Little League Baseball Coaching

Little League Baseball Coaching

By Joe Brockhoff

If we hold our hands up and pop our wrists, we can do that over and over again very quickly. If someone were to throw a punch at us, our hands would quickly and automatically pop up in defense.

As an infielder, we don't have to think about a ball thrown to us. Our hands will react to the direction of the ball and make the catch without having to think about it.

Think of the catcher after he gives the sign. He is taught to frame the pitch. His hands automatically go to the pitch without any thought or direction.

So the hands are auto reactors. Is this good for the hitter? The answer is: No! The hitter who allows his hands to react automatically as his first movement towards the pitch will never have full body support.

When the hands go too early, this is when we hear the coach yell out, "Wait on the pitch!"
Now, let's apply this to our baseball hitting mechanics.

These are the steps:

1. Coil (Load): The hitter collects his weight on the backside
2. Stride: a linear step towards the pitched ball (30-40% of weight transfer)
3. Body Rotation: Hips rotate toward the ball
4. Hands will then, and only then, execute the stroke

Here is one of our best little league baseball coaching tips: "HIPS TAKE US TO THE BALL. HANDS TAKE US THROUGH THE BALL."

So, when we are leaning how to hit a baseball, do we trust the hands? The answer is:

Don't trust the hands. Then, trust the hands. In other words, discipline the hands to wait until we get into the launch position, which is with the hands inside the ball and the hips rotated.

Our hands do not initiate the stroke until we rotate to the pitch. They travel in rotation with the pivot, but they do not commit to the pitch until the rotation is complete. This rotated position with the hands still back is what we call the DRIVE position. It is at this time that the hands will launch.

NOW we can trust them. Let them explode the bat to the ball.

One final note. Remember that when we hit, the hands are in a double lever system. That is, they don't personally go to the ball. They are holding the bat, which goes to the ball. The hands always end up in front of the body. They are responsible for directing the bat to the proper cut line on the pitch.

Former Tulane Hall of Fame Baseball Coach, Joe Brockhoff, fully explains his baseball hitting drills with the Super 8 Hitting System, completely demonstrated with videos and hitting drills to help you hit with more power and raise your batting average. http://www.kewego.com/video/iLyROoafMM8J.html.

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Drills For Little League Pitchers in the Bull Pen

Drills For Little League Pitchers in the Bull Pen
By John R Di Nicola

The Bull Pen is where you can get the most done working with your young pitchers. Here they are working on their wind up and delivery. The pitchers will go through this station while the team is working on infield outfield practices. Once you have had a practice or two you can determine how much time you will allot for this station. You most likely will not get all the pitchers completed. Also your pitchers will be playing a position so you will have to schedule stations with that in mind.

You will most likely have to schedule several practices with pitchers and catchers only before the season starts. You can get so much more accomplished by working solely with the pitchers. Listed below are drills you can do in the bull pen and the actual field.

1. Wind up and from the Stretch - Mechanics

* This is the most important part for the young pitcher. Unless you get real lucky and have a pitcher who has pitched before you basically will be starting from scratch. To help the young pitcher feel comfortable you might want them to pitch from the stretch. History has shown they tend have better control when pitching out the stretch. A big factor that at the 7,8, and 9 year old level there seem to be a lot of base runners so they spend most of the time in the stretch position.

2. Locations

* This is the only time when you can really work on their control. You give them five places to look at while they are in their wind up and delivery.

1) The catcher right shoulder 2) Right Knee 3) Left shoulder 4) Left Knee 5) catcher's mask.

They first throw 10 pitches to catcher's mask. You instruct them to reach out and pull the catcher's mask off. Show them the index finger and middle finger out in front with arm extended and snap them down as to pull down when releasing the ball.

* Have them throw 5 pitches to each of the other locations. Once they are in the ready position they should pick up one of the locations and keep their eye's focused on the location till after the release of the ball.

* In time you should see improvement, However if a player is not improving with his control you to redirect him back to a position and try and find another pitcher.

