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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Coaching Baseball Beginner Batters - The Batting Grip, the Bat Angle and Proper Hand Positioning

By Nick Dixon

Hitting a baseball is a skill that can be learned and improved with proper coaching and instruction. It may be a difficult task, but with the correct fundamentals and techniques hitting can be one of the most rewarding activities in all of sports. There is nothing that is more satisfying and rewarding than hitting a line-drive in the left-center gap to help your team score the go-ahead run. Many kids experience a great sense of accomplishment while others suffer the embarrassment, disappointment, and despair of striking out time after time. They feel that they let their team down and they often feel that they embarrass their coach and parents. The quickest way to achieving hitting success is to identify bad mechanics and correct them as soon as possible.

I will now give a brief overview of 3 aspects of a proper grip, the correct bat angle in the stance, and the process of getting the hands to the proper launch position.

1. The GRIP - knocking knuckles, (not fighting knuckles) should be aligned. This positions the bat handle in the fingers and out of the palm. This allows maximum wrist quickness and hand speed. Coaching Tip: Have kids check their grip by raising and pointing their index fingers. If they point in the same direction, they are aligned, if the point across each other, the grip is incorrect.

2. The BAT ANGLE at the start position. Keep in mind that the hands will move slightly back and away from the pitcher when the batter loads to the launch position. The bat angle will not change during the loading process. The bat should be at a 45 degree angle over the shoulder. The bat should not be wrapped or tucked behind the head, this slows bat speed. The bat should be no more that 2 to 3 inches off the top of the shoulder.

3. The LOADING PROCESS is a simple and slight movement of the hands away from the pitcher. This is a movement that is so slight that many people do not notice it. The hands are the only things that move. If the batter is noticeably shifting weight, moving feet, and moving other body parts, too much movement is occurring. Most times this movement is no more than 2 to 4 inches. It may be more for larger players. LOADING is getting the hands to the launch position from which the forward swing motion starts. Different players use different loading actions. Some batters simply move the hands straight back and batters move the hands back and up at the same time. The loading process adds power, develops important timing and rhythm, and allows the batter to achieve a comfortable ready position from which to launch swing.

COACHING POINT: Make sure that players do not line their knuckles up when you are looking and then move their hands to an "axe grip" when you walk away. One way to teach the benefits of the "finger grip position" is to have the two batters take several swings from shoulder-to-shoulder very quickly using the two grips. Take two batters of similar ability levels and with similar hand speed and do this demonstration. One player uses the "correct grip" and one uses the "axe or incorrect grip". Have the batters take 10 shoulder-to-shoulder swings. See which batter completes the 10 swings first. This shows the kids how much faster the hands move when the correct grip is used. Note: Make sure to move the batters at a safe distance from each other and from other players when performing this illustration.

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

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A Message to Baseball Parents from Nick Dixon, President of Nedco Sports

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Hitting Ground Balls? - Turn Them Into Line Drives

By Jack Perconte

Putting the ball in play on the ground is not always a bad thing, but turning ground balls into line drives will definitely help the hitter's batting average and chances of playing baseball at the higher levels. Hitters with good speed can prosper by hitting the ball on the ground, especially in youth baseball, but at some point the ability to drive the ball into the outfield is necessary. Of course, hitting ground balls is better than hitting pop-ups but hitting the ball consistently on the ground is a sign of a faulty fundamental swing.

People generally think that hitting the top of the ball, which results in ground balls, is caused by hitting down on the ball or chopping at it. In my 21 years of coaching baseball, rarely would I come across hitters who actually chopped at the ball. I observed that most ground balls hit were caused by the hitters hands were on an upward path on the initial portion of the swing, usually caused by the lead elbow coming up at the beginning of the swing. This incorrect action is generally known as a chicken-wing, which does not allow hitters to bring their hands to the correct palm-up, palm-down hitting position at contact.

With this in mind, here are the drills which will generally turn ground balls into line drives.

Drill # 1 - To rid the player of the chicken wing problem, have them place their fielder's glove under their lead armpit and take numerous swings this way, allowing the glove to fall out on the follow through.

Drill # 2 - Have the hitter stand belly button away from a net and take swings with the end of the bat just scraping the net as it comes through the hitting zone. This will prevent the hitter from casting the bat out and over the ball which can cause ground ball hitting. This drill and the next on will help players develop the correct hands to the ball and hand position necessary to hit the ball in the air.

