1. RAAA In-House Baseball 2019 Coaches’ Briefing
Matt Norris, Program Director
Tyler Young, Rules & Umpires Director and Coordinator

2. Agenda Rules Weather Cancellations Behavior
Field Boxes & Equipment Care
Coaching Resources
Pitching Machines – 2nd Grade

3. Send all questions and feedback on rules to

4. Rules: Introduction Rules are rules, not guidelines
Follow them to the letter
Don’t confuse ball players, coaches or umpires
Give us your feedback
3 levels, allowing for age-appropriate options
Minors (Pre-K through 2nd grade)
Intermediate (3rd and 4/5th)
Majors (6/7/8th)

5. Pre-game Conference Both coaches Before every game Review ground rules
Set expectations
Shake hands

6. Rules: Highlights Pre-K & K game start and stop times
30-40min practice followed by a 45min game
During school year: Start at 6pm, end by 7:15pm
After school year: Start at 6pm, end by 7:30pm
1st and 2nd Grade games Start at 6pm and end by 7:30pm for the entire season

7. Rules: Highlights Number of fielders
Pre-K, K and 1st Grade: 10+
2nd Grade: 9
1st and 2nd Grade games: Start at 6pm and end by 7:30pm all season
2nd Grade: No longer having an end of the year tournament, so there is no need to report scores

8. Rules: Highlights Batting
Pre-K, K and 1st Grade: Once through the batting order, regardless of outs (when they are out, have them sit)
2nd Grade: 3 outs or once through the batting order, whichever comes first
Coaches announce when last batter is up
Uneven number of players: one team has 11, one team has 9. Team with nine bats 2 extra batters each inning. Batting order must be continuous.

9. Rules: 2nd Grade Fielding Matrix
Coach must utilize a fielding matrix. See league fielding matrix on the RAAA website under “Player Rotations (Fielding and Round-robin batting”). Click here for the In-House Baseball website.
All players will rotate through all positions, with the exception of Pitcher, Catcher & First Base. Coach may use discretion on not allowing a player to play these three positions if deemed unsafe.
Coach should explain the decision to the player & his parents.
Each of these players may not play the same position for more than one inning and may not play consecutive innings at those three positions.
Coach may NOT utilize the same players at these three positions and must follow the example on the next slide.

10. Rules: 2nd Grade Fielding Example
Johnny is playing first, Joey is catching and Jimmy is playing pitcher in the first inning. The rest of the game Johnny is not allowed to play first, Joey cannot play catcher and Jimmy is not allowed to play pitcher. The second inning Johnny, Joey and Jimmy are not allowed to play at any of those three positions. In the third inning, they may play one of the positions that they did not play during the first inning. The fourth inning they would not be allowed to play any of those three positions and the fifth inning they could play the one position that they have not yet played.

11. Pitching – 2nd Grade Machine-pitch all season
Coach-pitch only if both teams’ machines are not working
No kid-pitch
Develop pitchers at practice, to prepare them next-level play

12. Weather Cancellations
RAAA In-House Baseball will now cancel program wide for inclement weather
A mass will be sent out as well as current updates across our social media accounts. Our aim is to have a decision and communication out by 4:30 if possible
Individual fields may still have unplayable conditions that force coaches to cancel, even if the program doesn’t cancel

13. Behavior We do this for the kids, not ourselves
Kids will act as you act; be a role model
Be a “Double Goal Coach”
Strive to win
Teach life lessons
Coaches are responsible for players & parents
Report incidents to Program Director within 24 hours:

14. Field Boxes & Equipment
Investment in new field boxes & equipment
Combo locks on yellow field box
Front panel, below handle to open the box
Combo is 2018
Help us keep registration costs low:
Always lock the field box when you leave; check to ensure the lock is locked; spin the combo
Tees:
Make use of them, regardless of age group
Collapse fully and gently place in field box
Do not set anything on top of tees
Ensure you have all team equipment in your bag before you leave
If you find equipment left behind, lock it in the box when you leave and contact the program director to find the owner
Tony Gwynn, one of the greatest hitters to ever play the game
20 years in Major League Baseball
Lifetime batting average of .338
Never hit below .309 in a season
3,141 hits
8 batting titles
Total at-bats: 9,288
Strikeouts: 434
AB per SO: 21.4, Ranked 92 all-time
He hit 300 balls a day off a tee
To develop hitters, use a tee!

15. Coaching Priorities

16. Interact with Parents Introduce yourself
Tell them your goals for the team
Set your expectations of them
Ask for help at practices / games

17. Develop ALL of Your Players
Find one thing to develop for each player
Equal practice time
Use fielding matrix
Develop pitchers

18. Make a Practice Plan Do this before practice Stick to it
3-5 skills/drill per practice
Split teams into manageable groups
Resources
Coach Swansson’s sheet – test your players
Our website:
YouTube
Other coaches

19. Sample Practice Plan 1 Warm up (stretches, throwing progression)
Run to burn off energy (game/race)
Split into 3-4 groups and rotate
Hitting drill
Fielding drill
Pitching drill
Sliding drill
Situations on the infield with runners
End the practice with something FUN!

20. Sample Practice Plan 2 Warm up (stretches, throwing progression)
Run to burn off energy (game/race)
Verbal Instruction (topics vary, but keep short and interesting)
Fundamental drills, in stations when possible
Focus on key skills of hitting, throwing, catching
Try to get a lot of reps, and make games of it
Game simulation activities with hitters/runners
Coaching comments and motivation

21. Practice Plan Takeaways
Work on core baseball skills
Do some one-on-one coaching
Keep all the kids moving and engaged
DO NOT have one kid with a bat and the rest of the team in the field
Use your coaches and parents

22. Pitching Machine 2nd Grade

23. Pitching Machine: Background & Use
Began in 2015 based on feedback on 2nd Grade player pitching experiences
Each team will be issued a machine to use
Game use
3 strikes per hitter (most pitches will be strikes)
Home team provides the machine for the game
Visitor team machine should be used as backup
Coach-pitch only if both machines aren’t working
If both machines are not working, contact Program Director to assure they are repaired as soon as possible

24. Pitching Machine: Set Up
Set up the machine 40 feet from the back point of home plate
Use at least 2 or 3 practice pitches to line up with home plate
Use the provided spikes to help anchor the machine after it is placed properly

26. Pitching Machine: Settings
Use these settings to start:
Use diagram on the top shield of machine
Setting 4 on tension spring (C)
Setting 4 on release block (B)
Setting 3 on throwing arm for pitch height (A)
Use the micro adjustment on arm to fine tune
Try to keep pitches flat across 40 feet
If you have issues, please let us know

27. THANK YOU FOR COACHING! ENJOY THE SEASON!
Questions on Rules: