How To Throw A 4-Seam Fastball

How To Throw A 4-Seam Fastball
By Bob Kooyenga

A good fastball is the basis for a strong repertoire of pitches. There are different types of fastballs out there and 4-seam fastball is the most simple of them all. The 4-seam fastball have very little, if any movement on it. The 4-seam fastball needs to be located very well because it will not have that movement that many other pitches have. Once you have the grip down, work hard on locating the ball where you want it to go.

Step One: The Index and Middle Fingers

The grip of a 4-seam fastball is very simple. Find one of the horseshoes on the ball. With the closed end on the outside of the ball, your index finger and your middle finger will be on the seam on the closest side of the horseshoe. The tip of your index finger will be on the seam, while the first knuckle of your middle finger will be on the seam. These two fingers should not be touching each other, but should have a small amount of space in between.

Step Two: The Thumb, Ring, and Pinkie

The thumb will be located underneath the ball below where your top fingers are. The seam should be right about where the knuckle is on the thumb. The ring and pinkie finger are to the side of the ball pointing downward. The ball will not be all the way back in your hand. There will be about a fingers worth of space between the ball the rest of your hand.

Delivery

When throwing the fastball, just throw it like you would if you were simply playing catch. There is no need to snap your wrist or torque the ball in any way. The 4-seam fastball needs a simple throw so that it will be a straight pitch instead of a moving pitch. Follow through properly to make sure you get the maximum velocity out of your 4-seam fastball. Finally, remember to work on the location of your fastball to be as effective as possible.

Check out other articles I have written at http://hubpages.com/profile/GBeckhamfan
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bob_Kooyenga

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Baseball Coaching - How to Motivate Your Players to Hustle

Baseball Coaching - How to Motivate Your Players to Hustle
By Jim Bain

Motivation is defined as the Driving Force to Achieve Goals.

If you're extremely lucky you'll have a player who acts as a spark plug and keeps the team up, but don't forget, even an All-Star player becomes only a team mate if the going gets real rough. In fact it can actually hurt a team in certain circumstances if players become resentful of the spark plug.

That being said, let's get to the Brass Tacks, Team Motivation begins and ends with the Coach. Period. Your team will assume your personality and mental attitude, so be as prepared to teach attitude as you are to instruct hitting.

Spring training is about more than learning physical skills, although it is @ 90% of it, but mental and emotional toughness must also begin to be taught. Getting to know your players is extremely important from all aspects. Watch the reaction of players as they go through their drills. Some players will become angry when they fail, others embarrassed, others take it as a learning experience and go about their business. You must make a mental note of how each player reacts in order to be able to individually motivate him at sometime during the season.

TIPS

You don't want to raise your voice or pump your fist to motivate a player who is already so anxious he's bouncing off the dugout walls. This is when an arm around his shoulder and a softer monotone instruction is required.

"Okay Johnny, listen up. I don't need a home run. Just make contact. OK"

Let's look at what we just did. We calmed Johnny down somewhat with the soft voice. We let him know we didn't expect him to try and overachieve by hitting a home run. We gave him specific directions, make contact. Then reaffirmed it all with an acknowledge question he has to reply to.

A player who has demonstrated passive or emotional feelings, anger, when failing at something requires a different approach.

"Alright now Johnny, this is no different than what you do every practice. In fact I throw faster at batting practice than this pitcher throws. Now go get 'em."

What'd we accomplish? Our voice has more of an authority tone, which means we know what we're talking about and we have confidence he's up to the task. We remind him he's already accomplished hitting baseballs thrown faster than he's about to bat against. A final word of encouragement and a directive to do something.

Addressing and motivating a team is naturally somewhat different than an individual because you're dealing with various styles of motivation at the same time. This is where it's imperative to make the players a team, they are being addressed as a team and will respond as a team.

98% of the time when I went to the pitching mound the entire infield came to the mound. First thing I did was have everyone take a deep breath to somewhat relax, but mainly to give their minds time to slow and prepare to listen.

No matter the reason for the situation, errors, walks or hits I made sure they understood we couldn't change the situation we were in, we could only react to it. Then I would give specific directions and remind them as a "team" they could get out of this jam.
The conversation may go like this.

" Alright, everyone deep breath. (Wait) Ok, we got into this situation as a team and we're getting out of it as a team. I want everyone to come in @ 4 steps. Ground ball...comes home. Fly ball...help one another." Looking at my pitcher "We just need strikes." Glancing at my catcher "Good target now."

