Jugs Instant Screen, Take Your Hitting to a New Level

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Jugs Instant Screen, Take Your Hitting to a New Level
By James Quick

It is a fact. Few baseball players rarely just pick up a bat and start hitting home runs. They have to work hard and practice for hours and hours. Most players in the beginning stages of development as a ball player could greatly benefit from a batting training aid which would be easily portable and go anywhere allowing them to explode their skills.

Jugs Instant Screen does that and more it will give novice players the opportunity to practice in a safe manner. Even advanced players can increase their skills by making it a daily routine.

The screen easily unfolds from a circular form with a pop and it can be refolded easily after a few tries. It fits in a little case so it can be taken anywhere you want to go. Kids can use it in the back yard or they can take it to a friend's house or over to the baseball field to get in a little practice.

Players practice by hitting the balls into the screen and it is great for kids because it is 8 feet wide by 7 feet high. This makes it safe for batting practice as the balls will not be able to fly into parked cars or windows of houses nearby. It also works well for throwing practice as well.

If you are pitching balls to your kids you will no longer have to go chasing them all over the yard. The screen will catch them for you and deposit them in the area. No more loosing balls in the woods or neighbors fenced in back yard either.

This screen is works for families but it also is great for team use. Use it before the game starts to warm up and you can also use it while the game is going on because your balls will be stopped short by the screen. You can use it by backing it up a little bit or by having it close to the batter or pitcher.

One of the best things about the screen is that it doesn't cost an arm and a leg. It is easily affordable by families, schools, churches and other organizations. Because it folds up so compactly it is no problem to store either. It will give your future baseball player the practice they need in a safe environment.

Give Yourself an Unfair Advantage Over the Competition

Get free information about the Jugs Instant Screen including product videos and ratings or just visit http://www.jugsinstantsreen.net for tools and tips on other great the batting cages.

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

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Youth Baseball Digest - What is Baseball Slugging Percentage? How is Slugging Percentage Calculated?

ZipnHitPro.com
By Nick Dixon

Slugging Percentage is a baseball batting stat that assigns value to hits based on the number of bases reached. The bigger a hit is the more it raises the Slugging Percentage of the batter. Slugging Percentage is also sometimes called "Slugging Average" or "SLG". "SLG" is considered a reliable indicator of a batters power. It is very simple to calculate. This article explains how to determine a batters SLG.

Slugging average assigns a bigger value to bigger hits. So the calculation becomes "total bases" divided by the number of at-bats.

Here are the values for each base hit:

· HR = 4 points.

· TRIPLE = 3 points. =

· DOUBLE = 2 Points.

· SINGLE = 1 point.

The formula for determining SLG:

(HR x 4 points) + (TRIPLES x 3 points) + (DOUBLES x 2 points) + (SINGLES x 1 point) = SUM

SUM (Divided by Total At-Bats) = Slugging Average.

In other words, Slugging Average is calculated by adding the totals for all the hits the batter has, then divide by the total number of at bats. For example, a batter goes 2 for 4 and hits a triple and a double, which is five points. Five points divided into 4 at bats equals 1.250 Slugging Average.

Other examples:

A batter is 7 for 12 on the season. He has hit a HR, 2 TRIPLES, 2 DOUBLES, and 2 SINGLES. The total of bases added up equals 16. Divide the 16 bases reached by the 12 total at-bats and you get a Slugging Average of 1.333

SLG is expressed as a three-digit decimal. It is considered the best indication of a batters measure of power.

I hope that you found this article to be informative and easy to understand. Thanks for reading my article. Have a great day, Nick.

The CoachesBest Baseball Store has a great selection of 1400 Baseball Products. Check out the BatAction Hitting Machine baseball pitching simulator. This high speed training machine is 100% Guaranteed to raise Batting Averages and has a full year warranty.

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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The Categories they have are: Baseball Training Equipment, Youth Baseball Training Equipment, Training Bats, Pitching & Throwing Trainers, Defensive Trainers, 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, BatAction Hitting Machines, Hurricane Hitting Machines, NEDCO Bataction Replacement Parts, SKLZ Hurricane Replacement Parts and Much Much More! Visit Baseball2U.com today!

