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The Nation’s Premier Diamond Sports Organization
USA PrimeCoaches' Playbook
2026-27 season

The Prime
Coaches' Playbook

You've got a day job, a family, and a team that's counting on you, and you're not doing this for the money. This is where we hold up our end. What to do this month, a practice you can build in the parking lot, an evaluation that gives every family something honest to take home, and recruiting tools that keep you out of trouble. Built for USA Prime coaches, by USA Prime.

What should I be doing this month? Start an evaluation
Your month
September

    Set your age group:

    Coach Calendar Book 1

    Nobody has time to read a manual in August. This is the year as a checklist: what matters this month for your age group, and the tool that gets it done. Open it on your phone, check the box, get back to the field.

    Open this month

    Player Evaluations Book 2

    Every kid you coach deserves to hear where they stand from someone who's watched them all fall. Grade them 1 to 5 against their age group, add a few honest comments, and print a report the family will keep on the fridge. Twice a year. It's the most valuable twenty minutes we ask of you.

    Grade a player

    Practice Plans Book 3

    It's 5:40, practice is at 6, and you're still in work clothes. Tap a quick-start for your age group and you've got a full practice with a schedule, drill cards, and an equipment list. Or pick a length and a focus, build your own, and swap anything you don't like. Sixty minutes to two hours, field, cage, indoor, pregame, tournament weekend.

    Build a practice

    Recruiting Tools Book 4

    Families are going to ask you what level their kid is, and college coaches are going to call you about your players. This is how you answer both honestly and stay in your lane: a team board so nobody's junior year slips by, a level read built on the same numbers the families see, the January video audit, and the emails you'll send on a player's behalf.

    Open the board
    2×evaluations a year, fall and spring, so a family sees progress instead of a snapshot
    3conversations that carry the year: each player in November, each high school family in February, the whole team in March
    48 hrsto follow up with a college coach after an event, while your player is still in their notes

    How this works

    Pick your sport up top and your age group in any book, and everything adjusts: the calendar, the evaluation categories, the drills, the recruiting tools. What you enter saves on its own. Checking where…

    Anything here about recruiting rules and dates points back to the family Playbook, because that's what we've told the parents. If the two ever disagree, the Playbook is right and we'll fix this one.

    When a parent asks you something at 9 p.m.

    Chances are the answer is already on the Playbook, written the way we want families to hear it. Tap Send next to a chapter and text the parent the link. Every chapter is listed here.

    Recruiting timeline by grade
    Who can contact you, and when
    Game day fueling planner
    Pitch counts and arm care
    The ride home

    Age group
    1

    Team setup: the coach checklist and your roster

    Start here when you take a team. Seven things, most of them one-time, all of them the reason a parent can trust us with their kid. Register on MySportsDriver, get the safety pieces done, and type your roster in once. Everything else on this site reads from it.

    Coach checklist

    Checkmarks save with your account. Links open in a new tab.

      Why we ask for all of it

      Parents hand us their kids. The background check, the abuse-awareness course, CPR, and the free heat and concussion courses are the minimum that lets us look a parent in the eye. Most take under an hour, none of them cost anything, and we know you're doing them on your own time. Thank you.

      Team roster

      Type names once and every tool suggests them. Parent contacts print on the game-day sheet. Saved on this device only; back it up from Help & contact.

      #PlayerGradAgePosB/TParent / guardianPhoneEmailField notes (pickup, jersey, reminders)

      Age drives the pitch-count table in the arm-care log. Do not store medical information, allergies, or anything you would not want on a printed sheet in a dugout. Medical forms live in the family's MySportsDriver registration; this roster saves in your browser on this device, unencrypted, and prints on the game-day sheet.

      2

      The coaching year at a glance

      Our season runs August to July, and every year has the same shape: you evaluate in the fall, develop through the winter, get the recruiting pieces ready before spring, then compete and, for the high school kids, recruit through the summer. What changes by age is how much of the year is recruiting and how much is just baseballsoftball.

      EvaluateDevelopRecruiting prepSeason and summer

      How we built this

      Information goes to the families. Actions belong to you. Every month has two or three things to actually do, not a list of things to pass along. If you only get to the bold one each month, the year still works, and we mean that.

      3

      Travel ball seasons and the tournament schedule

      Travel baseballsoftball runs on four seasons, and you own the schedule for each one. The weekends you pick decide which arms you protect, how much families spend, and, at 15U and up, which college coaches ever see your players. Build it early, check it against the list below, and send it out with the hotel links already attached.

      SeasonMonthsWhat happensThe coach's scheduling job
      FallSept – NovFall tournaments and league play; evaluations. For 15U and up, fall is a recruiting window: Best in the US and PBR run fall events, and college coaches recruit through October before the November dead period.college camps and fall showcases are where juniors get seen before the winter.Schedule set by early August. Four to six weekends for 12U and under, six to eight for 13U and up, one fall showcase for players with a ready profile. Send it with the season welcome email.
      WinterDec – FebIndoor training, testing day, and the recruiting audit. Few tournaments. Best in the US and PG summer events open registration and sell out in this window.Summer PGF, Alliance, USA Softball, and Triple Crown events open registration in this window.Set the spring and summer schedule by mid-January. Register for summer events before they sell out. Book hotel blocks through TEAMINN in February and send families the links so travel costs are known before spring.
      SpringMar – May12U-14U: the main travel season, tournaments most weekends. 15U and up: your players are with their high school teams from late February to mid-May; travel play pauses. College coaches are in a contact period from March 1, with dead periods around Memorial Day.High school softball runs the same months.12U-14U: run the season, log every arm, one heat plan per weekend. 15U and up: stay in touch weekly, collect high school film and stats for the profile, confirm summer registrations, and hold the target-school conversations while the calendar is quiet.
      SummerJune – JulyThe peak. Every age group plays; 15U and up plays in front of college coaches. Best in the US World Series and college showcases, PG and PBR events, and the club's tournament slate; the D2 window opens June 15 and D1 August 1 for rising juniors.PGF and Alliance nationals, USA Softball and Triple Crown events, and college camps; the D1 window opens September 1 of junior year, so summer is when the name gets known.Four to six weekends of quality, not eight of quantity. Arms on a written plan. One or two Best in the US College Showcasescollege showcases or camps for every family with a ready profile. Follow-ups within 48 hours of every event.

