Baseball Coaching Info

Clinics Part 2

How do you promote the clinic? The sponsor, if you have one, can do most of the promotion. If not, then go to the sports editors of your local papers and the sports directors of the local radio stations. Explain what you trying to do and ask for their help. Since it is a community project, they should be willing to help you. Your booster club members can also help by putting signs in store windows, leaving flyers for customers to pick up at local supermarkets, and talking with the directors of area youth groups such as the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, YMCA, Pop Warner football, and Little League baseball, etc.

In your promotions, emphasize that the clinic is a family affair and that it is aimed at parents and kids alike. Mention the range of topics that will be covered, especially the injury treatment and equipment phase to be directed by your team trainer and/or doctor. Mothers will often make a decision on whether their sons or daughters can participate in athletics. It is important to secure the confidence of the female audience in the general scope of your public relations/community relations program. The clinic should open with brief introductory remarks by the athletic director, head coach, team captains, sponsor, and president of your booster club. The coach should briefly introduce the assistant coaches and recognize the booster club members who helped with the project. Following this, the athletic director or head coach should outline what the clinic is all about and head right into the subject matter. The best way to make the clinic run smoothly and swiftly is to involve the youngsters as much as possible.

Set up stations (one for each clinic staff member) for various aspects of your sport, and separate the kids into the same number of groups as you have stations. At each station have the staff member explain the skill or drill briefly, and then have each kid do it. After five or ten minutes, blow a whistle and send the kids to the next station. Thus each youngster has a chance to see how every skill or drill works. After the final whistle, bring the kids to the center of the court for the raffle and any final comments. A group picture of raffle winners should be taken by the team photographer. The photographer should also take some pictures of the athletes and coaches working with the kids during the clinic, which will make great promotional aids for next year’s clinic, and human interest material for the newspaper.

After the raffle, the athletic director or coach should make a few final remarks, thank the sponsors, boosters, coaches and players, and invite the attendees to stay for the afternoon match. You are giving youngsters and their parents a chance to learn about your sport. You are increasing a youngster’s desire to play and excel in the sport, and you are showing the parents that you are concerned about safety, injury prevention, etc. It shows people you care about them since the clinic is free of charge. Most important, it gives you a chance to pick out young players to watch as they develop and become potential members of your squad!