Baseball Tips Newsletter # 52

In This Issue...

From the Dugout of Coach John Peter Baseball Bytes: Hitting Fundamentals Featured Article: Build Your Own Field of Dreams Featured Drill: Hip Turner Drill Little League Adopts New Age Cutoff Date

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American Baseball Coaches Association

Tips From the Dugout of Coach John Peter For Coaches Resist the in your face coaching that seems prevalent today. No player has an even chance of arguing with an adult and little positive can come from it! When errors or something else negative happens to your opposition during a game, immediately bunt, steal, hit and run, or anything else you can dream up to help them lose their team composure (is this game fun or what?!). Why? Because you have so few times during a game to put a lot of runs on the board in a single inning! For Hitters Teach yourself to read pitchers! Learn to see the ball come out of the pitcher's hand. This gives you more time to read and react. A fastball will be thrown with the index and middle fingers behind the ball so you will see a lot more "white" of the baseball at release. It will come out of the pitcher's hand in a downward plane. A breaking ball will be thrown with the index and middle fingers on the "outside" of the ball so you will see a lot less "white." It will come out of the pitcher's hand in an upward arc to give it time to "bite." For Pitchers Learn to get ahead in the count by thinking in terms of hitting strikes with 2 of your first 3 pitches to a batter. Why? Because all pitchers are taught to throw first pitch strikes but many pressure themselves when they miss on the first pitch! Learn to throw your fastball at 2 different speeds, which will give you 2 different pitches! Older pitchers should learn BOTH a 2 and 4 seam fastball. Why? Different pitch movement PLUS you never know when you just won't have your best stuff on every pitch in your arsenal. You will not have your "A Game" (your best stuff) 50% of the time, so get used to it NOW and battle with what you have got! Send this page to a friend   Baseball Bytes Hitting Fundamentals   Ben Boulware, America's Baseball Camps Excerpts from the DVD Hitting Zone: Beyond the Bat The Hitting Zone Make sure that you take the bat head and get it in the hitting area as long as you possibly can. It's that blur from start to finish on your swing. The better your bat path is and the longer your bat is in the hitting zone, the better hitter you're going to be. You want your bat head to stay behind the baseball for a long period of time. Good hitters have really short, compact swings and not a lot of head movement. They have a good launch position for power and speed. The more movement you have, the more chance for error. Increase Your Batting Average Without Changing Your Swing Yes, there is a way to increase your average even if you don't know how to do anything with your swing. Here's what you think about mentally before you get into the batter's box: Wherever the ball came from it goes back to. Always hit and work line drives to down instead of working line drives to up. Don't try to hit the ball over the fence, try to hit the ball through the fence. If you focus on those three things you'll increase your average even if you do nothing to your swing. Send this page to a friend   Hitting Zone: Beyond the Bat DVD Join former minor league batting champion Ben Boulware as he goes one-on-one with young ballplayers to help them improve their at-bat performance. Ben shares tips and techniques about mental attitude, pre-game warm-ups, on-deck routine, the five steps of a good swing and evaluating performance. "Ben Boulware has taken a very complex movement and made it simple. He is an excellent teacher and understands that good communication begins with simplifying the message."   - Patrick Bailey, George Foster University (Division III champs) Featured Drill Hip Turner Drill From the book Coaching Baseball Skills & Drills by Bragg Stockton Purpose: To facilitate the development of quicker hips and the relationship of hip speed to the entire swing. Procedure: The hitter places a bat behind the waist, horizontal to the ground, and uses a glove as home plate. While holding the ends of the bat behind your back, the hitter assumes a normal batting stance (hitting position) and watches an imaginary pitch being delivered. The player executes a stride and quick turn using the bat to help turn hips faster. The player should finish in a proper contact point position. The hitter can also use a batting tee from which he can drive the ball off of the tee with the barrel of the bat relying on hip speed for power. Notice that holding the bat behind your back helps to motivate your body to turn as a one-piece action and helps you to stay tall during the swing. Checkpoints: Keep head still. Shoulders and hips should turn level and quickly, like a door slamming. Send this page to a friend   Baseball Tips Best-Selling Book - Just $24.95 Coaching Baseball Skills & Drills A great book for anybody involved in youth baseball. You'll learn in-depth aspects of hitting, pitching, defense, and planning, plus baseball-oriented conditioning drills and a team practice chart.   264 pages, includes over 600 illustrations & 85 drills "Coaching Baseball Skills & Drills by Bragg Stockton is the most comprehensive baseball skill development book we've ever seen."   - Coach JP Featured Article Build Your Own Field of Dreams Use affordable fun & convenience to build your ballplayer and your entire team!   