|
Spring is around the corner and its time to get your tee ball coaching skills sharpened and your child ready to take off in tee ball. This fun and exciting sport is a year round favorite. Developed and played in the early 1940s and 50s, tee ball is a game designed to teach young children cooperative teamwork skills while learning the fundamentals of baseball.
Rules of the Game
Tee ball is played by children between the ages of four and eight. Tee ball rules are similar to baseball with each team consisting of six to eleven players. Each team takes turns playing the infield and outfield positions. Infield players take a batting stance and bat the ball into the outfield. The infield player runs the three bases with the goal to finish and score at home plate.
The outfield players use sporting strategy to catch the ball, guard bases and get three players out. An infield player is out when they are tagged by a teammate carrying the ball or a baseman catches the ball before they can touch the base. Scoring is measured by how many times an infield player can successfully reach home plate.
What is the Tee in T-Ball?
The major difference between tee ball and baseball is a batting tee. The batting tee is placed on home plate and players take turns batting the ball off the tee. The batting tee is ideal for small players, giving them batting experience without the fear of being hit by a fast pitch baseball. The tee structures the batting experience, allowing small players more time to align and swing the bat with the proper batting stance.
Getting Your Child Ready to Play
A child can start preparing to play tee ball during winter and early spring by doing simple exercise drills at home. Robynn Peterson, Program Coordinator of a local t-ball organization, recommends beginning with the soft sock ball method.
Roll up a sock into a soft ball and practice catching grounders. Have your child stand several feet away and roll the soft sock ball in a straight line toward the child. Have your child practice using the mitt by scooping up the sock ball in a clutch. Point out that the clutched mitt is like an alligator with a mouth that opens and closes. Practice of the alligator clutch will encourage the habit of squeezing the mitt whenever the ball is in it.
Early spring is also a good time to practice the batting stance indoors. Put the tee without the ball in front of the child. Have your child hold the bat in the proper batting stance with elbows bent and clutch the batting grip with one hand above another. Practice swinging the bat with a gliding motion, following through the top of the tee where the ball will actually sit. This batting practice drill encourages the child to swing straighter without coming down on or under the ball.
As the weather gets warmer, take your child outside to practice grounders, batting and running the bases. Oftentimes small children get confused about which way to run and which base is first, second, third and home plate. Peterson recommends having a child run the bases while yelling out which base they are on as they pass it. This helps small children develop a directional map so they can be confident about which way to run during an actual game.
When batting off the tee outside, use a soft baseball. A hard baseball could hit a child and have a negative impact on their enthusiasm for the game. Have your child practice batting using a real ball with a proper batting stance. Practice swinging the bat through the tee in a smooth, gliding motion.
Practice catching by positioning the arm in an L shape with the elbow bent and the mitt held upward. Encourage your child to squeeze the mitt with the alligator clutch every time they catch the ball. Practic outside drills throwing, catching and batting to be ready for future spring training.
Look For Quality Equipment Tee Ball Equipment
The basic equipment for playing tee ball is: a light weight bat, mitt, cleats, helmet and a batting tee for at home practice. Uniforms are usually supplied by your local community organization.
Small players in tee ball need smaller equipment. Shop selectively for a light weight, quality bat. Peterson agrees, “A big problem that I see is that often parents will buy too big of a bat and too heavy of a bat. They need to find the lightest bat available.”
How to Find the Right Bat Size
Try this test to see if a bat is the right size for your child. Have your child hold the bat and swing for five minutes in a proper batting stance. Does the bat seem too heavy? Does your child struggle to swing the bat after the second or third time? If your answers are yes, then the bat is too heavy for your child.
Peterson recommends this method to size a bat: have your child lie down and place the bat next to them with the base of the bat at the child’s feet. The bat should not come up past the thigh area. If it does, then the bat is too long - not the right size for your child.
Keep in mind that quality equipment does not have to be new or expensive. Discount sporting goods stores offer gently used equipment at a much lower price. Buying at low cost gives your child the opportunity to try the sport to see if they like it. If your child does not enjoy the sport, gently used equipment can be resold, making it a better bargain than buying new.
Keep It Fun!
As with any sport, parents should keep realistic expectations. Peterson agrees: “Sometimes you see too much parent involvement where they expect too much of what the kid is actually able to produce. Every parent wants to have a kid that excels, but these young kids are going to excel at different levels. Parents need to enumerate how fun it is and keep it fun for the kids. Let the child make the decision of what to play and what position they would like to play.”
Playing tee ball is a fun, exciting experience. Real world skills are developed as a child works with teammates to accomplish a common goal. Sporting drills, fresh air and fun friend memories will make tee ball a positive experience for your child.
For Parenting Tips on Youth Soccer , Pee Wee Football and safe summer fun swimming , lessons and safety use our articles at Childn’ Parent.
Here are links to more information on tee ball: The official site of little league t-ball , baseball and softball. Find out more about little league in your local area.
Skills and drills plus fun free stuff for anyone learning to play t-ball.
The official site of t-ball USA. More information on rules of the game and how to get your child involved.
|
|
