We're 4 games into our 8U rec season (my 2nd year coaching) and the kids have made great progress. Most can field a ball,have decent stances compared to last year and were excited to return to my teeam! But I'm running into a coaching philosophy disagreement with my assistant coach.
He keeps instructing kids to make force plays at 2nd and 3rd base. For example: runner on 1st, ball hit to SS, he wants the 2nd baseman covering 2nd for the force which fails 99% of the time. Meanwhile, I think at this age we should prioritize simpler plays. Field the ball, throw to the pitcher in the circle to stop the play, and only have pitcher/2nd throw to first when there's a clear opportunity.
We've had multiple runs score when kids attempt these force plays (missed catches, overthrows, confusion about who covers), which visibly deflates the team and allows little league inside the park home runs a lot. I feel like we're not there yet developmentally, but I want to make sure I'm not limiting them either.
For those coaching 8U rec when do you start teaching force outs at 2nd/3rd? Should we be pushing this now, or stick with fundamentals and throw to the pitcher until they're more consistent?
(For context: I rotate all kids regardless of skill level and focus on keeping it fun while teaching basics and safety.)
Edit: Just for some context we have a rule in our league where if they ball is overthrown at 1st the player automatically gets a base and if the ball is overthrown to the pitcher after that the runner can continue running. If a ball is overthrown at 2nd or 3rd the kid can continue running as well and not be forced to stop. We also have a blue flame pitch machine so a lot of kids still strike out or do small hits to the pitcher and 1st baseman which accounts for a lot of our outs. I also rotate every player in the infield as long as they aren't a safety issue. I am not going to create a set lineup and play better players at the same position at this age. This post wasn't to create controversy and I was just trying to see what the community thought....
Edit 2: This is also REC ball and I am dealing with players I was given. We legit just had a kid on my team punch the opposing teams coach when we were doing high fives at the end (dealing with the commish now), another kid who struck out then threw his bat and helmet at the fence (had his mom take him home) and 2-3 kids that refuse to take the field or listen to any directions.