So you want to coach youth softball teams? First of all, congratulations for taking the interest in doing this. Coaching can be a thankless job, even more so in youth teams considering the challenges involved in this endeavor. Thus, my congratulations.

With that said, below is a list of some essential tips that I have for you or anyone who wants to coach a youth softball team. And hopefully these tips will help your coaching much easier and more rewarding to yourself and your players.

Here are my tips for coaching youth softball teams:

1. Be patient. When coaching a youth team, you'll be faced with tons of challenges that you didn't otherwise expect. There's the challenge in getting funds, support from your community, teaching your players the proper mechanics, to name a few.

Thus, it's important for you to be a little bit more patient than your other counterparts who are coaching more experienced and better-funded teams.

Also learn to be patient because your greatest reward as a youth softball coach comes much later. That's when you finally see at least some of your players develop into very good players because you've taught them well when they were younger.

2. Keep things simple. Since you're dealing with young players here, you can expect them to not know everything there is to know about softball, starting from the rules to the proper mechanics. So when teaching them softball concepts, keep things as simple as possible at first. They'll understand and remember what you're teaching them much easier that way.

Aside from that, teach your young players general concepts first when it comes to mechanics. That's because when they understand the general concept, that's the only time you can dissect the concept and expect them to understand it.

Also teach your players concepts in a visual kind of way. When they can visualize what you're telling them, they will also remember it much faster.

3. Motivate them. This also applies to more experienced teams, but you must be able to motivate your players to try harder even when the going gets tough. And being a good motivator also means that you can help your players deal with defeat and let them know that they still have a chance of doing better in the next game.

4. Keep it fun. Some coaches coaching youth softball teams sometimes forget that they're dealing with kids and not adults. Unlike adults, younger players still look at softball simply as a game. And just like any other games, it's supposed to be fun. So never forget to include the element of fun when you're coaching younger players. Don't try to make things too serious because you'll only end up frustrated and your players bored.

So there you have it, some of the most important softball tips you need when coaching youth softball teams. To sum it up, when you're coaching youth softball teams, you must be patient, keep things simple, motivate your players and keep the game fun.

Got it? Great. Now apply it to the way you coach and see the difference in how much easier it is to coach your team.