Little League Baseball Drills - Batting Practice

Little League Baseball Drills - Batting Practice
By guest author: Chris Campbell

I have heard it said by many an accomplished athlete, that one of the hardest things you can do in professional sports, is to hit a major league fastball. Or any major league pitch for that matter. Just ask Micheal Jordan. He may be a living legend in the world of professional basketball, but he only managed a 202 batting average for the Birmingham Barons (a farm team for the Chicago White Sox). The moral being, it's best to get your little leaguer started early, if they plan on challenging some of the MLB hitting records.

With that in mind, lets consider a few hitting drills that the kids can use to get their bats swinging true, and making contact as soon as possible. One of the best drills you can do with your kids, is simply to grab a bucket of balls, and pitch a few to them every day you can find the time to do so. It's practically impossible, for most kids to get enough batting practice with the team. There's a limited number of pitchers, catchers, and backstops for most little league coaches to work with. It's almost impossible for them to get more then a few minutes hitting each practice. A one on one practice with mom or dad every day or so will really help out.

Now just swinging for the sake of swinging will make you a better hitter, but there are a few simple points you should keep in mind, to maximize the time put in. Don't harp on these items too much, as they can be a bit technical and boring for kids. Try to make it fun for them at the same time.

Choosing The Right Bat

Picking a bat that's appropriate for your child's height and strength can make all the difference. It should feel comfortable for them to hold and swing the bat. If the bat is slowing down their swing too much, it's probably a little too heavy. There is a simple way to test a bat, even before you buy one. Simply have your son or daughter hold the bat by the handle, and hold it straight out to the side, so the bat is parallel to the ground. They should be able to hold the bat steady for at least fifteen seconds. If they can't, or their arms starts to shake, you should try a smaller bat.

Batter Positioning

It's important to know where the batters box is, where home plate is, and where the strike zone is. That way, even little league players, can put themselves in good position to reach any ball that is passing through the strike zone. Even if your in your back yard practicing, you can mock up a plate, and batters box. Just use a can of spray paint on the grass to mark out home plate and a made up batters box. Don't worry, it'll disappear the next time you cut the grass.

Little League Baseball Drills is a great resource for helping your little leaguer get the most out of his or hers favorite pastime. With a little good training, amateur or even professional ball players will see a dramatic improvement in the way they play.

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

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Youth Baseball Practice When No Field Is Available

Youth Baseball Practice When No Field Is Available
By guest author: Marty Schupak

How many times do we as coaches call for a practice, meet the team at the field, only to find one team practicing and two other teams waiting to practice. When I first started coaching, this dilemma always seemed to happen to me. I would feel sought of helpless and once even took everyone to another field with my two coaches only to find the same situation there. I made up my mind to be prepared and plan two practices. One for a field and one without a field. The biggest difference is, having a few soft covered balls available and some planned drills for a hard service.

When there is no field available our practices are usually in a parking lot.There are certain things you can and cannot do. Obviously no sliding. Regular batting practice with even soft covered balls is difficult in a parking lot.You can set up some great bunting competition games. We would divide the team in half, set up two cones and each team goes through the batting order and sees how many can bunt between the cones.

The main idea is to be creative and safety precautions are also a priority. You can have a lot of different base running drills and throwing drills. Some of my best practices have taken place in parking lots and backyards. Don't call off practice just because someone is using the field. Come prepared and have a few extra props.

Marty Schupak has coached youth baseball for 18 years and is the creator of "The 59 Minute Baseball Practice", "Backyard Baseball Drills" and author of the popular book, "Youth Baseball Drills".

http://www.YouthSportsClub.com

Marty Schupak has coached youth baseball for 18 years and is the creator of "The 59 Minute Baseball Practice", "Backyard Baseball Drills" and author of the popular book, "Youth Baseball Drills". He is also President of the Youth Sports Club, a group dedicated to making sports practices and games more enjoyable for kids.


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How to Develop Youth Baseball Championship Attitude

Coaching Youth Baseball
By Guest Author Mike Xavier

The secret to developing a winning youth baseball team is to build a foundation of the correct championship attitude in your players. This solid foundation is supported by four critical pillars that must be present to succeed and explained to your squad repetitively.

