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.

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5 Disturbing Items in Youth Baseball Today

5 Disturbing Items in Youth Baseball Today
By guest author: Allen R.

I love baseball. I played baseball from the age of 5 to the age of 18. I was in organized baseball leagues starting at the age of 8. After a layoff of 11 years, I played in a men's league for another 3 years and I've been an umpire for the past 5 years.

I've seen and experienced a lot during my time in the game. The last few years as an umpire, dad and coach has been eye-opening in regards to youth baseball. Here are 5 things I find disturbing about youth baseball at this time:

1. T-Ball as a "Level" - Yes, everyone does make contact but it does not prepare the player for the reality that they will miss the ball more often than make contact. I believe that it also retards the development of hand-eye coordination. One of the hardest things to do in sports is to hit a round baseball with a round bat while both are in motion. Why not allow children the opportunity to improve this skill as soon as they can? A hitting "T" removes most of that development by placing the ball in a stationary position. The batting "T" is a tool to improve one's swing or reestablish it after a long layoff or offseason - not a division in a youth baseball league.

2. Games Without a Score - This is prevalent throughout the lower levels of all youth sports. It is supposed to foster higher self-esteem in the players since nobody loses (I think this is supposed to make the parents feel better about themselves). In reality, all of the players lose. Keeping score is essential to charting a team's progress. I must admit that in my first year as head coach of my son's baseball team I succumbed to this regulation. This year, while the official line is we are not keeping score, I will keep it. This way I can see how we are progressing. The kids always ask me anyway!

3. Facemasks on helmets - Fortunately, this is not too common - yet. I understand the intent - to protect the player against injury and also alleviate a fear of the ball. While it will help the player now, these are 2 things they will have to deal with down the line when the consequences are much greater. I'd rather a player understand the mechanics of getting out of the way of the pitch (turn away from the ball) when it is traveling at 30 mph or so vs. 65 - 75 mph and higher.

4. Non-throwing rules for catchers - Again, thankfully, I have not run across this many times. There was a league that I umpired games for that forbid the catcher from throwing the ball to third base on a steal. This went hand-in-hand with the restriction on stealing third base only once per inning. This rule was put in place so the catcher wouldn't overthrow the base. Well, how is a catcher supposed to sharpen his accuracy if he cannot throw in a game situation? This was at a 9 year-old level, mind you.

5. Batting through the order each inning - This one I am torn on. The premise is a good one at the younger levels. Each team bats all the way through without regard for the number of outs. While it doesn't reinforce the importance of making proper plays and getting 3 outs quickly, it does keep the game moving at a good pace.

There are more things that bother me about the youth baseball leagues. These are just some of the most egregious.

Allen. R is a technology professional with over 10 years experience. He's been involved with the game of baseball for over 20 years as a player, umpire and manager. He currently resides in New York with his family.

For more helpful tips and articles, please visit http://www.prudentdad.com

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T-Ball University - Batting Drills For Tee Ball Coaches and Parents

T-Ball University - Batting Drills For Tee Ball Coaches and Parents
By guest author: David Comora

Baseball Season is just around the corner, so parents and parent coaches, start digging through the garage for your baseball equipment and begin stretching out those rusty arm and leg muscles. For many communities, children begin their baseball or softball careers playing the lead-up skill called Tee Ball, which is baseball, minus the pitcher. In Tee Ball which is also spelled T-Ball, children learn the fundamentals of batting, fielding and base-running. For the purposes of this article we'll be concentrating on batting. In Tee Ball, batting takes place utilizing a Tee which sits approximately waste high to the hitter. The Tee is a great tool for perfecting a child's swing. When used correctly, a coach can analyze all of the components used in a swing and make subtle or not so subtle adjustments to a child's swing, batting stance, hip rotation and foot work.

It is my opinion after coaching all these seasons that proper footwork is the most important aspect of hitting. If you have the proper footwork, the arms, hips, and head will fall into place with the required timing.

In order to achieve proper footwork, I will place the tee on top of home plate. I will draw a perpendicular line in the dirt with the handle of the player's tee ball bat from the middle 45 degree corner of the tee's base. The line length is approximately 12 inches. Adjust this length accordingly to a comfortable extension of each player's arms with the bat swing. I then will draw a perpendicular line from the first line and parallel to the edge of the tee base going back toward the backstop. Therefore, this line is in the shape of an inverted "L". I will squat down and point with my index finger as to where I want each foot to be placed along the parallel line. Drawing the 12-inch line allows the hitter to extend his or her arms when swinging to comfortably hit the tee-ball with the "sweet" spot of the bat.

