Developmentally Appropriate Baseball Modifications

T-Ball: Kindergarten-Second Grade

• Use kids as base coaches below 9th grade
• Use only 3-4 players in the field per batter to reduce standing around and
• boredom
• Play many mini-games at the same time
• Hold one practice/game per week
• Let the kids learn by playing
• Forget about the complicated schedules and uniforms
• By second grade introduce hitting a pitched ball, either by an adult or a
• machine (1)

3rd-5th Grades

• Play 9 on the field
• Allow all players to play all positions
• Give all players equal playing time
• Move into kid pitch, but limit the number of innings pitched to 6 per week
• Play a 10-game season that lasts about 3 months
• Limit practices to 1 hour
• Limit games to 6 innings
• Playoffs are OK for 4th grade and up, but NO ALL STAR TEAMS (1)

6th-8th Grades

• Increase season to 20 games over 3 months
• Include all teams in the playoffs (1)

References

(1) Bigelow, B., Moroney, T. & Hall, L. (2001). Just Let the Kids Play: How to Stop Other Adults from Ruining Your Child’s Fun and Success in Youth Sports. Deerfield Beach, FL: Health Communications, Inc.