      Cross-check before you register

        Checkmarks save; run through this list once per season and clear it when the schedule is out.

        Event schedules to check

        Cross-check your weekends against these before you commit. Links open in a new tab.

        How many events

        12U and under: four to six weekends a season, mostly within a two-hour drive, one destination tournament a year at most. 13U-14U: six to eight, one or two travel weekends, no showcases. 15U-16U: fall four to six plus one showcase; summer four to six plus one or two college showcases. 17U-18U: summer built around where the target-list coaches actually recruit, not the biggest brand. More is not better; a tired arm in July is the most expensive thing in travel ball.

        Best in the US: tournaments and college showcases

        Best in the US runs the tournaments (the Best in the US World Series and the Best in Texas College ID Tournament) and the Best in the US College Showcases: one or two per region each year, held on college campuses in June and July with fall dates too, with college coaches evaluating and every family sitting through a recruiting seminar. They fill up fast. They also say plainly that they promise no scholarships and no rosters, which is exactly the honesty we want families to hear.

        Encourage every 15U-18U family with a ready profile and video to be screened at a Best in the US College Showcase. The coach's job is to say which one and when, after the January audit and the February target-school conversation, and to register early.

        College showcasesTournaments

        Showcases and college camps

        Softball recruiting runs through the summer nationals (PGF, Alliance Fastpitch, USA Softball, Triple Crown) and through college camps and showcase events where staffs evaluate directly. The coach's job is to say which one or two events fit each family's target list and level read, after the January audit and the February conversation, and to register before they fill.

        Encourage every 15U-18U family with a ready profile and video to be screened at a college showcase or camp on their target list this summer.

        PGFAlliance FastpitchUSA Softball

        Travel for families: TEAMINN

        USA Prime works with TEAMINN, the team hotel-booking service built for youth sports. Most tournaments are stay-to-play, and a block booked through TEAMINN keeps the team in one hotel at a negotiated rate, satisfies the stay-to-play rule, and gives you one reservation link to send instead of forty text messages. Book the blocks in February for spring and summer, and put the link in every tournament weekend message.

        Rooms booked outside the event's housing partner often do not count toward stay-to-play; tell families that once, in the preseason meeting. Questions about a block or a booking: Teaminn@usaprimesports.com.

        TEAMINNEmail the TEAMINN deskTournament weekend message
        4

        Month by month:

        Check things off as you go. Your month is on top; the rest of the year is below it. Every item links to the tool that does the job.

        Your month

        The rest of the year

        5

        The three conversations that carry the year

        Three conversations carry the whole year: each player in November, each high school family in February, the whole team in March. Twenty minutes each, scheduled, with the report or the list in front of everyone. If you get these three right, everything else is a text message.

        November · Every player · 20 minutes · Player and one parent

        The development conversation

        Built on the fall Prime evaluation. The player talks first. You leave with three focus areas and a 90-day plan, both written on the report.

        1. Player first (5 min). "What went well this fall? What is one thing you want to be better at by March?"
        2. The report (8 min). Walk the bars. Start with strengths, name two, then the three focus areas. Read the coach's note aloud; it is written for this moment.
        3. The plan (5 min). What the player does weekly, what the family supports, what you will check in December testing and at the spring evaluation.
        4. Close (2 min). Repeat the three focus areas. Set the spring evaluation date.
        "This is where I see you today against kids your age. In March I'm grading you against this sheet, not against anybody else on the team."

        At 12U and 14U, keep it to two focus areas and no measurables unless the family asks.At 15U and up, add five minutes on the recruiting checklist: profile, video, target list, grades.

        Open the evaluation form · Full meeting script

        February · High school players · 20 minutes · Player and parents

        The target-school conversation

        The family brings their target list from the Playbook. You bring the level read and the December numbers. The point is an honest tier match before a summer of emails goes to the wrong programs.

        1. Their list (5 min). Read it without reacting. Ask why each school is on it.
        2. Your read (7 min). Where the numbers sit today, where they project by senior year, and which tier the list should be weighted to. Show the level read; do not narrate it from memory.
        3. Re-tier together (5 min). Five to ten schools across safety, target, and reach, including at least two levels. Cut the ones nobody can explain.
        4. Summer plan (3 min). Which two or three events, who emails whom, when the video gets refreshed, what you will send on the player's behalf.
        "My job is to give you the read a college coach is going to give you, a year early. You can disagree with me. I just don't want you surprised."

        Open the level read · Scripts for the hard version

        March · Whole team · 45 minutes · Players and parents together

        The preseason team meeting

        One meeting, one set of rules, everyone in the room. The families who skip it are the ones texting you in June, so make it worth showing up for.