The first pillar is called crossing the lines attitude. When your players are at home with their families, they must be nice to their siblings, respectful of their parents and perform their daily chores without a fuss. They absolutely should be nice as nice can be. But when they cross the foul lines on a baseball field, that is not that place. On the field, they need to have the mindset of being the toughest guy around - taking a ball off their face and still throwing someone out. Upon crossing back over the lines when the game is over, they return to help their mom take out the trash.

Next is the attitude of no excuses. They need to be taught that they need to take personal responsibility for everything that they can control. Items such as, the sun was in their eyes, the grass is too long, the umpire stinks are all excuses. Your coaching staff should set an environment of trust where no cares if you mess up if you take responsibility for your actions and fix it proactively.

Everyone can perform well when things are going great, but the mark of a true championship team is how they respond when things are not going well. This leads you to the pillar of dealing with adversity. By bringing this to the forefront of their thinking, they begin to check their emotions to the side and look for solutions on how to get out the the jam they currently are in.

Finally, the fourth pillar to complete the support of your team's attitude foundation is referred to as - we are all in this together. Have your players look around at each other as you describe that the last time you checked we are all in this together. Coming together as a unit will significantly alter the odds in your favor to be on the winning side of the score. This almost always involves picking each other up when something goes wrong, but also occasionally can involve getting on each other when a player is dragging a bit.

By developing these four characteristics in your team's attitude with your consistent words and actions, your team will win at home and your team will win on the road.

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Top 5 Baseball Drills to Improve Your Baseball Game

Top 5 Baseball Drills to Improve Your Baseball Game
By Kendra L Fagan

Open professional baseball tryouts are designed to help scouts determine the physical talents and abilities of aspiring baseball players.

Though many of the drills that young MLB hopefuls are put through might seem random. This is because different drills are put to people to test their skills level. While one person trying out might have a killer pitch and he knows it, a scout might want to see what the person's skill level is with other types of baseball maneuvers.

Scouts look for speed, arm strength, glove skills, and hitting skills and overall mechanics. The tryouts are grueling and not like any version of American Idol you've seen. There is no "nice" judge. Instead, baseball scouts simply call out the names of those they like. The rest of the players go home, and many of theme eventually give up on their dream.

But not unlike any talent-based industry, hearing "no" is just part of the game. It is up to you and your trainers to make sure you are getting all the necessary drills and skill-building exercise to take you to your goal of becoming a professional baseball player.

I have compiled some of the best drills for cross-skill development that will give you a leg up in the competition and hopefully win you the interest of a baseball scout.

AROUND THE WORLD DRILL

The "Around the World" drill is a great conditioning exercise that will help any baseball player develop physically.

Here's how it works.

Take the players to the foul pole in left or right field. Then time them from foul pole to foul pole to get a good accurate base time. Then have a set time that they should complete each of the laps. Some choose seven laps, some others. The number should be based on the number of innings one would play professionally. A good hint is that coaches should remember to adhere to is to not let a lap count if it is under time. This will help the player push himself to get it right. There is no "almosts" in pro baseball.

DIVE BACKS

Besides basic conditioning, this drill helps to build the players speed and quickness back to the bag. Also, it is helpful to work on quickly leaving the bag as well as helping the players to recognize how big of a turn they can make around a bag to make sure that they get back in case of a throw. Here's how a good Dive Backs drill is set up.

The players start out at Home Plate and run around first base, making an aggressive turn, and then dive back into the bag. After diving back they get up as fast as they can and head to second base to do the same thing. They do this also at third then slide feet first into home plate to end their round.

A good way to prove the get back theory is to have an outfielder and a second basemen trying to get a player out every couple of times through. This exercise works wonders for agility and speed skills which is an absolute necessity to play in the major leagues.

THE GLOVE BASEBALL DRILL

Conditioning is a grueling task, so some fun elements need to be used as well. A good fun conditioning drill is great because you can make them the hardest and the fun elements makes it not so bad.

The glove drills starts off with separating players in groups of 4 or 5. (If you are just with yourself and your coach, find a friend or two to help.) Line the people up and put their gloves in the outfield at about 25 foot intervals apart, away from them. They start the drill with a ball in their hand and run to the first glove and set the ball on it and come back to the line and go back and get the ball and come back to the line and go to the second glove and set the ball down and go back to the line and so on and so forth, until all the players have gone through and the winners get out of laps at the end of the practice.

