He just completed a grueling 20-25 game schedule with some rain catch-up games at inopportune times. The season had it all, including controversies between other teams, your own parents, members of the league board, and other headaches. His reward for dealing with all of this and leading his team to the league championship is coaching the 11-12 year old All Star team. Do you think your phone rang a lot during the season? You haven’t seen or heard anything yet. Your first duty as a coach is to inform your spouse that your long-awaited vacation will have to be postponed because your league needs it. He also talks about putting off his washing machine repair because with All Stars, the laundry room is available 24 hours a day.

Choosing the league’s All Star team can be an incredibly emotional time that can result in hurt feelings that extend beyond the season, and sometimes for years. Some leagues have incorporated players voting for the All Star team. In many leagues, coaches decide at a meeting led by the league commissioner (or player agent). The first priority is deciding the number of players to be recruited into the team. If your league charter defines this number, then this is what you should follow. Otherwise, this decision must be made at this meeting. Questions need to be discussed such as: Does the league charter require everyone to play? and how much is required to play? This issue can become a headache, as substituting players will sometimes be a distraction for the coach in charge during the game. Usually before this meeting, the head coach has his assistant coaches assigned by the league. This can be a problem because coaches sometimes prefer to bring their regular season assistants over two other assigned head coaches they have never worked with before. I would prefer the latter even though you are discussing strategies with two other people whom you may have learned to detest during the season. During All Stars, the coaches on the bench who were adversaries throughout the year always seem to get along as long as the team continues to play.

Once the coaches and team are formed, it is imperative that the head coach (or manager) hold a parent meeting. This meeting is even more important than the regular season team parent meeting. The meeting should be a requirement and last no more than 10-15 minutes. The key points that the coach should emphasize to the parents is that because their son is an All Star, he is expected to play in any position on the field (except perhaps pitcher and catcher). The point of this is that many of the players were shortstop for his team during the season and are being asked to play in the outfield. You must assure parents (and even players) that it is imperative that all nine positions are equally important. Other points that should be discussed should be about playing time. I always told parents that I will not be popular as a coach at the end of All Stars for all families, but that the league entrusted me to use my judgment, whether they think it’s right or wrong. I always emphasize that I can only guarantee the minimum required playing time and that you should consider this if you are canceling vacation plans for these All Star games.

The practices must be done in two ways. You will probably have the batting order and fielding positions in mind. I urge all coaches to mix things up in practice and try players in different positions. There will be some minor unexpected absences and you should be prepared for this as a coach.

The All Star games themselves can be one of the most pressing stresses in youth sports. The neighboring leagues will be present and the players will have expected nervousness. You can shorten your regular warm-ups and take the team out onto the field and play whatever kind of silly game you can think of. I’ve always used a game where I divide the team in half, and with a hard ball for each team, teammates should pass the ball to each other using only their necks. This mindless sounding game helps to relax players, and for 11 and 12 year olds this might be the best warm-up for them.

All stars are the highlight for some players and leagues. Aside from all the potential problems and arguments, if your All Star team ends up on a hot winning streak, there is nothing like it. Going far in any tournament will require some luck. If your team is eliminated, this is where, as a coach, you should give them the “last” pep talk. Now some teams continue to play in other local tournaments, which is a great way to end the season.