As I left the field I always yelled to the outfielders and indicated with my fingers how many outs there were. That not only brought them back to focus but reinforced the "Team" feeling.

There are hundreds of different situations requiring different methods of motivation and 1000s of books, videos and various material with advise on how to handle motivation. Reading or listening to these materials can do nothing but help improve your understanding of how to motivate, but do you really have the time?

The important thing is you're aware motivation is a needed skill in which to successfully coach a baseball team and it's your responsibility, as the coach, to set the tone for the team.

Everyone has their own style and mine may sound quite foreign or unrealistic to you, and that's fine. It worked for me, but another avenue may work much better for you.

I'll close this segment with this comment:

" The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don't play together, the club won't be worth a dime." Babe Ruth

Jim ( Coach ) Bain is a former Minor League Player and Coach of Youth Baseball for over 10 years. He has drawn from fellow successful coaches' experiences and combined them with his own extensive experience to create a Baseball Teaching Website. The site is packed with 100s of tips, drills, history and instruction on how to play and coach the game of baseball.
http://www.Learn-Youth-Baseball-Coaching.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jim_Bain

Baseball Training Tips for Youth Baseball Teams

Baseball Coaching Digest - The Magic of the 10 Minute Baseball Drill
One of the main reasons some kids refuse to play baseball is that baseball practice is too boring. One thing that makes it so boring is that many coaches run certain drills too long and do not break their practices into short times periods. This article discusses the "magic of the 10 Minute Baseball Drill" and why many coaches use short time periods and drill variety to minimize boredom during baseball practice.

Youth Baseball Digest - Attention Baseball Coaches - Do Your Homework
This article outlines several ways baseball coaches can improve their coaching abilities during the off-season. Coach It points out several recommended off-season activities and resources that all youth baseball coaches should consider. Many of these activities are free and are available online.

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Learning to Hit the Ball Hard Every Time Baseball Drill

Learning to Hit the Ball Hard Every Time Baseball Drill
By Jim Bain

Based on physics, the hitting of a round ball, traveling 87 mph and moving up and down... with a round bat is impractical, if not highly unlikely, yet we as baseball players, execute this task on a daily basis during Batting Practice.

We execute the task of making contact with the ball with the bat, but do we consistently hit the ball correctly and hard, an honest answer would be "No."

One of the problems we encounter, unless there is a hitting coach watching and correcting our swing, you have no idea what you're doing right or wrong. The only gauge you have is the end result of the swing. Did you hit a screaming line drive? Great, what did you do right? Did you hit a feeble pop fly in the infield? What did you do wrong?

The idea of having a hitting coach with you at all times is impractical and without him you limit your batting practice, which is the only way to improve, to some else's schedule.

This Baseball hitting drill solves the problem of needing an extra pair of eyes watching you in order for you to improve your hitting. It's called the Tee-hit.

This drill is a "hitting mechanics specific" drill, which means it's designed to build muscle memory and eye to hand coordination when hitting the ball.

In order to perform this drill you'll need a batting tee, the same type of batting tee Tee-Ball players use, making sure it is adjustable up and down. A good quality whiffle ball bat and a number of whiffle balls, which must be of good quality in order to withstand the punishment, and with holes in it. The ball must have holes in it in order to properly perform this drill.

In order to conserve the time of collecting the batted balls, which is swing time, I suggest hitting into a net. If you're hitting against a solid object, such as the back of the garage or house, be sure to position the hitting tee at least 30' to 40' away from the building to reduce the damage the structure will cause the ball.

Here is how the drill works and why the holes in the ball are so important. Placing the ball on the tee, take your normal batting stance and swing, hitting the ball off the tee.

If you hit the ball correctly, as the ball travels it will create a distinct whooshing sound as the air travels through the holes in the ball. If not hit correctly, although still creating a noise as air passes through the holes, will not be a distinct whooshing sound and the ball will slice, dip, soar or spin when it hit's the ground. Any of these results means you did not hit the ball squarely. Adjust your swing until you are able to hit the ball creating the distinct whooshing sound on a consistent basis.

You are now able to take batting practice alone and still be able to figure out what adjustments you need to make, on your own.

