BASEBALL CANBERRA HEAD COACHING PACKET

Baseball Canberra
BASEBALL CANBERRA HEAD COACHING PACKET
Objective: To provide a clear outline Baseball Canberra’s expectations from our Head
Coaches. As a Head Coach, you will have various responsibilities both on and off the
field. Below is an outline of the packet, and an overview of the duties assumed by a
Head Coach.
Table of Contents
1. Chain Of Command and Responsibilities
2. Keys
3. Lights
4. Equipment
5. Field Care
6. Field Hire
7. Practice Plan Template
8. Stretch Routines and Throwing Programs
9. Team Philosophy
10. Expectations and Points of Contact
Head Coaching Packet p.1
Baseball Canberra
1. Chain of Command and Responsibilities
As Head Coach, you are responsible for the day-to-day operations of your team. Emails
that need to be sent to parents or players regarding general information are to be
drafted by yourself, and remember to include (CC) the Manager of Player Pathway and
Coach Development in that email. If the email contains sensitive material, such as
cutting players, addressing issues with parents, parental and player expectations, etc,
please send your email to the Manager of Player Pathway and Coach Development
before sending it out to your team as a checks-and-balance system.
2. Keys
You will be issued a set of keys to open and close the field. It is vital that the field is
properly locked every night. As the Head Coach, it is your responsibility, given that you
are the last ones at the park, to lock up or delegate this responsibility to one of your
assistant coaches. There are two important keys for this task: 1) the gold key which will
open the lights box, equipment container, and equipment closet under the grandstand,
and 2) the silver key with the inscription “PEA 5.3” that will open and close the
bathrooms and front gate.
3. Lights
If you are training under the lights, you are responsible for properly turning them both on
and off. The gold key provides access to the electrical box (that controls the lights),
which is found on the side of the building that houses the locker rooms. The box is
facing the Car Park. You will find instructions to operate the lights within the box.
4. Equipment
Baseball Canberra provides all necessary practice equipment. If there is anything
further that you need, please contact the Manager of Player Pathway and Coach
Development to amend the situation. Everything will be in the storage container down
the right field line of the Main Diamond, or behind home plate of Field 2. The storage
container is opened with the gold key.
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Baseball Canberra
5. Field Care
After a field is used, it is your responsibility to make sure the field is cared for and is
ready for use the following day.
Field Set up:
1. Ensure hitting mats are down for all batting practice sessions
2. Ensure proper bases are in
3. Take tarps off of home plate and the mound, and store to be put back on after
practice
4. Place field saver on the grass between home plate and the mound
Field Breakdown:
1. Ensure all mats and grass savers are folded and neatly placed in their proper
place
2. Ensure all screens are removed and organised outside of the fence down the
right field line
3. Drag the field after use without dragging dirt onto the grass.
4. Rake the base paths if you ran bases
5. Place the tarps back on home plate and the mound. Be careful not to cover up
any sprinklers that may be in front of home plate. The tarps should cover the dirt
and not any part of the grass
6. Return any equipment you used to the storage container and in the proper place
6. Field Hire
Fields must be hired prior to practice, without exception. Email the dates of your
practice to the Manager of Player Pathway and Coach Development with no later than 3
days notice (a week is much preferred), and send at least a month’s worth of practice
scheduling where possible.
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Baseball Canberra
7. Practice Plan Template
It is essential to have a clear, pre-prepared practice outline before the practice begins,
and it should be posted in dugouts. Please find a guiding practice template below.
Underneath each activity, please indicate any of the finer points of that section (such as
groups, group changes, focuses during that activity, etc). Your plan should have clear
goals and objectives.
A) Dynamic Stretch (15 min)
and
A2) Throwing Program (15 min)
B) Team Drill (10-15 min)
and/or
B2) Fundamental Work (15-30 min)
C) Game-like work (30-45 min)
- Create proper teams or hitting groups in advance
D) Conditioning
A’s) Stretch and throwing programs provided in this packet.
B’s) Team Drills should be upbeat and involve the entire team focusing on a general
skill in a game-like format. Fundamental work is meant to cover the parts of the game
that are either scripted or help build the fundamental base for a player.
C’s) In this phase, I’d like to see players fine tune their competition skills.
D’s) Focused conditioning that will help during games. Baseball is an explosive sport.