SPEED QUICKNESS AND POWER

In any good baseball training program, player development is a primary concern. As players get older they also raise their level of function in the game. One of the areas to try to improve is the physical or talent area. If you are at all seriously about playing professionally you must first be in the talent pool of players. If you can't do the physical levels, no one will look at the skill or playing abilities.

A well rounded pre-season conditioning program starts when the players get back from Christmas break. Work should be focused on 3 areas essential to playing baseball at a professionally competitive level - speed, quickness, and power.

The first day should be spent testing the components of each skills set that are vital to an overall skill matching assessment. Test items can include:

· 40 yard sprint
· 10 yard sprint
· Standing 2 footed vertical jump
· 30 second dips
· 30 second sit-ups
· Home to 1b
· Bench press
· Dot jumps
· Diamond push ups

After the testing is done, you should have a good two months dedicated to a program that incorporates exercises, running, and strength training. Once this part is done, practice the test points listed above again. This will help you accurately measure your progress and where to improve.

THE 60 YARD DASH DRILL

This is used to determine sheer sprint speed, and it is chosen to determine the athlete's ability to run from the length of two bases. If you decide to incorporate this for your child, do so sparingly and make sure that your child is warmed up. Also reduce the length from 60 yards to only twice the distance from home to first. Of course, make sure that your child is medically approved to do sprinting. Keep the number of such dashes very low and GRADUALLY build up over time.

Here is a good pointer:

When asked to hit, scouts do not look at the end result of whether the ball was a hit, home run, foul ball, etc. Instead, they look at mechanics in order to determine if there is a "loop" in a batter's swing, weight transfer, and the batter's overall approach to the plate appearance. If you are able to introduce your child to one of the scouts during a break at the tryout, ask the scout to give you a minute to understand what he likes to see in his ideal batter. You may learn quite a bit.

Baseball Pros Store has excellent online deals on baseball equipment, strength training books, and off-season training guides to help you get into the major leagues in no time! BaseballProsStore.com baseball shop is your one stop shop for baseball bats, gloves, and training equipment. Plus items are updated everyday so you don't have to waste time driving from sports store to sports store. Begin your dream of playing professional baseball and visit href="http://www.BaseballProsStore.com">http://www.BaseballProsStore.com today!

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

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How Would You Like to Run a Fun, Effective Youth Baseball Practice?

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How Would You Like to Run a Fun, Effective Youth Baseball Practice?
By Chip Lemin

Practices in any sport can be boring and unproductive if not planned out ahead of time. Having a clip board with your practice itinerary written out is just a good solid idea.You can keep track of your time slots for certain drills,and keeping these on file, you will know what you have covered.

Keep your practices to 90 minutes when possible. I realize that early pre season practices will likely go over due to weather wiping out some valuable time early on.

Break up the practices with a couple of water breaks, so that you add some instruction as a group.Water breaks are not free-for-alls, they are for listening. Go over what you have been doing so far,and what you going to do next.

KEEP PRACTICE MOVING ALONG!

Practices can be broken up into different stations.A station is a group of players and 1 or 2 coaches.The term station refers to whatever skill is being worked on at that "station".

Typically you will divide your players and coaches up to best suit the drills you are doing.For example, take 3 catchers and run a blocking drill for 15 minutes.Then take your catchers to home plate and along with 3 middle infielders,conduct a throwing and tagging station.You can also work on back ups at 2nd base,along with pitch out drills for catchers . GET PARENTS INVOLVED!

Obviously you will need help to run these stations. That is why in the parental letter at tryouts or sign ups, you must be clear in asking for help. The parents or relatives do not have to have coaching experience,although it is helpful.

This one good way to get parents to see how much work you put in to the team.Please make it clear who your assistant coaches are right away. NAME them in your letter if possible.Just because someone helps with practice doesn't mean they are now on the staff.

I know some of this seems obvious,but believe me,it must be spelled out to avoid confusion.You will be training the parents as well on how to help with the drills,and they just might work with the player at home also.

A GOOD PRACTICE SHOULD SEEM TO BE OVER QUICK!