        1. The season (8 min). Schedule, travel, tournament weekends, what a weekend looks like hour by hour.
        2. How we play (8 min). Playing time philosophy, positions, pitching staff and workload rules, what earns innings.
        3. How we talk (8 min). The 24-hour rule after games, who to text about what, the ride home, and how the coach raises a concern with a family.
        4. Fuel, heat, arms (8 min). Point them at the family Playbook: game day planner, cooler list, heat rules, pitch counts.
        5. Recruiting (8 min, 15U and up). The coach's lane, the athlete's job, the summer calendar, and the dates that matter for this grade.
        6. Questions (5 min). Take them in the room, not in the parking lot.
        "Everything I just said is on the Playbook. If you remember one thing tonight, remember where that is."

        Coach and parent playbook · The ride home

        6

        Measurable testing day

        One session in December, again in late spring. The number itself isn't the point. The same number, measured the same way, twice a year for five years, is. Run it like a showcase so the first real one isn't the first time a kid hears a radar gun.

        What to test, by age

        GroupTestSkip
        12U and underSprint time (home to first), a throwing accuracy score (chest strikes out of 20), broad jump, and the catch-play score. All recorded as "your number last time versus now." No ranking, no board.Radar guns, exit velocity, any public leaderboard, comparing to another player.
        13U-14U60-yard dash, exit velocity off a tee (five swings, best and average), infield or outfield throw velocity, pop time for catchers, broad jump. Introduce the gun as information, not a grade.Ranking within the team, chasing a max at the cost of mechanics, testing pitchers' velocity the day after an outing.
        15U-16UThe showcase set: 60, exit velocity (tee and front toss, label which), position throw velocity, pop time, fastballpitch velocity for pitchers with pitch count logged. Record on the player's profile within a week.Testing more than twice a year, testing in the cold without a full warmup, letting a bad day define the profile.
        17U-18USame set, filmed. Add a vertical jump and, for arms, whatever the program uses for max-distance long toss. Numbers go straight into the profile and the coach-to-coach snapshot.Anything not on the showcase set. The number a college coach never asks for is a number that does not need testing.

        How to run it

        1. Full dynamic warmup and throwing progression first. Twenty minutes minimum. Nobody sprints or throws max effort cold.
        2. Stations, four to six players each, a coach or parent recorder at every one. Sprint, hit, throw, jump, catchers. Rotate every ten minutes.
        3. Three attempts, record best and average. Tell players the average matters more. It does.
        4. Same equipment, same surface, same setup as last time. Write down what you used. A different tee height or radar angle changes the number more than a month of training does.
        5. Pitchers throw last and only if rested. Two days minimum since their last outing. Fifteen to twenty pitches max, logged in the arm-care record.
        6. Enter the numbers the same day. Into the evaluation measurables section, so the spring evaluation shows the change.

        Say this before testing starts

        "These numbers tell us what to work on. They don't tell us who you are, and no college coach is looking at them today, so relax and be accurate." Say it again in May.

        Enter numbers in an evaluation · What the Playbook says about numbers

        7

        Dates that touch coaches, 2026-27

        Put these in your phone now. A parent will ask you about each one the week before it happens. The full calendar and the rules behind it live on the Playbook, and that's the version we stand behind.

        Key dates

        Class of 2028 are the current juniors, Class of 2029 the current sophomores. Softball and baseball dates differ; the sport switch changes this list.

        Contact rules, the one-line version

        LevelWhen a college coach may start recruiting communication
        NCAA D1August 1 before junior year for baseball.September 1 of junior year for softball. Before that, coaches may not call, text, email, or DM a recruit, and may not talk recruiting at camps or unofficial visits.
        NCAA D2June 15 after sophomore year.
        NCAA D3No calendar limit on communication; off-campus contact and official visits open after sophomore year.
        NAIA and junior collegeNo NCAA-style limits.

        What this means for you

        You can talk to a college coach about your player any day of the year. The college coach just can't answer the player before the window opens. So your sophomore-year job is getting the name, the video, and the numbers in front of staffs, so that on the day the window opens the phone rings. The coach's lane covers what you can and can't say.

        Full 2026-27 calendar · Contact rules, in full

        8

        What to send, when

        The eight messages you'll send this season, written once. Fill in the blanks, pick the one you need, copy it into your team app or a text. Same voice on every USA Prime team, and nobody starting from a blank screen at 10 p.m.

        
        
        Family Playbook links fill in automatically.
        
      
        
    
        
  
        

  
        

        



        
  

  
        

  
        
    Age group
    
        
    
  
        

  
  
        
    
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        The Prime scale
        
      
        Five numbers, graded against what a USA Prime player that age should be. Not against the best kid on your team, not against a college roster. A 3 is the standard, most grades on most kids should be 2s and 3s, and a report full of 4s means you've stopped evaluating.
        
    
        
    
        
      
        1DevelopingBelow the age standard. The skill is not yet in games and needs fundamental work before reps.
        
      
        2EmergingFlashes it in practice, inconsistent in games. The right drills and a season of reps move it.
        
      
        3SolidWhere a Prime player this age should be. Shows up in games under pressure. The standard.
        
      
        4AdvancedA clear strength, ahead of the age group. Other coaches notice it from the parking lot.
        
      
        5EliteTop of the age group nationally and it projects. Rare by design; a 5 should need a second coach to agree.
        
