From the Dugout of Coach John Peter So You're The New Coach So you're the new coach. Ok, now what? Coaching a team sure seemed like a good idea, maybe even easy.until you started thinking and getting into it deeper. All those players, parents, the draft, practices.and those game decisions.ugh. Maybe coaching 3rd base might not be so easy... What were you thinking? Just in time for the start of practice, this new article covers everything the inexperienced youth coach needs to know, including: Getting organized Youth baseball philosophies Using player's parents to your advantage Fun drills for practice Read the full article: So You're The New Coach

Baseball Bytes:   A Philosophy for Teaching Hitting
From the book Developing a Successful Baseball Program by Richard Trimble

Hitting is perhaps the most over-coached aspect of the game. Many hitters have been ruined by poor advice. Remember the old adage, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." If a kid is hitting .380 with slight mechanical imperfections, tell him about them, but don't harp or force him to change his entire stance or mechanics. No two hitters are exactly alike; body mechanics are different for everyone. You cannot and should not try to make clones of your players. Discriminate between primary and secondary flaws. Things such as hands held low, no stride, or not rolling the back heel are primary fundamentals that every hitter needs to do correctly. A slightly broken L position or hands not held quite as tight to the body as you might like are secondary considerations. By all means teach the ideal mechanics, but if a kid is successful his way, then don't force him to change; insist on change only when things are going badly and remediation is called for. Hitting Flaws and Remedial Corrections The following are some of the key mistakes that young hitters make, and some suggestions on how players can remedy them: Overstriding: Player will drop back shoulder and uppercut Tie the shoelaces together. Uppercutting Shorten your stride, raise back elbow. Dropping Your Hands Rest the bat head on your shoulder and drive into the hitting zone from there. Turning Your Head Out Rest your chin on your front shoulder and see that it touches your back shoulder at the point of contact. (Teach the one-handed release.) No Weight Transfer or Too Much Weight Shift Preset more weight on your back foot. Poor or Inconsistent Contact Play pepper with a half swing that stops at the point of contact. Check to see if the player wears glasses at home or in class and not on the field. Not Rolling Back Heel Run batless agility drills where you stride, and then with your hands up by your ear, slap a rag ball off a tee with the open palm of your top hand - your back heel rolls as your top hand descends from your ear. Flying Open With The Front Hip and Shoulder Turn your front toe slightly inward. Play short toss and work on driving the ball to the opposite field. Improper Hip Action Place the bat behind you with the middle of the bat in the small of your back and your arms crooked, holding the bat in place. Now explode your belly button toward the pitcher and emphasize your back-heel roll. Send this page to a friend   Prior excerpts from Developing A Successful Baseball Program available at Baseball Tips: Making Out the Lineup Card Testing Baseball's Conventional Wisdom at the Youth Level Using the Stopwatch Strengthening the Pitchers' Arm Developing A Successful Baseball Program - Only $19.95 Coach Trimble's book is the ultimate resource for every coach from Little League to High School. Developing A Successful Baseball Program systematically reviews each of the critical areas of program development in easy-to-understand, yet thorough detail.   191 pages, includes 165 drills and exercises. "Coach Trimble has put together an extremely comprehensive and in-depth resource book on the game of baseball. He covers every aspect of establishing and running a first-class, successful baseball program at any level. Developing a Successful Baseball Program is an outstanding reference book that is a must resource for every coach." - Jason Leta, Pinelands Regional High School (NJ)   Send this page to a friend   Featured Product at Baseball Tips.com Order online in our secure shopping cart or call me toll free at 1-800-487-7432 (9-6 EST). The 59 Minute Baseball Practice by Marty Schupak - Only $24.95 Hitting, Baserunning, Fielding & Bunting Drills A fun, high quality practice can be run for kids in under one hour. This video (also available in DVD) presents over 30 creative, easy-to-follow drills. The 59 Minute Baseball Practice is the perfect guide for youth baseball coaches that don't have the ample amount of time required to create fun exercises. Coach JP:   Coach Schupak's videos have been recommended by the National Alliance of Youth Sports, the largest amateur coaching training organization in the country. Dave Altopp Youth Video Coaching Combo - Save $9.95 Hitting, Pitching, & Fielding Drills and Fundamentals David Altopp provides a visual overview on how to teach and coach youth players ages 7-14. Hitting Drills and Skills for Youth Players covers the mechanics of sound hitting and bunting, while Pitching Drills and Fielding Skills for Youth Players focuses exclusively on drills and demonstrations for pitchers, catchers, infielders, and outfielders.   Combo Price: $69.95 Coach JP:   You'll find yourself using this double video collection year after year! Coaching Made Easy Videos by Pete Caliendo Make Your Baseball Practices Organized and Fun Coaching Made Easy is the ultimate series of baseball instructional tapes. Loaded with easy-to-duplicate drills, each video offers an excellent program for any youth league volunteer coach or parent to teach players, sons or daughters the fundaments of playing baseball.   Set Prices: $54.95-$129.95 Practice Organization  |  Hitting Fundamentals  |  Infield/Outfield Drills Pitching Fundamentals  |  Pitching/Catching Drills Ron Santo: "A must for every coaches and parents library. Coach Caliendo's drills and instruction are among the best I've seen." Featured Article 10 Health Tips Every Youth Baseball Coach Should Know   Temple University Hospital It's almost Little League season again, and if you're a coach, there are 10 tips you should know to help keep your players healthy. "The number one tip coaches should remember is that children are not miniature adults and shouldn't be treated as such," says Jim Rogers, a certified athletic trainer in Temple University Hospital's Sports Medicine Center. Should a young player suffer an injury, Rogers notes that rest is by far the most powerful therapy for youth sports injuries....    Read the full article

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Posting from the Baseball Tips Message Board Subject: Pitching Mechanics My son has recently started working out with a high school pitching coach. He is 14 and has been pitching since he was 8. He has always had excellent control and good velocity. The coach has told him he brings his arm behind his head when he throws and would like him to keep it out front. My problem is he offers no drills or exercises on how to break this habit. The coach has told him that he has a good strong arm and would like to see more progress. I advised my son to ask him for advice on how to stop this. His answer was hard work. Any advice on any drills would be great. RE: Pitching Mechanics Try these: 1. Have him do a couple of jumping jacks. Then have him do one with a ball in his pitching hand. Stop at the top. That position approximates where the hand should be at the end of the "break" portion of the throwing motion. Nobody does jumping jacks with their arms too far behind their shoulders. 2. Have him stand with his back against or almost touching a wall. When he reaches the top of the break his elbows and hands should not touch the wall. If possible have him do these while looking in a mirror or video him so he can see what he is doing. Baseball Tips Message Board Become a part of our baseball community by asking your questions here. Receive answers and different perspectives from the many coaches and players who take advantage of our Message Board.

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