u/coach_Fox

My son is playing rec league kid pitch this year (mostly 8-9 year olds). He’s doing great and genuinely loves baseball, which has made me pay closer attention to how practices are run.

What I keep noticing is a lot of “going through the motions” — fungos, basic relays, — but not teaching of the game.

To me, there’s a big difference between showing kids baseball things and teaching them the game. At this age, shouldn’t the focus be more on fundamentals, mechanics, situational understanding, and helping kids actually play cleaner baseball?

Why not split pitchers up and work on mechanics? Why not spend more time teaching footwork, glove work, positioning, relays, and baseball IQ instead of just hitting fungos for an hour?

And yes — obviously while keeping it fun. Before the “they’re just kids” responses come in, I fully agree baseball should be enjoyable at this age. But fun and instruction shouldn’t be opposites. You can absolutely run a fun, energetic, and informative practice at the same time.

So as youth coaches, are we mainly there to organize practices and games, or are we responsible for truly teaching the game?

Looking for some advice from anyone who’s dealt with this before.

My son (7 but plays like 8/9 he’s slightly advanced for his age) has good hands and gets his glove on almost every ball when we play catch. The weird part is he drops a lot of them right after contact. It’s like the ball just pops out instead of sticking in the pocket.

A couple things I’ve noticed:
- He doesn’t consistently catch the ball in the pocket
- On glove-side throws, he tends to turn his glove outward instead of keeping it square
- He’s not scared of the ball at all — super comfortable in warmups and playing catch
- Glove side is definitely tougher for him than arm side

I’ve been reinforcing:
- “Watch the ball into the glove”
- Focusing more reps on glove-side throws
- Basic cues like hands up, “windshield wipers,” etc.

Some days it looks ok, other days we’re right back to the same issue — glove turning outward and the ball popping out.

Has anyone worked through something like this with a young player? Any drills, cues, or ways you’ve explained it that helped it finally click?

Appreciate any help!