The Rizzler Learning Center
The Rizzler Learning Center is a library of practical guides for youth sports coaches, team managers, and league administrators. Every guide answers a real question that comes up during a season: how to plan Tuesday's practice, how to run a tryout, how to build a fair lineup, how to keep a pitcher under the limit, how to answer a parent asking about playing time. The guides are written for volunteer and travel coaches, not professionals, and most pair with a free tool or printable template. Pick the category that matches your problem and start there.
Practice Plans
Complete, ready-to-run practices by sport and age, each with a live plan you can customize and print in the free practice planner:
- Baseball Practice Plans: 8U to High School
- Baseball Practice Plan Template (PDF and Excel)
- 8U Baseball Practice Plan | 10U | 12U | 14U and High School
- Softball Practice Plans: 8U to High School
- Softball Practice Plan Template (PDF and Excel)
- 8U Softball Practice Plan | 10U | 12U | 14U and High School
Coaching basketball or volleyball? See Basketball Practice Plans and Volleyball Practice Plans.
Tryouts by Sport
Step-by-step tryout guides for 20 sports, each covering which skills to evaluate, how to score them consistently, and how to communicate roster decisions:
- Baseball, Softball, Basketball, Soccer, Volleyball
- Football, Flag Football, Ice Hockey, Field Hockey, Lacrosse, Rugby, Wrestling
- Cheer, Gymnastics, Swimming, Tennis, Golf, Track and Field, Cross Country, Water Polo
Not sure when your sport's tryout window opens? Check the Youth Sports Seasons Calendar.
Tryout Evaluation Forms
Free scoring sheets that make tryout ratings consistent across evaluators:
Lineups & Batting Orders
Who bats where, who plays where, and how to decide faster:
- How to Create a Baseball Lineup
- Top Approaches to Building a Batting Order
- Batting orders by age: 8U, 9U-10U, 11U-12U, 13U-14U, 15U-18U
- What is a Baseball Lineup Generator?, Best Baseball Lineup Generators, Best Free Baseball Lineup Generators
Playing Time & Attendance
The hardest part of youth coaching, handled with data instead of memory:
- How to Balance Playing Time
- What is Playing Time Tracking?
- How to Track Attendance for a Sports Team
- How to Reduce No-Shows at Practice
Schedules
Getting the season on the calendar and in front of parents:
- How to Make a Team Schedule
- How to Share a Team Schedule with Parents
- Sync a Team Schedule to Google Calendar
Pitch Counts & Stats
Protecting young arms, staying compliant with league limits, and understanding the numbers:
Coaching Guides
First-season fundamentals and the organizational side of running a team:
- How to Coach T-Ball
- How to Coach Youth Basketball
- How to Coach Youth Soccer
- Coaching Philosophy: Examples and How to Write Yours
- How to Organize a Youth Sports Team
- How to Plan a Tournament Weekend
Starting a Team or Club
From first parent meeting to first game:
- How to Start a Travel Baseball Team
- How to Start a Travel Softball Team
- How to Start a Soccer Club
- How to Start a Volleyball Club
App Roundups
Honest comparisons of the tools coaches actually use, updated for 2026:
- Best Baseball Coaching Apps, Best Softball Coaching Apps
- Best Apps for Little League Coaches, Best Apps for Little League Administrators, Best Apps for Travel Baseball Coaches
- Best Baseball Scorekeeping Apps, Best Player Evaluation Tools, Best Tryout Management Tools, Best Tournament Planning Tools
Templates & Printables
Free print-ready templates that pair with these guides, no email required: lineup cards, position charts, pitch count sheets, evaluation forms, and practice schedules. Browse the full library at Printable Coaching Templates & Forms. Looking for league age cutoffs instead? The League Age Chart hub covers Little League, PONY, Babe Ruth, USSSA, Perfect Game, American Legion, and softball.
Most of what these guides teach, from practice planning to tryout scoring to pitch count tracking, is built into Rizzler Sports. The free plan covers one team, and you can explore everything before you commit.