Teaching youth baseball is a rewarding experience for both parents and coaches alike. While parents have an obvious investment in the teaching of the fundamentals of the sport of baseball to their children, coaches, make a significant investment of their own in time, effort and emotion. From a personal perspective, one of the greatest rewards is indeveloping relationships with and positively affecting the lives of individual youth baseball players. The lessons of sports such as in baseball are positive and well documented. For coaches, there are also the internal rewards they get from seeing each player develop and from watching a youth baseball team improve as a group and learn to play together under their coaching tutelage.
Astute coaches improve the performance of the team as a whole by employing youth baseball drills to improve the individual performances of team players and there interactions together. There are three main categories in which youth baseball drills will have an immense effect on the performance levels of players.
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Youth Batting Drills – one of the most important of the youth baseball drills. The vast majority of youth baseball players have the most fun when they hit. The better they are able to hit, the more fun that they will have, and the greater their interest in the sport of baseball. Coaches and parents who teach baseball drills in batting must stress the importance of a well-balanced stance that is comfortable for the individual player, picking the ball up as it leaves the pitcher’s hand, and keeping the body weight back until the pitch is delivered.
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Youth Fielding Drills – an integral part of teaching the defensive position. Of course, there are sets of baseball fielding drills that are unique to each of the nine fielding positions in the game of baseball. However, there are baseball drills common to all fielding positions. One of the key youth baseball drills in catching ground balls is to keep the fingers of the fielding glove on the ground for ground balls, and raising the glove to catch the ball on the bounce, instead of lowering the glove. Another one of the instructional keys to fielding is to catch the thrown or batted ball with the wrist in an upward position for balls at or above the waist, and to turn the wrist upside down to catch balls below the waist. There are many ways to take a single drill and apply it so the whole team can practice at once.
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Youth Throwing Drills – the most basic of all youth baseball drills, and many instructors feel that it is the most important fundamental of all. It is vital for parents to make sure that their children develop proper throwing techniques from the time they can throw a baseball, around the age of eight or so. The importance of throwing a baseball with proper grip can not be overestimated. Youth throwing drills must emphasize four important elements: Throw the ball by gripping it with the index finger and middle finger on the ball; point your shoulder opposite from your throwing hand in the direction of your target; step in the direction of your target when you release the ball; and follow through after you release the ball with your back leg so that both legs are parallel upon the completion of the throw.
You can find many youth baseball drills on the Internet covering hitting, fielding and throwing. Some drills are free and some require subscription or for you to order a DVD. Free baseball drills allow you greater flexibility in trying a variety and see what works best for you as the coach and your youth baseball team. Always remember that drills should be age appropriate. The right fielding drill for a 14 year-old boy will not suit and 8-year old and vice versa.
There are many baseball coaching resources and communities like Weplay available to help with any questions you might have. Don’t underestimate the passion of the community around you. We are all here to help the kids.
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seen it done anywhere. 83 total hits, this includes the bonus box of 2008 UD Masterpieces FB we would get with it. Hopefully everyone signs up. I think most of you guys subbed to me are more football than baseball guys as it is. So hopefully this one fills up whereas the last one that was baseball struggled. If you want a spot lemme know, this should fill up between youtube and the Blog site my brother, and who I write for www.newcardsmell.com (Check it out if you haven’t already!) Thanks …
Help answer the question about baseball
What baseball team and game had the record for the most home runs and/or grand slams?Anyone know what baseball teams/games hold the record for the most homeruns and/or grand slams?
About Author
By Trevor Sumner who works for Weplay.com, a youth baseball community dedicated to providing parents, coaches and athletes the tools and information they need to celebrate the love of the game. Weplay has one of the most comprehensive baseball drill libraries in its active baseball community.
Tags: 2007, adrian, break, football, Group, peterson, spot, sweet
wow.. the process seems very complicated..
First!!
I was beaten to the punch. I thought I would be the first to call this in to the TV show to get it aired.
try to coach in the first place, granted i'm not a certified coach but i at least have the balls to admit that i can't coach a team, i work better with individual players one on one. but the stupidest thing i ever saw was my dad (40 y-o, and a bad ankle at the time) trying to teach my nephew how to slide. the goofball ended up in a walking cast for six weeks. my nephew doesn't play baseball anymore he's only 11
Thank you for the question. I am a instructor and my goal is to teach people that want to learn more about the fundamentals of baseball and I am glad that you do. I will provide you with some of the material that I use. And let me tell you that it took 20 years. I use this to teach parents/kids to improve their general knowledge but hopefully also to teach others around them. I didn't have someone teach me the correct mechanics and it took me to long to figure them out. If I would have know this 10 years ago I wouldn't have gotten hurt and would still be playing baseball
Instructor: Chad Sadowski
The Goal: Fundamentals
The Fundamentals of Baseball
Hitting
1.Stride and Separation- a short step forward with weight going slightly back on back leg. 40-60 split. Also hands separating back as you take the short stride. Make sure hands go back about 3-6 inches, keeping a flex in your front elbow, don’t lock it out. Hands should go straight back not up or down. Head doesn’t move forward, key to stay still! (Practice by dry work, soft toss and T-Work.)
