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AndreBuchanan
3 Posts |
 Posted - 07/09/2009 : 11:34:58
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Hello NWBA forum speakers,
I am a young man entering my senior year of high school this fall and I play baseball for my school and a pretty good summer team. While I would love an opportunity to become a MLB baseball player and be the next B.J. Upton, there is always that possibility that it may not happen of course.
That's why this fall I am interested in being an assistant coach for my first year (I wouldn't be a "dad coach" coach of course). I believe that if I start at coaching earlier than I would be one of the best by the time I am 35,45,55 because I'd have so many years of experience under my belt.
The reason I am posting this on the forum is because I am not sure how how to take the next step. How do I find a team and get my coaching career started from here? |
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Dr. Old School
314 Posts |
Posted - 07/09/2009 : 12:48:06
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Post what area you are in, area you would like to coach in, and what positions you have played that you could lend expertise in.
My recommendation would be to try to start with the younger age groups to start developing the "Fundamentals coaching" part of the process. Not to mention it allows for a pretty good seperation in age between you and the kids you are coaching. As you get older you can progress up in age to develop the more advanced parts of coaching.
It's a great idea you have. I wish you the best of luck in finding a team. I am sure there are some teams that will be interested in talking to you. This is a good time because teams are starting to form for next season. Many play in the fall also. |
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loveforthegame25
448 Posts |
Posted - 07/09/2009 : 13:50:27
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| Well this was a good start for your coaching career. I kinda have a different spin than Doc. If you aspire to become a high school age coach or higher, I would not start at the younger ages. Totally different dynamic in my opinion. I would try to find a friend, friend of a friend, or aquaintence that coaches one of the older teams, say 12 or 13 or older. You should know the basic fundamentals. If your an impressive young man that knows the game and are patient in the process, im sure one of the teams in the area will give you a shot. I applaud you young man. My 13 year old also wants to coach some day. GOOD LUCK |
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tn3sport
28 Posts |
Posted - 07/09/2009 : 16:22:46
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Many at the HS level and college level that are assistant coaches went to college and did an internship as a HS assistant for their undergraduate degree.
Also, many at the college level work as graduate assistant coaches while earning their graduate degree.
So, I think one recommendation to a HS senior would be to plan on attending college. I know this recommendation puts off coaching for a couple years while you focus on the books, but it is how many get started.
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Hurricane
351 Posts |
Posted - 07/09/2009 : 18:00:53
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| Good point on the education. Cant even make money coaching if you dont have a degree teaching. Another note if you dont love coaching and teaching you are wasting your time. Coaching is not a job you do for the money that is for sure. I say stick with baseball for now try and get some money to go to college while you play the game, learn as much as you can from your college coaches and get a degree in something that interest you, if its teaching great, if not find something you enjoy doing. Dont make the mistake I did, went to school for baseball not a career and I spent another 2 years in school changing degrees. If I knew then..... |
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Dr. Old School
314 Posts |
Posted - 07/09/2009 : 18:41:09
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While "Love" and I don't agree on the starting point, I think we have the same direction in mind. When I say start at the younger age group, I mean that just for a year to get your feet wet. Once you understand the travel ball world, and make sure you like the "Teaching" aspect of the game, you can move on to 13, or 14, and progress from there. If you are lucky, you can latch on to a really good "Instructional coach" who is as good in practice as he is at managing a game. That would be the ultimate goal.
Don't feel compelled to put off coaching until you get college under your belt. A well rounded student can do both at the same time. Start learning the teaching part now, and as you get the college piece under your belt, you will have both.
Good luck either way. |
Edited by - Dr. Old School on 07/09/2009 19:07:09 |
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dblinkh1
39 Posts |
Posted - 07/09/2009 : 19:17:25
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| If you want to get started now contact the local league near where you live. Most of the Fall leagues are holding sign ups now. Leagues are always looking for volunteers to coach. Our park allowed 2 high school students to coach a 12U Rec team with a parent head coach. Good Luck. |
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southpawmom
19 Posts |
Posted - 07/12/2009 : 10:12:57
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| Hey Andre! Another point to consider - any time that you spend volunteering as a coach in your local rec league counts toward community service hours. College admissions staff really like kids who give back to the community. Good luck! |
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a1prog
164 Posts |
Posted - 07/12/2009 : 20:13:23
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| andre- my son was a freshman who played hs ball this year and he helped out a 10u team. for the times he could make it- it was awesome. for him and the kids. i think a 4-5 year gap in age works great because the younger kids will really listen. just remember two things- you too were once that young. and...the game at the younger ages is different than the one you are used to. skills, drills and your knowledge willmake a ton of difference. but game day strategy and execution is different with smaller dimensions. best wishes to you. |
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whits23
596 Posts |
Posted - 07/13/2009 : 14:44:58
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| another good pointer is to answer messages sent to you from coaches so they know your dependable |
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AndreBuchanan
3 Posts |
Posted - 07/13/2009 : 20:50:12
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Thank you to everyone for the great advice, pointers, and tips.
I plan on using some of your ideas for this upcoming fall and beyond.
