Youth Session with Brian Raabe

If you've never been to a coaching session with Minnesota Twins Community Fund coaching expert and Bethel university Head Coach Brian Raabe, you are missing out.  Brian's passion for coaching - and coaching COACHES - is remarkable.  He is an excellent teacher and you will benefit highly if you are able to attend one of his events.

MBL Insider was fortunate enough to attend a session with Coach Raabe. Below are some of the many highlights from the pages of notes we took.

Ages 10-11-12-13, even 14 ... are about DEVELOPMENT. Development over winning.

Players should know what is being taught TWO YEARS above their age level, and coaches should be teaching what is being taught two years above. At 10U, for example, there aren't a lot of double plays being turned, but coaches should be teaching it. The kids know more than you think.

All your players should pitch. Not everyone will pitch in GAMES, but everyone should pitch. When do those kids pitch? In practice.

As a college coach, and having coached at the high school level and youth level ... Thank you, youth coaches! Many of my college players learned many of their skills when they were youth players and they were taught by their coaches growing up. You play an important role in these kids' development.

Watch your players play catch. Don't just send them out to left field on their own.

On game days, if possible, you need three coaches, and they should be COACHING. Not doing the book. They should be coaching.

Should the younger kids with small hands use two or three fingers when they grip the ball? Whatever feels comfortable to them.

Every team will have some players who are really good and others who really struggle. They all need to be coached. But be sure to push your top players. Push them. Challenge them. Don't bring them down by only teaching the kids who are struggling.

When you practice, think about reps. How many balls did each kid get today? How many ground balls? Fly balls?

Make your practice interactive, up-tempo. At Bethel we use seven coaches at practice. SEVEN. You should try the same thing at youth practices. Having a lot of coaches keeps the kids busy and combats a huge problem with youth practices: boredom. Don't let the kids get bored.

Coach your coaches.  Any adult who is available to help at practice can be a great asset to the practice.  They just need to be taught.  Show them how you want them to help.

When you're teaching hitting, always have a plate. For tee work, soft toss, whatever - always have a plate. They must know where their feet are when they address the plate.

We have natural pull-hitters but 70 percent of pitches are middle or away. The kids need to learn to hit to opposite field.

A good 10U swing will look like the pros, at its core. Results might not be there, but we want the swing to look good.

A good target for the kids in batting practice, and games is over the heads of the shortstop and second baseman.

Video is great. If you can show the kids what they are doing at the plate, this can be really effective.

Good hitters stay on time. Good pitchers keep hitters off time.

Kids who are scared to get hit by a pitch? Teach them how to get hit and make sure your message is: most of the time, it doesn't hurt.

As a coach, you're not going to make them great. They do that themselves. You help them get great.