I want each child to have a stiff front leg with feet square to the parallel line. The player should be placing their weight on the balls of both of their feet. The square front foot will prevent the front knee from buckling or bending. Imagine a bug underneath the back foot. I want the child to squash that imaginary bug with a pivot of their back foot. Approximately 60% of the player's weight should be on the back foot. This is called the "load" position. This pivot will open the hips toward the pitcher when "squashing the bug". The front foot should remain square and the front knee locked when "squashing the bug" also. The back leg can bend but do not take a large dip with the back leg. (This drill is presented in a short video on our http://www.tballu.com website, within the "Free Sample Video" section).

Most coaches and parents who played the game when they were young were taught to take a step toward the pitcher with their front foot when swinging the bat. Most coaches and parents remember taking a small step or a large step. I do not want the player to take a step with their front foot when "squashing the bug" since a step will cause the player's head to slightly dip when swinging the bat and therefore, the player's eyes will dip when swinging the bat also. The no-step will prevent an eye dip when attempting to hit a breaking ball (e.g., curve, slider, etc) later in the player's career when he or she advances to high school baseball or softball. Use a series of batting helmets as impediments to prevent the player's front foot from taking a step if they had been previously taught to do so.

Practice "squashing the bug" with a bat situated between the arms and the back's shoulder blades. Have the entire team practice this drill at the same time making sure they are a good distance away from each other. Keep an eye on a stiff front leg and the back foot should pivot on the ball of their back foot. Some players will pivot and raise the heel of the back foot such that the back weight is placed on the toe of the back foot instead of the ball of the back foot. The player's head should stay down while looking in the hitting zone. If the back shoulder does not remain in the hitting zone upon pivot, the head will lift up from the hitting zone and the front foot will automatically lift up as well where the hitter is pivoting on the heel of the front foot. This is called "rolling" the front foot. Repeat this drill 50 times each practice and before each game. The player can also do this drill 50 times daily in front of a full length mirror at home. This will provide the player great muscle memory to ensure a proper swing every time.

After more than ten years coaching youth baseball, it has been my experience that, despite the best efforts of parent-coaches, too many children do not learn the basics of hitting and fielding and develop bad habits from the start. As these children progress to coach-pitch and kid-pitch leagues, this results in coaches spending many hours trying to correct problems, which could have been easily avoided at the Tee Ball or Beginner Baseball level. Coaching children, whether your own or children in your community, is one of the most rewarding experiences you'll have. Watching children learn and successfully apply the skills that you've taught them is tremendously fulfilling. I wish you all the best of luck in your t-ball, baseball or softball seasons.

David Comora
T-Ball University
http://www.teeballuniversity.com

David Comora has coached Tee Ball and Youth Baseball for over 10 years. He and his partners Steve Polansky, Brian Leuthner and David Kalb have developed the T-Ball University system of coaching to help new parent coaches learn to quickly master the skills of coaching. Their program includes video drills, coaching forms, practice plans, lesson notes and more. Free coaching videos are also available at http://www.teeballuniversity.com.

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There is More to Baseball Training Than Simply Youth Baseball Drills

There is More to Baseball Training Than Simply Youth Baseball Drills
By guest author: 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.

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Don't Forget Your (Batting) Tee Time!

Don't Forget Your (Batting) Tee Time!
By guest author: Olan Suddeth

Most experienced coaches are already quite familiar with the advice I am about to give. In their case, please forgive my restating of what might be obvious, and browse some of the other articles on this site. The new baseball coach, however, would do well to pay attention.

I am about to reveal to you the single most useful tool for improving the hitting skills of your batters. Please, take a seat. I don't want the shock to overcome you. Are you ready?

I present to you: the batting tee!

That's correct. The tee is the single most useful tool for improving the hitting skills of your batters. You may bellieve that your players are too old to benefit from a tee... and you could not be further from the truth. Did you know that major league hitters practice by hitting off of a tee every single day? Are you suggesting that your eight (or ten or twelve) year olds know more about hitting than Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds, Derek Lee, or other big league stars?

Now that I hopefully have your attention, I will explain why this is. Understand, there is no substitute for live pitching - tee drills cannot help with your batter's sense of timing, or his ability to pick up on or identify pitch location, pitch type, velocity, etc. But unless you have Greg Maddux pitching your batting pracice sessions, there is no way you can hope to put the ball in the same place every time, which allows you to analyze the batter's swing. With a tee, you can really watch what your hitter is doing, make suggestions, and get many, many repititions in in a reltively short period of time. This is the reason that, if you were to take your player to pretty much any professional hitting coach in the country, the first thing the coach would do would be to drag out a tee.