Also I used this post as a way for me to get tips on how to accomplish my goals in the future only. I live in the Dallas, Tx area now when I moved from Atlanta a year ago. The reason I posted this on this site is because I do not know of and can not find an active forum like this in the DFW region. If any of you know of a site similiar to this one, please let me know.
Lastly I would like to thank the coahes who have emailed me offering me a chance to help assist their team. However because of where I live it is impossible for me to accept those opportunities. |
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Hurricane
351 Posts |
Posted - 07/15/2009 : 08:41:31
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| I would say spend more time on your baseball right now and then when its over start thinking about coaching. You will regret it if you take away from your training. |
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bballman
1432 Posts |
Posted - 07/15/2009 : 09:41:26
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| At the risk of stepping on some toes here, I'll make the following comment. I am very surprised at all the people giving the advice to this young man to put off coaching and wait till he gets older or whatever. We have had numerous threads on here about how bad daddy ball is and how we need more non-dad coaches. Here is a young man who has no dog in the show and is given the advice to basically back off. I would think that there would be plenty of teams who would want some assistance from a HS player to assist them with practices and share their knowledge with the younger kids. Who knows, maybe one day he will be that non-dad coach who coaches a team because he loves it. I would encourage anyone who has a desire to coach to do so and get started early. I will give some advice to this young man in my next post. |
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bballman
1432 Posts |
Posted - 07/15/2009 : 09:48:24
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Andre, first of all, I applaud you for your desire to coach. We need more like you. I would think there are a number of ways you could get your foot in the door. Check with your teammates and see if they have younger brothers playing ball. Check and see if you can get on as an assistant on one of their teams since there is a connection already. Maybe some of your friends at school have younger brothers and you can do the same with them. Another option is just going down to the ball park and find some teams practicing. Walk up and introduce yourself to the coach at an appropriate time and let him know what you would like to do. There are ways to get in.
You mentioned not having a forum like this where you live. There is a national web site that has some sections dealing with regional or state level topics (Texas included). There is also a pre-highschool section where you may be able to get some advice. Here is a link to it. http://hsbaseballweb.com/eve/forums
Good luck to you. |
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Hurricane
351 Posts |
Posted - 07/15/2009 : 13:22:28
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quote:
Originally posted by bballman
At the risk of stepping on some toes here, I'll make the following comment. I am very surprised at all the people giving the advice to this young man to put off coaching and wait till he gets older or whatever. We have had numerous threads on here about how bad daddy ball is and how we need more non-dad coaches. Here is a young man who has no dog in the show and is given the advice to basically back off. I would think that there would be plenty of teams who would want some assistance from a HS player to assist them with practices and share their knowledge with the younger kids. Who knows, maybe one day he will be that non-dad coach who coaches a team because he loves it. I would encourage anyone who has a desire to coach to do so and get started early. I will give some advice to this young man in my next post.
Anyone who has played a sport at a high level knows you don't have time to coach a youth baseball team and put in the work needed to be a good player in your last year of high school or even our first year of college. Diet, Weights, Conditioning, Hitting or Fielding, Pitching, Sleeping, if this guy is serious about taking his baseball game to the next level I say wait... it might only be 3 to 5 years at the most unless you get really really lucky, then concentrate on coaching when you are done with your dream. This is the most important time in your life for you baseball. Think about it, there are coaches out there 60 years old, he has plenty of time, but can never get this time back. Just my opinion. |
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bballman
1432 Posts |
Posted - 07/15/2009 : 14:03:52
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| Hurricane, there are many things to take into consideration. You make some valid points, but if Andre can find the time to help coach a rec team in the fall, he probably should. There are plenty of guys who play two sports or are involved in other activities during the fall as well as play or train for baseball. If he has an interest in coaching there is no reason why he shouldn't pursue it. He probably would not have the time to be a head coach, but he could certainly volunteer a couple of times a week to help with practices, teach the younger kids some fundamentals and be a good role model for them. No one is so busy they can't take a few hours out of their week to help. |
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Hurricane
351 Posts |
Posted - 07/15/2009 : 19:13:34
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| You make a valid point bballman, as a volunteer just helping out here and there he could probably swing it. |
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highcheese
71 Posts |
Posted - 07/16/2009 : 01:16:54
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Some great points on here to help further the passion for baseball. Andre, if you are serious then really get serious about it. To hurricane and bballlman's points time management will be your biggest obstacle. If you are not good at this get with a teacher, counselor, coach, or parent and figure out a process to achieve your goals. make sure you factor in some time to still be a kid. If you are serious about it you can find the time for school, sports, family, volunteering, etc... As you age there will be a ton of time robbers coming at you.
You have to spend sometime coaching with the real little guys, how much time that is up to you, but it is a blast! These guys will have you laughing and crying in the same breath. It also gives you an incredible perspective of just how great this game of baseball is. i also firmly believe that anytime you can get on the coaching side growing up will help you with your baseball savy and the "feel" for the game. It will definitely help you when you are in your own game time situations. Nuturing that 6th sense in baseball is often overlooked these days.
I would also suggest spending sometime at the parks just observing some of the organizations and make a decision whether or not that is a place you could learn and grow. it is all experience for your hard copy resume and also your life resume. i wish you much success. Do what you love and love what you do. |
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Topic |
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How to become an assistant coach.
