Coach Appreciation

My boys play baseball too. One of the appreciation gifts we have given is a trophy in the shape of the glove and we bought a ball and had all the kids sign it. The ball then goes in the glove and is a great keepsake for the coach. You can find them at most trophy shops. You can also put the team name, year, league, coache's name etc on the plaque for the glove (at the bottom). It is a relatively inexpensive gift, so you could get one for each of the coaches. I would also suggest getting a token gift for the team mom if you have one. I know, from experience, that it is a difficult position, but very rewarding! Hope this helps.

My son has played ball since he was 4. The team would also take a baseball and have all the kids sign it. You can also go online for memorbilia of whatever team name that he's on to find little trinkets. Also, if you all are planning a team party at the end of the season, here's a good web-site: http://www.baseballparties.com/
I've enjoyed watching my son play. He's now 7 1/2 and plays Rookie. Here's also a few ideas: http://www.abcdistributing.com/home/catalog/showsearch.asp

We asked each teammate to contribute a gift card of their choice and denomination. It is nice because each family can contribute based on their financial ability and no one needs to know how much each card is worth. Plus, EVERYONE can use gift cards- you know that it will be appreciated. Put all the gift cards together as a "tree" or tucked into a baseball mitt or something creative.

A couple of years in a row, I made a collage for the coaches and they loved it. I took pictures during the games of all the kids and then scanned the team pictures into my computer. Then, using Word (I'm sure other programs might be even easier to work with) I put at least one picture of each kid on the page with the team picture in the center. I labeled each picture with the player's name and number and left enough space between and under the pictures for the kids to sign their names. Then I just printed it off on a regular piece of paper and had the kids sign and then I framed it. Since they are 4, the signing might be optional since they write big.

Have the parents all chip in to get the coach a gift cert. to Sports Authority or someplace alike. Usually the coach himself is pretty athletic and would appreciated it.

Academy Gift card. Coaches are always buing equipment for the team that the league doesn't buy.

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Hi A.,
My son's are grown now, but played baseball from T-Ball to teenagers. What I got thier coaches every year was a large painted banner with the team name on it. The coaches really enjoyed it.

M. Johnson

Home made gifts are the best. I recommend a small photo album and have all the kids pictures in it. Maybe even have each kid draw a picture for the book. You could even make each kids picture look like a baseball card.
S. M

A.,
Is he balding at all? I have a great hair product for that, plus shampoo, conditioner, and anti aging shave gel, sunscreen, etc, that he would love on his skin. I can package them up for you nicely and make it fit in your budget!

A lady I work with went on ebay and found a pro baseball players bat and bought it. Then she had a name plate made with the Coach's name and the team name on it and attached it to the bat. Then she had all the kids sign the bat. Of course you could always just go buy a bat, too. It would probably be cheaper. It sounded like a pretty nice gift. She said the Coach was teary-eyed when they gave it to him...he loved it!! Good luck!

hi, since he likes sports, obviously, why not tickets to an Astros or Rockets game? Also, a nice "appreciation" plaque? or a round of golf at a local club? the good coaches need to be recognized since coaching little bitty kids is something i could NEVER have the patience to do!!! thanks for doing it.

What about a softball with the teams signatures on it? I realize they are a little young, but most should be able to write their names. If not, maybe a white T-shirt with their handprints on it with something like Greatest T-Ball Coach on it. Just a few quick ideas.

I have always framed a team picture and used a white mating around it. Stick baseball stickers on the mat and have all the kids sign their names! It is super cute ( especially little one's ) signing names. Use markers that match the team colors and a thin plastic frame at Micheal's is about $3. The last one I did was for six coaches and I spend about $50. The kids love to contribute and the coach has something he will look at often! My husband has about four of them and my son love's them just as much as he does!

seems like a coach would be the type of person who might appreciate this gift: in wimberley, there is a zipline tour you can take that seems like a lot of fun. i'm getting that for my husband for his birthday. isn't too expensive either - especially if you get other parents in on the gift. maybe get gift certificates for two so he can take someone with him. the website is www.wimberleyzipline.com
if wimberley is too far away, you can still do some research into something fun to do like the zipline tour.
if you want to get him something tangible, how about making him a ball cap? you could get it embroidered with "#1 coach" and have all the kids sign it. or something along those lines. good luck!

My husband was a coach for several years. He most appreciated gift cards to sporting goods stores (Academy).

