Coaches

All of our coaches are volunteers. We have many that come back year after year to lead our kids, but we will always welcome new coaches and we need many to volunteer each year. First-time parent volunters and leaders with experience at other organizations will all have something valuable to contribute.

If you’re interested, please reach out to our Coaching Coordinator and see the Roles page for registration info.

What do I need to be a coach?

At least one coach or manager from each team must attend a first aid class and a baseball training session, both provided by the league at the beginning of the season. The training will cover coaching fundamentals, including pitching, hitting, sliding, and fielding, at levels appropriate for the ages you’ll be coaching.

Please see our Volunteers page for info on background checks and other requirements mandated by California and Little League.

See Little League’s Appointing Managers, Coaches, and Umpires .

Skills and health training is covered at Little League’s Incorporating Effective Local Training Can Prep Volunteers for a Safer, More Successful Season.

Things to Know

Player Age

You may get questions from parents when they’re signing up their kids, wanting to know what they should register for. We accommodate boys and girls 4-13 in baseball, girls 9-12 in softball, and 4-22 in our Challenger baseball division.

Please see the League Age & Divisions post for an overview of how divisions and ages work.

Rule Highlights

Please see our Rules page for SMLL’s local ground rules and highlights of League rules.

Responsibilities

Coaches take on a handful of roles that are often shared by the team manager. We cover the list on our roles page. A few key roles are outlined below.

Player Safety

Ways to help keep your team safe include:

Little League has a great coach’s field checklist at The Safest Little League® Experience Comes from Doing Common Tasks.

The American Heart Association offers clear, printable guides on hands-only CPR.

Heat-related illness is a real risk here in central California. Take a look at the Little League Rulebook’s Appendix E – Heat Illness Prevention Protection Policy and US Soccer’s Recognize to Recover Heat Guidelines.

Concussion Awareness Requirements

All coaches at SMLL need to read this CDC concussion information sheet for coaches, sign it at the beginning of each season, and return it to the league safety officer.

Learn about concussion symptoms and how to deal with potential head injuries. Print out a copy of this Concussion Recognition Tool. Familiarize yourself with it and keep it with your field bag or clipboard. You’ll have it available if one of your players has any sign of a head injury.

For more information, including references for California’s state laws regarding concussion awareness in youth sports, see Little League’s Concussions in Youth Athletes. A free concussion training course is available from the NFHS. The CDC has an excellent training and information program in HEADS UP to Youth Sports.

Sudden Cardiac Arrest Requirements

All coaches at SMLL should read this sudden cardiac arrest information sheet for coaches, sign it at the beginning of each season, and return it to the league safety officer.

For more, please see the Eric Paredes Save A Life Foundation’s Free SCA Prevention Training.

Coaching Bases

Every team should have 2 coaches in addition to the team manager. During games, a team will always need 1 registered adult in the dugout and 2 to serve as 1st and 3rd base coaches.

If enough adults are not available, players can serve as base coaches, but they cannot oversee the dugout.

Little League has a great article on Coaching Bases that gives some introductory tips.

Pitching Limits

Players of all ages may only throw a limited number of pitches per day and keeping track of this is an essential part of keeping your players healthy. The scorekeepers usually track it during games, but it’s helpful, as a coach, to keep track of your players’ limits so that you can manage your pitching roster and substitutions effectively.

See our pitch counts Rules section for details.

SportsSafety.org’s Looking for Relief… Pitching, Pitch Counts, and What to Look For talks about a number of injuries players can get from overuse, and how to identify them.

FAQ

How big will my team be?

In T-Ball and Minors, there are no limits to the size of a team. The average is about 12 players, but it varies year to year.

In all higher divisions, a team must be between 10-15 players. In Juniors and Seniors (which we don’t generally do at SMLL), if there’s only 1 team, it can have up to 20 players.

See Rule III of the Little League rulebook and Determining Roster Sizes for Teams.

What if I can’t make all the games?

An assistant coach or a team parent can cover practices and games if the head coach can’t make it. Don’t let that hold you back from signing up as a coach!

Are there team pictures?

The league provides team photos as part of the registration fee. They’re typically taken near the end of the season, in April or May. Keep an eye on the News page for an announcement.

When and where can I practice?

All practices are held at the league’s fields behind the Oakhurst Community Center. Board members will reach out to coaches at the beginning of the season to coordinate practice times for each division.

Minors field:

  • Tee ball
  • Player and Coach Pitch
  • Minors
  • AAA
  • Softball

Majors field:

  • AAA
  • Majors
  • 50/70

Can I borrow players for a game?

Yes and no. Players cannot be loaned and borrowed directly between coaches. The process must be coordinated through the league’s Player Agent, where available players are part of a pool and assigned as needed by the agent.

See Little League’s What is a Player Pool.

Please note that pool players may not pitch in games with their temporary teams. They must be used to play for 9 consecutive defensive outs and bat once.

See Little League® Significant Rule and Regulation Updates for 2021, under “Regulation V(c)” for more information.

Can a coach warm up pitchers or catchers?

You sure can! This was prohibited until recently, but changes for 2023 include this update:

Rule 3.09:

This would aid in efforts to improve the pace of play by allowing adult coaches to warm up pitchers for regular season only.

Managers or coaches must not are permitted to warm up a pitcher at home plate or in the bullpen or elsewhere at any time including in-game warm-up, pre-game warm-up, and in other instances. They may also stand by to observe a pitcher during warm-up in the bullpen.

See Little League® Significant Rule and Regulation Updates for 2023.

Can youth play on more than one team or in more multiple divisions?

Yes. Please reach out to the league Player Agent with questions about this.

Further Reading

We have various resources available on our site with more information about SMLL and Little League.