Coach John Peter You can take this to the bank: The number 1 reason players leave team sports is that they are not having fun! Hitters, pitchers and position players improve through learning proper mechanics and repeating these movements correctly over and over. The players who are having the most fun on a baseball field are the ones who are doing their best and getting good results! Adults are a huge reason that leagues can even exist (money, time, coaching, organization, etc). So? If you are interested in helping your kids or your own team with items 1 through 3, you may want to consider adding some fun right outside your back door. The more fun you can add to your backyard, basement or garage.the longer your player(s) may stay in the game! Why? The reality is that regardless of how any adult feels about it, kids today are bombarded with tremendous amounts of opportunities to be entertained. much of it without even leaving their homes. Many of these diversions are actually great opportunities for kids to learn and grow. Most, however, are just what you fear. Easy, mind numbing hobbies & habits that encourage little and discourage leaving the comforts of a couch, an Ipod or a PC.not exactly a trek through the woods is it? As adults and parents, we tend to answer these mindless activities by turning off TV and video games, restrict hours of time we allow these "hobbies," and in general we answer these problems with what kids perceive as negative, negative and more negative! No, no and more no is what they hear! If this sounds familiar. Here's an idea.let's engage them rather than restrict them! And if it is baseball that is their athletic interest, we would like to help!! Money! It's always the money! Our coaches are instructed and trained to always consider the budget of our customers first and foremost! This is of utmost importance considering that everyone's situation is different and each is unique. So let your budget be your guide.we will help your players today to improve and solve their unique problems, but know that we will also be here tomorrow and next season if and when you need us again! It's far more important to be consistent in this fun and training, so start today and build as you can. As crazy as we baseball families can be perceived to be by folks who don't share our interests and passions.you could invest and spend on crazier and less rewarding activities. As someone said to me many years ago.you may never be closer to your own child than when you are 60 feet away playing catch. My coaches and I promise to always do our best. It is our privilege to help. Thank you for allowing us into your home! Here's some of our more interesting & fun items to help your players quickly improve and achieve some of their goals: Featured Products at Baseball Tips.com Order online in our secure shopping cart or call us toll free at 1-800-487-7432 (9-6 EST). Skills & Drills Complete DVD Coaching Series - Save $20 Individual DVDs Also Available Enjoy over ten hours of superior baseball training through Bragg Stockton's Ultimate Baseball Training System. This is a complete and comprehensive set of instruction for the thousands of youth level coaches who can use help in multiple areas. and for those who understand the value of improving both their stronger and weaker points! Purchase as a 5 DVD set and save $20, or buy any double-disk DVD individually for just $49.95 Hitting Pitching All Defensive Positions Defensive Skills, Bunting and Base Running Team Practice and Home Training Canvas Pitcher's Catcher - Only $149 A Fun Way to Teach Pitchers to Throw Strikes!   A great backyard pitch trainer that will easily teach the actual-size strike zone to young players. It's tough enough that it will last many seasons and stay outside year round. The Pitcher's Catcher features a two-sided reinforced target with a right and left-handed hitter on either side and a pouch for a strike zone pitching target. It has an angled, free-standing design so no tiedowns are needed. Send this page to a friend   For Hitters For Pitchers For Coaches Wiffle Ball Machine Personal Pitcher Fastballs & Curves at 2 speeds Uses Rechargeable Batteries Throwing Program Armed and Ready 4 Phases of Arm Exercise Used by Over 100 Pro Players Coaches War Club Fungo Bat Only $39.95 Length: 33"   Weight: 18 oz. Teaches to Keep Hands Back Hands Back Hitter Just $95 Learn From Your Tee Work Mechanics & Drills Pitch Right DVD Only $39.95 Major League Instruction Reads Speeds From 5-150 mph Sport Radar Gun New Price Save $30 Send this page to a friend   Youth Baseball News Little League Adopts New Age Cutoff Date On May 9, the Little League International Board of Directors officially accepted a recommendation from USA Baseball to change the league age determination date for its players starting in the 2006 season. The league age determination date is the age a player has attained as of a specific date, for the purpose of placing the player in a particular division. For more than 55 years in Little League that date was July 31. Starting in 2006, the date in all divisions of Little League Baseball will be April 30 of the current year. The date in all divisions of Little League Softball will be December 31 of the previous year. The main goal of the new age cutoff change is to retain as many players as possible in the 12-and-under division, since participation in youth baseball drops off severely when players move into the 12 and 14-year-old age brackets. Due to the change, most players on a team will now spend the majority of the regular season at the same chronological age as their league age. Under the old cutoff date, a baseball player who turns 13 in May, June or July of 2006 would have been considered league-age 13 for the entire season. This happened despite the fact that such a player likely would have played most or all of the regular season (which generally ends in June) without having actually reached his or her 13th birthday. For more information on the change, visit the Little League website at: http://www.littleleague.org/media/age_change_May05.asp Free Baseball Tips Resources Instructional Articles We currently have 121 articles covering all aspects of baseball. Coaching Hitting Pitching Defense General Baseball Drills Baseball Tips Message Board Receive answers and different perspectives from the many coaches and players who take advantage of our Message Board. Newsletter Archives 51 issues Find A Baseball Instructor Near You If you or a player you know is seeking personalized instruction this spring, please take advantage of our free Instructors Section to find a baseball coach in your area. We are now up to 229 instructors in 39 states! 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 Nevada New Mexico New Jersey New Hampshire New York North Carolina Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania South Carolina Texas Utah Virginia Washington Wisconsin Washington DC Canadian Provinces 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 Baseball Tips.com. For those that wish to be added, please fill out the form below. Entries without these details cannot be added to this free database. Name: E-Mail: Type of Instruction Offered: Phone: Cost: City: State: Web site URL (if applicable): Comments:  What do you want parents and players to know about you. Tell them what's in it for them. Be direct and to the point.

Southeastern Baseball Camp Sessions begin July 10 The 31st 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.