Coaches Corner
AYS&B believes coaches are the backbone of our league, providing not just training but also life lessons and character-building experiences. Coaching your own child's team or contributing to the community’s youth can be incredibly rewarding.
Roles and Responsibilities
Head Coach: A blend of patience, knowledge of the game, and a focus on safety and positive communication is key. You’ll teach the fundamentals, the rules of the game, and help players grow in character.
Assistant Coach: Support the Head Coach in various aspects, from warm-ups to managing the dugout, ensuring a smooth and effective team operation.
We deeply appreciate our coaches' dedication and the time they invest in nurturing the growth of Altoona's young athletes. As a token of our gratitude, all Head Coaches will receive an immediate refund of their concession deposits. This refund will be processed once team formations are complete and we have identified the Head Coach for each team.
2025 COACHING APPLICATION
Joining the coaching team at AYS&B is easy and straightforward. Each season, anyone interested in coaching in any capacity, whether for games or practices, should complete our simple application form. Additionally, if you haven't undergone a background check in the previous season, you'll need to complete this as well.
Note for Aspiring Head Coaches: Submitting your application for the Head Coach role does not automatically guarantee your selection. However, it does place you on the list of candidates who will be considered during the selection process.
Scheduling Practices
If you need to cancel/reschedule/change/add practice times you must coordinate those requests/changes through the City of Altoona Parks & Rec department. Requests will be granted based on field availability.
Our contact for those requests is: Erin Turner (715.839.5188 or erint@ci.altoona.wi.us)
Once available, we'll post the Master Field Schedule for the Altoona fields and it will be updated weekly. Please use this schedule to check availability before requesting a field.
No team practices are allowed unless you have a specific time and field booked and approved by the city.
Updated: 8/16/2024
COACHING RESOURCES
Below are some simple, yet helpful tips to make sure you understand your role as a coach as well as ideas that will help ensure your coaching experience is the best possible for you and your players.
Practice
Baseball and Softball are simple games. However, coaching and running effective practices can be challenging. With a little bit of planning you'll find it isn't too hard to run a fun and effective practice. Remember, try to structure your practices with little down time in order to keep the players’ attention!
Check out these links for some terminology, practice, and drill ideas:
- https://theseason.gc.com/topic/softball-tips-drills
- http://www.qcbaseball.com/coaching/baseball-coaching.aspx
- https://www.baberuthleague.org/media/9327/CCMARCH2013.pdf
- https://www.youtube.com/user/BigAlBaseball
- https://www.aaastateofplay.com/softball-terms-and-definitions/ (thanks for submitting Karina!)
- https://www.aaastateofplay.com/outdoor-sports-for-kids/
Games
Remember to have fun! Don't get too caught-up in winning or losing. Your main responsibility is to provide an environment that will teach the kids skills that will develop them both on the field and off the field. Recognize solid play, critique mistakes in a supportive way, all while offering ideas on how to improve.
Check out these links for some good game and overall coaching philosophies:
- https://www.coachingyouthbaseball.com/coach-youth-baseball/
- http://www.qcbaseball.com/coaching/TeeBall_CoachPitch_Manual.pdf
Rules
Knowing the general rules of the game is obviously important for coaching. Take some time to review and learn the rules for the level you are coaching.
Find the current rules here.
Communicate
Communication with both parents and players is important. If possible, meet with the parents to introduce yourself, explain your coaching approach, and to share your goals for the team. Be sure to explain that this is not a win-at-all-costs program and that your responsibility is to develop players...and for those players to have fun! At the meeting, it’s also a good opportunity to remind parents that their role is to show their support from the stands and to let the coaches coach the team. Be clear that you’d appreciate knowing if a player cannot attend a game/practice well ahead of time so you can plan accordingly - communication needs to happen both ways. Also, encourage them to volunteer to help at practices too if you need it!
SportsEngine has created a Team Management Guide for Coaches and Team Managers to help you use our website and mobile app to efficiently and effectively communicate and manage your teams. SportsEngine is new to the league so if there are features you want to check out or use please reach out to our Website Director:
Adam Duquaine
Information Director
Once again, thank you for volunteering to coach! You’re helping provide the kids in our community an opportunity to build memories that will last a lifetime.
