Managing a Rookie Baseball or Softball game can sometimes feel like herding cats! To help keep things running smoothly, consider the following tips.

Establish an arrival time on game days. It may be somewhere between 15-30 minutes prior to game time at the Rookie level. This will give players proper time for warm-ups and practice before games. It's also much easier to manage a continuous batting order when all the players arrive ahead of time.

Delegate a volunteer bench coach. Bench coaches can help keep the players sitting in their assigned batting order with helmets on. This keeps the game pace moving, and also helps with safety by making sure that no players are holding bats before it's their turn to hit.

Supervise warm ups. Since kids are learning how to throw, they require extra space between neighboring players. But they don't always return to their spot when a ball gets by them, or pay attention to thrown balls.. The more adults you can recruit to help supervise during this time, the safer the kids will be and the more they can focus on their throwing.

Set appropriate parental supervision expectations. Parents should be aware at the Rookie level that they can and should still supervise their own child, especially if/when they become unruly. For example, it is not solely the coach's responsibility to bring a player down from a tree when it's their turn to bat.