My nightmare practice scenario is this.A coach is trying to throw batting practice to 1 batter at a time.The coach can't get it over the plate.There is no on deck batter to quickly help pick up balls at the backstop.The rest of the players and coaches are standing in the field looking very bored.

This is a very common practice,and 1 reason that kids don't like baseball practice. It's too boring. Well I'm here to help you take charge of your team with an energizing practice.

Use your creativity and come up with some different stations.Or just use some old stand byes. Hitting stations,throwing stations,catching stations,fielding stations,or pitching stations.

Rotate your coaches and volunteers to different stations each practice to give them another station to learn. Keep track of which person worked what station so you can them experience at all of stations.

KEEP THEM MOVING!

HITTING STATION

What is stressed at each hitting station is a good balanced stance, starting the swing with your bottom hand,along with a strong hip rotation,and balanced high finish or follow through.

We like to use a drill called the Towel Drill. It is simply placing a folded towel under the back elbow of each hitter.Each hitter then gets several balls soft tossed to them one at a time.Each hitter is then trained to rotate the torso to hit the ball without the towel falling out from under their elbow.They quickly catch on after a couple practices.This is a good drill and inexpensive.

Another drill is balanced beam drill.Using a 60 inch 4x4 flat on the ground,have the players hit a ball off of a tee or soft toss to them to see whether their swing is balanced.It will also show you if they are stepping out of the batters box.

I use soft toss all season long.Try a purchase a hitting net to set up wherever you go during the season.Using soft toss you can look at the player's swings to see whether they are swinging correctly. All of the other hitting stations work a different part of the swing.Soft toss is where you can see the progress of the stations.

REPETITION, REPETITION REPETITION

Baseball skills are learned with repetition.We must guard against boredom however by keeping station times to 15 minutes. Have players hustle from station to station. While others run the stations, the manager can go from station to station and observe players while heaping praise on them.Stop at a station and interject if needed.

Take a water break after all players have cycled through stations, and go over the fundamentals of the drills again.Also preview what they are going to do next,and praise their efforts on previous drills.Have a coach actually demonstrate the drills coming and what expect.Take questions from players if needed, but don't get off topic.90 minutes goes by fast.

Be sure to praise players who are doing drills correctly for their skill level.Remember not all players have the same skill levels, but all players need consistent praise and encouragement.

90 minute practices do not include 15 minute prepractice meeting and warm up time. Please have parents bring kids 15 minutes early, or if you are really on the ball, just schedule practice time 15 minutes earlier.

WARNING :COACHES MUST BE EARLY TO GAMES AND PRACTICE!

Parents will not get players to games and practice early if they see coaches and manager getting there late.Set an example right away!

My son had a coach who would always be there when we arrived and we were usually 30 min early for practice and 1 hour early for the game.We only arrived before him twice,and that was because we left even earlier than normal.There were no issues on that team about latecomers.

Getting to games early also helps to get good dugout sides if they are not marked.You can look at field conditions during uncertain weather.You can do some work on fields if needed or permitted.If it was a difficult place to find, you can communicate that to others by phone so they aren't late.It shows other team that you mean business,it may give you a slight psychological edge.

PRACTICE EXAMPLE

Practice is set for 12 noon

1150 or earlier - you arrive to get make sure everything is set, bases,pitching rubber,equipment, etc...

1145- players arrive hopefully, put them in parallel lines 20-35 ft. apart depending on age group. Have begin warming up using proper mechanics. Any overthrows are to be picked and run back into the line. This prevents more overthrows from further away.

12 noon Call practice to order. Go over what stations are being set up and which adults are running them.Divide players up as equally as possible,splitting up buddies,and or siblings.

If this is 1st practice using stations,please demo for kids what you want at each station.

Station 1 A drill called Fly

Players line up single file, coach throws a football pass type throw over the shoulder of player on the run to make the catch.Run the ball back to the coach on the outside of the line so there are no collisions between players. do this for 10 min.

Station 2 Fly ball drill with tennis balls

Using a tennis racket, hit fly balls to a single file line of players, one at time. Players must use 2 hands with tennis balls or they will have hard time catching them. do this for 10 min.