If your player has a hitch in his swing, you can identify it with a tee. If he needs to work on the inside pitch (or the low pitch, or the outside pitch), you can simply move the tee and give him extra repititions. If he has a loop or dip in his swing, you can place a second tee behind the one holding the ball and force him to adapt a correct swing path. With a tee, you can build the all-important muscle memory needed for a good, consistent swing.

I cannot emphasize this enough - very few practices should ever go by without your players hitting off of a tee. This is an absolutely ideal station activity, is easy to place, and if you happen to also own a net, can be done in even the smallest of spaces.

The bottom line: if you do not own a tee, and you coach a youth baseball team, go and drop a few bucks on one today. You will not regret the investment in the best hitting tool ever made.

Olan Suddeth is a little league baseball coach in the Birmingham, Alabama area. His website, Youth Baseball Info (http://www.youthbaseballinfo.com) offers free drills, articles, and tips for youth baseball coches, parents, and fans.

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How to NOT Be a Youth Baseball Coach (Part 1 of a Series)

How to NOT Be a Youth Baseball Coach (Part 1 of a Series)
By guest author: Frank Thompson

The one thing I will always cherish as I get older is the years I spent coaching my sons in the sport that I dearly love... baseball. Now, I am not one of those dads that get involved just to live their shortchanged childhood through their childrens' eyes. I played baseball for years and studied the game. I also, while progressing through the different age levels with my boys, understood the need to adjust and adapt to the respective age level.

Through trial and error, I did experience both good and bad things while coaching my teams. I want to share with you what NOT to do in this series to help make you a better coach.

What is number one on my list?

The top mistake coaches in youth baseball make when the coach, mentor and teach their team is that they run their practices in a manner where they do not most utilize all of their time by keeping the players active during those down times.

What do I mean?

They have the entire team go "shag" balls in the field while they pitch to them one at a time for batting practice.

Practices normally range from one to three hours for youth sports, and utilizing this method for a twelve player team can take up to two hours.

Certainly not the most effective means of practice!

I learned through the years that even though you are the coach of the team, there are generally two or three other parents who would love the opportunity to get out there and be active with their player by being involved. Simply ask them if they would like to help out in practice!

Why do you need the help?

When I ran practice, I always ran "stations" where I had every player active the entire time of practice. Some of my most effective practices in youth baseball lasted only 90 minutes because I had them so well organized.

Here's how I would structure my stations:

Station 1 - Ground ball practice on the infield with three players, one receiving the ground ball, one playing the position of first base for drill purposes and receiving the throw from across the field, and one catching the return throw at home plate for you.

Station 2 - Hand/eye batting coordination with two players in the outfield. This drill is done with a sawed off wooden broomstick and golf wiffle balls. I put the kids on their knees to hit these little balls with the little stick. The object is not how far, but how many they could hit. One player would hit, the other would shag loose balls for you.

Station 3 - Soft toss into a fence with wiffle balls with two players. Use wiffle balls to prevent injury from a ball bouncing back on the player and also to prevent damage from the ball being constantly hit into the fence and rolling up the bottom of the fence. One player hits, while the other shags.

Station 4 - Hitting live baseballs in the batting cage. Self explanatory. Use two players, one actively hitting, the other "on deck" to speed up the process.

Station 5 - Base running techniques. The remaining three would be taught and worked on perfecting stealing, leading off and sliding techniques, as the age level allows.

Coaches would need to coordinate rotations to prevent backing up of one station.

If planned out well, you will have a very productive practice.

Truth be told, the players like being more active as well, and the time flies by. As I said, some of my more productive practices lasted only 90 minutes.

Now get planning!

We will continue to discuss what NOT to do as a youth baseball coach in Part 2 of this series.

Frank Thompson has been writing articles online for over two years now. Not only does this author specialize in coaching and youth sports, but you can also check out his latest website Erie Auto Insurance which reviews and compares Erie Auto Insurance to other auto insurers.

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SoftballrUs.com/FastpitchSoftballSupply.com is the ultimate online fastpitch softball online store. SoftballrUs.com has Batting Trainers,Pitching Training, Training Bats,Defensive Training Equipment,Coaching DVDs & Books, Softball Pitching Machines, Softball Complete Net & Frame Batting Cage Packages, Batting Cage Nets, Protective Practice Screens and Nets, and BatAction Hitting Machines, and much, much more. Visit Softballrus.com now!