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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Youth Baseball Digest - 11 Simple Batting Terms Every Tee Ball and Little League Coach Should Know

Youth Baseball Digest - 11 Simple Batting Terms Every Tee Ball and Little League Coach Should Know
By guet author: Nick Dixon

1. Grip - The first thing every young player must be taught is how to properly grip the bat. The bat is gripped with the "knocking knuckles" on the top and bottom hands aligned perfectly in a straight line with each other. The purpose of this grip is to place the bat handle in the fingers away from the palms of the hands. This grip allows the hands to be move quicker and to have maximum control of the bat. Tension is a batters worst enemy when it comes having a quality swing. Gripping the bat improperly often causes tension throughout the body. A relaxed grip on the bat allows the batter to react with better bat speed and hand quickness. Feeling relaxed at the plate is a key to a batters confidence.

2. Stance - A batters stance is how a batter initially stands in the batter's box to look out at the pitcher. A batter's stance is the position of the hands and feet prior to the start of the swing. The feet should be shoulder width apart with toes pointing toward the plate. The feet should be square to the plate. Square to the plate means that they are an equal distance from the plate. The stance also refers to the position of the hands and the angle of the bat. The hands should be no more that several inches from the shoulder. The stance should comfortable and should allow the batter to look at the pitcher with ease.

3. Stride - The term refers to the batters weight shift or step prior to the swing. The stride should be short and only about three to four inches if the front foot moves. Many batters simply pick the front foot up and replace it without moving it forward. If a step is taken, it should be a little step forward with the toes pointing toward the pitcher. It is important to teach young players that they must stride to get ready to hit. They do not stride to hit, but rather, they should stride to get ready to hit. The batters stride foot should be set before the pitchers front foot lands.

4. Hip Turn - Hip turn refers to the process of a batter generating power by driving the hips through a power rotation. Only pitches over the middle and inside 3rds of the plate allow a batter to get full hip turn. The closer the pitch is to the batter, the more hip turn is needed to properly hit the ball. Pitches on the outer part of the plate require little hip turn to hit. The hitter will rotate his hips open farther on an inside pitch than an outside pitch. The batter should rotate the hips on a level plane. Player should not lean forward over the plate or lean back away from the plate. The batter's back foot must pivot in order to have good hip rotation.

5. Balance - A batter must have good balance to be successful. Balance refers to proper weight distribution prior, during the swing, and at the finish of the swing. Good balance allows the hitter to have more control at the plate. Good balance begins with even weight distribution with a proper stance. The batters ability to control the body during the stride is the key to good balance.

6. Bat Speed - The speed of the bat during a swing. The bat the batter used must be the correct length and weight for a batter to generate optimum bat speed.

7. Squash the Bug - This term refers to the pivot the back foot during the baseball swing. This foot action allows the hips to open up or turn.

8. Shoe Laces to Pitcher - The best back foot action is not a squashing action with downward pressure. The best motion is to turn the back foot with the shoelaces toward the pitcher. This turn should be performed with a "light-weight" pivoting motion with little downward pressure. The batter pushes off from the ball of his rear foot to shift weight to the front side. Putting downward pressure on the ball of the back foot as it pivots and the hips rotate tends to constrict the quickness and power swing.

9. Trigger - Load - Both have the same meaning. Batters must learn to trigger or load to get ready to hit. The loading or triggering process is a batter's final movement of the body and hands to the optimum bat launching position to get ready for the swing. Different batters use different movement as a triggering mechanism. Many batters turn the front knee and should slightly inward. Other batters simply take the hands slightly up and back to what they call their launch position. The loading or triggering action should be a very slight movement.

10. A, B, C Baseball Swing - The "A, B, to C baseball swing" means a baseball swing that is not fundamentally correct. The term describes a swing that is not compact and not direct to the ball. The batter sweeps the bat in a slow long arch.

11. A to C Swing - Used to refer to a sort compact swing that take the bat from the "A" launch position directed to the "C" or contact position. The perfect baseball swing is a short compact "A to C" Swing.

For more articles on coaching baseball visit the Youth Baseball Digest, Little League Digest and the Baseball Coaching Digest.

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

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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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Why I Love to Coach Tee Ball

Why I Love to Coach Tee Ball
By guest author: Alex Dumas

Coaching tee ball runs in my family. My dad coached me and my brothers and our friends. My uncle coached in their place. My other uncle coached at their town's local pre-school. My grandfather coached my dad and uncles how to play tee ball. And to top it all, my mom has always been supportive with what I do. She has never failed to encourage me and my friends to boost our morale up. I played for four years and though I may be that young, the memories are still as fresh as dewdrops on a spring morning. I grew up in the world of baseball but I never focused on making a career out of baseball. There were a lot of things that I learned while playing baseball and most of it helped develop my personality.