Station 3 5gal bucket drill

Set up a 5gal bucket at home plate or anywhere else you want.Put players in a single file line, throw them a grounder or fly ball, using proper throwing techniques, attempt to throw baseball into the bucket. Put bucket at least 100' away depending on age group of course. Do this for 10 min.

Station 4 Cut off man drill

Have the players rotate as cut off man,throw or hit ball past the outfielder,have them chase,then pick up ball,using good throwing form, hit the cut off man.Rotate after each throw. 10 min.

1245pm

Have a water break,go over how drills went.Kid around with players a little and be very positive. Highlight all the good things you saw first, then maybe touch on what needs work. Above all,stay positive,and fun.

1250pm

Divide into 2 groups 1 at 3rd,another at 1st. Single file lines Have players field some grounders and pop ups, throwing to coaches or catchers 15-20ft up each baseline. 10 min.

1pm

Put players into regular positions or close to it.Bring in 2-3 players to hit. Machine or coach pitch.Give each player 7 swings, then rotate to next batter. Each player hits 2 times, then goes out and shags balls. After hitting for 2nd time,call in another player. Always have 1-2 players ready to hit,and have everyone ready to hustle in and pick up balls between hitters.

125pm

Call team together, go over things,and announce next practice or game time.Thank everyone for being prompt,especially the parents.

BE CREATIVE BE FUN BE POSITIVE

There are many other ways to run a practice, I have given you a basic format that you can modify anyway you see fit.Just don't fall into a rut of doing the same things over and over. Variety is the spice of life and same is true for baseball.

Sometimes you will have entire practices on fielding or hitting. Schedule as many practices as the team's families will tolerate before the season starts.Once the season starts, have team arrive 1 hour before game time for some hitting and fielding workouts.

CONCLUSION

Practice will make your team better.Well run productive practices will do even more. When you run challenging varied workouts players will develop their skills quicker. Always encourage working hard on their games.Most important is be positive,and be fun.

Chip Lemin has been a promoter of youth baseball since they started using aluminum bats. That's a long time. I have witnessed many good people get into coaching without solid coaching skills and it is not fun for them or the kids.Today's newer coaches are also being shortchanged on sportsmanship, like there is none. Visit my site to sign up for a insightful, informational, free coaching e-course at http://www.baseballecourse.com

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

10 Ways to Increase Your Baseball Batting Average - Besides Getting a Better Swing

Youth Baseball Digest Has Free Drills and Tips for Baseball Coaches

10 Ways to Increase Your Baseball Batting Average - Besides Getting a Better Swing
By Jack Perconte

There are many things players can do to raise or maintain a high batting average. Obviously, developing improved baseball swing fundamentals and working on timing the ball are the most beneficial things to do. Beyond that, there are other not so obvious ways to keep a high batting average. This can be the difference between continuing to play and getting a seat on the bench. Dedicated players will look for all means to improve. Improving in the following areas can make at least a hundred point difference in a baseball player's batting average.

1. Improve running speed - the ability to beat out a few extra ground balls a season for a few extra hits will help maintain a good average.

2. Develop good bunting technique - as the previous point, being able to put down a few base hits via the bunt can make a big difference, especially when players are struggling with their swing or timing.

3. Have eyes checked before season - nothing is more important to hitters than their vision. Playing even a few games without great eyesight can be detrimental to a good average.

4. Learn and adhere to the strike zone - chasing bad pitches and not being willing to take a walk will hurt the player's average.

5. Know strengths and weaknesses - hitters who know what pitches they hit best and which they don't will have better success early in the count. (Players should consult coaches for this information if unsure).

6. Study the opposing pitcher - even young players should watch the opposing pitcher during warm-ups and in games to get an idea of their speed, control, etc.

7. Use the whole field - during batting practice players should work on hitting balls where they are pitched. It's a big advantage to be able to hit balls to all fields as opposed to only using half the field.

8. Cut down on swing with two strikes - players who just try to make contact and hit the ball back through the middle with two strikes have a great chance to maintain a high average.

9. Keep a good attitude - hitters that realize their next at bat can be different than their previous failed attempts will succeed. Forgetting bad at-bats is crucial to maintain confidence and belief in oneself.

10. Remember the directions to Carnegie Hall - practice, perfect practice, practice when others aren't.

Finally, good coaches will stress the above suggestions and help players develop these parts of their game. Over time, players will begin to do these on their own and notice how their batting average soars.

