What Does a New Coach Need for a First Practice?

Volunteered to coach and have no idea what to bring? Relax. A great first practice needs about six things, and you can fit almost all of them in one bucket. You don't need a truckload of gear — you need the few pieces that keep twelve kids busy and safe.

The first-practice checklist

• A ball bucket you can sit on — hauls everything and becomes your coaching stool.
• Soft-strike baseballs — safe enough for beginners, real enough to hit. Get plenty; you'll lose some.
• An L-screen — so you can throw BP without becoming a target. Don't skip this one.
• A tee — the busiest station at any youth practice.
• A fungo bat — hit crisp grounders and pop-ups all practice without wearing out your arm.
• Throw-down bases — kids love to run. Set the diamond and let them.
• Tennis balls — for reaction drills, barehanded catch, and taking the fear out of the ball.

We bundled exactly this into the Beginner Coach Kit so you can grab it in one shot.

How to run 60 minutes

Keep them moving. Break into small groups and rotate every 8–10 minutes: one station on the tee, one fielding grounders off the fungo, one hitting soft toss into a net or L-screen. Idle kids are how practices fall apart — stations are how you keep twelve six-year-olds engaged.

The CageList way

The best coaches we know spend less on gear and more on energy. Model the effort, do the reps with them, and celebrate hustle over results. Good habits and a fun practice build ballplayers long before any premium equipment does. For the players' side of the list, send parents our beginner buying guide.

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