Youth Baseball 7 & 8 Year Olds | Skill Expectations for 7 & 8 year olds
CoachMc writes "Coaching 7 & 8 year olds is different from coaching t ball. There are some expectations for 7 & 8 year olds in youth baseball we need to focus on in practices for 7 & 8 year old youth baseball. So here is a simple list for this age group to help coaches and parents in what to expect and teach in 7&8 year old youth baseball. While every child probably won't get them all, these are the things to work on for their development as a youth baseball player.
Age 7 - Youth Baseball - coach pitch
Know positions of the field by name ( Infield and outfield)
Understand and practice the concepts of catching a baseball above the waist and below the waist (thumbs together , pinky fingers together)
Throwing from an L position- This will vary slightle from player to player, but the concept is to keep the elbow above the shoulder during the acceleration of the throw. Not pushing the ball like a shot put or side arm
Listen to the coaches call on plays (1,2,3,4,cut) and where that is
Understand how many pitches and swings he gets
Can hit 1 out of 4 pitches overhand from a coach (hopefully more)
Show some lower half body movement when swing a bat (short step-weight shift)
Listens to directions of Base Coaches (run through, go to second, turn
and look, slide, get down) Note: Turn and look is a little
harder, but it should be introduced and worked on.
Age 8 - coach pitch/some kid pitch
Same as above plus..
Be able to throw base to base. May not always be accurate and we are talking 2 to 1, 3 to 4, 1 to 4. The throw 3 to 1 is going to be much harder for most kids
Catch half of the balls thrown to them..high or low
Catch infield Popups if right at them
Begin understanding of tagging the runner and force outs (we introduce this as young as 6 but by 8 they should start getting it but still need to be reminded)
Turning Glove side to throw(I love this one)
Hit 50% of pitches by a coach
hit 1 out of 4 strikes by a kid pitching (watch the ones looking for walks) we are not here to walk
Learning the strike zone and what pitches they can hit, and what pitches they can hit well. I love soft toss for this!
Begin Losing fear of the ball (if the ball hits us it will hurt it will hurt less if we teach them what to do ) plus they get on base in kid pitch!
The swing should be getting more advanced. Feet right, hands right, eyes on the ball. We now need to focus on short stride,hips, and swinging thru the ball
Kid Pitch Only
Pitchers- We need to throw at least 1 strike for every 4 pitches. Don't worry about velocity. We recommend teaching pitching mechanics from the stretch and throwing the ball across the plate
Catchers- Should be able to catch strikes almost 100% of the time or at least hitting the glove. Begin working on blocking pitches in the dirt. Hustle for passed balls. No need to worry about throwing runners out at this stage.
Conclusion
Some Opportunities we need to look for are
excessive fear of the ball
stepping out of the batters box
ducking throws made to them
waving the bat (feet,hands, eyes)
not paying attention..arghh- (hard fix)
underhand catches on easy popups
poor ready position
Advanced players may be able to do more, but these are the basics they need to start learning in youth baseball now to learn , enjoy , and advance in baseball. We are trying to teach and we look for mainly the ability to understand and develop. If we can get that the rest comes with our drills, practices and games.
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