    
        
    
        
      
        
        
        How to grade well
        
        
          
          
        • Two coaches, independently, then agree. Grade alone, compare, and only then finalize. Disagreements of two points or more are a conversation, not an average.
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        • Games over practice. A skill that only shows up in the cage is a 2, not a 3.
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        • Grade the whole fall, not the last weekend. Recency is the biggest bias in youth evaluation.
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        • Comments are for the family, so write them that way. Specific and actionable: "loses the barrel on pitches away" beats "needs to hit better."
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        • Pick exactly three focus areas. A player can work on three things. Ten focus areas is a list of complaints.
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        • Coachability and makeup are grades, not character references. Observable behaviour: how the player takes correction, competes when behind, treats teammates and umpires.
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        By age
        
        
        12U and under. Same categories, hide the measurables, lean on the comments. The report talks about "since last time." Never rank kids inside the team, and never show one family another player's report.
        
        
        13U-14U. Growth spurts scramble everything. A 3 arm in October can be a 2 in March and back to a 3 by June. Say so on the report.
        
        
        15U and up. The report is also a recruiting document. Grade it the way you'd describe the kid to a college coach, because eventually you will.
        
      
        
    
        
  
        

  
  
        
    
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        New evaluation
        
      
        Fill it in on your phone at the field or on the couch after. Tap a number, add a comment where it helps, pick three focus areas, write the plan. Save it, then open the family report. Turn on pitching and catching below if you need them.
        
    
        

    
        
      
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        Grades
        
    
        Tap 1 to 5. The label under the number is the scale word so families and coaches read the same thing.
        
    
        

    
        
      
        Measurables optional
        
      
        From testing day. Leave blank what you did not test. Label which exit velocity you report.
        
      
        
    
        

    
        Focus areas pick 3
        
    
        The three things the player works on until the next evaluation. Pick from the categories or write your own.
        
    
        
    
        

    
        
      
        
      
        
    
        
    
        

    
        
      
      
      
      
    
        
  
        

  
  

  
  
        
    
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        Saved evaluations
        
      
        Everything you've saved, newest first. Open the report, start the follow-up so the family sees the change, or export the set for your director.
        
    
        
    
        
      
        
      
        
      
    
        
    
        
  
        

  
  
        
    
        4
        
      
        Running the family meeting with the report
        
      
        Twenty minutes, the player and one parent, report printed or on your phone. The report does the talking so you don't have to defend it, and the kid speaks first.
        
    
        
    
        
      
        
        
        The order that works
        
        
          
          
        1. The player's read first. "Before I show you anything, what did you think this fall?" Write down what they say. Most players are harder on themselves than the sheet is.
          2. 
          
        2. Strengths, and stay there for a minute. Two named strengths with a game example each. Parents lean forward here; do not rush to the focus areas.
          3. 
          
        3. The bars. Walk them top to bottom without commentary on the 2s. A 2 is not a criticism; it is a place the plan points at.
          4. 
          
        4. The three focus areas and the plan. This is the meeting. Reps, days, who does what. Ask the player to repeat the three back to you.
          5. 
          
        5. The coach's note, read aloud. Yes, aloud. It lands differently in the coach's voice.
          6. 
          
        6. The next date. Testing day, spring evaluation, the next conversation. The report is a chapter, not a verdict.
          7. 
        
        
        
        Open a saved report
        
      
        
      
        
        
        
          
        Do not
        
            
          
              
        • Compare the player to a teammate, by name or by hint.
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        • Tie a grade to playing time in the same sentence. Different meeting.
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        • Mention body size, weight, or "filling out." Growth is a fact, not a focus area.
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        • Predict a level for a 12U or 14U player. There is no honest answer.
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        • Let a parent turn it into a negotiation about the number. "The number is where we start the plan" and move on.
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        • Send the report without the meeting. A PDF with no voice attached reads colder than it was written.
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        Do
        
            
          
              
        • Have last period's report open next to this one at every follow-up. The change is the story.
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        • Give the family one thing they can do at home that is not a drill: sleep, breakfast, the ride home.
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        • At 15U and up, end with the recruiting checklist and the one recruiting task for the next 30 days.
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        • Flag a concern about eating, fatigue, or arm pain privately with the parent, after the player leaves, and stop at "please see your pediatrician."
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        • Put the next date in both calendars before anyone stands up.
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    Age group
    
        
    
  
        

  
  
        
    
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        Plan builder
        
      
        It's 5:40, practice is at 6, and you're still in work clothes. Tap a quick-start for your age group and you've got a full practice: schedule, drill cards, equipment list. Want your own? Pick a length and a focus, build it, and swap anything you don't like.
        
    
        

    
        Quick start curated practices for 
        
    
        
    
        

    
        Build your own
        
    
        
      
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
      
        
      
        
        
        
        
      
        
    
        

    
    
    
        
  
        

  
  
        
    
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        Drill library
        
      
        Every drill the builder can use, filtered to your age group and sport. Core drills are the ones every USA Prime team runs; Flex drills are the variety, and the first thing you cut when the field is late. Tap a card for the full write-up and a video.
        
    
        
    
        
      
        
      
        
      
        
      
        
      
      
      
      
    
        
    
        
    
        
  
        

  
  
        
    
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        What a Prime practice looks like
        
      
        Same shape at every age: warm up and take care of arms, throw with a purpose, work in small stations, compete, close. What changes is the tempo, how many stations, how long anything lasts, and how much of it the kids run themselves.
        
    
        
    
        
      
        GroupLength and shapeStationsTempo and repsNon-negotiables
        
      
        
        12U and under75 minutes. Warmup game, throwing skills, three stations, a compete game, a two-minute close.Three, ten minutes each, four players per station, a parent helper at each. Rotate on a whistle.High rep, low instruction. Say one thing, then let them go. Everyone moving every minute; lines of more than three are a broken drill.Dynamic warmup before any throw. Pitch counts tracked in a book. Everyone plays everywhere. Practice ends with a game they want to come back for.
        
