Coach's Guide to Little League Majors Baseball League Age 9-12 2026

• A base coach can be a uniformed player or an adult manager or coach.
• Stay inside the coach's box while the ball is in play.
• Don't touch a runner during play. Physically helping a runner, like stopping them or pushing them back to the base, is interference and the runner is out.
• Keep at least one adult in the dugout while you're on the field.

Yes. A coach's visit counts the same as the manager's. In Majors the team gets one visit per inning and two per game; the next visit means the player must be removed as pitcher.

Any time out you're granted to talk to a defensive player counts as a visit to the pitcher, even if you never speak to the pitcher. Agree with your manager beforehand who goes out, and when.

Any player catching a pitcher, whether in a game, in the bullpen or at practice, must wear a full catcher's helmet with a face mask and a dangling throat guard, covering both ears. Skull caps aren't allowed. Male catchers must also wear a protective cup.

In games, practices and while warming up pitchers, catchers must wear:

• a catcher's helmet covering both ears, with a face mask and a dangling throat guard (skull caps aren't allowed),
• a chest protector,
• shin guards, and
• for male catchers, a protective cup and supporter.

Batters must wear a helmet at practice as well as in games. Before each game and practice, check that every helmet:

• has the NOCSAE mark,
• has no cracks or other visible damage,
• hasn't been repainted, unless the manufacturer did or approved it, and
• has no tape on it.

Take any helmet that fails out of use.

For Majors:

• Non-wood and laminated bats must carry the USA Baseball logo, which shows they meet the USABat standard.
• The barrel can be no more than 2⅝ inches in diameter.
• Bats marked BPF 1.15 (the old standard) are not allowed.

Check every player's bat at the start of the season, and any new bat when it turns up. An illegal bat can cost your team outs.

From 2026:

• Pine tar and similar grip substances are allowed.
• Thumb protectors are allowed.
• Choke-knobs and other choke-up devices attached to the bat are not allowed.

In Majors, head-first slides aren't allowed while advancing, and a runner who slides head first into the next base is out. Diving head first back to a base they've just left is allowed.

Teach a feet-first slide from the first practice, on grass or a sliding mat, and have runners commit to it early rather than deciding at the last second.

Offer to own the pitch count:

• Count every pitch and call out the total after each batter.
• Flag the counts that change rest days (20, 35, 50 and 65) and catching eligibility (40).
• Know the daily limit for each pitcher: 75 pitches for league ages 9-10 and 85 for 11-12.
• Remember that a player who catches four or more innings can't pitch that day.

Bring a list of who is rested and eligible to pitch to every game.

• Praise effort and good decisions, not just results.
• Correct mistakes privately and briefly, then move on.
• Give every player real reps at practice, not only the starters.
• Keep instructions simple: one thing to work on at a time.
• Treat umpires and the other team with respect. Players copy what you do more than what you say.