Never played organized baseball but my son is turning 5 and wants to do T-ball. League is looking for parent volunteer coaches. Part of me thinks it'd be fun and a good bonding thing, but also I have no idea what I'm doing and I'm worried about looking like an idiot in front of a bunch of 5-year-olds. Am I overthinking this? Should I just commit?
Do it. Seriously. I had zero baseball experience and coached my son's T-ball team when he was 5 and it was awesome. You basically just help them not swing at stuff in the dirt and make sure nobody's picking daisies in the outfield. Tons of parent volunteers help too.
Big recommendation: get yourself a decent pair of sunglasses and sunscreen. You're gonna be out there a lot during practice and games. Also maybe watch a YouTube video on proper baseball form just so you have some talking points.
The league probably has a crash course thing right? Ours did a quick coaches meeting before the season and honestly that covered everything you need for that age. Don't overthink it, the kids are just learning to hold a bat and have fun.
My advice is to focus on having fun over winning. I see way too many new coaches at the 5-7 age group getting intense about it. These kids just want to feel like superheroes and hang out with their buddies.
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Just a heads up, one season of coaching taught me that the parents sitting in the bleachers can be more challenging than anything else lol. But it's worth it for the time with your kid. Those moments stick with them.