The American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) is the world's largest amateur baseball coaching organization. It was founded in 1945 as the American Association of College Baseball Coaches. Now, the ABCA is composed of over 13,000 baseball coaches from all levels of amateur baseball, including youth, high school, travel ball, NJCAA Divisions I, II, and III, NAIA, and NCAA Divisions I, II and III, among others.

History

The American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA), founded in 1945, is the primary professional organization for baseball coaches at the amateur level. Its nearly 13,000 members represent all 50 states and 25 countries. Since its initial meeting of 27 college baseball coaches in June 1945, Association membership has broadened to include eight divisions: NCAA Division I, II and III, NAIA, NJCAA, Pacific Association Division, High School and Youth. Read more about the association's inception and history.

Membership

The association has almost 13,000 members hailing from all 50 U.S. states and 25 different countries. The membership includes coaches from all ranks of amateur baseball as well as some coaches with pro affiliation. The membership year for the ABCA runs from September 1 through August 31. Membership Benefits:

National Convention

The ABCA hosts the world's largest baseball convention every January. The convention features coaching clinics, trade show, meetings, several awards presentations and honors. Over 7,000 coaches attend the convention, which lasts for four days. The convention is on a rotating schedule around the United States. Upcoming locations include Chicago, Nashville, Dallas, Washington, D.C., and Las Vegas. A major draw are the over 50 clinic speakers each year. These include some of the most knowledgeable baseball coaches and minds in the world and are on-hand to share their experiences and expertise with fellow coaches. Clinics run across the General Session, Youth Coaches Session and Expo Theater. The clinics are also live streamed online for members that cannot attend the Convention in person. After the convention, all clinics are available on-demand for members in the ABCA Video Library. At the ABCA Trade Show, over 350 companies fill up over 200,000 square feet of exhibit space with state-of-the-art equipment and products, including coaching aids, apparel, field equipment, pitching machines and software. Many products are displayed for the first time and some items are even raffled off as prizes.

Barnstormers Regional Coaching Clinics

The ABCA hosts 20 regional coaching clinics throughout the United States and Canada each fall. The one-day clinics, known as Barnstormers Regional Coaching Clinics, feature presentations and on-field demonstrations by ABCA member coaches within that region. Presentations vary from video instruction to on-field demonstrations to live practice commentary, and focus on fundamentals, practical position-specific drills, coaching cues, and practice organization tips. The clinics are free for members to attend! At least half of the clinic sites are filmed each year with the on-demand videos available on ABCAvideos.org.

My ABCA mobile app

The My ABCA mobile app was launched in Fall 2019 in both the Apple & Google Play Stores. Members and non-members can download the free app! Within the app, members can access their membership benefits year-round as well as stay up-to-date with ABCA news and content. Additional features include the ability to collaborate with other members in forums and through direct messaging, register for the ABCA Convention and Barnstormer Regional Clinics, update member profiles and access the Coaching Resource Library. The app allows users to view the ABCA Clinic Videos as well as tune in to the ABCA Podcast as well!

Hall of Fame

For members by year of induction, see footnote Induction to the ABCA Hall of Fame is the highest honor bestowed by the ABCA organization. The ABCA Hall of Fame was established in 1966 with the inaugural 18–member class. Each year's Hall of Fame class is inducted during the Hall of Fame Banquet at the annual ABCA Convention in January. The entire ABCA Hall of Fame can be found online at ABCAhalloffame.org.

Awards

ABCA/ATEC Coaches of the Year

ABCA National Assistant Coaches of the Year

Lefty Gomez Award

The ABCA/Wilson Lefty Gomez Award has been presented since 1962. The award goes to an individual who has distinguished himself amongst his peers and has contributed significantly to the game of baseball locally, nationally and internationally. This award is sponsored by Wilson Sporting Goods.

ABCA/Dave Keilitz Ethics in Coaching Award

ABCA Ethics in Coaching Award honors individuals who embody the ABCA Code of Ethics. The ABCA strives for sportsmanship, ethics, and integrity to the highest degree.

ABCA/Rawlings All-America Teams

The ABCA has selected All-American Teams in each division of the ABCA, as well as an All-American/Coach of the Year Committee, as well as All-Region Teams. Each division also selects a National Player of the Year, as well as All-Region Coaches of the Year and National Coaches of the Year. Each year, over 1,700 All-Region Players and 330 All-American Players are selected.

ABCA/Rawlings Position Players & Pitchers of the Year

ABCA/Rawlings All-Americans

ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove Awards

ABCA/Rawlings All-Region

ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award

The ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award honors high school and college programs that posted a GPA over 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. Over 300 programs are recognized annually.

ABCA Century Club

The ABCA Century Club recognizes member coaches for every 100 victories they accumulate, awarding each with a certificate and recognition in ABCA publications.

ABCA Lifetime Membership

ABCA Lifetime Membership is awarded to coaches who have been members of the organization for 35 consecutive years and support to amateur baseball across the world. Currently, there are nearly 400 active Lifetime Members within the association. The newest Lifetime Members are honored each year at the annual ABCA Convention.