        
        13U-14U90 to 120 minutes. Warmup and bands, long-toss ladder and catch-play scores, two station blocks, team defense, compete, cooldown.Two blocks of two to three stations, twelve to fifteen minutes each. Players rotate themselves.Game tempo on the big field. Fewer reps than 12U, each one at the new distance. Relays and cutoffs re-taught from scratch.Bands every practice; arms are growing. Workload check on every pitcher before catch play. Static stretching only in the cooldown.
        
        
        15U-16U120 minutes. Full throwing program, position-specific stations, live situations, tracked hitting rounds, compete, close with the mental-game rep.Position groups: infield, outfield, catchers, pitchers in parallel. Fifteen to twenty minutes per block.Game speed, game counts, game consequences. Players call the situation before the rep. Coaches talk less and film more.Bullpens logged. Exit velocity and throw velocity tracked monthly, not daily. Every practice has one rep of the reset routine.
        
        
        17U-18U / showcase120 minutes, run like a showcase. Long toss, position rounds at full effort, live BP with a purpose, bullpens with a catcher and a clock, baserunning reads, close.Position groups, players lead the warmup and the station changes. Coach's job is evaluation and the two-minute correction.Showcase reps: five swings that count, ten ground balls with a throw, a bullpen of twenty. Quality over quantity because the summer is the volume.Arm care by individual plan. No max-effort testing inside a normal practice. Film everything; clips go to the profile within a week.
        
              
    
        
    
        
      
        
        
        The 60-minute practice
        
        
        The weekday hour is the most common practice in travel ball and the easiest to waste. It works when it does one thing: 10 minutes of warmup and bands, 10 of throwing, two stations of 12 minutes each, a 10-minute compete block, and a 5-minute close. Pick the focus before you get out of the car. Arms and glove one night, bats and bases the next, pitchers and catchers on the third. Nothing gets cut from the bookends; the compete block goes first if the field is late.
        
        
        The quick-start list has a 60-minute practice for every age group and both sports; the builder makes any focus in 45, 60, or 75.
        
      
        
      
        
        
        The 90-minute practice
        
        
        Ninety minutes is the Prime standard: two station blocks instead of one, so every player gets a defensive station and a hitting station in the same night, plus a compete block long enough to have stakes. Twelve of warmup, 12 of throwing, two 24-minute station blocks, 12 of compete, 6 to close. At 13U and up the second station block is where the situational work lives; at 12U and under the youth format uses the same 90 with three stations and helpers.
        
        
        Quick starts include infield, outfield, hitting, and situations days at 90 for every age group; the builder makes any focus in 75, 90, or 105.
        
      
        
    
        
    
        
      
        
        
        Core and Flex
        
        
        Core drills are the Prime standard for that age: they run every week, they are how a 13U team learns the 80-foot throw and how a 16U team keeps catch play honest. Flex drills are the variety: swappable, and the first thing cut when practice runs short or a storm shows up. The builder fills Core first.
        
        
        When practice runs short: cut Flex drills, then shorten the compete block, then shorten stations. Never cut the warmup, the bands, or the cooldown.
        
      
        
      
        
        
        The sport switch
        
        
        Most drills are the same drill on either diamond. Distances, base paths, and pitching specifics change with the sport switch: 60/90 by 14U with 54/80 as the transition year, Pitch Smart counts, overhand pitching progressions60-foot bases at every age, 43-foot pitching from 14U, windmill-specific arm care and no formal national pitch count, which means the coach's log is the only safeguard.
        
        
        Family-facing rules for arm care live at Train the Athlete, chapter 3.
        
      
        
    
        
    
        
      
        Videos for drills
        
      
        Every drill card has a Watch bar. It links to a targeted YouTube search for that drill and, where we have one, a specific clip. To attach USA Prime's own videos, add the drill id and a link in the drillVideos block of COACH_CONFIG at the bottom of this file; the card will show it first. Two free libraries worth bookmarking for the whole staff:
        
      
          
        
        • USA Baseball Mobile Coach (free app, drill library with videos, practice plans, and the Pitch Smart counter) via USABDevelops.com.
          • 
        
        • USA Softball fundamentals on MLB.com: hitting, pitching, fielding, and baserunning basics for youth softball.
          • 
      
        
      
        Third-party clips are suggestions, not endorsements. Preview a video before sending it to a family.
        
    
        
  
        


  
  
        
    
        4
        
      
        Arm-care log
        
      
        You'll never regret protecting a kid's arm. Log every outing from the dugout in ten seconds and we'll do the math: how many rest days, who's available today, who's had a heavy week. It follows Pitch Smart's rules by ageIt follows USA Prime's house guidance for windmill pitchers, since no governing body has published a limit, and it prints when a tournament director asks.
        
    
        
    
        
      
        
        
        
          
        Log an outing
        
          
        
            
        
            
        
            
        
            
        
            
        
            
        
          
        
          
        
        
        
        
        The rule inside the log
        Pitch Smart daily maximums and rest days by age, the same table the Playbook shows parents. A rest day is a calendar day with no pitching at all, bullpens included. Finish the batter at the maximum, then the pitcher is done.Roughly 50 to 100 pitches a game by age with two to three days between heavy outings, built from orthopedic recommendations. Hitting and overhand throws load the same arm; a pitcher who also catches gets a lighter week. The Playbook's pitch-count chapter has the full table.
        
