The Baseball Parent Guide Blog provides free youth baseball training drills and tips for helping young players succeed in youth baseball. Frequent post cover all topics related to baseball mechanics and fundamentals including how to hit a baseball and how to throw a baseball.
BaseballParentGuide.com - Official Blog
Welcome to the official blog of the Baseball Parent Guide. Our free baseball articles and daily post provide baseball parents with valuable drills and tips to help improve your home, team and backyard baseball practice. Our archive has hundreds of informative and useful articles and posts related to all aspects of baseball training, practice and skill development. Make sure to save this site to your favorites for future visits. Happy Hitting and Good Luck to Your Team!
Coaching Youth Baseball Catching Drills & Skills Pt 1 Uploaded by youthbaseball How to teach a young player how to catch through safe, repetitive drills that build player confidence. The video shows the development of a 5 yr old player catching pretty well and learning a little bit about baseball.
Target Hit Trainer by SKLZ - Dad Helping Son Learn to Swing & Hit a Baseball Uploaded by Coach2winVideos Video shows a Dad helping his young son, a beginner, learn the basics of hitting. The Target Trainer is the perfect hitting stick training device. It's simplicity, portability, and productivity make it one of the most popular youth baseball trainers on the market today. Available at fine sporting goods stores and mass merchants and at http://www.baseball2u.com http://www.baseball2u.com/prohitrbynes.html Visit the Youth Baseball Digest Blog at http://youthbaseballcoachingclinic.blogspot.com/ for free youth baseball coaching drills, tips and articles
Catcher's Blocking Drills at The Baseball Academy Uploaded by joewilkinscatching Catching Instructor Joe Wilkins (www.joewilkinscatching.com) takes his catchers through blocking drills at The Baseball Academy. Please click to "watch in high-quality" (bottom-right of the screen) for best viewing results!
Top 3 Ways to Be a Good Father and Good Sports Fan By guest author: James Dunsford
We all know that parenting can be a full-time job. But as the Winter Olympics transition into March Madness, and Major League Baseball spring training starts up, many dads out there are realizing that being a sports fan can be a full-time job as well.
Parenting and sports overlap more than one might think. You might reference baseball great Rickey Henderson to teach your children about grammar. You might draw on the Dallas Cowboys of the mid-90's to reinforce your "don't do drugs" speech. Finally, maybe you'll decide that Tiger Wood's career makes the perfect segue for a talk about the birds and the bees (and more birds and more bees).
Sometimes, just cheering for a winning baseball team can feel like having nine children of your own - except unlike your kids, most of these guys will actually stick to their bedtime.
But while the similarity to fatherhood and sports is strong, there are some key differences worth noting if you're going to be good at either.
1.) There's a difference between real life and fantasy sports. Unlike in fantasy baseball, football or basketball, you can't trade your kids when they start "underperforming." Even if your child brings home a "D" on his or her report card, or is caught sneaking out of the house, they're still a member of your squad. But while you can't drop them from your team, contract (or allowance) renegotiations are acceptable.
2.) You shouldn't bet on your kids. Maybe you shouldn't bet on sports either, but nobody's perfect. But wagering on your children's performance in school, number of girlfriends in high school and first word are sure to put strain on an already delicate relationship.
3.) You don't tailgate for school events. You don't want to be that guy with the grill and cooler outside of your daughter's dance recital - no matter how pumped up you get about ballet.
James is a single parenting and parenting skills specialist for greatdad.com.
College is very important regarding a young person's future. Fortunately, there are many options to employ to get there such as financial aid and private loans. In addition, many athletes receive monetary aid in attending college due to athletic scholarships. A young man looking to improve his future can leverage superior baseball skills to acquire a college scholarship. The following article features several suggestions to help a young person work towards attaining a baseball scholarship.
Do baseball drills on your own
Becoming a college athlete does take superior skills, yet such skills can be developed with dedication and focus. Often, more practice is what separates those who do well in sports and those who excel. Is practice canceled for the day? No practice scheduled for the weekend? Do you have some spare time on vacation? Scholarships await those who are dedicated towards their sport. Do baseball drills on your own to make yourself a better player tomorrow than you are today.