How Baseball Teaches Life Skills

Robert_Bulka

How do you teach kids important life skills? Have them join an youth baseball league.

Below are 5 life skills they will learn:

1. Teamwork

For many young kids organized baseball will be their first introduction to teamwork. Executing ground ball outs, rooting on their teammates , sacrifice bunting and stealing bases are just some of the actions that allow kids to apply and understand teamwork. Youth baseball provides an arena for kids to learn to interact with others with diverse backgrounds, races and religions.

2. Leadership

Not everyone is a leader, when teaching kids baseball we can introduce them to what leadership is; and we can teach them the things that make good leaders. I like to foster leadeship growth growth using the following practices:


Have them lead the cheer of the batter and pitcher
Encourage others to verbally cheer on the pitcher and the batter
Have them lead by example: by always hustling and showing respect to the coaches and teammates
Lending support instead of insults to teammates who have made an error
Executing stretching and game prep drills without the coach having to ask - initiating on their own

3. Confidence

It's great to see kids realize that practice has made them a better player. It instills that vital skill needed to succeed in life. They learn that everything is not easy, that things take time and they have to have the attitude they won't be defeating.
Succeeding at catching the ball and hitting consistently reinforces heir self esteem and pride - this is confidence.

A slap on the back by the coach also goes a long way to building confidence.

4. Learning from Adversity

How could you not learn adversity playing youth baseball? The best hitters make an out 65% of the time, everyone makes fielding errors and few teams go undefeated in a season. One more thing, how many times in the year does the team fall behind in the game, only to comeback to win.

Do we need to say more!?

5. Respect

Not all players respect their coaches, and honestl,y some coaches don't respect some kids. But this is the most important lesson to teach the kids. The coach often takes on the role of the parent, and from my experience, this is the topic where most of the parenting is done. A good coach can address the issues of respect by doing the following:


Having a meeting in the pre-season to discuss behavior guidelines for both players and parents
Insist that kids pay attention and make eye contact when addressing the group
Enforce a rule that insulting other players is out of the question and subject to severe repercussions
Realize respect is a two way street

As you can see, we often underestimate the real life skills youth baseball programs provide to our children!

Robert Bulka is a former college baseball pitcher and current coach in the New York Metropolitan area. For more great tips for teaching kids how to play baseball go to http://TeachKidsBaseball.com

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

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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: Baseball Training Equipment, Youth Baseball Training Equipment, Training Bats, Pitching & Throwing Trainers, Defensive Trainers, 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, BatAction Hitting Machines, Hurricane Hitting Machines, NEDCO Bataction Replacement Parts, SKLZ Hurricane Replacement Parts and Much Much More! Visit Baseball2U.com today!

Are Wooden Baseball Bats For You?

HurricaneMachine.com
YouthBaseballDigest.com
By Pinky Savika

The history of baseball wouldn't be complete without mentioning the use of wooden baseball bats. More likely, they had been using this lighter but weaker bat on their times since the wooden type is the only kind of bat that they can buy. However, nowadays, things have changed rapidly. Aluminum, metals and other metal alloys had entered the bat production industry. Many professional players had been using these harder and stronger bats in their practice games. But, how about using the veteran wooden bats? Are they still worthy for play? You might want to check the surprising answer.

Wooden bats are used in the history for almost all of their games, regardless of being a professional game or a just a leisure game. Does that mean baseball players during those times are unlikely to reach fame in out time? Definitely not! Some players in that time might even be better to our players now. And this is because they had been using wooden bats. What can wood bats do? Well, for one, it is environmental friendly. Other materials used in making bats usually undergo melting procedures, a process requiring heat from carbon-emitting coals. On the other hand, wood bats are more fragile than the metallic bats. But, having this characteristic can even be proven as a good feature. Old time players learned to limit their swing to preserve their own single wooden bat. Because of that, they had successfully created their pitch zone, making it easier for them to manage where they would want the ball to land. This is the very same reason why many coaches recommend early use of wood bats to increase the potential of their budding baseball player.