      
        
      
        
        
        Arms today
        
        
        PitcherLast outingStatusLast 7 days
        
        
        
      
        
    
        
    
        Outings
        
    
        
      
        
      
      
    
        
    
        DatePitcherAgeTypePitchesRest requiredAvailableNote
        
  
        

  
  
        
    
        5
        
      
        Saved plans
        
      
        Your saved plans, newest first. Open one to run it again, swap a drill, or copy it as next week's starting point.
        
    
        
    
        
  
        

  
        

        



        
  

  
        

  
        
    Age group
    
        
    
  
        

  
        Recruiting at 12U and under13U-14U
        There is no recruiting job at this age, and the coach's job is to say so, kindly, every time it comes up. The tools below are built for high school players. Switch the age group to 15U-16U or 17U-18U to use them, and send curious parents to the Playbook's timeline, which starts the conversation at the right grade.Recruiting at 14U is education, not activity. Parents learn what the timeline looks like and what NCAA core courses are before ninth grade schedules get built. Players do not email coaches, build profiles, or attend showcases marketed as recruiting events. The tools below are built for high school players; the recruiting board is the one piece worth starting now, with grades and course planning only.
        

  
  
        
    
        1
        
      
        The coach's lane
        
      
        Families are going to ask you what level their kid is. Here's the deal we've made with them: you give the honest read and the exposure, our recruiting staff handles the direct support, and the player owns the grades, the list, and the emails. Stay in that lane and every college coach you know keeps taking your calls.
        
    
        
    
        
      
        What a Prime coach does
        
        
          
          
        • Gives the family an honest read on level and fit, in February, before the summer emails go out.
          • 
          
        • Audits the video and the numbers, and says when they are showcase-ready and when they are not.
          • 
          
        • Recommends the two or three events that draw coaches from the player's actual target list.
          • 
          
        • Advocates to college staffs the coach knows, after the athlete has done the outreach, with facts and a clip.
          • 
          
        • Answers a college coach's call about a player within a day, honestly, including the parts the family would rather you skipped.
          • 
          
        • Flags eligibility risks early: core courses, Eligibility Center registration, and any reclass or prep-year idea under the age-based clock.
          • 
          
        • Keeps the recruiting board current so nobody's junior year gets to March unnoticed.
          • 
        
        
      
        
      
        What a Prime coach does not do
        
        
          
          
        • Promise a level, a school, an offer, or a scholarship amount. Ever. Not even "you're a D1 guyplayer."
          • 
          
        • Negotiate with a college program on a family's behalf, or relay offer terms between schools. That is the family's conversation.
          • 
          
        • Write the player's emails, run the player's social accounts, or fill out the player's questionnaires.
          • 
          
        • Accept anything of value from a college program or a third-party service tied to a player's recruitment.
          • 
          
        • Inflate a number. One 84 that shows up as 80 at the showcase ends the coach's credibility with that staff for every future player.
          • 
          
        • Talk about another player's recruitment, offers, or grades with a family. Each family hears about their own athlete only.
          • 
          
        • Tell a 12U or 14U family what level their child projects to. Nobody knows, and saying it does damage either way.
          • 
        
        
      
        
    
        
    
        The calendar and you
        NCAA contact windows restrict the college coach, not you. You can call, text, or email a college staff about a player any day of the year. The college coach cannot respond to the player before the window opens for that division and grade, and during a dead period cannot meet anyone in person. So the useful move before a window opens is exactly what this book is built for: an honest one-pager with video, delivered coach to coach, so the staff already knows the name on day one. Dates that touch coaches has the windows.
        
  
        

  
  
        
    
        2
        
      
        Team recruiting board
        
      
        One row per player, the recruiting checklist across the top, so nobody's junior year slips past you. Update it after the November conversations, the January audit, and every event. The counts up top tell you who's behind.
        
    
        
    
        
    
        
      
        
      
      
      
    
        
    
        
      
        
        PlayerGradPosGPAEC acctCore planProfileVideoTargetsOutreachAdvocacyInterestCommitted toNotes
      
        
      
    
        
    
        Interest levels: None nothing yet · Some camp invites and questionnaires · Active coach-initiated calls or visits · Offers a written or verbal offer exists. Keep offer amounts off the board; they are the family's information.
        
  
        

  
  
        
    
        3
        
      
        Level read
        
      
        The same benchmark numbers the family sees on the Playbook, from your side of the table. Put in the December numbers and see where each one sits by level. It turns February from an argument about opinions into a conversation about where the work goes.
        
    
        
    
        
      
        
        
        
          
        
          
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
      
        
      
        
        
        Where the numbers sit
        Enter at least one number.
        
        
        How to say it
        Lead with projection, not placement: "Today these sit in the D2 range with one D1 number. Two years of growth and a velocity gain put the whole set in play at the next tier. That is why the list should be weighted to D2 and high-academic D3 now, with two D1 reaches you re-evaluate next February." Numbers are one input. Grades, position depth on the college roster, the eye test on video, and the player's actual interest in going to that school decide the rest.
        
        
        The family's version of this tool · Division explorer
        
      
        
    
        
  
        

  
  
        
    
        4
        
      
        The January profile and video audit
        
      
        Twenty minutes per player with their profile and video open. Tick what passes. Whatever doesn't is their January homework, and the score is the number you text them.
        
    
        
    
        
      
        
        
        
          
        
        
        
        
        0of 0 items pass · 
        
        
          
        
          
      
          
      
          
        
          
          
          What college coaches actually do with video
          
          
          They watch the first fifteen seconds and decide whether to watch the next forty-five. Title card with name, grad year, position, and contact, then the best three swings or the best five ground balls, then the rest. Game footage after skills. Music off. No slow motion until a coach asks for it.
          