Do well in school
Young people receiving athletic scholarships rarely do so based solely upon athletic merit. Universities granting funds look for candidates who are exceptional in many areas including scholastic pursuits. Often, athletes can use discipline learned in sports to successfully address school obligations. In addition, good coaches make it a point to express the importance of school work and progress to their student athletes.
Attend summer baseball camps
Little league and high school baseball seasons usually take place between the months of March and June. Luckily, summer baseball camps are available so athletes can continue to engage in baseball drills and enjoy the benefits of youth baseball instruction. Student athletes can mention their attendance on their college 'resumes.' In addition, college recruiters are often savvy about the existence of such camps and rove for future potential.
Take private baseball lessons
An aspiring college athlete can really benefit from one-on-one instruction. Private baseball lessons are often available through local facilities or leagues. Instructors can focus on one or multiple areas of a young player's game in order to facilitate improvement and progress. Private lessons are a great supplement to baseball training programs offered at a player's school.
ZonedInc ( http://www.zonedinc.com ) is founded on the belief that it will provide premium instruction and assistance to all student athletes to better their skills and opportunities. It looks to expand the student athlete's possibilities for achievement and success. Zoned will endeavor to assist both genders, initially through baseball instruction and softball instruction, and eventually through a wide spectrum of sports and disciplines.
Hello, I hope all is going well with your season. I have decided to do today's post on baseball batting swing stride mechanics. I am posting an articles and two videos on the topic. Thanks for visiting our blog. Have a great week & Happy Hitting, Nick
Baseball Hitting Mechanics - Stride and Swing By Kenny Buford
Stride
Each player has a preference about how big or small of a stride to take on the swing. Batters should do what is most comfortable for them, provided that they do not step on the line of the batter's box, as this will cause them to be called out.
When helping players determine how big of a stride to take, encourage them to experiment. A shorter stride is usually better than a longer one for control purposes, because it keeps the player over their body and does not allow things to get out of rhythm. As speed is a necessary part of batting, a short stride is desirable because it helps batters move to their next element, the swing, sooner.
As the batter is about to bring their hands forward to start the swinging motion, the striding leg should come forward toward the pitcher. The stride should be toward the area in front of home plate to help the batter get into better position.
Swing
During the swing, there are also small adjustments that players can make to ensure that they get the best swing possible. When working on hitting mechanics, even the smallest details count.
Throughout the swing, players should keep their back elbow up and close to the body. This allows the hands and the barrel of the bat to swing through completely. Finally, and perhaps most importantly when going through the swing, is to keep the head still. Keeping the head still ensures that you keep proper balance throughout the swing, which is otherwise hard to do because the batter is moving nearly every other part to connect with the ball.
Maintaining a still head also helps with creating a rhythm. If the batter's body has one still part that does not move or change during the swing, that batter will have a better idea of what part of their swing needs work or what part is not synchronized with the rest of the body. Whether in practice or in play, keeping a steady head is extremely important.
As the ball is pitched, batters should bring their hands to meet the ball. This mental picture will help players get the bat in contact with the ball in exactly the right place. At the same time that batters are bringing their hands to the ball, they should be keeping those hands level and still, so that the bat slices through the air on an even plane. A swing with any type of loop or wiggle can cause a dangerous pop-up, which can be detrimental to the team.
Run Drills
Just because a batter has been batting for years does not mean that they will maintain good form. In fact, more experience can lead to poor form because players become complacent and pay less attention to their form than when they were first learning it.
Every so often, at the discretion of the coach, players should go back and work on hitting basics. This means starting from a tee, using a whiffle ball. While some players may grumble about starting at such a fundamental level, you must show them the importance of being able to hit a whiffle ball off a tee, perfectly, every time. If players cannot hit a ball where they want it to go when it is sitting right in front of them, how are they going to be able to hit a ball moving toward them at 50 miles an hour or more?
When players hit a whiffle ball correctly from a tee, it acts like a knuckleball. When players hit is incorrectly, it spins uncontrollably and goes awry. Because of the air going through the ball, players will be able to see their mistakes easier and make adjustments as necessary.
