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Positive Coaching
I am not one of those that always think that things were better “back in the day” compared to today. People often say “Players are not as good today as when I played” or “Players of today are lacking in the fundamentals” etc… At the higher levels [...]
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Most youth coaches do not spend enough time on base running. Good base running can win a team a few games a year, easily. Teams that are aggressive and smart will put extra pressure on the defense that usually leads to errors. Along with all base running practice, coaches should especially work on [...]
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* Ready position is slightly different at different positions, but all require players to be on the balls of their feet:
1st and 3rd baseman get set low to the ground for hot shots at them with the glove sitting at knee level or slightly below.
2nd and shortstops get set slightly higher ready to [...]
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Arguably, warm-ups are the time when baseball players get the most repetition doing the basic skills of catching, throwing, fielding and swinging. Baseball coaches should encourage players to warm-up correctly by giving rewards for players who pay attention to the fundamentals at this time. Explaining to players that warm-up time is [...]
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Baseball Hitting Tips
Every hitter has their own style, but hitting position (the body position when the front foot lands after stride) must be correct in order to make consistently solid contact. Good baseball hitting coaches will give hitters the best chance at being successful by allowing individual style, but only [...]
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Bunting a baseball is not as easy as it looks and is practiced too little. Additionally, bunting is often not taught correctly. This lack of bunting proficiency occurs at the major league baseball level as well as in youth baseball. Following are the most common mistakes hitters make when bunting:
1. Failure to square the hips [...]
Baseball Stance
When a batter’s initial setup is incorrect, it is very difficult for hitters to compensate in order to be consistent hitters. I am amazed at how many young hitters walk up to home plate and fail to look at the plate and/or adjust their distance from home plate. It is important that hitting coaches [...]
photo credit: ttarasiuk Good hitting coaches should have his players answer questions like the following during games - when players are aware of the pitchers tendencies it could lead to a big inning or big offensive game.
What is the pitcher’s arm angle? How fast is he throwing? Is he throwing strikes?
When he is not throwing strikes are most of his [...]
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You don’t have to be a hitting expert to sound like one – just use this word when giving advice and you can help young hitters and sound like an expert. What’s the word? Stay – that’s it. Put this word with the following words – ready, back, inside, behind, [...]
photo credit: kthypryn I am sure I have written about this in the past but it is something youth coaches need to know.
Use two hands, use two hands – This is a common phrase that baseball coaches use when teaching baseball to young baseball players. Unfortunately, this common coaching philosophy is sometimes incorrect and [...]
Just finished up a baseball camp. If I said it once I said it a million times, “Practice the way you play and that starts with a simple game of catch.” Warm-ups are such an important time for young baseball players to work on good mechanics – those initial throws, catches and swings are important [...]
Kids who play baseball in cold weather states are at a definite disadvantage when if comes to playing baseball. Often, this disadvantage does not come into play with throwing, pitching and hitting because of the ability to perform these skills adequately indoors. However, the diasadvantage comes into play in the fielding area – not being able [...]
photo credit: kthyprynFollowing are some tips for parents and coaches to help players work on their fielding skills with the understanding that the earlier (age) they teach these the better:
photo credit: Michael R Stoller Jr
This is my article written for the Press Entrprise out of Southern California -
It is Little League World Series time of year and I have noticed the annual articles written about how kids that age should not be on the “big stage” of national and international TV. These [...]
Wanted to share this article I wrote for Seamheads.com.
I promise not to turn my posts into a rant on the Major Leagues and how baseball used to be played better, meaning more fundamentally sound, back in the day.But, I have seen enough of major league hitters attempting to bunt. I have been there and realize [...]
photo credit: kthypryn So often, hitters are judged by their batting average. This can be an accurate assessment of how a hitter is doing but it doesn’t always tell the whole story. Many nights I went home from games with a couple of hits and felt lousy about my night and other times I [...]
What To Do Now?
Hitting, fileding, throwing – all difficult skills to perfect and, inevitably, all players hit a slump with one or all of these at one point in the season. There comes a time when parents need to help their kids get through these times so total frustration does not set in and [...]
Time for Overhaul or Stay the Course
Around midseason, it is time to make some evaluations of your hitters. Timing should not be an issue by mid-season and contact should be taking place most of the time, by now. It is no time to panic (unless your son or daughter is totally frustrated). If that is [...]
Remember, parents do not have to be a trained professional to advise baseball hitters. They actually need to know just some simple suggestions to be of help. Often times, the less things said, the better. I have mentioned 5 important baseball hitting lessons below. This helpful advice should be reinforced in a positive manner and [...]
The second hitting drill to use to start the season or when there is only time for a few drills, which often is the case, with the amount of practice time available, is the back knee fire drill. I would also call this the “check the swing” drill because this is usually what happens when [...]
High tee swing drill
Baseball Hitting Tips
There are a lot of “5 O’clock (batting practice) hitters,” as opposed to “7:30 ” (game hitters). This is one of the most perplexing situations of the game for parents and coach. Their hitters absolutely pound the ball in batting practice and then fail to hit during games. There can [...]
photo credit: Matt Vorwald
Good coaches will recognize the skill level of each and every player on the team and then challenge the players according to their ability levels and potential. Many good ball players move on to other sports because they do not get challenged properly.
Top Parental Baseball Concerns – and Quick Solutions
photo credit: brightroyalty
December 15th, 2008
In my many years of coaching, parents often stated similar concerns when it came to their young players practice and playing habits. The top ones are below with some quick fix things to try below them.
Offering tips for every level of player, this guide not only shows players how to hit but also shows parents and coaches how to teach hitting. This manual provides an in-depth description of the drills, habits and lessons critical to a successful future. Angels manager Mike Scioscia writes the foreword to the book.