Considering that, newcomers in the baseball field are suggested to use wooden bats, while professionals can use their own choice of bat.

Learn more about wooden baseball bats, please visiting http://www.gsyywz.com/shopping/how-to-choose-the-best-wooden-baseball-bats/.

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


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: Baseball Training Equipment, Youth Baseball Training Equipment, Training Bats, Pitching & Throwing Trainers, Defensive Trainers, 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, BatAction Hitting Machines, Hurricane Hitting Machines, NEDCO Bataction Replacement Parts, SKLZ Hurricane Replacement Parts and Much Much More! Visit Baseball2U.com today!

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How to Play Baseball - Teaching Younger Hitters a Good Baseball Swing

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By Nate Barnett

I love teaching 11 and 12 year olds how to play baseball. They are still at the age (most of them) where they don't know everything there is about the baseball swing. But, one of the best rewards from teaching youth baseball drills is the excitement on their faces when they figure out for themselves how to crush the baseball.

The first step to teaching youth baseball drills is to understand the part of the swing that will produce the greatest and quickest positive results in a hitter. The faster a coach can reach an athlete and instill some confidence in the skill of hitter, the more receptive he will be for future coaching as he learns how to play baseball better. The single most important first skill to teach a young athlete is the ability to properly manage his balance while hitting a baseball.

Here are a few techniques to include when teaching your athletes how to play baseball offensively.

1. Make sure that the stance of the athlete is wide enough. The "shoulders width" suggestion doesn't hold up when one really understands how weight is shifted. The general rule is to position your hitters with their hips inside their knees, and their knees inside their feet. Once a hitter is in this position, and it is difficult to tell if the formula from the previous sentence is in place, he is too narrow at the base and needs to widen his stance.

2. There must be a legitimate transfer of weight onto the back leg as the hitter prepares himself before the baseball is released. Without the ability of a visual here (though I'll have a complete ebook finished on this topic very soon complete with visuals!), make sure the back knee is roughly above the back shoe. If the back knee has moved to the outside of the back shoe, the weight transfer is too great. This whole process of creating a transfer of weight allows a hitter to create power generating from his backside leg and not only his upper body. I cannot emphasize the importance of this point enough.

3. Once the hitter begins his swing, the back leg which is still housing approximately 60% of the body weight will rotate in what is commonly referred to as the pivot. As the rotation occurs, look to see if the weight and the flex of the back leg is still present. One simple way to tell if this has occurred is see if there is an imaginary vertical line running from inside shoulder through the hip, through the back knee upon finish of the swing.

I do realize this is somewhat technical in nature, however, if fully understood it will make all the difference in the world for the consistency of a young athlete. It's worth learning for sure.

Nate Barnett is owner of BMI Baseball designed to improve the mental game of baseball in athletes. Learn how to help your game by improving the skill of mental baseball

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

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Shop CoachesBest.com for your baseball coaching needs including baseball training aids, training videos, and other coaching supplies. Check out the Derek Jeter Hurricane Hitting machine by SKLZ at HurricaneTrainer.com.

See the “Original” Rotational Hitting Machine at BatAction.com. Are you looking for the perfect trainer to teach proper timing and swing mechanics? You can stop looking and go to HandsBackHitter.com.

Players develop incredible bat speed and confidence when they regularly use the Quick Swing Trainer. See it at QuickSwingTrainer.com. See the world’s most advanced batting tee at AdvancedSkillsTee.com.

Are you looking for a great batting cage at discount prices? Are you considering building your own backyard batting cage and training center? If so, you should visit BattingCagesDirect.com now!
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Advanced Skills Tee by Muhl Tech

Advanced Skills Tee by Muhl Tech




Advanced Skills Tee by Muhl Tech

The World's Most Advanced Batting Tee.

..Used by over 3000 high schools and colleges!..

