Coaching Little League Baseball - What To Do

Gone are the days of showing up at your local Little League office and filling out a simple form, shaking hands with everyone and automatically becoming a coach or manager of a team.  I guess those innocent days are over.  So how do we get into coaching Little League baseball?

You first need to complete a volunteer application.  You can find the 2011 version here.  You've got to fill out all personal information including social security number which I'm not a big fan of.  I guess they need to check to see if you've committed bank fraud?  I don't know.

Other than that it's basic information that they guard the kids against which I'm fine with.  You definitely don't want a person coaching who has committed crimes in general but especially someone who has committed a crime against a child. 

The application also asks about your community affiliations, previous volunteer participation and special skills, hobbies or training. Your signature on the form gives permission for the Little League organization to run a background check on you. Return the completed form, along with a valid government-issued form of photo identification, to your local Little League association.

After that you may be required to fill out additional forms by your local Little League office including another background check.  Little League can of course deny your right to coach for any violations they deem detrimental to the positive development of the youth.

If everything with your application is fine then you'll most likely have the opportunity to have your shot at coaching Little League baseball.  Some leagues need coaches immediately while others may make you wait a while because there is an abundance of coaches.

So that is the boring what to do part of coaching but trust me, you'll have a lot of fun coaching especially if you're coaching your own kid.  It provides another way for you two to have fun together.  There isn't a better sport out there where families can come together than baseball.