Hello, my name is Jim Bain. I have been a licensed plumber fitter for over 34 years, a strong advocate for Social Justice, as a technical writer for the UAW and a former Minor league baseball player and Coach. Since retirement I have dedicated my life to teaching baseball and have developed a website packed with Baseball information and tips. http://www.Learn-Youth-Baseball-Coaching.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jim_Bain

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Best Way To Become A Better Hitter Fast! Baseball Training Tips

Best Way To Become A Better Hitter Fast! Baseball Training Tips
By Justin Willman

If you are looking for the best way to become a better hitter fast, this is the article for you to read.

Many people think baseball is an easy game, and hitting is something that anybody can do. This is of course until they step in the batters box with a ball moving at them 98 mph. As you probably know, hitting a baseball is one of the hardest things to do in sports. Not everyone can do it, and if you can do it, it's even harder to do it on a consistent basis. This is why professional players are considered very good if they fail seven times out of 10. That is a whopping 70% of the time. You are basically a Hall of Fame baseball player if you can get a base hit four times out of 10, or have a 40% success rate. So now that you know the statistics, let's get down to business.

First, if you are looking to become a better hitter fast, you need to know the proper fundamentals. I recommend you get a good coach or someone to teach you how to hit properly. If you do not know the fundamentals first, you will not be successful. You must realize and understand how to properly hit a baseball. Once you have this down, you can then start moving on to more advanced things.

The next thing you can do to become a better hitter fast is to simply work hard. Working hard is very, very easy to do, but many people over complicate it, or they simply surpass it. This is seriously one of the secrets to anything you want to accomplish in life. You have to work hard in order to see results. If you are looking at any hitting programs and they are trying to guarantee that you will become some perfect hitter overnight, they are lying to you. In order to see results, it is up to you. You need to work hard.

Now go out and learn the fundamentals, work hard, and you will start to see results.

Justin is a baseball expert, having helped hundreds of people to easy Baseball Success He's recently developed a FULL video course showing you a step by step process for making your hitting easier and more effective. To learn how to seriously develop a great swing, visit, http://www.DynamiteHitting.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Justin_Willman

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Understanding Pitching Grips and Knowing What to Throw

Understanding Pitching Grips and Knowing What to Throw
By Dave Rosene

In youth baseball all grips are straight ball grips. I hesitate to say fastball because the pitches don't travel that fast. Let's just say the grips are preliminarily fastball. The standard way to grip the ball to throw is with the index and middle fingers on top of the ball with the thumb underneath the ball and the ring and little finger bent and supporting the ball on the side. It is allowable if you have players with small hands to let them throw with the ring finger on top. To pitch you can throw the ball with the seam (2-seam) or against the seam (4-seam), and you can hold the ball in a variety of ways depending on the accuracy and velocity of your pitches. With the 2-seam grip you can hold the ball in the neck at the seam's narrowest point, at the horseshoe on the top of the 2-seam, or you can place your fingers across both seams which could cause the ball to sink. With the 4-seam grip you can hold the ball in the middle of the 4-seams, with the horseshoe closest to the middle finger, or with the horseshoe closest to the index finger. Again the grip which you get the best action on the ball is the grip you should use. You can also put your ring and little fingers on top of the ball for a natural changeup. Never on the youth level teach any advanced pitches like the circle changeup, palmball, fork ball, split-finger fast ball, or cut fast ball. Concentrate on having your players master the eventual fast ball and natural changeup grips, the two best pitches in baseball.

Practicing what pitches to throw in different counts is imperative in the growth of young pitchers. The areas of concentration should be pitches to use when pitchers are behind or ahead in the count. Pitchers must work to develop and master a 'go-to' pitch, a pitch you can throw anytime for a strike. When you get behind in the count 2-0, 2-1 or 3-1, you must have that type of pitch to prevent big innings and give your team a chance to win. The hitters will know that you have a strike pitch and will be ready to hit, but if you include great location you will give yourself and the 8 players behind you an opportunity to make a play. When pitchers are ahead in the count 0-2 or 1-2, they should have developed a pitch or control a location that more often than not will put hitters away. You practice that pitch by experimenting with grips, arm angles, spin and hand speed to come up with an 'out' pitch that will control hitters' bat speed, making them more likely to strike out or hit the ball weakly.

Dave Rosene - Co-Founder, DNA Sports

DNA Sports specializes in personalized baseball and softball skill programs, college recruiting education and preparation, and coaching clinics. Learn more: http://www.dnasportsonline.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dave_Rosene

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