Drill # 3 - Place a tee at knee high level and have hitters work on hitting balls at this height until they begin to hit line drives or solid fly balls. Hitters with incorrect swings will continually hit ground balls at this pitch level. Hitters will have to develop the correct hip turn and swing in order to hit solid line drives on the knee high pitch, as stated.

* Hitters can combine these drills and perform all three at the same time. This becomes more difficult but can accelerate the process of developing the correct baseball swing.

For hitters who consistently hit solid ground balls, as opposed to weak or chopped ground balls, a slight adjustment in their stance or hand position may lower the bat position on the ball just enough to hit the lower back portion of the ball instead of the top of the ball. Hitters who widen their stance and bend their knees slightly may see the necessary line drives. Also worth a try is lowering the height of the hitter's hands a couple of inches in their initial set-up position. This may allow the hitter to get to the back of the ball more consistently. Following these few guidelines should turn those ground balls into solid line drives. For photo illustrations of these drills please refer to my book, The Making of a Hitter: A Proven & Practical Step-by-Step Baseball Guide.

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

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

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Baseball Tips on Hitting - Baseball Hitting Tips Highly Recommended For Your Success!

By Larry Cicchiello

Not all baseball tips on hitting are etched in stone but here are several very good guidelines to follow:

A Balanced and Workable Stance

All good athletes are balanced almost all the time. It gives you a solid, comfortable foundation, which is where hitting begins. Some very good hitters find it useful to have a little body movement while in their batting stance. They may rock a little back and forth which they find relaxing. It's almost impossible to have your muscles tighten and tense up when your muscles are moving. You can then be quicker and shift your weight much better than someone who is just standing there like a statue. It's identical to a goalie in hockey. If he stands up straight like a statue, what chance will he have to move freely to make a save on a slap shot that's traveling close to 100 mile per hour? What chance will a tennis player have waiting for a serve in excess of 100 miles per hour? None of them will have a good chance and neither will a baseball hitter.

Striding With the Front Toes Slightly Closed

If your toes are slightly closed, it encourages you to keep your front hip and front shoulder closed as well. In other words, instead of having the toes pointing straight out away from your body when you take your stride turn them an inch or two inward, back toward your body. If you point the front toes out toward the pitcher, it will encourage you to open your front side too early which will create many baseball hitting problems.

Have the Bat Fully Loaded When the Stride Foot Touches the Ground

All good hitters have the bat in the "launching position" when their front foot completes the stride. You stride and then you swing. They are two separate movements that should happen very quickly and smoothly but they are separate movements.

Making an Aggressive Motion Toward The Pitcher

A lot of hitters do NOT do this but all the great hitters do. That is where the ball is coming from and that's where you should be going. Real good hitters go into the ball to hit it. It's a common baseball hitting problem to NOT go toward the pitcher when swinging. The reason it's such a common baseball hitting problem is because it is simply not natural to move your body toward a baseball that someone is throwing in your direction.

Having a Tension Free Swing

"Tension is a hitter's worst enemy," is a quote that's been around for decades and is still one of the best baseball tips on hitting. Tension destroys a fluid, graceful swing that's necessary for hitting the ball properly. Don't squeeze the bat too tightly and don't tighten up your muscles. Like mentioned above, many very good hitters have a slight waggle to help them relax.

Head Behind the Swing

The real good hitters actually see the ball a little longer than the weaker hitters. They literally lower and turn their heads when making contact. You simply can not keep your head facing the pitcher and look at the baseball out of the corners of your eyes when trying to make contact.

Hitting to All Fields

Rarely will you find a hitter with a high batting average who limits himself to hitting the ball to only one part of the field. Pay attention to the old expression, "hit it where it's pitched." In the long run, you will be much better off.

Hitting Through the Ball

Hitting through the ball is necessary to successful hitting. You should pretend that you are trying to hit three or four baseballs that are tied closely together with a piece of string, instead of hitting only one baseball. This will help you keep the bat in the hitting zone longer.

All of the above mentioned are definitely good rules of thumb to be followed.

Larry is the president of Larwenty Online Enterprises Inc. and also the author of "Excellent Baseball Coaching: 30 Seconds Away." If you are a baseball player or are involved in baseball coaching at any level of play or a parent who wants to help your child improve, you will be fully equipped! His baseball website offers several FREE baseball tips from his very informative and very fairly priced eBooks.

Larry's baseball website is http://www.larrybaseball.com/

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

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