Course Components
The course fee includes the Coaching Baseball Technical and Tactical Skills ebook, access to the online course and test, one-year access to the course and its Coaching Aids (PDF downloads), automatic test scoring, certificate of course completion printable from the website, and entry in the National Coaches Registry. Nothing will be shipped to you, and you will have immediate access to the course upon purchase.

Course Description
Human Kinetics Coach Education brings the diamond to the desktop with Coaching Baseball Technical and Tactical Skills, an online course designed for baseball coaches of youth age 14 and older.

The course draws content from the ebook Coaching Baseball Technical and Tactical Skills, written by Human Kinetics in conjunction with Tom O'Connell, 2007 American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame inductee. Coach O'Connell also served as a content expert for the online course.

The course is delivered entirely online, and as you progress through the course, you will participate in interactive activities, read portions of the Coaching Baseball Technical and Tactical Skills ebook, and view video clips to complete course units. You’ll learn different approaches to coaching, including the games approach (an alternative to drills-based coaching); develop a season plan and a series of practice plans; and improve your ability to coach during games.

The course is heavy on skill demonstration and error detection and correction. You’ll break down baseball technical and tactical skills by viewing video frame by frame.

Other features include “Coaching Aids,” a storehouse of printable PDF documents that are incorporated throughout the course. These include practice plans, sport first aid checklists, and drill sheets. You’ll have access to the clipboard even after you’ve completed the course (for up to one year). The course also features a separate section devoted to baseball officiating signals.

After completing the course units, you’ll take the 40-question course test online and receive immediate results. Coaches who successfully complete the course are automatically entered in the National Coaches Registry, an online listing of coaches who've completed Human Kinetics Coach Education courses. Sport administrators have access to the registry, allowing them to track coaches' course completion.

Learning Objectives
After completing this course, you will be able to do the following:

• Explain the relationship and difference between technical and tactical skills and describe the traditional and games approaches to baseball practice (unit 1);
• Evaluate technical and tactical baseball skills in your players and make use of your evaluation results (unit 2);
• Teach, critique, and correct essential technical skills (units 3 and 4);
• Teach, critique, and correct essential tactical skills (units 5 and 6);
• Prepare effective season plans and individual practice plans (units 7 and 8); and
• Prepare for game days, coach games, and work with your team after games (units 9 and 10).

Audience

The course is designed to help coaches learn how to teach the technical and tactical skills of baseball and is suitable for high school coaches, serious club coaches, college and university undergraduate students, and advanced coaches at the youth level.

Unit 1: Teaching Sport Skills

• Introduction
• Effective Teaching
• Tactical Triangle
• The Games Approach
• Summary
• Quiz

Unit 2: Evaluating Technical and Tactical Skills

• Introduction
• Reasons for Evaluating
• Evaluation Tools
• Effective Feedback
• Summary
• Quiz

Unit 3: Offensive Technical Skills

• Introduction
• The Three Stages of Learning
• At the Plate
• On the Bases
• Summary
• Quiz

Unit 4: Defensive Technical Skills

• Introduction
• Throwing and Catching
• The Catcher
• The Pitcher
• The Outfield
• The Infield
• Summary
• Quiz

Unit 5: Offensive Tactical Skills

• Introduction
• Play Ball!
• Summary
• Quiz

Unit 6: Defensive Tactical Skills

• Introduction
• Play Ball!
• Summary
• Quiz

Unit 7: Season Plans

• Introduction
• Six Steps to Instructional Planning
• Summary
• Quiz

Unit 8: Practice Plans

• Introduction
• Games Approach Sample Plan
• Traditional Approach Sample Plan
• Developing Your Own Practice Plan
• Summary
• Quiz

Unit 9: Before the Game

• Introduction
• Communication
• Scouting an Opponent
• Developing a Specific Game Plan
• Pregame Meeting
• Pregame Warm-up
• Summary
• Quiz

Unit 10: During and After the Game

• Introduction
• Making Tactical Decisions
• Pulling a Pitcher
• Signs and Signals
• Batting Order
• Postgame Meeting
• Summary
• Quiz

Course Test

 

Established in 1981 and rooted in an athlete-centered philosophy that places the developmental needs of athletes ahead of winning at all costs, Human Kinetics Coach Education courses and resources are customized and widely used by youth sport organizations, state high school associations, school districts, state departments of education, colleges and universities, and national governing bodies of Olympic sports to teach, train, and certify coaches.