Fun League Coach Training April 27, 2014

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Ice Breaker!

Without turning over the paper, have someone help you tape one to your back

Once everyone has one attached, you need to ask each other questions to find out what

famous athlete / sports icon you have

But, before you can ask a question you must introduce yourself

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Contact Information

• Please write your first and last name and include your email

• A number of emails bounced when I first sent them, so I’d just like to confirm

• Please, please, please write legibly :P

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Does Your Hand Writing Look Like This?

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If so, stop what you are doing…

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Pass the paper to the next person…

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And ask them to write for you!

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Executive Director

Phil Thomson Phil@stittsvillesoftball.org

Other board members in attendance

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Timeline

• Noon – 1:30 pm: I will bore you

• 1:30 – 2:00 pm – Lunch

• 2:00 – 4:00 pm – Dave will lead us in an interactive presentation, so be ready to move!

• 4:00 – 5:00 pm Dave and I will be available to answer any questions

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THANKS!

THANKS!!!

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Sharing and Learning

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Social Media

• Twitter – @SMSAsoftball – @SMSAFunLeague – @pthom034

• Facebook

• Stittsville Minor Softball Association

• Join us: Let’s grow our association! • Source of many highlights and

upcoming events!

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Each of us in softball is a part of the game we all enjoy.

We expect all participants to demonstrate courtesy and respect at all times.

Everyone deserves to be treated with dignity. This will be the guiding principle of conduct in this game.

PLAY BALL!

Please visit www.softballontario.ca and follow the

Respect My Game link for more information.

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Respect – Code of Conduct

All parents agreed to the code of conduct when they registered

• Abuse of players, coaches or spectators will not be tolerated

• Consumption of alcoholic beverages is prohibited at City of Ottawa facilities/premises

• Contact Fun League Director with any issues

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Fun League Objectives

Primary:

Be active and have FUN

Everything else: • Build character and self-esteem through sport

• Develop respectful and sportsmanlike conduct

• Work cooperatively as a team

• Learn the fundamental rules of softball

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Role of the Team Coach

Primary Responsibilities: • Develop a practice plan (fun activities and

drills) – we will give you resources, but feel free to branch out and be creative

• Provide guidance and encouragement to the kids

• Manage the Team Equipment Bag

• Get other parents involved: • Snack schedule

• Base coaching

• On-field activities and exercises

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Role of the Team Coach

Responsibilities (cont’d): • Be a role model:

• Get involved and have fun

• Show up on time

• Be respectful

• Maintain a safe environment

• Communicate with the parents

• Remind them about game times and locations

• Have them inform you when they’ll be away

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Anatomy of a Fun League Session T-Ball and

Minor 5-Pitch Major 5-Pitch and

Tyke

Arrival time Set up the field (lock box with bases and tees at each field) and get the kids active

Practice: fun activities and drills

30 minutes 30-45 minutes

Diamond will be shared with another team, so take turns using the infield and outfield

Game time: play against the other team

30 minutes 45-60 minutes

Water Breaks!

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Safety: On-Field

• Young players & siblings + bats = Possibility for an accident

• Helmets must be worn by entire team when batting

• Help kids learn not to throw the bat • Parents can not be in the batting area

• Give a “heads up” about players who

can really hit/throw

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Equipment Supply Who Items

Players & parents Gloves Batting helmets Water

SMSA Shirts and hats for all registered players & coaches

Team equipment bag Bats Balls Catcher’s gear (Major 5 and Tyke only)

Locked storage boxes (at each location)

Bases Tees First-aid kit

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Reasons for Being in Sport

With your table take 2-3 minutes to write down all the reasons children play sport and rank them

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Reasons for Being in Sport

Top 10 Reasons Children Participate in Sport

1. To have fun

2. To improve their skills

3. To stay fit

4. To participate in an activity at which they succeed

5. To have fun competing with others

6. To exercise

7. To be part of a team

8. To compete

9. To learn new abilities

And what do you believe is #10?