Organizing your Practice

Set up your schedule and rotate your days you do the drills. You will find that some of the drills they will pick up quicker than others. The biggest thing is you cannot have marathon practices. By keeping the practices short and crisp you will keep players motivated. I found if you have a practice schedule and post it, will show the players approximately how long each drill will be and what to expect.

Practice makes perfect.

Thank you for taking the time to read my article. If you would like further information on this topic or other information you can EMail me at:
jdinicola@easypitching.com

You can follow us on Twitter
http://twitter.com/easypitching

Web site:
http://www.easypitching.com.

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

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Four Steps to Organize Your Little League Practice

Four Steps to Organize Your Little League Practice
By John R Di Nicola

The only chance you have as a Little League Coach is try and get yourself organized. I have listed out the very basic steps to organize your practice. You have so so many constraints on you it very difficult to get all the practice completely covered. The amount of practice time is limited maybe to 3 days per week. Getting practice fields is a major problem in most instances. The length of practice is another. You cannot hold marathon practices three to four hour practices. Using a planned schedule will enable you to have practice that are fun for the players therefore they will learn what what you trying to teach them.

Scheduling Practice -

You have a such a short time to prepare your team usually about 3 to 4 weeks. It is important you are organized your practices so that you may over come the constraints that come with being a Little League Coach.

Getting Practice Fields


number of times you practices: weather, all players can make to all practices.
practicing to much parents complain
not practicing enough

Fielding, Defense, Pitching and Hitting

Fielding


Outfield
Infield

Pitchers


Pick off - 1st base, 2nd base, 3rd base, and covering home
Run downs
Out field: Cut off men, short stop, 3rd base, 2nd base, 1st base, Pitcher
Throwing to bases -2nd,3rd, home
Situations - Simulate a game situation with coach hitting and player running

Hitting Stations


Hitting off of a "T"
Soft Toss
Live Hitting - 10 swings
Bunting

Pitchers


Throwing a bull pen with catcher

You look at this say wow! You just have organize yourself. Make sure self a template (using Microsoft word) for your practice days. Plug in your dates. You can do A, B C, D and rotate them through your practice schedule. It is a must that you get parents to help. You will need at least two to help to run a practice. You will have to do two of these segments each day and possibly a third.

You will find defense is one of the most important segments you must cover everyday. You can never hit enough ground balls to your infield. So fielding must be done just about every day. You may want to have just your infield come and work on ground balls and going over where they positions themselves for cut off from outfield. You can do the same for pitchers. Bring the pitchers and catchers to practice their defense and working on their wind up and delivery.

Best thing a you can do is make sure you are organized! Stick to your schedule and make adjustments as you go. Please do not get frustrated and not follow an organized plan.

You will soon realize the areas that you need to work on a little longer as you play games. During game you are still coaching as if it were practice. when situations happen taken player aside and talk to them.

You Never Stop Coaching!

Practice Makes Prefect

Thank you for taking the time to read my article. If you would like further information on this topic or information you can E-Mail me at: jdinicola@easypitching.com

You can follow us on Twitter - http://twitter.com/easypitching

Web site: http://www.easypitching.com

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

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Shop CoachesBest.com for your baseball coaching needs including baseball training aids, training videos, and other coaching supplies. Check out the Derek Jeter Hurricane Hitting machine by SKLZ at HurricaneTrainer.com.
Players develop incredible bat speed and confidence when they regularly use the Quick Swing Trainer. See it at QuickSwingTrainer.com. See the world’s most advanced batting tee at AdvancedSkillsTee.com.

Are you looking for a great batting cage at discount prices? Are you considering building your own backyard batting cage and training center? If so, you should visit BattingCagesDirect.com now!
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Hitting With Big Barrel Bats in Youth League

Baseball Swing Trainer Improves Bat Speed

Article Title: Hitting With Big Barrel Bats in Youth League
By Mike Posey

My eight year old was playing baseball this fall on a coached pitched team. It was the perfect situation for the fall with only one practice every Sunday afternoon from 2:00-3:30. It was a great experience, one in which he learned a lot. He also had a great time with the other kids on the team. We were also playing flag football during the fall, so we didn't have a lot of time for extended fall ball, plus he is only 8 so I wasn't interested in having him involved with a team that was going to play games every week in the fall. I'm not a big proponent of playing year round baseball, but I'll save that for another article.