After players become comfortable again with hitting from a tee, remove the tee and have them practice with regular pitches again. They will notice a difference in the way they hold themselves and approach the ball, and you will a difference in their effectiveness.
Kenny Buford is a baseball coach with over 20 years of experience and a founding member of Baseball Inner Circle. Discover the ultimate source for baseball drills, videos, and coaching tips that will immediately improve your players' skills and win more games for your team: Baseball Inner Circle Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kenny_Buford
Momentum Pitching For Better Baseball By guest author: Chris Moheno
Momentum pitching is a concept that has been around since around 2006, and that is hoped to revolutionize baseball pitching as a major and radical step forward in the sport and in baseball coaching technique. The main controversy surrounding momentum pitching is the fact that it requires a change in thinking, and many baseball enthusiasts, specifically specialists in pitching, are not willing to make this change in thinking without first having concrete proof that momentum pitching can improve the sport.
The momentum pitching concept is based on the idea that humans should use a high velocity throwing action in order to get the best possible pitch. Still, it can be difficult to change the thinking of those who have adopted concrete opinions of other concepts, especially when it is so difficult to prove the validity of a claim like this. The belief in momentum pitching is highly based on belief or faith rather than science itself, which is why momentum pitching is still having difficulty proving itself as an improved pitching technique for the game of baseball.
Momentum pitching was essentially adapted as two major elements of human movement in baseball pitching. These two elements are moving quickly, and using the large body mass as a means of generating momentum that can be transferred into the baseball when it is released from the hand. Momentum pitching was originally referred to as explosive pitching when it first came into play in 2006.
By the end of 2006, and by complete accident, a You Tube video posting of a player named Daisuke Matsuzaka required that the boundaries behind Explosive Pitching be changed, which is when momentum pitching saw its development. He performed a small, slow and ineffective back step before launching into his pitching action, which showed that if this extra step was performed correctly, it could contribute to a greater velocity with each pitch. Since this point, that back step has become a part of Dick Mills' description of Momentum Pitching. This back step was actually a crucial part of traditional baseball coaching but many baseball coaches had phased it out many years ago despite its effectiveness in the momentum pitching process.
Momentum pitching has a lot to do with taking up a more natural style of pitching, which is something that baseball has been lacking for many years. It should be near possible for someone to pitch a baseball in a manner that is near natural, so that the pitcher will not sustain avoidable injuries, but can still perform well on the mound.
Modern pitching involves so many negative and otherwise disruptive actions, including delays, actions that are deliberately slow, exaggerations, suppressed movements and so on. Because of this, the natural movements and the elements of those natural movements are extremely stifled, which can lead to a serious degradation of performance. These movements can also greatly increase the likelihood that the player will become injured.
It seems simple and straight forward then, to assume that the natural movements in pitching expressed in the momentum pitching form would decrease the chance of injury and promote baseball performance improvement. Improvement in baseball pitching is not difficult at all, and only really requires that the baseball player take advantage of natural momentum and natural movement in order to improve their pitching capabilities.
Momentum pitching involves what are essentially three different natural elements of movement. The first is moving quickly and fluidly, the second is using the large body masses in order to generate additional momentum, and the third is a back step that increases the velocity of the ball as it leaves the hand. The energy created in these movements is transferred to the baseball, giving it the pitch and velocity that it needs to travel faster and further, and most of all more naturally than before.
The trick here is that the best way to see results in baseball hitting and momentum pitching [http://www.baseballtrainingsecrets.com/articles/Power Hitting and Pitching.php] for better baseball play is that the moments should be fluid and natural. This will create a better pitch and will prevent injuries from occurring nearly as often as through the unnatural and "forced" pitching methods that are more common in today's game of baseball.
Chris Moheno has a long time passion for sports in general and for baseball coaching more specifically.
His goal is to spread the word about effective non-fluff baseball training techniques for both more experienced and young baseball players, to help them perform better during the game.
Discover more about baseball training secrets on baseballtrainingsecrets.com
