Baseball Pitching Tips - How to Communicate With Your Teammates is Critical For You!

By Larry Cicchiello

I can write forever about the necessity of good communication for a pitcher with all his teammates. It's not something that's taught very often but it can affect the outcome of the baseball game.

What can be more frustrating than losing a game because a catcher got crossed up and missed a pitch because he thought the fastball was being thrown and was surprised by the curve ball? Or losing a game because an infielder throws the ball away when throwing to a base where he had no chance of getting the runner anyway? Those are just two examples of breakdowns in communication.

Talk on the baseball field and then talk even more!

A pitcher can be MOST helpful to his catcher and infielders. On popups or fly balls, he should both yell and point. On pitches that get away from the catcher, yell and point.

Speaking of balls that get away from the catcher and the catcher can't find the ball, here's what happened back in 2005. My son was playing in a game and the catcher on his team could not find a pitched ball in the dirt that he had blocked. He looked left, right, in front of him and behind him. Some loud mouth spectator, standing on the side of the backstop yelled, "Left foot, left foot." The catcher then looked down by his left foot and there was the ball, just about an inch from his left heel. Neither of the two runners on base was able to advance.

The man who yelled loudly will remain anonymous. It's someone I know very, very well. (Okay, okay, I couldn't help myself from yelling.) My big question is why weren't the players on his team yelling that to him instead of me?

Probably because kids are not taught the value of communicating with their teammates.

Some Examples Of Communication For Pitchers:


Your fielder makes a great play. If he's an outfielder, point to him, give him the thumbs up sign, and let EVERYBODY see you doing this.
Your infielder makes a great play. Walk half way toward him and point to him and tell him how great he is. Say something like, "You are the best third baseman I've ever seen."
Your fielder makes a terrible play. At the end of the inning, he very well may be hanging his head. Walk over to him and tell him, "Don't hang your head Johnny. You make 20 great plays for every one you have trouble with. You're the best around."
Your first baseman or third baseman is going near the fence to catch a foul popup. Tell him something like," You've got room Johnny, you've got room."
A slow roller down the first base or third base line and your catcher and fielder don't know who is going to pick it up. You be the one and shout out the name of the player who you think should field the ball. What's more frustrating than have them both come to a halt because each of them thought the other one was going to field the ball?

Communicate with your teammates. It is a huge part of successful baseball!

Larry Cicchiello is the successful author of several very user friendly eBooks covering 320 topics on playing or coaching excellent baseball. ANY player, coach or parent who wants to help their child will be fully equipped! Check out some FREE baseball tips on hitting and FREE baseball pitching tips at LarryBaseball.com.

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


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Teaching Baseball Mental Techniques

Joe Mauer Quick Swing Baseball Trainer
Teaching Baseball Mental Techniques
By Robert Bulka

Physical Vs Mental Skills

Ask any baseball fan what it takes to succeed as a baseball player and they usually talk about bat speed, arm strength, foot speed and power. You very rarely ever hear them mention the mental skills required to excel in the game. The important mental techniques include focus, concentration, confidence and composure. That is why it is important to start teaching baseball mental techniques early in a player's development.

Why is having the mental tools so important to making it in the game? All you have to do is look at the minor league farm clubs to see that the vast majority of players there have the physical skills needed to make it to the next level but don't have the cognitive skills to take them there.

How do you go about teaching baseball mental techniques?

There are some tips for developing the mental skills needed to make it to that elite level: teach visualization, use the 10 second rule and overcoming failure.


Visualization Since baseball is a game of adversity and failure is ever present, using visualization techniques help to clear the mind of negative thoughts, avoid distractions and provides a mental road map for the task at hand. Visualization is a very good baseball mental technique.
10 Second Rule Many young bright baseball stars lack the maturity to control their emotions and it takes them off their game. The 10 second rule is designed to help control the reactive emotional outburst of dissatisfaction. The tip is to count to 10 before you react or speak after a tense situation. This is a great tip when teaching baseball mental techniques.
Overcoming Failure As I stated before, baseball is a game of constant failure. If you get a hit thirty percent of the time you are considered an above average hitter. If you're a pitcher you are constantly dealing with walks, hits, home runs, past balls and errors committed by your teammates.

Conclusion

Teaching baseball mental techniques is an absolute necessity if you want to make it to the big leagues.

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

Learning to Play Baseball

Learning to Play Baseball
By Connor R Sullivan

When learning to play baseball, most people begin by playing little league as a child. As you grow older, baseball because a bigger part of your life that you might play in high school and preferably in college. As you get older and get better at playing the game, there are a few pieces of equipment that you will probably use as you learn and practice. Equipment such as pitching machines, weighted baseball bats, and even baseball training aids will help you or your child get better and better at baseball at time goes on. Baseball is a very popular sport that generally gives you a lot of discipline and long term lessons, so it can be a great sport for kids of all ages.

Baseball has been a sport for a very long time and it is also very popular in small communities. If your child is interested in this sport at a very young age then you should definitely look into getting your child into the sport. This will teach your child self-discipline, lifelong sportsmanship skills, as well as exercise techniques that they will use for life. Learning to play sports like this can teach your child many lessons that they will use for life and in their high school and college careers.

If your child ends up being a very good ball player in high school and intends on continuing the sport in college, then it may be a good idea to increase their off season training and their original season routine. Increasing intensity and time spent training can make a world of difference in the technique and integrity of your game. There is a fine line between high school sports and college sports because college sports are much more intense when it comes to reputation. College sports are when scouts come to watch players from real major league teams and it gets harder and harder to impress people with your good game.

There is also a very fine line between sports for fun and sports for an income and that is what the line is between community sports and professional sports that you can watch on television from your own home. Professional ball players have to set a lot of good examples because they have a lot of kids that look up to them. There are often times too many problems in professional sports that deal with image and that is something that kids have to watch out for if they are interested with the professional sports industry.

This is a great sport and if your child is interested then they should definitely get involved. Learning to play this sport can be a fun process but if your child is very interested they will stick with it throughout high school and maybe even in their adult career. If your child will stick with this sport into high school and throughout college, they may be able to create a fun and useful career for themselves and their family over time.

Connor R. Sullivan owns and operates a top ranking web site to help people find pitching machines to improve their baseball skills. He offers a large selection of baseball training aids for youth baseball coaches to purchase.

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

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