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Reasons for Being in Sport

…. #10 To win

We can’t apply adult values to children

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Reasons for Being in Sport

Motivations for Being in Sport • Desire for Achievement – to improve or

master new skills, and pursue excellence

• A Need for Affiliation – to have positive and friendly relations with others

• A Desire for Sensation – to experience sights and sounds, and the physical surroundings

• A Desire for Self-Direction – to have a sense of control or feel in charge of one’s self

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Our Role As Coaches

• With your table write down as many points you can think about in regards to our role as coaches for young children and then rank them in order of importance

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Fundamental Movement Skills

Fundamental

Movement

Skills

The building blocks for the development of physical literacy

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Physical Literacy

What do you believe that means?

Take 2-3 minutes and talk with everyone at your table as to what you believe physical

literacy means

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Fundamental Movement Skills

Physical Literacy

Individuals who are physically literate move with competence in a wide variety of physical

activities that benefit the development of the whole person

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Fundamental Movement Skills

• Individuals – celebrates the unique abilities and characteristics of each person

• Competence – able to perform skills in ways that are optimally proficient for themselves

• Wide Variety of Physical Activities – exposed to a wide variety of physical activities to develop a repertoire of skills

• Whole Person – Physical, cognitive, and social development

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Fundamental Movement Skills

This is a balanced and holistic approach to viewing youth

We are not just individuals who instruct our kids in a specific sport

At a young age it is crucial we help them develop a wide range of movements

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Fundamental Movement Skills

The Fundamental Movement Skills are the building blocks for all future physical activity and by

extension – Sport

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Fundamental Movement Skills

Three Categories of FMS

• Stability and Balance

• Locomotion

• Object Manipulation

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Fundamental Movement Skills

Stability and Balance

• Dodge

• Log Roll

• Stork Stand

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Fundamental Movement Skills

Locomotor

• Hop

• Skip

• Jump

• Run

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Fundamental Movement Skills

Object Manipulation

• Kick

• Dribble

• Overarm Throw

• Catch

• Sidearm Strike

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Fundamental Movement Skills

• The FMS should be taught/learned between

• 0 and 9 years of age

• Critical to establishing the foundation for participation in both sport and physical activity in

general

• Large barriers if FMS are not learned – Less participation in sport and physical activity later in

life

– Barriers for participating in sport experiences and school-based programs

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Long-Term Athlete Development

To improve the quality of sport and physical activity in Canada.

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Fundamental Movement Skills

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Long-Term Player Development

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Long-Term Player Development

What to explain to the parents: • LTPD provides a safe, enjoyable, and progressive path to

help nurture sport and physical activity for children • Seven steps from 0 - ∞ years of age

1. Active Start 2. FUNdamentals 3. Learn to Train 4. Train to Train 5. Train to Compete 6. Learning & Training to Win 7. Living to Win

Active for Life!

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Long-Term Player Development

What to explain to the parents (cont):

• Helps all children to be physically literate (competent in fundamental movement skills for sport and physical activity)

• Recognizes that children play to have FUN

• Is a pathway to excellence from playground or pond to podium

• Allows all Canadians to be physically active through sport and recreation participation

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Long-Term Player Development

• For our kids, we will focus on the

• Active Start (0-6 years)

• FUNdamentals (6-8/9 years)

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Long-Term Player Development

Active Start

• Objective

– Introduce and develop the FMS (i.e. locomotion, object manipulation, stability and balance), while developing physical literacy and self-confidence

• Guiding Principles • Fun, participation, and learning • FMS and sport skills learned

exclusively through games and play – very limited (if any) technical instructon

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• “The Active Start stage is a time to develop a child’s love of being physically active for a lifetime. This involves participating in unstructured play such as riding a bike around the neighhourhood or joining the neighbourhood kids for a game of hide’n’seek as well as structured play such as playing on a softball team. This love of physical activity will help to develop physical, mental, emotional, and social skills and lead to a healthy lifestyle. But at the core, this stage must teach children that being active is fun.”

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Long-Term Player Development

FUNdamentals

• Objectives

– Continue developing FMS and self-confidence

• Guiding Principles

• Fun, participation, and learning

• FMS and sport skills learned through play with limited technical skills

• Practice provides repetition through active play

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• "In elementary and secondary school, I played a number of sports. As an athlete in general, playing other positions gives you more to work towards. There are different demands and disciplines for every sport. Participating in lots of activities helps to make you a better athlete and gives you a broader skill set."

