The Single Mom's Guide to Teaching & Putting Her Child in Little League Baseball

It's not easy being single and raising children. Especially a child of the opposite sex that is participating in activities that one doesn't have any knowledge in. Please don't take this book as sexist. This is meant for any sex that doesn't know baseball or the training involved with bringing up a participating child. I am lucky in this regard. I am a single father that has raised two boys on my own. Now if I have had girls, I would have been in a world of trouble, as I don't know the first thing about raising girls. My background consists of being a professional counselor who enjoys coaching baseball. I have two sons. My first son only played one season of tee ball and decided he didn't enjoy the game. He also tried soccer and football with the same results. He finally found a sport he enjoys; tennis. Now even though his strengths are not of athleticism, he has learned discipline, competition, team work, and many other excellent valuable life qualities that will assist him in many other areas. Now my second son is an all around jock.

He excels in baseball, football and soccer. He has natural coordination and a go get them mental attitude. My point here is we all have strengths and weaknesses. Some children may not be suitable for baseball. Some children perform better in a constant action sport like soccer or basketball. Baseball is an action sport that requires patients and some down time. Some children are not able to devote their attention if there is not any immediate stimulation. Please don't live your life through your child and make them play if that is not their desire. If they sign up for the sport, then I would not allow them to quit. I would insist that they continue it until the end of the season. After all, the team is depending on him. This teaches responsibility to the team and owning commitment. This manual will go over norms, commitment expectations, providing support, importance of parent commitment and how to choose the right equipment.

With this program you can help your son become an excellent baseball player, even if you have never played or don't even know the first thing about this great game. Now a little word of caution, as your son gets more experienced at the game of baseball; it is natural as a parent to see talent in their children through rosy colored glasses. Actually I have dealt with some parents who where seeing a complete different world in their children's baseball abilities. If you don't feel like your child is getting the opportunity to show his ability with a certain coach, then attempt to talk to the coach about what he is not seeing in your childs ability. I have seen many parents end up keeping stats of errors, strike outs and hits to back up their claims. If you are unsuccessful then there is always next year. That would be when you insist on your child playing for a different coach.

In my opinion I have seen many situations similar to this scenario. Usually I would rate it with the the coach being right about three out of every forth times. One time I made the mistake of taking a kid on my soccer team whose parents were disgruntled with the previous soccer coach. Well it was a night mare dealing with the parents. I finally got frustrated with them and said next year you can be head coach and I will be the assistant. Well the year I coached we came in third place. Now the year I ended up being a ball boy for this armchair coach we ended up winning just one game the entire season. I have vast soccer experience and I didn't even understand what he wanted the kids to do in practice. So there if you are a parent that is going to constantly criticize, then I expect to see you in that list of volunteers to coach. That goes the same for referees.

Chapter 1: The Game of Baseball and Age Types of Play

Children start to play as early as 5 years old. Usually this type of play is called Tee Ball. The main objectives are based on learning the positions and the game of play. The batting is different in that the ball is placed on a Tee over the plate. This allows the child to swing at the ball while it is on the tee. If the batter hits the ball into play then he is suppose to run the bases. This is one of the most rewarding coaching experiences. I really encourage many mothers to coach this style of play. Don't worry it mostly consist of supporting and cheering for the children. Most leagues don't even keep score, so both teams believe they won at the end of the game.