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Life Lessons Life Lesson #37: Coaches Pregame Routine Coaches Pregame Routine In conducting coaching clinics before each season, I?ve listened closely to identify the common challenges and situations which cause coaches headaches. One of these mentioned consistently is pregame schedules ? what to do leading up to game time? Pregame is an important time to get players ready to play, both mentally and physically. Realizing that these kids have been cooped up all day at school and that they will be excited to see their ?baseball buddies,? the athletes will undoubtedly be lacking focus once released upon the fields. It?s important to have a structured plan lined up for the kids ? a plan which is easily followed and one that the athletes can quickly learn. Realistically, a coach will have his/her team at the field one hour prior to game time. Using this hour, a coach?s challenge is to maximize available field space and facilities in an effort to optimally prepare his team. Below is a sample itinerary (5pm game time): 4:00-4:15 ? Run / Stretch / Throw 4:15-4:35 ? Repetition Warm Up Pepper Games or Batting Practice (Live vs. Whiffle) Ground Ball / Fly Ball Reps 4:35-4:55 ? Home/Visitor Pregame on the field 4:55-5:05 ? Sprints / Final Team Talk RUN / STRETCH / THROW (RST) This scripted warm up routine warms the athlete?s arms and bodies, done before any baseball related activities are carried out. RST must be started on time and the athletes must respect that punctuality is their responsibility. With such a short time to prepare for the game, every minute is important. As a group, first send the team on a run (R). A typical jog is from one foul pole, along the fence line to the other foul pole, and back. After running, the team now stretches (S). The stretching routine should be carried out as a group, with the team in even lines and a leader at the front of each line. The team can also form a circle, with stretching leaders in the inside of that circle. Create an award, where a player of the game (or two) gets to lead stretching - an easy way to create a positive and competitive atmosphere. Ages 11 and higher should be capable of stretching themselves, allowing a final window of time to prep the field or finalize the lineup. Stretching routines work the body from the feet to the head, with special emphasis on stretching the arms. The final warm up step is throwing (T). Carried out in pairs, you may also want to include a throwing routine (one-knee throwing ? no step ? short toss ? long toss ? quick catch). Again, leaders or a specified coach can lead throwing. BATTING PRACTICE / PEPPER GAMES Depending on field space, the team can warm bats after R/S/T. If open field space is available, batting practice is the best way to warm athletes offensively. Let?s use the typical example that two teams are sharing a single field before a game. Hitters can stand just behind the 1st or 3rd base bag, along the fence line. Hitting out towards the outfield, athletes rotate through live batting practice. If field space is limited, consider using whiffle balls for live BP or soft toss. This keeps kids in smaller area and allows for multiple hitters at one time. Pepper Games are another alternative to live batting practice. Pepper games are carried out with one batter and three to four fielders in each game. Batters are to choke up the bat and use half swings to bat the ball back to the fielders. Fielders are to field baseballs and short-toss strikes back to the batter. A pop-up / line drive caught, or swing and miss signals the rotation of a new hitter. GROUND BALL / FLY BALL REPETITIONS In the case where field space or batting cages are not available, this time can be used to get kids ground ball and/or fly ball reps. Many coaches like to use left field area or down the baselines to crank out rep work. Be sure that you are not tearing up sensitive grass areas, and that kids are broken up into multiple groups to avoid long lines. PREGAME ROUTINE The actual order of pregame will depend on which team is home and which is visitor. Pregame is a chance for teams to get physical repetitions in ground balls and fly balls, and also a time to establish pace, flow and tempo for competition. Truly a time to begin competition, pregame should be crisp and tight, with quick feet and accurate throws. With players at positions, go through scripted routine, with mouths active and hands/feet firing. Start with each outfielder making throws to 2B, 3B and home plate. Always hit cut off men and alternate between fly balls at the athlete, ground balls at the athlete and balls hit to the fence. After outfielders are done, have them join infielders or jog off of diamond and take a knee in front of the dugout. Continue with scripted infield portion, first making plays to 1B, followed by double plays, slow rollers, etc. Finish with the slow rollers or a throw to the plate before having each athlete sprint off the field and join teammates on one knee. When everyone is off the diamond, clear the field for final prep work. SPRINTS / FINAL PREP The last 5-10 minutes are for final preparations. Older athletes (11+) should be encouraged to head down the foul line and run 3-4 sprints. This can be done as leads/breaks, with a coach leading the group and acting as a pitcher. For younger athletes, take this time to address the group, review signs or talk through areas of difficulties. It is a good idea to read through the lineup and starting positions during this time. Be sure then that the lineup is posted clearly and that the pitcher is warming in the bullpen. This example utilizes one hour of time to prepare a team for game competition. It allows athletes to safely get loose physically and mentally, but perhaps most importantly, keeps them busy. After 2-3 games, athletes should be well-versed in times and responsibilities, which will only help with punctuality and execution. With a lineup to make, athletes to warm, umpires to chat with and a field to prepare, there are enough moving parts to drive even the most prepared coach crazy. Having multiple coaches helps immensely, and as a head coach delegate responsibilities to maximize the attention given to the kids. Play Ball!! |
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