Former major league baseball player, Jack Perconte gives baseball hitting tips and batting practice advice for ballplayers of all ages. His baseball hitting lessons advice can be found at http://www.baseballhittinglessons.com/baseball Jack is the author of two books, "The Making of a Hitter" and "Raising an Athlete" - his parenting blog can be found at http://positiveparentinginsports.com

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

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Youth Baseball Practice & Coaching-Making The Best Use Of Your Practice Time

Youth Baseball Practice & Coaching-Making The Best Use Of Your Practice Time
By Michael Sakowski

Making The Most Of Your Youth Baseball Practice

If you ever have the opportunity to watch a professional sports team practice, the one aspect that jumps out at you, other than the abundance of talent, is the degree to which every single minute is utilized in an efficient manner. Different groups rotate around drills for set amounts of time governed by a clock and timed buzzer. You can do somewhat the same thing with your youth baseball practice. Here is a good basic formula for an hour and 45 minute practice:

In the first 10 minutes have players each find a teammate to warm up with by throwing and catching with each other. If a player does not have a partner, an assistant coach should throw and catch with the player.

In the next 5 minutes you should have your team meeting and discuss what you will be doing in the practice and cover details for an upcoming game.

In then next 1 hour divide the team up as follows: Have your 3 starting pitchers and starting catcher in the pitching & catching group, have half of the remaining players in an infield practice group, and have the remaining players in an outfield practice group.

Have one of the pitchers throwing to the catcher (in full catcher's gear) while the other two pitchers throw to each other. Have all the pitchers switch off after ten pitches to the catcher so all pitchers have a chance to throw to the catcher. Have a coach watch the pitching form of each pitcher.

Have the infield group cover all the infield positions with extra players going to the outfield. A coach should bat balls to all areas of the field. Have extra players assume the roles of base runners. Rotate the infield positions after every few hits.

Have your outfield group spread out in a wide semi-circle in pairs of two with each two players about 8 feet from each other. A coach or assistant bats or throws balls to each pair. The player closest to the ball calls it and the other plays backup. Stress the need for good backup! Only 2 outfielders should be involved with each throw but you can keep the hits/throws going as quick as possible. It is nice to have an extra helper to the coach to gather balls as they are returned.

After 30 minutes, have the infield and outfield groups switch. On every other practice have the pitchers & catcher mix in with the infield/outfield groups.

Devote the last 30 minutes to batting practice. Use a variety of batting drills and make sure every player gets a lot of practice.

Michael Sakowski works full time and volunteers as an assistant coach for his son's youth league baseball team. He also has researched effective youth baseball methods and has published a website, Youth Baseball Basics that provides helpful information to first time baseball players and first time baseball parents.

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

4 Baseball Pitching Drills For Little League Players

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4 Baseball Pitching Drills For Little League Players
By Nick Dixon
Teaching, training and developing young baseball pitchers takes a lot of time, patience, and practice repetition. Many young pitchers need to practice pitching skills daily. To keep the interest level high, it is best to use a variety of drills on alternate days to prevent boredom. Here are 4 baseball pitching drills that can be used to train youth and beginner pitchers.

Drill #1 - Up & Out Foot Drill Objective - To help pitchers perfect the proper back leg action. The purpose of this drill is to stop foot drag and prevent over striding.

Equipment Needed - A brick, block or wood or other suitable object. The object will be placed at a location just in front of the pivot foot of the pitcher. The pitcher will be working out of the stretch. The pitcher should be reminded to roll and pick his back foot up so that it clears the object.

Procedure - The pitcher throws using his normal motion and delivery. If the pitcher fails to clear the object, then his back foot is "dragging" or he is over striding. Young pitchers should be coached to step out of the "hold" and up and over the block.

Drill #2 - Dot Spot Drill Objective - The purpose of this drill is to build confidence, to teach young pitchers to hit their spots and to teach young pitchers to have great control.

Equipment Needed - Good balls, Catching equipment, and glove.

