
Next divide the kids into three groups (if your team has eight or fewer players, you can have two groups) and have three skills stations:
Station 1: Playing Catch
Station 2: Batting
Station 3: Fielding
Note: at this age the kids do not need to ‘warm up their arms’ before participating in other activities. The group drills session at the start of practice will get them plenty ‘warm’.
Station 1: Playing Catch
Described above; we also have them work on their Underhand Toss skills (see the Skill Building Warm-up page, Fielding – Underhand Toss). Ultimately, most throws in Tee-Ball will be underhand given the short distance of most of the throws. Note: Major League players throw the ball underhand a half dozen or more times every game. The ‘underhand toss’ is a major league play.
Station 2: Batting
Ideally we have two Tees available and use whiffle balls. We have two kids batting and 1-2 kids chasing the balls (they LOVE chasing the balls). When using whiffle balls two kids can hit at one time and nobody will get hurt if a flying whiffle ball hits them in the side of the head. When two kids hit at the same time, the team as a whole, over the course of a practice, gets twice as many swings – every day. Note: make sure the two tees are at least 15’ apart so the batters don’t hit each other with a bat.
Station 3: Fielding
Fielding Drills: 20’ Ground Balls, 'Two Player, One Base' Drills, ‘Double Plays’, Rollers, Fly balls (toss drills – the kids can’t catch the fly balls but they LOVE trying!) …and the ‘Infield Base Coverage Responsibilities Drill’
(These drills are found on the ‘Skill Building Warm-up’ page and the ‘Drills’ page.)
After about eight minutes rotate the kids to the next station; the total time for the batting, throwing and receiving throws drills segment and the three stations will take 30 minutes, then scrimmage for 30 minutes …Then the kids are free to have wrestling match.
Game (50% of practice)
When we play a game we have six players on defense - there is no need for outfielders in Tee-Ball (see the League Leadership page “Herding Cats”). The other kids are on offense. We have a batter and runners on first base and second base. “Start with runners on first and second? That’s not real baseball!” – exactly, this isn’t real baseball. It’s a bunch of highly energized little, itty-bitty kids playing a glorified game of tag. What makes more sense?: telling a five year old to ‘sit and wait’ in the dugout or to put two of them out on the bases and tell them to “RUN!”
* Childhood Motor Development
by Joseph Lao, Ph.D.
…Catching balls takes a little longer, (typically an additional 3-4 years), i.e., until 5-7 years of age. During infancy children can only catch large balls rolled directly at them. If a smaller ball is thrown directly at them they tend to close their eyes, turn their heads, and stiffly extend arms and legs. It is not until about seven years of age that children develop the capacity to track flying objects, make appropriate leg and body adjustments, and prepare their arms, hands and fingers quickly enough to catch a three inch ball.
Note: I have read other articles, written by child development researchers that state that eight is the age that kids become better able to judge and catch.
Drills/Source: http://www.baseballpositive.com/tee-ball/
MLB officials thought they addressed this issue with the RBI initiative, which established youth leagues in underserved areas. Jimmy Rollins is the product of NorCal Baseball, one of the most successful, respected and inclusive travel-ball organizations in the country. When he was asked by the New York Daily News about the impact of RBI, he gave an answer that is both piercing and sad:
