Posted by: CoachBryan09 (seattlebaseballguy@yahoo.com) on Mon Aug 16 10:06:37 2010

Coach W,

My primary students are between the ages of 7-14 so I deal with many different skill levels at that age. The most important thing to do is assess which skills he does have a basic handle on. Take him to the cage or to the field and do grounders, fly balls, a little BP and you will see where his skills are at from square 1 and this will give you a better idea of what to work on. The biggest mistake I see at the level your son is at is strategy; coaches focust too much on strategy and not enough on the basics. Focus primarily on basic baseball, get the glove down, 2 hands with fly balls, how to stand at the plate. If you start there his development will be much more natural and he will learn quicker. Once you have gotten a feel for what he has picked up naturally, repost and I can give you a better idea of specific drills and skill development! Oh one more thing, sometimes coaches who have worked with older players forget that 9 year old players are out there to HAVE FUN! keeping that in mind will manage your expectations as well as develop a stronger bond between coach (dad) and player (son). Feel free to email with any questions!