Top Four Tips For Game Day Hitting in Youth Baseball

Coaching Hitting in Youth Baseball
By Guest Author: Mike Xavier

The serious players on your youth baseball all star or travel teams spend endless hours on their hitting. Personal hitting coaches and batting cages at their homes are the norm. With all of this technical training and repetition, game day hitting can be successfully simplified with the following four tips.

The first step is to have your players relax and trust in the hard work they have put in. Central to relaxing is to make sure they breath. Upon observing your players closely, you will discover that a substantial number are not breathing. A quick reminder of this will yield great results especially when the game is on the line.

Next is for them to choose the right pitch. The quality of their at bats is directly related to the quality of their decisions. Take the time to teach them to master the knowledge of the strike zone. This fundamental of the game is crucial for your players to have game day success.

The third tip is to understand to focus on things that they can control and on game day that is a good swing with hard contact. If they choose to swing, what happens (i.e. hard contact, swing and miss, weak grounder)? Baseball has been around for over a hundred years so the positions are set to where the majority of the balls will be hit. All the player can control is hitting the ball hard. If that happens, but he gets out because it is hit right at somebody, that is still a good job.

The ability of making adjustments is the next game day hitting tip to master. This applies to all areas potentially needing adjustment such as the umpire is calling a ball and a half off the plate a strike or an opposing pitcher throwing with a lot of pace or no pace at all. They need to be able to recognize and adjust pitch by pitch. In the instance of the umpire calling an outside pitch a strike, get up to the plate and deal with it (versus just complaining about it and striking out). Another adjustment is changing your players approach when they have two strikes which would be a ball in play keeping a larger strike so nothing gets past them.

With your players focused on relaxing, making good decisions, spending their energy on what they control and developing their ability to make adjustments, they will achieve a tremendous amount of success hitting. This will become contagious with your entire line up and your team will be on the way to a championship.

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

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Youth Baseball Base Running at the Championship Level

Coaching Youth Baseball Base Running
By Guest Author: Mike Xavier

Base running is one of the quickest areas to address to bring your youth baseball team to the championship level. Hustle has nothing to do with talent or skill so all players on your roster can bring something to the table.

Championship base running is centered around four main factors, that when combined, are extremely intimidating to your opponents and thrusts your team to the next level of base running.

The first factor is the Hard 90 (or 60, 70 or 80 depending on the length of your base paths). It does not matter if your player has smashed a screaming grounder or it was a dribbler back to the pitcher, they always hustle through first base at full speed. This sets the tone that your team is here to play and also applies to a batter being walked or hit by a pitch.

Next it is critical your players understand that they must play aggressive, but at the same time be calm enough to listen. There are several drills you can utilize to hammer this point home as they run the bases hard, but listen to your direction as to either slide at the next base, keep running or return back diving to the base they just came from.

Baseball is a game played two bases at a time (that is why second base is scoring position) which brings you to the third main factor, running the bases two at a time. This only works if your players mentally understand that they need to run hard from first to third or second to home and get stopped by the coach. It does not work running from first to second, hesitate and then run to third. Your player will be out the majority of the time.

The last item to teach your squad on the overview of base running is they are responsible for their own decisions and act on those decisions. The split seconds saved by a player choosing to go from first to third on a ball that is front of them or tagging up and leaving on their own judgment (instead of being told by the coach) will always yield more runs. They end up being safe by two steps rather than being thrown out by two steps.

There are several technical factors to teach your boys about base running, but the understanding of these four critical factors will place them well ahead of their peers and scoring a lot of runs including those close runs that win tight ball games.

Get your team hitting with more power and confidence in less than a week to win your tournament http://www.baseball-strength.com

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

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Baseball Training Aids Can Be Costly

Baseball Training Aids Can Be Costly
By Guest Author: Joseph Harrison Jr

Baseball training aids can be costly and not assist the player being taught the game. This is because a lot of people attempt to make money off America's game because it is so popular. Everyone involved in the game should remember that a lot coaches and training aids are there to make money and do not have enough experience to teach the game of baseball.