28 years had passed and I have my own family now. My wife and I are blessed with an energetic boy. We live in the suburbs just outside the city. Our neighborhood is mostly composed of young parents and I've seen several toddlers and kids around. My son is turning four this year and I wanted to introduce him to youth sports, so I took out my tee ball equipment and set it up at our backyard one Saturday morning. Billy, our seven-year old neighbor, saw me teaching my son to swing his bat and asked if he could join. I agreed and he called his five-year old brother too. This became a weekly thing with one or two kids joining every week. After two months, I had about 16 kids knocking at my door every Saturday morning for tee ball. We had to move to the park because my backyard was not enough.

Teaching kids to play tee ball is a moral booster for me because I always know that I was able to contribute to a child's development. I was a coach and a second parent to them. Other parents joined and we were like one big happy family. Our relationships extended beyond tee ball and the support for one another is awesome. We contributed to form our own team. We practiced and dealt with the joys and pains of a growing child. We have yet to win a championship but that has not been our main goal. All the parents and I have agreed that our main priority was to ensure that our kids have the best times of their childhood while playing tee ball. That for me, is a goal far more better than a tee ball championship trophy.

For more tips and information about coaching tee ball, check out http://www.weplay.com.

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

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The Categories they have are: BatAction Hitting Machines, Hurricane Hitting Machines, Batting Cages, Pitching Machines, Jugs Equipment, Game and Practice Baseballs, Protective Practice Screens and Nets, Portable Pitching Mounds, Baseball DVDs & Books, Clearance Items on Sales, NEDCO Bataction Replacement Parts, Baseball Training Equipment, Youth Baseball Training Equipment, Training Bats, Pitching & Throwing Trainers, Defensive Trainers, SKLZ Hurricane Replacement Parts and Much Much More! Visit Baseball2U.com today!

Why I Love to Coach Tee Ball

Why I Love to Coach Tee Ball
By guest author: Alex Dumas


Coaching tee ball runs in my family. My dad coached me and my brothers and our friends. My uncle coached in their place. My other uncle coached at their town's local pre-school. My grandfather coached my dad and uncles how to play tee ball. And to top it all, my mom has always been supportive with what I do. She has never failed to encourage me and my friends to boost our morale up. I played for four years and though I may be that young, the memories are still as fresh as dewdrops on a spring morning. I grew up in the world of baseball but I never focused on making a career out of baseball. There were a lot of things that I learned while playing baseball and most of it helped develop my personality.

28 years had passed and I have my own family now. My wife and I are blessed with an energetic boy. We live in the suburbs just outside the city. Our neighborhood is mostly composed of young parents and I've seen several toddlers and kids around. My son is turning four this year and I wanted to introduce him to youth sports, so I took out my tee ball equipment and set it up at our backyard one Saturday morning. Billy, our seven-year old neighbor, saw me teaching my son to swing his bat and asked if he could join. I agreed and he called his five-year old brother too. This became a weekly thing with one or two kids joining every week. After two months, I had about 16 kids knocking at my door every Saturday morning for tee ball. We had to move to the park because my backyard was not enough.

Teaching kids to play tee ball is a moral booster for me because I always know that I was able to contribute to a child's development. I was a coach and a second parent to them. Other parents joined and we were like one big happy family. Our relationships extended beyond tee ball and the support for one another is awesome. We contributed to form our own team. We practiced and dealt with the joys and pains of a growing child. We have yet to win a championship but that has not been our main goal. All the parents and I have agreed that our main priority was to ensure that our kids have the best times of their childhood while playing tee ball. That for me, is a goal far more better than a tee ball championship trophy.

For more tips and information about coaching tee ball, check out http://www.weplay.com.

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




Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/2494995

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Thanks to our sponsors:

Baseball2u.com/CoachesBest.com is the ultimate online baseball training and coaching store. With over 1400 products organized into categories Baseball2u.com makes finding that baseball training product easy and simple. Order securely online or by phone. Baseball2u.com is a fully licensed company and has a full time staff available from 8:00 to 5:00 CST. Their toll free customer service number is 1-877-431-4487.

The Categories they have are: BatAction Hitting Machines, Hurricane Hitting Machines, Batting Cages, Pitching Machines, Jugs Equipment, Game and Practice Baseballs, Protective Practice Screens and Nets, Portable Pitching Mounds, Baseball DVDs & Books, Clearance Items on Sales, NEDCO Bataction Replacement Parts, Baseball Training Equipment, Youth Baseball Training Equipment, Training Bats, Pitching & Throwing Trainers, Defensive Trainers, SKLZ Hurricane Replacement Parts and Much Much More! Visit Baseball2U.com today!

Tee Ball Video - Nate & Joshie's 1st T-Ball Game

Could not resist the urge to post this parents tee ball video of the childs first tee ball game. Viewing the tape really gives you the feel of being at the game with the sights and sounds. Have a great day.



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