For example, short explosive sprints should never go past 60 metres. Nothing long
distance!
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Baseball Canberra
8. Stretch Routine and Throwing Program
Little League Stretches:
*Get in lines
1. Jog out to second base and jog back
2. Shuffle out and shuffle back
3. Back Pedal out and back
*Walk out the lines
1. Glute Bridges x 10
2. On all four’s, Hip Circles x 10
3. Hip Flexor stretch x 10
4. Groin Activation x 10
5. Yoga Push ups x 5
6. T-spine Rotation x 10
*Stand up
1. Arm Circles forward and back
2. No Moneys
3. Bowler Squats x 10
*Walk lines back to foul line
1. Spiderman Lunges
2. A-Skips
3. Agility Sprints. Run out, touch line, back pedal back
Little League Throwing Program:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
On-knees egg break
On-knees egg break
Decel #2
Hook ‘ems
Long Toss
1 min then back up
1 min then back up
1 min then back up
1 min then back up
5 min going back as far as possible
Older Players’ Stretches:
*Walk out three lines of six
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Baseball Canberra
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Glute Bridges with reach x 10
Hip Circles x 10
Kneeling Hip Flexor Mobility x 10 (each way)
Groin Activations x 10
Yoga Push Ups x 10
T-spine Rotation x 8 (each way)
Hindu Push Ups x 10
*Glute Bridges Position
8. 45 degree Vertical Raises, thumbs up x 10
9. Internal/external Rotation at 90 degrees x 10
*Stand up
10. No Moneys (elbows at side, palms up, pull hands away from each other) x
10
11. Bowler Squat x 8 (each side)
12. Spiderman Lunges with overhead reach x 5 (each side)
13. A-Skips 10 yards
14. A-Skips with internal hip rotation 10 yards
15. Forward-to-back shuttle x 2
Older Players’ Throwing Program:
Purpose: A structured program to build arm strength and reinforce proper
movement patterns associated with throwing and pitching (1 min each, 5 min
Long Toss).
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Double-Knee egg breaks with Pause
Sideway Marshal Torques
Decel #2
Hook ‘Ems
Walking Torques
Cross Unders
Double Crow Hops
Long Toss
@ 5-10 yards
@ 10 yards
@ 15 yards
@ 20 yards
@ 20-25 yards
@ 35-40 yards on a line
High and Far
High and Far
Move in to a distance of 60 feet, and complete dynamic throws for strikes to a catching
target.
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Baseball Canberra
9. Team Philosophy
We want to be aggressive. We want to create a culture that is unafraid of failure and
aggressive at the plate, on the mound, and running the bases. We want hitters to expect
that they will end up on second on a base hit right out of the batters box, and to
pressure the other team to stop us from taking extra bases. We want to be looking to
steal, and to take extra bases if the other team is allowing it. An aggressive approach
forces opponents to lose focus and be out of position, and we will capitalise on those
mistakes.
Key Concepts:
● We will be aggressive on the base paths, running 1st to 3rd on a hit in the
outfield.
● Don’t worry about walks at a young age; we want the guys to swing the bat.
● Don’t be scared to strike out swinging. Striking out looking is unacceptable!
● Pound the strike zone, and don’t nibble around the plate. Come right after hitters.
10. Expectations and Points of Contacts
As a Head Coach, you are an extension of the Manager of Player Pathway and Coach
Development and the office of Baseball Canberra. You are expected to handle yourself
in a professional and collected manner. You are expected to manage parents, the
coaching staff, and kids with the type of respect that you expect. When dealing with
players, we will praise overtly and criticise privately. It is not acceptable to attack or
discipline an athlete on the field for making a physical error, as those commonly happen
in baseball. However, mental errors (attitude, focus, and attention-related) are expected
to be maintained at all times. We are creating a hard-working, blue-collar culture and
expect you to hold yourself and the players to that standard. The team will take on the
personality of the Head Coach. Be mindful of this, and act appropriately!
Thank you for following and adopting the information in this packet, and congratulations
on earning your Head Coaching position!
Jeremy Barnes, Manager of Player Pathway and Coach Development
Email: jbarnes@actbaseball.com
Tom Vincent, General Manager of Baseball Canberra
Email: generalmanager@actbaseball.com
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