Dugout Organization Tips That Will Make Your Coaching Life More Enjoyable!
Coaching youth baseball players can be a very rewarding process. Especially when young players get their first hits or catch their first pop fly. But, there also can be many frustrations along the way. For example, when your first baseman can’t find his glove to warm up the infielders between innings.
These frustrating situations are much more prevalent with younger teams. Unfortunately most kids are not going to put their hats and gloves exactly where they can find them when they have to take the field again. If you have a Tee Ball team that can do this then your probably about the only one.
Fortunately, I was able to spend several years coaching my sons Tee Ball and Rookie level teams where dugout organization was paramount. Dugout organization at these ages can make a coaches job much more enjoyable. Allowing you to focus on teaching them the skills they need to progress and ultimately have fun. Rather than trying to find little Jonnie’s hat underneath the bench.
In this article I would like to share several techniques and pieces of equipment that will help take the guess work out of how to keep your dugout organized.
1. Keep Baseball Equipment Off the Ground or Lost.
Let’s face it, when players come off the field and into the dugout, they think its time to play bottle flip and drink their favorite sports drink. They don’t realize they should put their gear right where they can find it when they have to go back out on to the field.
I don’t know how many times Iv’e heard, “Coach I can’t find my hat.”
Teaching them from the very beginning about placing their gear right where they know it will be when they need it is crucial. The longer this behavior goes on the harder it is to break.
With Tee Ball aged kids, you can use buckets with their names on them. I wouldn’t get to fancy with the buckets, after all they will be beat up and broken by he end of the season.
For Rookie aged kids, about 7-8, I preferred a hangup helmet holder or cubby system. The kids would learn to put their equipment in the cubby as they came in and put on their helmets if needed.
Another trick is to arrange the buckets or helmet holder in the same order as your line up. This helps the kids understand who they are before and after along with keeping their gear organized.
Having somewhere they can place their equipment as soon as they come off the field and into the dugout, helped resolve the lost glove or hat issues.
2. Keep Baseball Bats From Becoming a Trip Hazard
Often times the entryway of the dugout can be a catch-all for baseball bats. Every time one of the players reaches the bases, their bat is usually grabbed by the on deck player and tossed towards the dugout.
Then, either the batter that was in the hole or the assistant coach, just puts it right inside the dugout to get it off the field. Next thing you know is the baseball bats start pilling up right in the doorway.
Now you have coaches and players tripping over these bats every time they are in and out of the dugout. Luckily there is a simple solution to this problem, its called the bat caddy.
The bat caddy is a simple device that hangs on any chain link fence found on just about every little league dugout. The bat caddy provides slots to hang 5-16 bats by their knobs and is made of plastic or metal. It can be easily carried be slipped in with the rest of your coaching gear.
There is also one that has space for baseballs on top for those players that need to take one onto the field for warm ups.
3. Get Players out of the Dugout Faster During Inning Changes
To many times players will congregate by the dugout entrance, waiting for a coach to tell them what position to play. While majority of the time players will be going back to the positions they were playing the inning before. However, some players will change positions and will need direction.
You can alleviate the confusion with a simple dry erase or magnetic line up and position board. Sure you can use a line up card to tell players where you would like them to play at the start of the game, but often times players will move around from inning to inning.
Having a magnetic board will allow you to place the players name where you would like to see them play during defense the next inning. There is also an image of the field for those players that have a hard time remembering where each position is located.
Not only will this visual aid help them see where each specific position is located on the field, but it will also teach them without having to explain it every time.
Final Thoughts!
Coaching youth baseball can be a fun and challenging experience. Often times you’re not only showing young children how to play the game of baseball, but also teaching them life skills. Take the time to teach players to be responsible for their equipment and in return you can show them how to play baseball.
Instead of taking time looking for Johnnie’s hat underneath the bench.