9&10 yr. old Minor "A" Div.

Hi Sal,

I coach 9s &10s on a select team. The house league here is 5&6yo coach pitch- 5 pitches then hit off tee if they don't hit the ball. 7 yo is coach pitch 3 strikes you're out, no walks, no stealing. 8yo is kid pitch, real baseball rules except-no stealing home and no stealing 1st on a dropped 3rd strike. 9 and up is real baseball rules. This system works well and produces more advanced hitters and pitchers.

Here are some of my thoughts for coaching 9s & 10s in a house league:

The biggest thing you can do for your hitters who are up against kid pitchers for the first time is to teach them to be aggressive at the plate. Don't let them get in the habit of trying to get a walk, as this is a hard habit to break. It's very tempting for coaches to rely on walks to win their games, but it produces timid, overly selective hitters that blame called strikes on the umps. I'm not saying they should swing wildly at anything, but they should be going up to the plate looking for a hit - not a walk.

I would provide plenty of practice time for pitchers and catchers. I would also put a kid with a great glove at third and teach the left fielder to always back up the catchers throw to third. At that age it's hard for the catcher to throw a runner out stealing second, but with a lot of practice you can definately get them trying to take third. :-)

Kathy