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Sample Practice Plans

• Generally, pre-game will be split into three parts

1. Warm-up

2. Diamond Orientation

3. Main activit(ies)

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Sample Practice Plans

• With your table take 5 minutes to come up

with an activity that focuses on one of the following:

– Throwing

– Catching

– Infielding

– Outfielding

– Batting

– Pitching

Remember to keep it fun and such that almost every player is involved and moving – Don’t forget the FMS

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Warm-Ups

Blob Tag

• A player is deemed “it” and tries to tag others

• Once tagged, other players link arms

• Only outside person(s) can tag others

Shadows

• Two players are “chasers”

• Rest of the players try to run away as chasers try to step on their shadows

• Count how many shadows were caught

• Change chasers often

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Warm-Ups

Smiles and Making Bridges • Tell the kids to:

– Wobble like jello on a plate – Skip like a giant with big boots – Pop like a bursting bubble – Float like a balloon… then POP! – Walk like a giant with a stiff neck – Fly like superman – Wiggle like a worm on the hot ground – Melt like an ice cube in the sun – Move your legs like a pair of scissors – Shake like a wet dog

• Making Bridges – Can you make a bridge with your body keeping both hands and feet on the ground? – Can you make it high? – Can you make it low? Wide? Narrow? – Can you make a bridge keeping both hands and only one foot on the ground?

• Then continue like the first bridge

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Diamond Orientation

• Get the parents involved by having 2-3 kids per adult – try to have parents with different kids than their own

• Have every group start at a different base

• Simply discuss the main bases and their names – keeps have short attention span

• Have them run to bases

that you call out

HAVE FUN !!!!!

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Main Activit(ies)

Pert Gert or Pert Bert • Give each player a ball • Try to see which girl (Pert Gert), or which boy (Pert Bert) can get under their ball and catch it • Have them self toss it up in the air • Give occasional feedback (not every throw) • Emphasis getting feet under ball, glove up and turned properly • See if they can throw it higher each time • Ask them to count how many they catch in a row

– Ask parents to join in and help them count (always match parents with other children)

• If they are older or advanced, have them throw it up in the air away from themselves so they have to run more

Focus on properly wearing glove Focus on getting under the ball

Focus on proper, but basic technique (Please ask for clarification if needed)

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Main Activit(ies)

Powerball

• Give every 2-3 players a ball and have an adult with each group

• First have the players safely throwing to each other – focus is on throwing

• Teach throwing progression, but try not to overload kids with information and feedback

• Then have the kids try to BLAST the ball by throwing it to the coach as hard as they can – with safety in mind. This is the fun part!

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Main Activit(ies)

Champ

• Give every 2-3 players a ball and have an adult with each group

• Have the players throw to each other – focus is on catching

• Every time a partner catches the ball that team gets a letter from C-H-A-M-P

• Competition can be added, but emphasis is on technique and having fun – not winning

• Make bigger words, or harder words, to increase difficulty

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Main Activit(ies)

Gimme 5 • Set up groups of 3-4 and mark out typical base distance:

30-40 feet apart • Players take turns doing an imaginary swing, dropping the

bat safely, and then run AS FAST as possible to the base and give the coach a HIGH 5 as they run through (akin to first base)

Focus on safely dropping bat Focus on basic batting form

Focus on running full speed through the bag and only slow down after

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Resources

• I will be emailing everyone a copy of Dave’s book: The Definitive Guide To Youth Athletic Strength, Conditioning & Performance

• I will be emailing everyone several wonderful articles supplied by Dave

• I will be emailing everyone a PDF of this presentation

• I will be emailing everyone a PDF of practice plans to implement throughout the season, which will also include basic mechanics and focal points to teach the children a variety of softball skills, including:

» Throwing

» Catching / Receiving

» Fielding

» Batting

» Base Running

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Questions?

Executive Director Phil Thomson

Phil@stittsvillesoftball.org

Or any other board member

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Have fun!

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Pitching

• Cautiously move forward • A very complex movement, in a later

specialization sport • If there is confusion or difficulty switching

between over and under hand, wait until later in the season to work on pitching

• All kids should learn to throw under hand, and by extension - pitch