Baseball Coaching Digest - Can a Baseball Player Ruin His Baseball Swing by Playing Golf?

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By Nick Dixon

One question that I am frequently asked is whether a baseball swing can be ruined by playing golf. I have rather strong feeling concerning this topic. It is my opinion that playing golf can ruin a baseball swing in certain circumstances.

There are four circumstances that determine how harmful or detrimental playing golf is for a baseball swing. Those four different circumstances are:

1. How hard did the baseball player have to work to master his baseball swing? Was it difficult for the player to perfect his baseball swing?

The chances that the golf swing will harm the baseball swing are greater if the player is less skilled, a mechanical learner, or had a difficult time learning to swing the baseball bat properly. And if a young kid has not yet mastered the baseball swing, the last thing he needs to do is to go play a couple rounds of golf. If the player is a baseball player that has to work hard at keeping his swing tuned, I would recommend that the golf be played after he season is over.

2. What time of year is the golf being played?

Timing is everything! That certainly can be said for playing golf in the middle of baseball season. I would strongly try to discourage baseball players from taking to the links right before a big game, the league championships or just as the playoffs are beginning.

I do not see anything wrong with playing golf out of season. But I would not experiment with my golf game during baseball season. I have two reasons for this; 1) Muscle soreness may result from swinging the golf club. 2) The player may pick up a bad habit that may hurt his baseball swing at a crucial time of the season.

3. How much golf is being played?

The main reason I ask this question is that I want to know what is being neglected to get the time to play golf. If golf is becoming a daily activity, then what time sacrifices are being made? Has the player cut back on baseball practice time to play golf? Is the player taking his golf more serious than his baseball? I want my players eating, breathing and sleeping baseball. I do not mind if they play an occasional round of golf. But, if it is being taken to the extreme, I need to know. I want that player to stay focused on what he needs to do to help his baseball team. If he is considering playing golf over baseball, then that is an off season decision that he and his family must make. In the meantime, I need his full commitment and his "sense of urgency" should be in the sport of baseball.

4. How athletic is the player?

Some kids are such a gifted athlete that playing golf every day of the season does not affect their baseball swing. They know that both the golf and baseball swings are basically the same swing but the ball is just at a different level. They feel that playing golf helps them to learn to better focus their eyes on the baseball. These players are so talented and skilled they feel that that each swing type helps the other by relating back certain points to focus on.

Therefore, I feel that the more talented, more athletic, and more mentally confident a player in, the less the chances are that his swing will be harmed by playing golf.

Coaching Point: In all of these factors, there is a mental side to the controversy. You and I know that every player has heard or been told, more than once, "If you play golf, your baseball swing will suffer." If he does go to the course and plays a round of golf and his first couple at-bats are bad ones, there may be a beginning of a "mental slump" or the player may question, in his mind" "Is my swing as good as it was?"

So in conclusion, you may ask, "Should I allow my Child to Play Golf"? My answer is simple, consider, the factors I have discussed and make the best decision for your child. However, if you child shows the potential to be a future prospect in baseball, keep him off the golf course, and in the batting cage instead.

I hope that you found this article to be informative and interesting. I really appreciate you taking the tile to read it. I wish you and your team the best of luck in the coming season. 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 Digest: How to Prevent Hitters From Popping Out

By Jack Perconte

There is only one way for hitters to pop a ball up and that is to hit the bottom of the pitched ball. The good news is that the hitter made contact but the bad news is that pop-ups are caught at least 90% of the time. Having said this obvious point, there are two causes for why players hit the bottom of the ball. The most common cause for the bat barrel going under the ball is commonly known as "dropping the shoulder." In actuality, with the correct baseball swing hitter's back shoulder will drop below the front shoulder in order to arrive at the correct palm-up, palm-down hands position. What causes the bat barrel to drop under the ball creating a popped up ball is an exaggerated drop of this shoulder due to a "collapsing" rear hip and leg.

To prevent hitters from popping out, they need to improve their weight shift into the ball. This action will prevent the hip and back leg from collapsing which will allow hitters' hips to remain level and allow them to square the baseball up more consistently.

Following are baseball hitting drills to prevent hitters from popping out - these should be done in sequence for best results, but repeatedly doing any of these drills should solve the problem.

Hitting Drill # 1 - Have hitters set their feet together without any knee bend and take swings at different pitches, from high to low. Hitters can turn their hips with this drill but will not be able to rotate their legs as with a normal swing. This drill will take the power out of their swing but will help hitters get the idea of staying tall when hitting and not collapsing. Players with good swings will still hit line drives, even on knee high pitches.

Hitting Drill # 2 - From there regular stance, have hitters swing and pick up their back leg as they swing. This will force a 100% weight transfer and force hitters to firm their front side while staying tall. The rear hip cannot collapse with this drill, which is the root of the problem.

Hitting Drill # 3 - From regular stance, set a batting tee even with hitters' rear hip and at hip high level. Hitters should practice coming over and missing this tee when swinging to any pitch level.

Hitting Drill # 4 - Set a batting tee in the hitting zone at letter high and have hitters hit balls at this level until they can hit consistent line drives. Players who drop their back side will have trouble hitting anything but pop -ups at this height.

The other less common way hitters pop balls up is by rolling their wrists at contact. This early roll causes the bat barrel to go down, resulting in a pop up. Often, this incorrect swing is only noticed by an experienced hitting coach and can be corrected with hip opening and lead arm extension drills like the following:

Hitting Drill # 5 - Have hitters choke way up on their bat and take some swings with their lead arm only. Their goal is to extend their arm and bat towards the pitcher, keeping their shoulder in and leading to a high, correct finish.

Hitting Drill # 6 - Set a ball on a tee in front of home plate and another ball on a second tee about a foot in front of that one towards the pitcher. Hitters stand in normal position and take swings with the intention of hitting through both balls. This drill forces hitters to open their hips and extend their arms without an early wrist roll. Hitting both balls solidly is the objective. A sign of an early wrist roll would be missing or continually grounding the second ball to the pull side of home plate.

It is important to understand that many young players drop their hands before swinging which can put them on the underside of the ball before they even swing. It is important that hitter--s break that habit in order to prevent hitters from popping out. Previous drill #3 will also help hitters break that habit.

Hitters with normally good fundamentals but in a "pop-up" slump may solve the problem with a couple of slight adjustments to their initial hitting position. Hitters can raise their hands slightly in their set-up and/or stand taller with less knee bend in their batting stance. These slight adjustments can cause hitters to hit a little higher up on the ball, preventing the popped up balls.

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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