Procedure - The catcher has 4 dots on his gear. The 4 dots or spots are different colors or they each have a number on them. The dots are taped to each knee on the shin guards and one to the left shoulder and right shoulder. The catcher or coach calls a color or a number. The pitcher must hit the dot called. The pitcher has 6 pitches to hit all 4 of the dots. All dots should be called in different orders each time. If the pitcher fails to hit 4 dots correctly, the pitcher must do 10 push ups. Two pitchers can compete to see which finishes first. The dots may be placed lower on the catcher to stress keeping the ball low or down in the zone.

Drill #3 Long Toss - Power Building Drill - Pitchers should long toss several times a week to build strength and endurance. The two players should warm-up as usual and then move back a few steps after each 4 throws. Pitchers should be able to increase their strength and extend their distances within weeks. Pitchers of all ages should work out to a distance at least 3 times their normal pitching distance. Some coaches allow players to "crow hop" at the farthest distances. That is up to you.

Drill #4 - Front Side Drill Objective - This drill is used to teach and reinforce the proper front shoulder action during delivery.

The drill is performed as the pitcher kneels on the pivot-leg knee. The pitcher will begin the drill with the throwing arm in the "T -position" and the stride foot aimed at the plate. The pitcher begins the throwing motion by pulling and tucking his front arm and glove. At the same time he is bringing his throwing arm and shoulder around and toward the plate. The drill should be performed many times to give the pitcher the feel of proper mechanics and front shoulder movement. The front elbow should be used as the guide for the front side. The glove should be extended out and tucked as the pitcher rolls his lead shoulder and pulls it in. This deceptive move is used to distract and deceive batters. The drill should be finished with the throwing arm in proper finish position outside the stride leg knee.

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Baseball Coaching Digest - The Three Best Slides in Baseball and 3 Coaching Tips For Teaching Each

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By Nick Dixon

Baseball sliding is an important skill for baseball players to master. It is every baseball coaches responsibility to teach every player how to slide safely. Every player should know the different kinds of slides and when each type slide is used. This article explains the three safest types of baseball slides and gives coaching points for each.

Sliding is difficult to practice. I can be relatively to easy teach if the coach knows how to properly execute each slide. Until players have a chance execute slides repetitively, they do not gain the confidence they should have to use the slides in a game. The best ways to practice baseball sliding if you do not have a slide practicing mat, is to wet the grass, use nylon cloth or card board on gym floors, or practice sliding in soft loose dirt.

There are a couple of basic safety points that should be remembered when executing all baseball slides. You must start the slide at least four steps from the bag. Sliding late is a commonly cause of ankle and leg injury. Keeping the hands high also prevent injury to hands, fingers and wrist.

Pop-Up or Stand-Up Slide - This slide is the safest and most popular sliding technique. It offers one definite advantage over other slides. The pop-up slide allows runners to advance more easily should an errant throw be made by the defense.

Three coaching points for the stand-up slide:

1. The left leg is bent and is under the right leg. The right leg is extended and it should be slightly bent.
2. The runner slides evenly on both lower cheeks of his rear end or on both back pockets.
3. The runner should adjust the slide path according to the position the fielder has assumed and where the tag glove is likely to be placed. The runner can touch the bag with his foot going directly into the bag or with a hand if the runner slides away from the bag.

Hook Slide - The hook slide is so named because of the "bent or hooked" positions of the legs during the slide and the fact that the bag is "hooked" or tagged with the back foot. The slide can to the right or left of the bag as the play requires.

Three coaching points for the "Hook" slide are:

1. The runner slides on one hip pocket or the other. The body is tilted during the slide. The body should be titled toward the side of the bag on which the slide is being made.
2. The bag is tagged with the back foot.
3. The hook slide is often used by runners attempting to break up a double play. It is also a good slide to use when trying to avoid an awaiting tag by the defender.

Reach-Around or Decoy Slide - The decoy slide is the most difficult to tech, learn, master and practice. It is a slide used when the ball beat the runner to the bag by 5 steps. The decoy slide is used to fool or trick the player making the tag. The sliding runner will fake tagging the bag with one hand and use the other hand to reach around the tag. The decoy is used only as a "last resort" to try avoiding a tag when the runner find himself "dead-to-rights" and sees the ball and tag waiting on him.