2.Backside turn- the swing starts from the ground up, and back foot must lead before anything else. Get on the toe, only a slight turn—not too much. Hands do not move forward stay going back. Make sure front hip, shoulders do not move as well. (Practice by dry work and soft toss or also t-work.)
3.Front Leg Straight, Knob of Bat inside Ball-. At this point you recognize pitch and location. You start by continuing to turn back foot then bring knob of bat inside ball, wherever pitch is. Both hands should be close to body as possible. Shoulders rotate across no dipping. At impact, front knee is straight, front elbow is straight, back elbow is bent close to body and underneath, and you are finishing behind ball. Back leg at impact is a L and Head is directly inline with back knee. Practice by, t-work and follow-through drill in mirror.
4.Finishing the swing and balanced- Full turn with back foot, and weight should be back and finish balanced “behind the ball”. Bat finishes through as well balanced!
Little keys:
T-Work is the easiest way to practice the four steps. Middle pitch line up tee in line with front leg and outside pitch with back leg. Practice no stride to give the feeling of balance and stride. Always think inside half of the ball by attacking inside (think taking knob of the bat inside the ball.) Outside pitch nothing changes, except where you hit it and just have to wait longer. Inside pitch, recognize and turn a little more on back foot before hands come forward. Off speed, recognize and keep weight and hands back (step 2) taking the pitch up the middle or to opposite field.
Training: dry work; practicing the 4 points mentioned above.
Soft toss; another person tossing the ball about waist high (in, mid, away)
T-Work; using a tee and practicing inside, middle, and outside pitches
Our Goal: To successfully teach these basics to take into the game. Only going to be done by practicing these 4 steps repeatedly over time and by doing these steps correctly. Perfect practice makes perfect.
Hitting: Off-speed and opposite field
1.Think fastball first and then recognize- Always be ready for the fastball and then adjust to off-speed. Key is to keep hands back with back leg still turning to create torque.
2.Nothing changes when hitting off-speed – The only thing that changes is that you must wait a little longer and hit the ball back in your swing. Stay behind the ball-taking knob of bat inside the pitch. Don’t Extend arms to ball make sure back elbow is still close to body. Practicing T-work with ball back in stance, line up tee with back leg.
3.Front hip and front shoulders must not fly open- hitting the outside pitch and off-speed, you have to keep everything back and don’t open up too early. This takes practice and patience at the plate. Practice taking pitches. In Bullpen or batting practice.
4.Always go with the outside pitch and not trying to do too much with it- if the pitch is outside don’t try to pull it.
Keys
·Always stay inside the ball; whether its an inside pitch or outside pitch, fastball or off-speed
·Always make sure you keep everything back especially front hip and hands when hitting off-speed.
·T-work and soft toss will help you practice outside and off-speed pitches
·Think fastball and then adjust to off-speed
·Ability to read where the pitcher is throwing from is key as well. Pick up his arm slot. Sometimes pitchers pitch off speed from different slot.
·Look for clues from pitcher—Many pitchers keep their finger out of glove, when pitcher keeps it straight-usually fastball, when bends it toward himself, off-speed. Look if he is digging in—off speed does something different than fastball.
Perfect practice makes perfect.
Instructor: Chad Sadowski
Pitching
1.Balance position-straight up and down with no bend in back leg and front leg at its highest position. Make sure front leg is crossing over back leg. No leaning, all weight over back leg. Head is directly over back foot–Balance on ball of foot not on heel or toe. (Practice by holding position for intervals of 30 seconds.)
2.Hand separation before momentum- Take the ball with thumb down, it should only be about 6inchesout of glove before you start going forward. Glove hand starts to move up–elbow pointed toward target. Pick up target and then onto step three. I like to use reference points. I try to look at a piece of dirt or something and line it up to my catcher’s target, (like bowling lines on lane). Practice step one then right into step two. Make sure no momentum toward plate at this point.
