Baseball Parent Guide Article: The Top Key To Becoming A Promising High School Baseball Prospect

The Top Key To Becoming A Promising High School Baseball Prospect

By Guest Author: Michael J

If you talk to any high school baseball coach that has been a coach for any real amount of time they have seen and experienced enough to be able to make some good observations. This comes after seeing potential baseball players of every ability, shape and size. A general consensus among coaches with this experience is the fact that being the perfect physical specimen is not the number one key to success. We will take a look at what we feel is key component.

Baseball Skill Building

As mentioned in the previous paragraph we will discuss what we feel is one of the biggest criteria that can make the difference between being a worthy high school prospect or not. This can be defined as to the level of skill building homework a player has engaged in before high school. This really comes down to how much practice does a player get outside of regular team practices and the rest of the year outside of baseball season.

Extra Effort

It probably goes without saying but a reliable trend for all of this is the amount of effort that a player has put in over and beyond the minimum needed to make the team. By doing this they ensure that there physical attributes like their throwing, catching and etc are able to work consistently at the highest level. This is done through repetition of course. If a player does not give themselves enough exposure to building strong fundamentals then they are doing themselves a great injustice. That is why we firmly believe that the top performers will make sure they get adequate workouts, practice and instruction time.

On the other side of this are the players who can't seem to find the time to get in extra baseball related activities outside of team practice. With everything else being equal they will remain at pretty much the same skill level as everyone else who subscribes to the same work ethic. This is why the more time and effort you put into baseball at an early age the greater the probability of it paying off later. It is no random coincidence that the outstanding high school players and prospects are also the same players who participate in extra baseball related activities. They tend to have the baseball training equipment at home and in a lot of cases have received coaching by top notch pitching and batting instructors.

The biggest point we want to make in this article is that you will need to do more then the minimum to make it as a big time high school prospect. If you look at all of the great sportsmen in any sport you will find behind every success countless hours in the gym or on the field perfecting their craft. If you choose not to do this then understand that your chances of being the next great one drop to almost nil!

Next, now that you understand the importance of going over and beyond the bare minimal to become one of the great high school baseball prospects [http://www.juliancoulter.com]. Are you ready to put in the extra time?

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

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Coaching Youth Baseball - Tips to Be Successful Without Alienating Parents

Coaching Youth Baseball - Tips to Be Successful Without Alienating Parents
By guest author: J Michael Wright

Every parent wants their child to be successful in sports. Youth baseball is normally the first sport in which a child participates. After all, baseball is "America's Game". Youth baseball presents a unique challenge to those that choose to coach. In addition to the task of teaching young children the sport and its many facets, the coach of a youth baseball team must also interact with the parents of the children on the team.

Children are introduced to this team sport as early as five years of age. Parents often become coaches at this time because they feel their child will get a better opportunity to play. Every parent, whether a coach or not, wants their child to be the team's star player. This will undoubtedly cause conflicts between coaches and parents.

Tips to be Successful Without Alienating Parents

1. The purpose of the coach in youth baseball is to teach children how to play the game of baseball and to work together in a team setting.

2. You should have a thorough knowledge and understanding of the rules of youth baseball and the league in which you are coaching.

3. Treat every child on your team fairly and give each an equal chance to play every position.

4. Do not show favoritism to any of the players on your team, especially your own child.

5. Understand that winning is not everything. It is more important that the children participate and have fun instead of worrying about the final outcome of a game.

6. Always maintain your focus on teaching the fundamentals of the game.

7. Plan your practices and the fundamentals you intend to teach at each in advance and stick to your itinerary.

8. Make your practices educational and fun. You will keep your players attention and help them learn and retain the lessons being taught.

9. Instill a sense of discipline and pride in your players. Teach them to listen, follow instructions and take pride in their accomplishments both on and off the field.

10. Offer encouragement and support to your players when mistakes are made. Keep criticism to a minimum.

Following these tips will help you be successful as a youth baseball coach and will prevent alienating the parents of your team members. Your success as a coach should be measured by the knowledge and appreciation of the game you instill in your players, not by the number of games won. Remember that your role as coach is to educate, promote enthusiasm for the sport and, above all, to have fun. In doing so you will find that conflicts with your players' parents will be kept to a minimum and create a more enjoyable experience for everyone involved.

(C) J Michael Wright

J Michael Wright is the proud parent of two children, has 12 years experience in coaching youth sports teams and has served on the boards of multiple youth sports organizations.

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

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Coaching Youth Baseball - The Mental Game

Coaching Youth Baseball - The Mental Game
By guest author: Jake Wyatt

In youth baseball training, often the coach is just trying to make sure the players are able to hit and catch the baseball. Basic skills are taught first. As kids get older and are more serious, coaches, parents and players need to work specifically on the mental aspect of the game during baseball training. Kids need more than an "atta boy" or "nice try, better luck next time" to be able to master their mind.

The mind is constantly providing positive and negative self talk. Usually there is more negative self talk than positive. Even professional baseball players can be affected by negative self talk - everyone has witnessed unprofessional behavior in a major league baseball game.

Here are some ways for coaches to help players work on and improve their mental game of hitting baseballs.

PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE

The more a player practices hitting, the better ball player he will be. The better ball player he is, the more confidence he will have. So when it is his turn at bat, the self-talk will be positive rather than negative, because he knows he is able to hit a home run or a solid line drive. He's done it before in practice. As a player has more success in actual baseball games, his confidence will soar even higher.

MAKE SURE THE PLAYERS ARE HAVING FUN

Don't let them take their turn at bat too seriously. Players should be having fun doing what they enjoy, playing baseball! Every player has struck out at the worst possible time at least once and lived to tell about it, even major league players. Have the kids practice walking out to the batter's box with a smile on their face, even if they have to force a smile. It will help them relax.

PRACTICE VISUALIZATION

Once the player is at the plate, help him go through the swing in his mind. Have him visualize the pitcher throwing a perfect ball and visualize where he will hit it. Tell him to concentrate on the pitcher, and realize he is probably nervous too. Tell the player to keep his mind busy visualizing success. This will help crowd out those negative thoughts.

HAVE EACH PLAYER DEVELOP AN "AT BAT" STYLE TO HELP KEEP THEM CALM

For example, Evan Longoria looks at the left foul pole when he gets upset at bat. This helps him regain his focus, clear his head and calm down. Each player should develop something on their own, such as tapping the plate three times before each time at bat, or putting their hand back. Something simple that isn't too obvious, but that he will know is his signature "at bat" style.

REMIND KIDS THAT WHAT YOU FOCUS ON USUALLY COMES TRUE

If a player is worried that he will strike out, he probably will. Let players know that the more they worry about something, the more chance that it will come true. Have them focus intently on what they want to happen, like hitting a home run or hitting a line drive right past first base.

REMOVE EMOTION

Every at bat should be treated like the first. Encourage players to not let what happened at a previous at bat affect their current swing. Remember, a hitter with a 300 average means a fail 7 out of 10 times! And 300 hitters are paid millions of dollars in professional ball. Tell them that if the did poorly their last at bat, that means their chances of doing better this time have improved!

If kids can control their emotions and mental state, their baseball game will improve dramatically. And they will have more fun!

In order to be the best baseball player you can be, training should happen year-round and be a joint effort between the coach, the player and the parents. Get more free tips to improve baseball performance, reviews of e-products related to baseball, and links to training resources at http://youth-baseball-training.com.

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

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Baseball Coaching Tips - Some Are Simply Not True

Baseball Coaching Tips - Some Are Simply Not True
By guest author: Larry Cicchiello

Here is a list of 7 baseball coaching tips or beliefs that are overused and were either wrong from the start or have become totally obsolete:

Come on Johnny, get your elbow up. The reference is to the height of the back elbow when hitting. You will very often hear this hollered to a young player by a coach, manager or one of his parents. Some young players raise their back elbow up by their back ear. This is not a comfortable position for most hitters. It's much more efficient to have the back elbow just below shoulder height. If a hitter wants to make an adjustment up or down, only then should the back elbow be raised or lowered.

If you're going to get beat, get beat on your best pitch. Let's say that a pitcher's best pitch is the fastball and the batter is a very good fastball hitter. Let's say that the pitcher's second best pitch is a good curve ball and that batter has had trouble with his curve ball in the past. It would make no sense for that pitcher to get beat on his best pitch, the fast ball, with the game on the line. Forget this myth.

Don't look at the ball, just run. All good base runners DO look at the ball. This is not to say that if you hit a grounder to the infield you should be looking at the grounder while running to first base. On the other hand, there are many, many times where you should be looking at the ball. Good base runners very seldom need a coach to guide them while running. They watch the ball, the fielder and watch the play unfold. The infamous quote of, "don't look at the ball, just run," should be changed to, "don't just run, look at the ball."

Come on Jimmy, level swing. Many young players hear this hollered out so often that as soon as they start their swing, they try to make sure it's level. This is one of the worst baseball coaching tips they will ever hear. The proper baseball swing is not level at all. If a hitter levels out his swing at the very beginning, he can be virtually guaranteed he will be late on every fastball because he is not being "short to the ball." The swing starts out going downward with the back of the bottom hand facing the pitcher and not facing the sky. Only at the point where you are making contact should the swing be level, with one palm facing up and the other palm facing down. Being a fraction of a second late when swinging the bat is an eternity!

Catch the ball with two hands. This is often hollered out to a younger player who is catching a pop up or a fly ball. Baseball gloves have come a long way in the last few decades.They are much bigger and better. Putting your bare hand next to your glove hand when catching pop ups or fly balls will be more trouble than it's worth. It can easily interfere with your catching the ball with these very good, modernized gloves.

Touch the bases with your right foot when running. The concern used to be that if a runner touches a base with their left foot, they may trip over the base with their right foot. That is obsolete now. It makes no sense whatsoever to "stutter step" and lose precious time when running around the bases.

The perfect count to put on the hit and run is 2-0 or 3-1. This started several decades ago is very played out. To have a batter be forced to swing at a 2-0 pitch that would be a ball and make the count 3-0 is senseless.The same holds true on the 3-1 count. To have a batter be forced to swing at a 3-1 pitch that would be ball 4 is a scary strategy.

In 95% or more of all cases, good baseball coaching tips of fifty years ago are still good today. There are a few things however, that have evolved.

Larry is the successful author of several very user friendly eBooks and CD's 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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