Coaching Tips From the Dugout of Coach John Peter

For Coaches Stay aware that you might be over-thinking. The best moves you make might be the ones you didn't make! Teach a catcher how to call a game. I don't find it amazing that people say that good catchers are like hen's teeth...Teach 'Em! For Parents Prepare for your child's last game. For Hitters If you are batting 6th, you should have 5 mental at bats against the pitcher! (unabashedly stolen from hitter extraordinaire, Steve Springer - check out his audio CD, Quality At Bats)

Send this page to a friend  

Baseball Bytes:  Teaching Hitting
From the book Developing a Successful Baseball Program by Richard Trimble
  Excerpt from Ch. 3, pgs. 58, 60-61

The Grip Many young ball players have never been taught the fundamentals of gripping a bat, so be careful not to assume they know the proper techniques. It's common for inexperienced players to set the bat in the palms of their hands, resulting in a locked wrist when swinging. Instead, they should rest the bat handle across the calluses, just below the finger joints. Be sure that the knuckles are aligned properly. When young players first grab a baseball bat, many naturally align the big knuckles with the middle knuckles. This is a power grip used to drive the ball deep. A grip with the middle knuckles aligned seems to ensure better bat control, even though it may seem awkward at first. More big-league hitters utilize this grip than most people realize - it's one of the best kept secrets in baseball. Ty Hawkins, a hitting instructor in the New York Yankees minor league system, offers two important points about grip: Keep a tight grip with the lower hand and a looser grip with the top hand. With two strikes, choke up on the bat. Studies have shown that a batter can raise his average 100 points by doing this in two-strike situations. The Feet The hitter's feet should be shoulder width apart. Both toes should point to the opposite batter's box. If a hitter tends to fly open and pull off the ball, you can have him tuck his front toe inward. Weight Distribution The hitter should place about 70 percent of his body weight on his back foot. None of his weight should ride forward on the stride. Only when the bat head drives into the hitting zone should the weight transfer to the hips (never to the front foot). Teach this by having your players trigger their weight back, stride with no weight coming forward, and then perform an air swing. The should feel the weight shifting to their hips and be balanced at the point of contact. Have them hop to test their balance. To test whether they're moving forward on the stride, place your foot on the shadow cast on the ground by a batter's head - then as they stride, the shadow should remain under your foot. 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 an 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 Article Developing Outfielders: Drills & Principles   Greg Brons, Director of Technical Clinics for Saskatchewan Baseball Coach Brons outlines basic fly ball principles and offers a pair of fun drills that work on footowork and communication. [ article excerpt ] Too many times we as coaches think we have to hit fly balls with a bat to our outfielders for every practice. Some problems arise when we consistently attempt this feat: an inability to hit a good fly ball, fly balls that don't challenge our players, and a lot of "standing around" waiting for a fly ball to be hit. Eventually we (coaches) have to hit fly balls to our players in order for them to practice reading the ball off the bat, but the following drills will give players more repetition and a "feel" of getting under a fly ball. These drills can be done at any level and are always a lot of fun. Quarterback Drill Outfielder is 10 feet away from the coach with both feet pointing toward the coach. The coach uses the words "drop step and go" and points in the direction to where he wants his player to drop step and go. As soon as the outfielder hears the coach's command the player uses the drop step and cross over in order to turn his body and sprint in the direction to where the coach has pointed. If the coach points to the player's right - the player will drop step with his right foot and cross over with his left. If the coach points to the player's left - the outfielder will drop step with his left and cross over with his right. Once the player has sprinted approximately 20-40 yards (depending on skill and age) the coach will throw a high fly ball, and the outfielder who is sprinting must try to get under the ball in order to make the catch on the run. Once players get comfortable with the drill and make several catches you can increase the difficulty by throwing the ball further in order to make outfielders run harder and possibly make a diving catch......    Read the rest of the article, which includes: Tennis Racquet Fly Balls Fly Ball Principles

Send this page to a friend  

You Can Learn A Lot By Watching The Game....

Recognizing Pitching Arm Fatigue Bill Thurston, Amherst College (MA) Besides the loss of control (command of his pitches), and some loss of velocity, a pitcher will often change his throwing motion to compensate for the loss of arm strength and hand speed, or he will change to protect his arm from further stress and pain. Be alert for: The pitcher rushes his motion trying to generate more power with the body and reduce the stress on his arm. This action actually causes more stress because the arm drags behind the normal throwing rhythm. The pitcher will have a greater loss of hand and pitch speed. The pitcher may shorten his arm deceleration path and follow-through. He will lose his normal arm extension during the release and deceleration phases. The pitcher takes more time between pitches, walks around the mound, etc. The pitcher stretches, shakes, or swings his arm or shoulder more between pitches. The pitcher may not get his hand and elbow up to the normal height in the cocked position. It will appear that he has lowered his elbow during his motion and is accelerating in more of an upward plane. The pitcher grimaces (flinches) during the release and deceleration phases. Between innings, the pitcher may massage his elbow (lower biceps) or top of the shoulder (biceps tendon) area. With arm fatigue, a pitcher's hand often trembles. Between pitching assignments, the pitcher is reluctant to throw, or throw properly during defensive drill work. He is protecting a stiff or sore arm that needs more recovery time. Many pitchers will not admit to their coach that they are overly sore or have a minor injury. They will see the trainer or team physician if they believe the medical person will not tell the coach. There needs to be a good open communication, in confidence, between medical personnel and coaches. At higher levels of baseball, your opponent's hitters will show you that your pitcher has fatigued and lost some command and velocity. They will take better swings and hit the ball harder more frequently. Since 1990, Coach Thurston has served as the pitching consultant for the American Sports Medicine Institute in Birmingham, Alabama.    Recognizing Pitching Arm Fatigue is part of a lecture, Recognition and Prevention of Throwing Arm Fatigue and Arm Injury, that he presented to a medical group. The full article (available only at Baseball Tips) is designed to aid coaches and medical personal on their work with, and treatment of, pitchers at all levels of baseball.

