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Top 10 Bonehead Coaching 'Flaws'
 Phil Rognier After 40+ years experience coaching and teaching baseball of all levels, Phil Rognier created the FirstSwing Foundation to help kids get their first swing at organized baseball. As Executive Director of FirstSwing, Phil has been involved in baseball since 1947 and has created a FUN and exciting educational curricula that teaches the fundamentals and mechanics of the game(s) as well as incorporating the essence of being a good solid productive citizen. The mission of the foundation is to teach youngsters the proper way to throw, hit, field, run, and condition, as well as the concepts of decision-making, problem-solving, responsibility/accountability, work ethic, manners (yes manners!), integrity, courage, and all the other important traits of a solid citizen and future spouse and parent! Phil played college and professional baseball, has a Masters Degree in Education and has developed educational curriculum programs for youth and professional players and has directed and consulted youth camps for the past 20 years. Phil, we are happy to report, has been one of WebBall's most enthusiastic advocates for a number of years, and FirstSwing is among those contributing to WebBall's own charity efforts. www.firstswingcamps.com (Click to close.)
Baseball has a history of "bonehead plays" (Merkle, Lindstrom, Owens, et al) and there are even more "bonehead flaws" that occur EVERY year in youth baseball. These are considered bonehead because once you think about and analyze each, it will be obvious that they are really just common sense concepts that need to be understood and corrected! As a coach it is your obligation and responsibility to avoid these flaws at all costs, and provide a safe, educational, and FUN environment for the team and ALL its players. Remember these are just the Top 10…there are many more…BE AWARE!!
1Talking Talking is not coaching! Minimize it and show the players; reinforce the teaching with repetition and drills. "Throw strikes" will not teach a pitcher how to pitch better, but showing him will. Talking wastes time and there is not much available for practice! 2 Your child is the reason you're coaching Great, BUT… you must treat all the team as yours and you have an obligation to provide equal attention and opportunity to them. Nepotism died with the monarchy! 3 Trying to win the trophy at any cost Youth sports is for the KIDS and not about "hardware". Smiles are the trophies!!! 4 Coaches win youth games & championships Nope…the team with the studs wins! If you really are a championship coach you will teach the basics and do them over and over and over again! 5 You can 'wing it' because they're 'just kids'. You are a role model teaching "life’s little lessons" and preparation/organization is most important. NOTE: "Do not throw to warm up, warm up to throw." Have a plan! 6 Yelling is coaching Yelling shuts youngsters down and is unnecessary. Teaching is coaching and respect for others is imperative! 7Hidding 'weak little Johnny' helps the team win Every player is different and deserves an opportunity. 'Little Johnny' may not be a star but you can teach him to be a player. Be fair and patient! 8 Long practices improve the team Players have short attention spans and do not learn nor perform after 60 minutes or so. Keep them all busy for 45-50 minutes, do conditioning, recap, and send them home. Require homework to GET GOOD!! 9 You need a regulation field to practice You can practice anywhere. Baseball is a game of individual skill sets and players improve with repetition. Practice can be in a park, back yard, anywhere. Be creative! 10 You can coach the team by yourself Why? Utilize parents, siblings, volunteers, etc. The more "coaches" the better! It is not rocket science and the more individual attention youngsters receive the faster they will learn/improve. The assistants do not need to know the game if you are a COACH! REMEMBER: "Fun first, skills second, winning a very distant third!" Reader Commentary: 3 responses | WebBall members are invited to comment.
Walt Baker says:
Chad Newman says:May 25, 2007 at 6:36 AM I totally agree, coaching is about building relationships and character. Not to mention ball players!
Apr 19, 2009 at 6:40 PM These are great tips. I received an asst. who was ticked off he was not the head coach. There was a conflict between us two. When the game was going on all we did was yell. Now that I have taken control of the situation and still pounding the fundamentals and encouraging every chance I get. They are playing 5 times better even though they are still not winning they are having a blast!! SMILES everywhere
May 18, 2009 at 5:16 PM This is great information to practice. I wish more coaches would commit to this. I took a class before the season called Character Count. They put the importance on teaching the kids winning. I am a instructional type coach. Winning comes with teaching fundamentals, consistency and repetition. I was told I was not suitable to be the all-star coach because I did not have the winning drive. But my grandson is the best fundamental 7 and under player on the team.
Thanks for helping my grandson's Baseball skills development.
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