The Advanced Skills Tee(patented) is unlike any other swing trainer available. Designed to help experienced players perfect their bat skills and begining players to learn proper mechanics, a forward arm and outside swing barrier simultaneously eliminate both "dipping" and "casting". And, the height adjustable (24"-40"), movable arm positions the ball anywhere across the strike zone to realistically represent inside and outside pitch locations. Use the AST to build a compact swing, keep the "hands inside the ball" and develop a "quick" bat. Use it to increase bat speed and learn to "hit the ball where it's pitched".

Includes a two-year warranty!



Our team trains daily on the Muhl Tech Advanced Skills Tee. The forward arm and outside barrier helps our players create a proper swing plane and stay short to the ball. These tees are extremely durable and the brush cup ball holder is a great idea, they have held up for years. I would recommend them to any baseball program.

Stan McKeever
Head Baseball Coach
La Cueva High School
Albuquerque, NM
2004 Collegiate Baseball America/Easton Sports Poll National Champions

AdvancedSkillsTee.com

Teaching Young Hitters to Hit Like Major League Players

By Jack Perconte

Just as when I played in the major leagues, there are many great major league hitters playing now. Of course, there are a few that stand out and I never turn the channel when they are up to bat. When I talk to young hitters, these are the current players I often bring up, admire and advise young players to try to emulate:

1. Derek

2. Youk

3. Ichiro

4. Albert

5. Joe (Mauer - You probably knew that but Joe is so plain I figured I would make sure)

All household names for baseball fans of course. My favorite major league hitters are probably not much different than many fan favorites. I enjoy watching these guys for all the same reasons.

First, they all have their individual style.

Second, they are all fundamentally sound.

Third, they are tough to strike out but aggressive at the same time - rarely going out of the strike zone for a pitch.

Fourth, they make adjustments from at-bat to at-bat.

Fifth, they know the game situation and hit accordingly.

Good hitters like these know what is needed depending on the game situation. When they just need to get on base, they take the walk. When an RBI is needed, they will take the single and when a long ball is needed they will look for a pitch they can drive out of the park. The result of all this is that they have quality at-bats every time.

Of course, not many youth ball players will develop the great hitting skills of these major league players but that does not mean coaches should not teach the attributes of these great stars. Good coaches should allow hitters to have their own style as long as it allows for and includes good hitting fundamentals. They should teach hitters to be aggressive and patient at the same time and they can teach them the strategies of the game so they will know what is needed at a particular time in a game. Additionally, good coaches can teach players how to analyze the opposing team pitcher so they learn what adjustments may be necessary as the game goes on. Here are a few further points that follow up on these points:

1. Good coaches know the difference between style and fundamentals. Style is unique to the individual and involves the players' initial set-up.

2. Fundamentals begin with hitter's stride which must bring them to the correct launch position and the hitter's first move of the swing.

3. Teaching kids to learn and adhere to the strike zone is a never ending process that coaches should constantly be preaching to their players.

4. Having players study the opposing teams' pitcher's tendencies is another job of the coach and one that will pay off with quality at-bats and more wins.

5. Helping kids understand game strategy and game situations is another teaching aspect of good coaches. Players will begin to anticipate game situation behavior which makes them more mentally prepared.

Finally, each ball player learns at a different pace but with constant coaching reinforcement, all players have the opportunity to become great students of the game. After all, there is more to the game than just being able to run, hit and throw.

Former major league baseball player, Jack Perconte gives baseball hitting tips and batting practice advice for ballplayers of all ages. His baseball playing lessons, books and 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 positive parenting advice and books can be found at http://positiveparentinginsports.com

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

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If you are looking for great coaching articles, please consider one of our sites: The BaseballCoachingDigest.com, the YouthBaseballDigest.com or the BaseballParentGuide.com. Have a safe and happy season! Nick Dixon

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Shop CoachesBest.com for your baseball coaching needs including baseball training aids, training videos, and other coaching supplies. Check out the Derek Jeter Hurricane Hitting machine by SKLZ at HurricaneTrainer.com.

See the “Original” Rotational Hitting Machine at BatAction.com. Are you looking for the perfect trainer to teach proper timing and swing mechanics? You can stop looking and go to HandsBackHitter.com.