Welcome to the Coaches Box!

Dear Coach,

Thank you for your dedication and commitment to youth in your community. Without you, too many may not have the opportunity to access and enjoy the sport that’s at the heart of what we do.

Whether you are just picking up a clipboard for the first time or you’ve lost count of the number of years you have been involved, the Red Sox Foundation Coaches Box presented by Nike has been built with you in mind. We are here to be an ally and a resource not only for you, but also for your team, families and, of course, your youth. From trainings and certifications to drills, practice plans and resources, we are thrilled to offer best-in-class content from leaders in the youth sports development.

The Coaches Box will continually be updated to ensure you are best positioned to succeed with your teams on and off the field. We also encourage you to explore our youth baseball and softball platform, which offers additional content for youth, families and leagues!

We are always here, so please do not hesitate to reach out to our team at rbi@redsox.com.

Best of luck!
Your Teammates at the Red Sox Foundation

From state-wide trainings to certification opportunities, we want you to be equipped with the knowledge and the confidence to lead your team this season.

Coach Trainings in your state!

The Red Sox Foundation is committed to providing you with the tools to help you coach this spring/summer. See the trainings being offered in your state and if registration is open, click the active links to join the session. All trainings provided by the Red Sox Foundation are completely free! We hope to see you there!

Nike Training

Nike has teamed up with leaders in the sport industry to provide state of the art training tools to volunteer coaches. Coaches will be able to provide youth of all abilities with better, more positive experiences in play and sport. Register and watch for free!

1. How to Coach Kids: Start here! There are some things coaches can do to create a great experience for kids no matter who or what they coach. Start here to learn how to set everyone up for success (30 min or less)
2. Coaching Kids ages 7-11: This age group is ready for some teamwork, skills challenges and time management – just on a limited basis. Learn the do’s and don’ts of working with U12s (10 min or less)
3. Coaching Kids ages 12-14: Ready to get sport-specific and maybe introduce some competition? Now’s your chance. By the time kids are 12, many of them are ready for it, but there’s still a lot to know about keeping things fun, safe and free of burnout (10 min or less)

All Nike Courses

USA Develops Certifications

The USA Baseball Coaches Certification Program is a certification pathway for individuals who are currently coaching or aspire to coach at any level in the game. The program aims to create a higher standard of coaching education and enhance the ability of coaches to better serve their athletes, their team, and their communities.

“A” Certification

1. Abuse Awareness for Adults: Create a safe baseball environment
2. First Aid: Respond to injuries and emergencies
3. Confident Baseball Coach: Fostering health, safety, fun, and success
4. Pitch Smart: Protect athletes’ arms

More Certifications                        More Online Courses

We understand how much thought, strategy and care goes into coaching – as well as the complexity behind setting goals, planning drills, ensuring all youth are engaged and delivering a fun experience.

To augment your efforts, we invite you to dive into some of our pre-planned practice plans and guides – and don’t forget to explore our drill database to build out your own practice!

Nike & RSF Practice Plans     Baseball      Softball

These practice plans will serve as a foundation for your day-to-day strategy. Additional practice plans are in production and will be added when available, so please check back regularly!

Aspen Institute: Call for Coaches        Download the Report

NIKE & We Coach: Coaching Girls Guide        Download the Guide

Drills are integral to teaching the fundamentals of baseball and softball, and instilling core values of teamwork, respect and sportsmanship on and off the field, too.

We’re proud to offer a comprehensive database of drills, highlight a drill of the month and share best practices to strengthen the impact we’re making, together.

Drill Database

View or download any or all of the databases below to review drills you can run at your practice. Swap in drills from our practice plans and create your own new plan! The Foundation will continue to add in great drills for you to use. Drills in the activities database are mostly geared for younger age groups but can be modified for older players. These drills emphasize keeping the practice fun for everyone!

Activities                   Beginner*                Intermediate*                 Advanced*

*Databases are still in production

Drill of the Month

This month, we are focusing on keeping practice fun for everyone. You can find this drill in the “Activities” drill database.

Drill: Target Practice         Ages: 8-18            Difficulty: Easy/Medium

Equipment Needed:

Setup:

• Set up targets (buckets, standing bat, coach, etc.) around your practice at varying distances
• Players are split into teams

Instructions:

• Line players up at their team’s first location
• Players receive a ground ball or fly ball from the coach, field the ball, transfer the ball cleanly, and throw at the assigned target
• Each target hit would receive a specific amount of points based on difficulty
• Teams rotate through stations and whichever team scores the most points, wins!

Target Practice Activity

The Best of New England

Have a drill that you find useful? Share it with us and we may share it with our New England community! Our Drill Database will be constantly updating and if we use a drill of yours, we will give you credit!

Email A Drill

Parental and family support is vital to a young athlete’s developmental growth. 

To support all that you do, we’ve compiled the following resources to assist you in being a supportive and involved parent/guardian, coach and spectator. 

Sports Parent/Guardian Resources

10 tips for first-time sports parents: PCA Article

Talking to your kids about COVID-19: USA Softball

How a growth mindset is deeper than having an open mind or having youth athletes try harder; it’s about actively promoting a growth mindset to enhance learning: Carol Dweck: The Rise of A False Growth Mindset 

Learn how to have a positive relationship with your child’s coach: Tips for a Positive Parent/Coach Partnership

Coaching your own child: Utilizing a Coach Hat

Importance of accountable sports parents highlighting research on the impact family members have on an athlete: USA Softball Parent/Guardian

A full library of resources for parents: PCA Parents & Guardians

Women’s Sport Foundation      Parents Guide      Guia Para Padres

Women’s Sports Foundation created a downloadable parents guide to help provide insight into the latest knowledge about motivating your daughter to become active and creating a positive and supportive environment for girls.

There is no one-size-fits-all model for how we coach and empower our youth.

To that end, we have outlined additional resources for your coaching needs.

Baseball Specific Resources for Coaches

The Individuality of Coaching: USA Baseball

The Value of Positive Coaching for New Volunteer Coaches: PCA Development Zone

Identifying Success in a One-Win Season: PCA Development Zone

High- Performance Coaching: USA Baseball

11 Tips for The First-Time Coach: PCA Development Zone

A full library of resources for coaches: USA Baseball Coaches

Softball Specific Resources for Coaches

USA Softball offers resources to coaches: USA Softball Resources

An award-winning curriculum, resources, and guides to keep girls moving: Go Girl Go!

USA Softball divisional focus for coaches: MLB Softball

3 Steps to Hydrating Youth Athletes for Healthy Performance: USA Softball

Sports Nutrition Tips for Promoting Healthy Bones: USA Softball

Sportsmanship Starts Outside of Sports: USA Softball 

Resources for Inclusion

Coaching People with ADHD: UK Coaching

Coaching People with Asperger Syndrome: UK Coaching

Coaching People with Autism: UK Coaching

How to Coach Kids with Intellectual Disabilities: Special Olympics

7 Ways Coaches Can Create An Inclusive Environment: Positive Coaching Alliance

Additional Resources for Coaches

Keeping athletes safe online: US Center for SafeSport

Working through cancelled sports disappointment: PCA Expert

Ted Williams and the positive perspective of not playing: PCA Blog

Have a question about coaching? We have experts to answer you: Ask PCA

A full library of resources for coaches: PCA Coaches