The coaches decided they would try to play a couple of games and put into action what they had been teaching during the Sunday practices. We traveled about 45 minutes away on a nice Saturday during the mid fall to play a double header with another eight year old team. It was a good experience but I was shocked when I watched the other team hit. Yes, they beat us in both games 20-8 and 17-9, but that wasn't what shocked me, it was the bats they were using - Big Barrel Bats.

Let me back up a little bit first. My eight year old is our youngest. My oldest is 26 (I was 40 when our youngest was born) and we have already went through Little League, Babe Ruth, Summer Ball, etc...with our oldest. Also, as a high school baseball coach I host youth camps every summer and thought I was in tune with what was happening in youth baseball. But the bats I saw the other eight year old team using that day caught me by complete surprise. Every player on the other team was using a big barrel (2-5/8 inch diameter) bat, even though they were only eight years old.

The big barrel bat is designed for senior league play, which is typically 13-15 year olds. I did a little investigation and found that all the manufacturers (Easton, DeMarini, Louisville, etc...) specifically advertised that these big barrel bats are not approved for younger youth league teams. This was reinforced more when I found out that most youth leagues (Cal Ripen, Little League, Pony, etc.,.) do not allow players to use the larger barrel bats. However, I did find it odd that the manufacturers are making -10 to -13 drop bats (the unit distinction between the length and the weight of the bat, such as 27 inches long and 17 ounces in weight). It's obvious that the sale of these ultra-light, big- barrel bats are targeted at youth league players.

Youth league (ages 6-12) aluminum bats are typically 2 ¼ inches in diameter at the sweet spot and usually have a -8 in drop. The idea is to work up as they get older and eventually get to the -3 drop bat that is required in high school.

The problem with using big barrel bats at such a young age is it doesn't reinforce hitting mechanics. When a young hitter swings and misses the sweet spot, this reinforces the fact they need to use their hands to hit instead of their arms. The sweet spot is located 4-7 inches from the barrel end of the bat, located between the bat's trademark and the end of the bat. With aluminum (or composite bats) when the player misses the sweet spot, the bat jars in their hands. With a wood bat (which I think all young players should spend time learning to hit with) if the sweet spot is missed, the ball won't travel very far, maybe a ground ball to second or short. Anyway, it reinforces the need to rotate the hips and use the hands to get the barrel of the bat on the ball. With much practice, a player can become good at making consistent contact on the sweet spot of the bat. Using the hands correctly will strengthen the hands as they get older and allow them to progress in their mechanics as a hitter. Many players struggle with hitting on high school freshman or JV teams because they drag the bat head with the -3 bats that are required by the National Federation Rules. They have been swinging the -8 and -5 bats with their arms and the -3 is even heavier for them to swing. They haven't developed good strong hands from hitting properly.

The problem with the big barrel bats is the extended hitting zones. The player can have a long swing (one that disconnects with the arms getting away from the body) hitting the ball on the area below the sweet spot near the trademark and still get a solid base hit into the outfield. This was what I witnessed that Saturday this fall during the eight year old coached-pitched game. Most of the hitters in the opposing team line up used more arms than hands to hit, but they still had solid shots into the outfield. In fact, the few times they did make solid contact, the ball was sent like a laser to the outfield fences. Several times our players got hit with the ball (one in the head on a line drive to center field) and the coach was also hit by a hot line drive back to the mound. It was a little scary and these young players were not ready to be swinging these bats.

During my research I also found hitting with big barrel bats was common practice for travel league teams during the summer and fall. Most travel tournament sponsors do not have regulations against using larger barrel bats for youth league ages. With the manufacture warnings clearly listed on these bats, this may be a serious spot for litigation. The travel tournament sponsors and teams that use these bats against the manufacture warnings are exposing themselves to potential lawsuits.