          
          If the video does not have the player's current numbers on the title card and the profile does not match the video's numbers, the coach assumes the higher one is the lie.
          
        
          
        
          Baseline the audit in January, not June
          January is when a player has time to reshoot in a cage and a coach has time to review it. By June the video is being sent, and the problems in it are already in a college coach's inbox.
          
        
          The Playbook: video and title card
          
      
          
    
          
  
          

  
  
          
    
          5
          
      
          Coach-to-coach kit
          
      
          Four messages you'll send on a player's behalf: the introduction, the heads-up before an event, the follow-up after, and the honest reply when a staff calls to ask. Fill in the fields, copy, send from your own email. Every one is short, factual, and goes out after the kid has done their own outreach.
          
    
          
    
          
      
          
        
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
        
          
        
          
      
          
      
          
        
          
        
          
        
          Send from your own email or phone. Never from the player's account.
          
      
          
    
          
    
          Rules of the kit
          One player per message. Verified numbers only, with the date and setting they were measured. A link, not an attachment. No adjectives that cannot be seen on the video. If the family has not done their own outreach to this program, send them back to the Playbook's outreach kit first; a coach's email about a player who has never contacted the school reads as the coach's project, not the player's.
          
  
          

  
  
          
    
          6
          
      
          The hard conversations
          
      
          Three you'll have every year: the level is lower than the family hopes, the player is behind and running out of calendar, and a college coach asks you something the family would rather you didn't answer. Scripts, so the words are ready before the moment is.
          
    
          
    
          
      
          
        
          February · With the family · After the level read
          
        
          "The list is a tier too high"
          
        
            
          
          1. Start with what is real: two strengths, one number that is already at the level they want.
            2. 
          
          2. Show the level read, on the screen, not from memory. Let them look for a minute.
            3. 
          
          3. Name the gap in one sentence and what closes it, with a date.
            4. 
          
          4. Reweight the list together. Keep two reaches. Add two levels they have not looked at.
            5. 
        
          
        
          "Right now the numbers say D2 with one D1 tool. I could be wrong in a year, and I want to be. What I will not do is let you spend this summer emailing only the schools that will not answer. Let's build a list where half of them will."
          
        
          If they push back: "You can absolutely keep those schools on the list. I am asking you to add, not to cut." Then move on. You have said it once; saying it twice is an argument.
          
      
          
      
          
        
          Any month · With the player, then the parent · When the board shows red
          
        
          "You are behind, and the calendar does not care"
          
        
            
          
          1. Player first, alone. The checklist, item by item, no judgment: "Where are we on this one?"
            2. 
          
          2. Pick the one item that unlocks the others. Usually it is the video, sometimes it is the Eligibility Center account, occasionally it is grades.
            3. 
          
          3. Set a date inside two weeks and put it in the board notes.
            4. 
          
          4. Then the parent, briefly: what the player agreed to and what the parent supports. Not more.
            5. 
        
          
        
          "Nothing here is a crisis yet. In June it is. Here is the one thing to finish by the 15th, and I will check the board that morning."
          
        
          If the player is a senior and uncommitted in the spring: junior college, D3, and NAIA are live options with real rosters and real money, and the coach's job is to make those calls now, not to wait for a miracle in July.
          
      
          
      
          
        
          Any day · A college coach calls you · About a player you coach
          
        
          "What's the real story?"
          
        
            
          
          1. Answer within the day. Every unreturned call costs the next player on your roster.
            2. 
          
          2. Tell the truth in scouting terms: tools, makeup, what you have seen, what you have not.
            3. 
          
          3. Say what the player needs to work on. A staff that hears only positives stops calling you.
            4. 
          
          4. Do not discuss offers, other schools, money, or the family's leanings. "That is a conversation for the family."
            5. 
        
          
        
          "Glove and hands are real, plays the ball out front, best footwork on my team. Arm is average today, he is fifteen, and it is the thing he is working onshe is fifteen, and it is the thing she is working on. Great teammate, takes coaching, and his parents let him play. The rest you should hear from him.her parents let her play. The rest you should hear from her."
          
        
          Afterwards, tell the player a coach called and that you were honest. Never tell them what the coach said about their interest; that is the college coach's message to deliver.
          
      
          
    
          
  
          

  
          

          



          
  
  
          
    
          
      
          1
          
        
          The USA Prime Coach Resource Guide
          
        
          Everything a new coach needs on paper, pulled from this site and printable: the year for every age group, what a Prime practice looks like, the Prime scale, the three conversations, pitch counts, the checklist, the game-day kit, and every free course and resource we use. Download it, print it for the binder, hand it to your assistant.
          
      
          
      
          
        
          
          
          Get the guide
          
          
          Generated fresh from the current site each time, for the sport you have selected, so it never goes stale. It opens in any browser and prints to PDF.
          
          
          
        
          
        
          
          
          What is in it
          
          
            
            
          1. The coaching year at a glance, all four age groups
            2. 
            
          2. What a Prime practice looks like, by age
            3. 
            
          3. The Prime scale and how to grade
            4. 
            
          4. The three conversations, with scripts
            5. 
            
          5. Pitch counts and rest days
            6. 
            
          6. The coach checklist and free certifications
            7. 
            
          7. Game day and tournament kit
            8. 
            
          8. The coach's lane in recruiting
            9. 
            
          9. Where to send families for every question
            10. 
          
          
        
          
      
          
      
          
    
          
    
          
      
          2
          
        
          Game day and tournament kit
          
        
          What's in the bag, what's on your phone, and what you do when the weather or an injury turns a Saturday into a decision. Tick it off before the first weekend and it becomes habit.
          
