What keys should you focus on when teaching a kid to get ready to hit? See the ball with both eyes Parallel Stance Hands in a comfortable position Distance from the plate As coaches we sometimes become anxious to jump into youth baseball hitting drills because we know the difficulty of teaching and learning the art […]
Long Toss Variation, The Change-Up
One of my favorite drills for all baseball players is Long Toss also called Long Catch. It has 3 benefits: Strengthens the Arm Forces natural throwing motion Increases the awareness of the body rhythm and motion But, I’ve never thought about incorporating some variations into the long toss. In this article, a long toss variation is introduced […]
How to Grip a Baseball Bat. Don’t align your knuckles.
What is the best way to grip a baseball bat? Align your knuckles? Don’t align your knuckles? Which grip gives you the best chance of hitting the baseball? This article attempts to answer the best way to grip the bat. The knocking knuckles grip is the universal way to hold a baseball or softball […]
What to do if your athlete is getting cocky?
If your kids starts to excel in a sport, they will be tempted to become cocky. [do action=”quote”]The hardest job kids face today is learning good manners without seeing any.[/do] Fred Astaire This article has 8 steps to help prevent and minimize this behavior. Here are the first 3: Model humility. It always starts with […]
How to Execute a Baseball Rundown
[do action=”add-youtube-video” id=”5XTQ8DinUcU” name=”Teaching the Baseball Rundown” duration=”T3M13S” description=”The Baseball rundown happens when a runner is stuck between bases. This video shows you how to execute the rundown.” height=”337.5″ width=”600″/] When a runner is stuck between two bases, you have to rundown the runner and tag them. Depending on how you teach it, the rundown […]
Bottom Hand Soft Toss Drill
The Bottom Hand Soft Toss Drill is a more advanced drill. It can help with hand-eye coordination as well as more solid contact. This drill also teaches the hitter to let the legs initiate the swing instead of pulling with the upper body. You can also try this drill off the tee instead of with […]
5 Drills to Teaching the Curveball
When teaching the curveball to a pitcher, you want to teach an effective curveball. There are 5 keys to an effective curveball. Create Maximum Top Spin Use Fastball Arm Action Incorporate Appropriate Leverage Release Producing Vertical Break Linear Finish in Proper Fielding Position It is easier to teach new things through isolation drills. Here […]
Rotational or Linear Mechanics to Increase Bat Speed?
As you already know, if you increase bat speed, you increase the power or distance that you can hit the ball. But, how do you increase bat speed? There are two thoughts on the swing. Linear Mechanics vs Rotational Mechanics. Linear is a forward movement toward the ball. While rotational is a spinning movement. Happy Gilmore would […]
Double-Cut Relay Drill
The Relay Plus drill is an extension of the outfield relay. You can think of it as the double-cut except you will have them go back up the line of kids. You take four kids and space them out in one line. They need to be far enough to throw to each other. Then they […]
Wiffle Ball Drill – Hitting a Wiffle Ball with PVC increases Hand-Eye Coordination
Here is a Wiffle Ball Drill that you can use for your younger kids. It is one of those drills where you are trying to have them work with something that is more difficult than usual in order to make the real thing seem easier. The Wiffle Ball Drill will help refine the kids’ hand-eye coordination. […]