From a hitting stand point, players will never understand their hitting flaws. It's like the weekend golfer that uses a monster head driver, one that corrects the flight of the ball if the swing is not perfect. As long as you make contact anywhere on the face of the club, you're in good shape. (I got one in my golf bag) The same is true for the large barrel bats for youth leagues. See, hitting a baseball is difficult and one that comes with much failure. A good big league player that hits around .300 will fail 7 out of 10 times. With young hitters, the failure is what makes them better. Missing the sweet spot on the bat reinforces the idea to use your hands and get the barrel on the ball.

If you're serious about your young player being a better hitter make him use the 2 ¼ inch barrel in youth league. He can also work with a wood bat in practices and scrimmage games. (or summer league play). Use bamboo when they are young (ages 6-9), moving to maple by the time they are 11 or 12 years old. Both of these bats are extremely durable and hard to break. By the time they are 15-16 years old they can graduate to a nice Ash bat. Most big leaguers use either Ash or Maple. All of our high school players have a wood bat in their bag and train with it regularly.

Don't delay the development of your youth league hitter by allowing them to use a big barrel bat. Rotate your hips and use your hands to hit the SWEET SPOT.

Mike Posey "CP"

http://www.expert-baseball-tips.com

Tips from a championship coach's perspective and experience, offering creative insights into helping others learn the game of baseball.

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

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Youth Baseball Digest - The Power of Praise in Coaching Little League Baseball

Baseball2u.com
By Nick Dixon

Praise is the easiest and most effective way to motivate young baseball players. Understanding and believing in the "Power of Praise" can make a Little League Baseball coach a better and more effective coach. Knowing how and when to praise is the key. This article discusses the value of praise in coaching youth baseball.

Good coaches have a variety of skills. They know how to teach the game of baseball. They know how to communicate their thoughts and observations almost immediately. They know how to correct without humiliation. They know how to motivate without intimidation. They love the game of baseball and that love is displayed through their actions and behaviors. But, one of the universal traits of successful youth baseball coaches is that they know the "Power of Praise".

Good youth baseball coaches know that kids respond differently when they are coached and taught the game of baseball. Many kids do not take constructive criticism. All kids do not respond the same to harsh words or loud instructions. But, one thing that 99.9% of all kids respond favorably to is praise. They love to hear words of encouragement and words that tell them that they did a task well.

What youth coaches must always remember is that many kids we coach never hear many positive words. It is sad and true that many kids never hear words or praise or encouragement at home. Words of praise are "words of respect" for a youngster. They want to love, appreciated, and respected just like most people do. Many kids we coach are hungry for attention, discipline and most of all praise. The more they are praised, the more they want to earn more praise.

So when you see a player struggling or having a bad day, find something that he is doing correctly and praise him for his action. Make his day a better day. I do not mean to give out unmerited or false praise. Make sure that the praise is deserved and merited. Kids can sense if a coach is sincere or genuine when the coach praises a player. False praise is useless and counterproductive.

One good rule to live by as a youth baseball coach is that you should find a way to praise every player on your team at least once a day. A pat on the head or back takes little time and energy on your part, but can do wonders for a kids self esteem and attitude.

I hope that you enjoyed this article. Thanks for taking the time to read it. Good luck to you and your team. Your friend in baseball, Nick.

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Nick Dixon is the President and founder of Nedco Sports, a sports training company established in 1999. Dixon is also an active and full time high school baseball coach with over 25 years experience. Coach Dixon is better known as the inventor of the BatAction Hitting Machine, the SKLZ Derek Jeter Hurricane Hitting Machine, the SKLZ Target Trainer, the SKLZ Derek Jeter ZipnHit Pro, and the SKLZ Strikeback Trainer. Dixon is also a contributing writer for BaseballCoachingDigest, the Youth Baseball Digest, the Baseball Parent Guide, the Baseball 2Day Coaches Journal, and Blog4Coaches.

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

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