The most important part of coaching is to know the basics of throwing, pitching, catching and hitting. When these basics are overlooked, the performance of the player suffers and a lot of money is wasted on inappropriate instruction. Each position on the field has different techniques that have to be considered and taught.

Beginning players need to know the basic techniques and master those techniques before moving on to advanced skills. Spending a lot of money on personal coaching or training aids that does not improve the performance of the player on the field will only frustrate the player.

Even if the coach has played on the highest levels of baseball, it does not mean that they have mastered the art of teaching the game to others. When someone spends a lot of money on something, then they expect to see the results. This includes personnel coaching.

It is important for the coach or training equipment to be qualified to teach baseball. This is easily done with research or inquiring from others who have used the coach or equipment before. When it comes to money for lessons, then individuals should pay attention to the value they will get from the expense.

Many non-experienced coaches are out there to just make a few bucks and are not passionate about the performance of their students. No one performs better when being taught by someone or something that does not have the experience, knowledge and proven results.

Each league that decides on who will coach each team will have to consider the experience of the coach. This is not a simple task and should be taken seriously by the board of the league. If the wrong coach is found for a team the players will be disheartened or become frustrated.

The baseball training aids involved in teaching young players should always be the most experienced and qualified individuals found and not just people who are willing to volunteer. The league should teach the coaches as much as instruct the players to make the game of baseball enjoyable for everyone involved.

I am Joseph Harrison, a baseball coach since 20 years ago. I love baseball since I am young, especially the feeling when you know you will absolutely crush the ball. Training your kid to gain interest in baseball will benefit him from both mentally and physically. In with he will gain team spirit, learn how to cope with teammates, and at the same time train up his physical, and concentration (to have good eye and hand coordination and the ability to use both at once). Go through my article and you will know all the benefits of baseball.

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

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Secrets to Coaching Youth Baseball

By Stephen K Reynolds

Coaching Youth Baseball is a great experience for men and women to be involved in. One of the awesome things about being involved in it is the opportunity to be around young people and motivate them to be their best.

There are tons of books and materials on youth baseball so i wont try to re-invent the wheel here.
I just want to hit on some things that need to mentioned. Keep it simple!! The majority of reasons why teams aren't as good as they could be is because they don't do the simple things!

Coaches want to be smart and try to employ strategies that are just to sophisticated for young players especially for 9-10 year olds. Stick to the basics ground ball practice, fly balls, throwing fundamentals, basis pitching mechanics.

Incorporate games into the drills that way kids can see the result of why they need to use a technique correctly. Keep it light and fun that way your players keep coming back for more.

Remember long after the games are over the players will remember how they were treated, not what the score was!! Here is one for you Dads... Your Son or daughter will never be as good as you Thought you were!

Another important key is using stations, less standing around. lets face it there is never enough time as it is. The secret is to make good use of your time while you have your players.

Bottom line have fun with this great game and enjoy your time with the players it goes by very quickly!!

Stephen K Reynolds is publisher of the LSR Unlimted "Free" newsletter which focuses on helping newcomers and seasoned pros learn the secrets to marketing in the ever changing world of the internet! For more information on this e-mail lsrwealth@gmail.com

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Youth Baseball Coaching Tips
By Joseph Harrison Jr

Many new coaches would like nothing more than to simply jump right in with both feet and begin having their team play the game without teaching them youth baseball drills. Of course, this can simply be the absolutely worse thing coach can do.

As a coach, it takes hard work and even harder work to come up with a practice game plan. Going in completely unprepared is basically setting both you and your team up for a big fall. First of all, there are numerous places that a coach can explore to find drills to teach their team. And, there are many different drills out there that a coach can employ too. Therefore, specific drills cannot be stressed enough. But, with younger children, especially concentrate on the three main areas which are namely hitting, catching, and base running.

When using or creating drills that pertain to hitting, certain aspects will need to be considered. Items such as the player's stance, their swing, and even what they do with their feet are all equally important and must be addressed.

Keep their stance as wide as their shoulders and this will be a good start. This will allow the younger player to be able to balance properly as well as comfortably. Show them not only how to hold the bat, but also explain why they need to hold the bat a certain way.