3.Rotation with arm at its highest but strongest position- First lead with front leg keeping torso back and closed onto target. Front foot should land comfortably right in the middle (not on ball or front) at 45 degree angle. Also front knee at a great bend. Front glove hand should be up pointing to plate with no shoulder turn. Back leg is straight with foot still in contact w/ ground not on toe. Fingers are on top of ball and arm is parallel with ground at highest but strongest position. Make sure you have a good arm arc–you started with the slight separation then continue back with thumb always down and fingers pointing toward second base. When landed arm should be strong not completely straight and fingers toward third base on top of ball.
4.Finish explosive/transfer of weight- glove hand is thrusted down, fingers still on top of ball releasing the ball over the front foot. Key to velocity is the transfer of back leg weight to front foot. Front knee was bent on land but now should be straight with front foot flat (never on toe!) Finish through the front foot flat! Don’t collapse back leg. Then pitching arm should finish to the ground and touch your back lat. Your back is parallel with ground. Back leg should not drag but should be thrust into air. End with back leg parallel with front foot in a ready field position. Important that you don't follow-through by thinking finger toward target but rather down and through your target, don’t aim the ball. Make sure you use your entire body to decelerate your arm–For instance–watch major leaguers on their follow through. They aren't off-balance and rarely falling off-either way.
Little keys-
·In Practice, pitch with a purpose- 6 out, 6 in, 2 doubles (same side), 2 hard in- soft away (fb in, ch away or sl away). Follow a routine to get results.
·Always practice slide step. Make sure you use your lower half.
·Practice picking up spot on dirt then target. (Step two)
·Sometimes with two strikes set up next pitch, hard in then soft away or hard in and hard away, soft away hard in. etc.
·Throw with a purpose, 20 pitches at a 100% is better than 50 pitches at 75%
Goal: Practice fundamentals right, which will lead to better game performance. Practicing these steps at home each day getting the correct muscle memory. Perfect practice makes perfect.
take the life as it comes in your way.take it in the Right earnest. if you are helping your father and vice versa, there is nothing to be grudged at. you may ,whenever your star strengthens, get some good opportunity. wait till that happens.
You really shouldn't have any problem getting into college. You're obviously intelligent. You don't NEED to take SAT subjecting tests, unless the school wants you to. I know for the four schools I applied to, even the private school, did not require the subject tests and I don't think it makes a huge difference.
Yeah skyjackeddxj96….I hate Miken Ultra’s!!!! It sucks hitting 400ft bombs with them… I way rather hit other brands, then talk about how much better they are than Mikens…but we all know the truth…don’t we. Cause the whole fad of converting Ultras into Worths and Eastons isn’t proof enough. Now if Miken sucks because they will break ur nutz when pitching to them and they hit middle then I agree Miken Sucks!!!!
That’s how carbon fiber bats are made, too.
i agree baseball does teach its ok to steal, the alltime great really took the whole base when he broke the record. at least when other player steal they leave the base for others to use during the game and i guess the last person to steal it grabs it after the game. its horrible!! even when someone gets caught stealing they only go back in the dugouts and change hats so no one knows who they are and go back on the field with the other guys some of whom have been caught stealing too, wheres the justice for the victims of the attempted theft. i never thought of it this way before but what is this sport teaching our kids. for as long as there has been baseball people have been stealing. stealing should be banned in baseball and people would no longer shoplift or rob banks. you are dork but you are a genius
now that i think of it interceptions in football are wrong too!! the defensive guy jump in front of a ball not intended for him and catches it AND runs away with it sometimes they even have people in the crowd they pass it off to when they get to the end of the field or they slam the ball into the ground and try to break it. other times if they cant catch the ball they knock the other guy down so he cant get it it madness
HEY! john stockton is considered a great basketball player for passing to his teammates but he stole more ball from the other team thamn anyone in history before him.
IM TAKING DOWN HIS FATHEAD
Cool vid! That was neat to see. I always wondered how they make a composite bat. A lot of work!
besides the usual keep it simple aspect ,two important things are: let the parents know that this is a game and in games you have fun so unless you ask for their advice or to help, you would appreciate it if they would allow you to decide how to coach. When I coached ( girl's fast-pitch and slow-pitch softball,girl's flag football, boys football and both girls and boys basketball) over a number of years i tried to have no parents at practice. And the most important thing is to make sure the kids understand that they are playing a game and right now they should have fun with it
coach ‘O’ !!!!! beast mode….what a pro…
http://www.mychances.net/
this website is super coool
cool
Typical liberalism – when they don't see something that suits their views, they get rid of it..
"Conform or be cast out"….Geddy Lee from Rush (song: Subdivisions)
AutoTune!!!
Most youth programs offer a "minor leagues" for first-year players, and more often than not, that includes going over some of the more basic rules.
I am not saying that you shouldn't try to learn the rules – but by the same token, I wouldn't worry about it too much. Most coaches are more than happy to explain things – we're in it to teach kids.