Send this page to a friend  

Featured Products at Baseball Tips.com

Order online in our secure shopping cart or call toll free at 1-800-487-7432 (9-6 EST). Common Mechanical Pitching Faults by Bill Thurston - $39.95 Recognize Mechanical Pitching Faults A detailed analysis of the pitching motion based on slow-motion video research of over 300 high school, college and pro pitchers. Highly recommended for training serious pitchers age 13 and up, this video will help coaches & pitchers recognize various mechanical faults that lead to inconsistent performance, earlier fatigue, and pitching arm injuries. This video covers: Common Mechanical Faults Drills to Teach Proper Mechanics Pitching From the Set Position Techniques to Improve Control Coach JP: Not all successful pitchers throw exactly the same way, but there are many common mechanics that consistent and high performance pitchers use. Coach Thurston is a great teacher with the credentials to back it up: he has been the head coach at Amherst College for 37 years and the pitching consultant for the American Sports Medicine Institute since 1990. ThrowMax  - $39.95 Makes Players of All Ages Throw Correctly The ThrowMax is a flexible arm brace that shows players how to throw correctly by teaching them proper arm slots. It's designed to prevent incorrect arm motions and reduces injuries while increasing arm strength by not allowing the elbow to bend beyond approximately 90 degrees. As an added bonus for coaches, the ThrowMax takes the pressure off the arm while throwing batting practice. Coach JP: This brace provides a noticeable improvement in the mechanics even to the untrained eye. As the old saying goes, "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." Akadema Youth Baseball Gloves  - Only $74, includes shipping For ages 8-13 Akadema's youth glove series has quickly gained a reputation as the benchmark in quality and design for serious youth ballplayers. Made with a combination of Akadema's US Steerhide and exclusive AkademaLyte leather, the baseball gloves are both light and durable. Hand-crafted for a quick and easy break-in period, Akadema uses special leather on the back of the glove to keep it light and easy to break in. All Akadema youth gloves feature their Grasp Clasp Wrist System, which locks the player's hand in the glove to ensure proper catching mechanics and makes the glove more manageable for today's youth ballplayer.    "Like me, you'll flip over Akadema Gloves." - Ozzie Smith Glove Price: $69 Half-Price Shipping through May 21 Normally $10, now only $5 Available Glove Models: Fielders Gloves (IF/OF) AOZ 91 - Ozzie Smith Signature Design 11¼" B-hive web with an open back and deep pocket AZR 95 11" T-web with an open back and deep pocket ATM 92 11½" two-tone B-hive web with an open back and deep pocket First Baseman AHC 94 11½" two-tone glove with a single-post double-T web, open back and deep pocket Catcher AGC 98 - Gary Carter Signature Design 32" circumference with a sprial lock web, shock-absorbing stress wedge, and two additional finger hammocks for secure placement

Send this page to a friend  

Free Baseball Tips Resources

Instructional Articles We currently have 108 articles covering all aspects of baseball. Coaching Hitting Pitching Defense Drills General Baseball Stat Calculators Use our calculators to compute your batting average, earned run average, and slugging percentage. 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. Archives Newsletters  (38 issues) Tip Sheets  (16 issues)

Your Turn - Questions or Comments

Got an article or drill you want to share? Maybe there is something that you would like to see added to this newsletter. What product or information would you like us to add to the Baseball Tips.com website? Please fill out the form below and press "submit comments."   Thanks - Coach JP Name: E-Mail: Comments

Southeastern Baseball Camp The 30th annual Southeastern Baseball Camp will be held at Southern Union State Community College in Wadley, Alabama. Run by former Cincinnati Reds Scouting Director Julian Mock, the camp features two July sessions for the following age groups: 12 & Under, 13 & Up. Southeastern prides itself as the oldest baseball camp in the Southeast region, and features an 8-to-1 instructor to camper ratio, 200 swings and two games a day, and even the chance to choose your roommate. Tuition includes insurance and camp t-shirt. Log onto www.sebaseballcamp.com for more information, including dates, cost, pictures, directions, and an application form.

Find A Baseball Instructor Near You

If you or a player you know is seeking personalized instruction, please utilize our free Instructors Section to find a baseball or softball coach in your area. States Currently Available Alabama Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Nebraska New Mexico New Jersey New Hampshire New York North Carolina Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Texas Utah Virginia Washington Wisconsin Washington DC Canadian Provinces Currently Available Ontario Quebec Any coach or instructor can add their credentials and specialties to our database, which can then be viewed by all visitors of BaseballTips.com. For those that wish to be added, please fill out our form.