Outfielder ADD - How to Keep Young Players' Heads in the Game

I was never a very valuable member of my littlesay that you should avoid being mean-spirited-that
league team. I could throw, catch, and even hit agoes without saying. Instead, keeping suggestions
baseball. I was a team player, and my mompositive means avoiding mention of the behavior
always brought great snacks. The outfield,you wish to avoid. Asking young players not to
however, turned me into a liability. Put a kid in acloud gaze during baseball games just puts the
classroom and ask him to pay attention to theidea in their heads. Instead, ask them to try to
person ten feet away for half an hour, you havepay attention, do their best, etcetera.
yourself an uphill battle. Put that kid in a field andSecond, make the game interesting for them.
ask him to pay attention to a person forty yardsThis can be done without unfairly heaping
away, and you may as well be asking him to batpressure on their shoulders simply by showing a
.520.movie in which an outfielder makes an important
In trying to hone your players' focus, it isplay (almost every baseball movie) or perhaps
important to remember how they think. Childrensetting up your own version of a golden glove
resent authority but admire role models, operateincentive system.
on an incentives-and-aversions-based motivationThird, keep your players hydrated and well-fed.
system, and tend to be selfish (but influenced byThere is no better way to ensure distraction than
desire to impress peers). Based on thisto put thirsty, hungry kids in the outfield. Water
rudimentary understanding of child psychology,and fruit are good choices because the natural
you can capitalize on effective methods ofsugar will give a cleaner, more sustainable source
improving outfield focus.of energy to the players.
First, keep the suggestions positive. This is not to