When exploring these aspects, there is a drill that can be quite useful. It is primarily a way for both you as well as the player to be able to understand their swing. Stand on the mound and pretend like you are pitching to the player in the batting box. Go through the wind up and the pitch. The player is then expected to pretend like they are hitting the ball. All the while, maintain and stress the importance of the player being aware of how they are actually swinging the bat. This ensures that the player will see where they will need improvement.

Running the bases can be the fun part of learning the game of baseball. And, it may even allow the player the chance to get dirty too.

Certain drills are able to teach the finer points of base running. One very good drill is to have all the players line up at home plate and subsequently run after the coach calls out the type of hit that was made. For example, by calling out a single, the base runner would be expected to stop at first base. While a double would have them running to second base and so on and so forth. This can open a door for explaining the importance of how the player should turn after getting past first base and can even include a sliding drill on the other bases.

Catching a little white ball is not as easy as it seems, especially for younger players. The youngest players are usually quite afraid of getting hit with the ball and they will have a tendency to avoid any throws. This problem can probably be solved by one single drill. Have the player stand a short distance from you and easily toss the ball back and forth. While tossing the ball, explain how to properly hold the glove and to always watch the ball. Before long, the young player will gain confidence and will eventually lose their fright of getting hit with the ball altogether. Basically, they will realize that they are actually able to catch it and they will certainly do so.

Many younger players are quite familiar with the art of playing baseball. But, by using youth baseball drills, this can only improve.

I am Joseph Harrison, a baseball coach since 20 years ago. I love baseball since I am young, especially the feeling when you know you will absolutely crush the ball. Training your kid to gain interest in baseball will benefit him from both mentally and physically. In with he will gain team spirit, learn how to cope with teammates, and at the same time train up his physical, and concentration (to have good eye and hand coordination and the ability to use both at once). Go through my article and you will know all the benefits of baseball.

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

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Baseball Coaching Tip - How to best use your time.

Wasting time is something that baseball coaches should avoid. There is nothing more precious to a player, to parents, or to assistant coaches than time. Time spent at the baseball field must be considered valuable or constructive time. We are coaches because we love the game and we want to help young players grow up to great adults. We help nuture that process by teaching good morals, good values, and good habits. There is no more important thing for a kid to learn than the value of time and the importance of always being punctual.

The key to showing that you value someones time is to have your team practices, meeting, and other acitivites planned and organized.

Here are my 10 tips for showing the value of time:
1. Be punctual at all times. If a practice is schedule to start at 3:00. You should start it eactly at 3:00. Not one minute arly or one minute late. If the practice is set to end at 5:00, end the practice on time. A coach that is constantly running practices over is showing little regard for time and family life. If you do not end it on time. Why should you start it one time. You running a practice is not different than a player arriving 10 minutes late.
2. Stop drills when the alloted time is up. Do not run over.
3. Do not waste practice time having coaching conference. Have your coaching meeting after practice or 30 minutes before practice.
4. Have a practice schedule. Have every minute accounted for and planned. Use odd minutes in drills such as 7.5 minutes. This emphasizes the value of time.
5. Have agenda for team meetings. If you have a team meeting without a purpose or agenda, you may be wasting time. If you have a team meeting and ramble on and on talking in “circles”, you are wasting valuable time.
6. Have a designated place in the dougout for each player’s belongings. Make sure every players name or number is clearly visible on their glove, batting glove and bat. This saves time when a players has to find a glove, a bag, or a bat.
7. Do not talk through the fence with a parent or friend during practice. Kids should not do it and coaches should not either. You are showing a definite lack of respect for practice time. Make sure that you make it known that you will not have discussions or converstations with anyone during practice time.
8. Set all training equipment up before practice. Do not wate valuable practice time assembling, locating, or moving practice equipment.
9. Always disassemble and pack the training equipment up after the designated practice time is over. Do not waste valuable practice time packing way equipment.
10. Do not talk all night after a game. Set a time limit to post-game or post-practice meetings. If you can not say it in 5 minutes, they are not going to remember it anyway. Younger kids are going to “turn you off” after about 5 minutes. Save some of your talk for the beginning of your next practice.