Three coaching points for the "Decoy" slide are:

1. The decoy slide must be started earlier than other slides.
2. The decoy slide should be made some distance away from the bag. The distance should allow the runner to reach the bag with both hands. The distance should require the fielder to reach way from the bag to make the tag. This reaching motion gives the runner a spot to avoid and reach around. The secret is to "sucker" the defender with one hand, then withdraw that hand, and reach around the tag with the other hand avoiding a tag and reaching the bag safely.
3. The sliding technique used at the beginning of the slide is the "stand-up" slide.

Note: I intentionally did not list the "head first" slide in this article. It is illegal in most leagues. It is a slide that is considered the most dangerous and risky. It has been the cause of many serious injuries. Coaches should consider the liability risk before teaching it as a method of sliding. I personally recommend to my players that they do not slide head first.

I hope that you found this article useful and informative. Thanks for taking the time to read this article. Have a great day, 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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Youth Baseball Practices Don't Have To Be Long To Be Good

By Marty Schupak
Back in the late 70's an old college professor of mine was fond of saying, "Don't confuse activity with accomplishment." Jump forward about eight years and imagine me observing a coach running practice for his Little League team. At the start of practice most of the 10, 11, and 12 year olds are very enthusiastic. As the practice progresses I notice only two forms of activity taking place. One has the head coach throwing batting practice, with each hitter getting 10 to 15 swings while each pitcher takes a turn throwing to the assistant coach as the others stand and watch. I, too, stand and watch and I don't know who is more bored–the players or me.
When I saw a member of the board of directors, I commented on how poorly I thought the practice had been run. The board member responded, "If you think you can do a better job, then volunteer to coach." (Me and my big mouth!) But I did just that. And my first practice, though planned differently, ended up being two tedious hours of batting practice and pitchers throwing on the sidelines. Exactly what I had been so critical of myself! After that first practice I told my wife that there must be a better way. Even though I had a master's degree in Phys. Ed from Arizona State University, baseball was the major sport I was least knowledgeable about.

So, I decided to research alternative practice methods. I observed a variety of teams during practice ranging from seven year olds to college level players. I noticed that the best practices were not necessarily the longest and that the most organized coaches wasted little time. On most of the drills every player was involved. It was amazing the way some coaches integrated fun and learning and how creative some of the drills and games were. I began to use some of these techniques with my team. After a little trial and error I was actually able to run a more effective practice in half the time.

To run a practice like this does take preparation, mostly at the beginning of the season. But coaches need not look at this as a chore. It can be as much fun for you as it is for the players.
The youth baseball coach, whether it's Babe Ruth League, Little League, or local Park and Recreation Dept., should make a list of drills at the beginning of the year that they are interested in trying. The idea is to be creative. When my oldest son was eight, I began a practice with a simple relay race, consisting of two lines of six players each. To put a baseball theme into the race, I had each player wear their glove and hold two baseballs in it. The learning benefit of this relay race was to teach kids the importance of squeezing the glove. Another year I was teaching players how to bunt. When the team took batting practice, I put one cone 10 feet directly in front of home plate and another cone 10 feet to the left of the plate. Each player gets two bunts before his regular swings. For each bunt that goes between the cones, the player earns two extra swings. This motivated the players to focus when they bunted. And, it worked!

If a coach plans five to seven drills of ten to twelve minutes in length for each practice, the players will be more attentive and less bored. Don't worry about players not liking certain drills. About a third through the season they will let you know which ones to weed out.

The youth baseball season is unlike any other season. Fathers sneak out of work early, families rarely eat dinner before 8:30 at night and the laundry room is active day and night. As parents and coaches, we should make practices more interesting and fun because during a typical youth baseball season, players spend as much or more time practicing than in actual games.
Be creative and have a great baseball season!

http://www.YouthSportsClub.com

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


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The Categories they have are: Baseball Training Equipment, Youth Baseball Training Equipment, Training Bats, Pitching & Throwing Trainers, Defensive Trainers, Batting Cages, Pitching Machines, Jugs Equipment, Game and Practice Baseballs, Protective Practice Screens and Nets, Portable Pitching Mounds, Baseball DVDs & Books, Clearance Items on Sales, BatAction Hitting Machines, Hurricane Hitting Machines, NEDCO Bataction Replacement Parts, SKLZ Hurricane Replacement Parts and Much Much More! Visit Baseball2U.com today!