      
          
      
          
        
          
          
          In the bag
          
          
            
        
            
        
            
          
            On the phone, before the weekend
            
          
              
        
              
        
              
          
              The calls a coach makes
              
          
                
            
              • Heat. Water breaks every 15 to 20 minutes above 90°F heat index, shade between games, catchers out of gear between innings, and a player who stops sweating or gets confused comes out and cools down now, not after the inning. The Playbook: hydration and heat.
                • 
            
              • Lightning. Thunder means everyone to cars or a building, and thirty minutes after the last thunder before anyone goes back out. The umpire does not decide this for your players; you do.
                • 
            
              • Head contact. Any hit to the head with a headache, dizziness, confusion, or "not right" means the player is done for the day and a parent takes them to be evaluated. No return to play the same day, no exceptions, no matter what inning. CDC HEADS UP.
                • 
            
              • Arm pain. A pitcher who says the arm hurts is done pitching for the weekend, and the parent hears about it from you before the ride home. Log it.
                • 
            
              • Emergency. Know the field address and nearest ER before the first pitch; it is on the game-day sheet for a reason.
                • 
          
              
        
              
      
              
      
              Prints the kit checklists, your emergency plan for the venue, and your roster and parent contacts.
              
      
    
              
    
              
      
              3
              
        
              Send them to the Playbook
              
        
              Almost every question a parent asks you already has a chapter on the Playbook, written the way we want families to hear it. Find the chapter below and tap Send: on your phone it opens your share sheet so you can text the link straight to the parent; on a laptop it copies the link. It saves you the typing and keeps every USA Prime team saying the same thing.
              
      
              
      
              
        
              Recruiting
              They ask
              "When can coaches contact us?" · "What level is my kid?" · "What should the video look like?" · "What happened to scholarships?"
              Send
              Contact rules · Your numbers · Video · What changed
              
        
              Fuel
              They ask
              "What should heshe eat before a 9 a.m. game?" · "Is this protein powder OK?" · "What goes in the cooler?"
              Send
              Game day planner · Supplements · Cooler and grocery
              
        
              Train
              They ask
              "Should heshe lift?" · "How many pitches is too many?" · "HeShe grew four inches and can't throw straight."
              Send
              By age group · Arm care and pitch counts · Growth spurts
              
        
              Mental game
              They ask
              "HeShe is in a slump." · "What do I say in the car?" · "HeShe falls apart at showcases."
              Send
              Slumps · The ride home · Showcase pressure
              
      
              
      
              Every chapter, one tap
              
      
              
      
              
      
              Every link opens the exact chapter at playbook.usaprime.com.
              
    
              
    
              
      
              4
              
        
              Printable templates
              
        
              Paper for the dugout binder, generated from this site so it always matches the tools. Each one opens a clean print view; save as PDF from there if you want a file.
              
      
              
      
              
        
              Blank Prime evaluation sheet
              The categories for your sport, the 1 to 5 scale, comment lines, and the three focus areas. For grading at the field before you type it in.
              
        
              Testing day recording sheet
              Roster down the side, the measurables for your age group across the top, three attempts each with best and average.
              
        
              Lineup and rotation card
              Nine innings by position with your roster, plus a bench and pitching-plan box. For 12U and under, the rotation grid makes "everyone plays everywhere" visible.
              
        
              Pitching and bullpen chart
              Pitch-by-pitch chart for one outing: pitch type, location, result, running count, with the daily maximum for the pitcher's age printed at the top.
              
        
              Incident report
              What happened, when, what you did, who was told. Fill it in the same day for any injury, head contact, heat issue, or conduct incident.
              
        
              Preseason meeting handout
              The team meeting agenda as a one-page handout for parents: the season, how we play, how we talk, fuel and heat, recruiting, with the family Playbook links.
              
        
              Emergency action plan
              Fill in and print from the game-day kit; one per venue.
              Open the template
              
        
              Coach Resource Guide
              The full guide, downloadable and printable.
              Open
              
      
              
      
              The family books (PDF)
              2026-27 Recruiting Packet (PDF)
              Athlete Fueling Guide (PDF)
              Sports Nutrition Manual (PDF)
              
    
              
    
              
      
              5
              
        
              Help and contact
              
        
              Recruiting questions past your lane go to our recruiting and college placement staff. Registration, payments, uniforms, and coach gear go to your club director first, then MySportsDriver support. Hotel blocks and travel go to Teaminn@usaprimesports.com. Drill ideas and anything broken on this site come to partnersupport@usaprimesports.com; the library grows from what coaches send in.
              
      
              
      
              Contact USA PrimeCoaches pageMySportsDriverSuggest a drill or report a problem
              
      
              
        
              
          
              Your data on this device
              
          
              Evaluations, practice plans, the recruiting board, the roster, the arm-care log, and your checkmarks are saved in this browser, on this device. Nothing is sent to a server, and there are no accounts, cookies, or analytics on this site. That also means: clearing your browser data erases it, another device does not see it, and anyone who can open this browser can read it. Back up before you switch phones, and clear the site's data before you hand a shared laptop to someone else.
              
          
              
          
              
        
              
        
              
          
              What to keep off this site
              
          
              Player medical information, allergies, insurance details, and anything a parent shared in confidence. Those belong in the family's registration forms on MySportsDriver and in a conversation, not in a browser store or a printed dugout sheet. Evaluation reports go to the player's own family and nobody else. Recruiting offer amounts stay off the board.
              
          
              Printed sheets and downloaded files carry whatever you put in them; treat them like a roster left on the bench.