Find out which football, basketball, or baseball team he roots for and get him a sweatshirt, hat, or t-shirt from that team. He will appreciate the gesture. You could also organize a dinner party for this man and invite the parents of the kids who are on the team.Have a little toast for him and/or a cake. J. K. :)

What we did for our coaches, was to buy a baseball and have all the kids sign it, (then we put it in a plastic baseball case), we also collected money for a gift card to Academy. In your case since the boys are only 4- you could write legibly the names of the boys yourself, and then have them sign a card instead. My boy was 8 , so all the boys could sign for themselves.

i have been a coach female.for twentyyrs.a baseball with all kids names on it.or a bat 4 next yr.with kids names on it.or a bag 2 hold stuff in.always appreciated.if coach is female send her 4 pedicure.

My husband has been coaching for my boy's teams for the last 4 years. He always appreciates a gift certificate more than anything. Sorry, its not creative, but greatly appreciated.

A friend of ours coaches soccer for my daughter. The team has gotten gift cards to Lowes (the coach's favorite store), Home Depot, Academy, an eatery, Shoe Store, Specs, etc.

A plaque stating thank you very much for your time, energy, patience... and a gift card to Academy.

I gave my sons soccer coach a gift certificate for a restaurant that I knew he liked. It is a nice, safe gift that you don't have to worry about crossing any lines.

A t shirt is really inexpensive and can last a lifetime if kept up. How about finding a good t shirt shop and having all the team trace their hands on and write their names inside their hand or trace hearts and put a personal message from the whole team on front or back-maybe something inspirational or uplifting he can remember?

Or a small plaque with everybody's name on it and a thank you quote or message.

We have gone the gift card route before. Another idea is to have a team picture and frame it and have all of the kids sign the matte around the picture. An autographed ball or t-shirt is nice too.

You can get him a sports cookie or candy bouquet. It looks like a flower bouquet but it is made out of candy or cookies. My husband, dad and brother are coaches and they love those gifts.

B.
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Hello aimee,
my name is J. i am a mother of 5 ages 19 yrs to 5 months.all of my kids play sports and we have always done gifts to the coaches anything from a gift certificate to academy(they normally will buy equipment they need to coach our kids) or a gift card to local eatery or a small party with all the parents chipping in they reallt just appreciate the acknowledgement of their time.hope this helps.
J. cancino

We did the Academy gift card too, should have seen the look on his face he was SO excited!

I think you might ought to get a BIG like stuffed baseball and let the kids all write their names on there and he would love that I'm sure

I would ask for donations from every player $3 to $5 range and then get him a gift card to a local sports store like Academy or Sports Authority. Buy a card and have all the kids sign it (or put their names on it for them if they can't write yet).

I made a certificate of appreciate in PowerPoint and had the name of the team, the year, his name and had all the kid's names too on baseballs, surrounding his name. We collected money and purchased a gift card to Academy. The parents appreciated this as well.

Do a google search on coach gifts, there are a lot of really cute things out there that can be personalized that aren't that expensive. A duffle bag with the names of the kids on it is cute, as is a photo album of him with the kids. Good luck finding the perfect gift.

I like to give the coach a small photobook of the team. I have a group picture on the front and each page has a player with a qoute about how they love the coach, etc. The coach really loves it! I use Heritage Makers- a free online publishing company that specializes in hardbound books. There are lots of clipart, backgrounds and alphabets. They have lots of sizes and even template books if you don't want to spend a lot of time putting it together. You just log on to www.publishfamilystories.com, open an account, select a project (they do posters, cards and calendars too) and it will prompt you to upload pictures. When you are done you just click "publish" and it will be there in about 5 days. There are online tutorials or you can contact a consultant (me)through the website link if you need help or have questions.

The best gift I ever did for a coach was a little memory book - he loved it because it was different and so special. I place a couple pics - you can just do one, for each child on the team and also had a child write whatever they wanted - thank you's, etc... (with the help of the parent) on a acid-free piece of paper then decorated each book-page with sport stickers and the team color-theme, for each kid. It took a bit of time but was so fun to make and the cost was less for every one than the typical gifts.

What was really fun was that we had each mom stop by on a designated day to do their child's page - we provided the accessories and the photos. That saves you time and keeps everyone involved. There was also a message of thanks for time, energy, devotion, etc.. from the coach. You can also add any newspaper clippings or team pic, etc...

Alli

We did a framed picture for our coach. We used a 5x7 picture, an 8x10 frame, and the used a mat for that the kids signed and one parent decorated with the team name and some baseball stickers to fill in any large gaps. The coaches seem to really like this.