Stay tuned for updates.

My guess is that we will see a low scoring fight until a huge inning opens it up by California but you will most certainly see some defensive gems
by the Chinese Taipei team.

Watching with a youth player(s) makes it a lot more fun… and insightful too… you get an idea of how those little minds work and can find some great keys to helping them develop their game too.

BTW:
I apologize for not posting of late… sometimes work gets in the way of my baseball-life.

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The 2009 Little League Baseball World Series will welcome 11-12-year-olds from around the world. Sixteen teams will compete for the World Series championship.

The World Series championship game can be seen live on ABC at 3:30 p.m., on Sunday, Aug. 30. ABC also will televise the International Championship Game on Saturday, Aug. 29 at noon, followed by the United States championship at 3 p.m.

The 2009 World Series will be the third operated under the eight-year television contract agreement with ESPN/ABC. Five games will be televised on ABC. This will be the fourth year that all of the World Series games will be televised in high definition. For the eighth year since the tournament expanded from eight to 16 teams in 2001, every team will have games on national television.

All 32 games of the World Series will be televised again this year.

Thirteen World Series games will be televised on ESPN and 14 will be televised on ESPN2. In addition, the ESPN family of networks will carry all eight of the U.S. Regional Championship finals in the Little League Baseball division. The U.S. regional finals have been televised by ESPN and ESPN2 every year since 1997.

Baseball Tips supports Little League Baseball and offers several Little League-approved training products for you to enjoy and to help improve your game!

http://baseballtips.com/littleleague/index.html
Little League-approved Training Products – link

I truly believe that on the field, the game becomes about 3 things:

1. Handspeed
2. Footspeed
3. Batspeed

I also believe that NOT every player is born with the quick twitch muscles necessary for these 3 important traits to become second nature on a ballfield… Much of this can be taught and learned… through a players years of training.

There are plenty of little “cheats” that players can be taught and sometimes will figure out on their own.

Watch The Japanese Players I swear that every Japanese ballplayer I see in America is at least Major League Average in all of the 5 tools in which ballplayers are measured (ok, maybe a slight exaggeration).

I doubt they were all born that way…they were trained… and Japanese practices are legendary for their attention to detail. (Note that Japan beat the world in the 2009 World Professional Baseball Classic, with Korea taking 2^nd place.)

Time Everything  All of this is the primary reason why I believe that you need to time everything from catchers throws down to 2^nd base (the most violent throw in baseball, so limit the numbers that you test during any session), to the time it takes your pitchers to deliver a pitch from the stretch to the number of seconds it takes each of your players to reach 2^nd base from where they take their lead on 1^st base… (that’s what those stopwatches hanging from 1^st base coaches pockets are for)… now you know.

By timing everything… then working on improving specific areas  of your game or that of your players… over a season or off season, newfound quickness will be achieved… and that is how you stay on the field.

Here’s some quickness tools I swear by: Our Pancake Training Glove found at http://baseballtips.com/training-aids/fielding/pancake-glove.html will quicken up any infielder or catcher forcing them to improved quickness through better footwork and allowing the hands to work together for turning those double plays and relays and pick offs and steals that catchers must defend against!

My Team’s Game We had 4 pancake gloves on 4 infielders where we placed them in a line with the 1^st player 1 step behind 2^nd base on the shortstop side.

I underhand toss from a knee or on bucket #1, perfect feeds to these “shortstops” and they would in turn find the bag with their feet and quickly trap (you can’t and shouldn’t catch), transfer the ball to the throwing hand and then throw on the 1^st Baseman who simply refilled empty bucket #2 with these completed throws. Note that we emphasized the 1st basemans proper footwork too.

What you Will Need 36 Baseballs, 1-2 Coaches Bucket (hold 50 balls), 4 pancake gloves, 1- 1^st baseman, 1-2 coaches.

The Building Block Steps                                                                     Make It A Game – players love to compete Each successful game-speed catch & throw receives 1 point.

Step #1 – Perfect Feeds 3 rounds – half speed for teaching & tweaking purposes 3 rounds – ¾ speed for confidence 3 rounds at game speed* Then refill bucket #1

Step #2 – Low Feeds 3 rounds – half speed for teaching & tweaking purposes 3 rounds – ¾ speed for confidence 3 rounds at game speed* Then refill bucket #1

Step #3 – High Feeds 3 rounds – half speed for teaching & tweaking purposes 3 rounds – ¾ speed for confidence 3 rounds at game speed* Then refill bucket #1

*This also means to go beyond game-speed levels for older players…you can always make it a do or die situation…complete with utilizing your stopwatch for the fastest times. It’s the Fun-Stuff and the makings of the web gems they see on ESPN!

Summary Notes: Adjust # of attempts & degrees of difficulty based on you players skill & age level.

Our Awesome Pitch Back Backyard Trainer – Remember those pitchbacks that you have seen for years? Most of them are junk but the idea is awesome and loads of fun for single player quickness training.

I had more fun with my own son, even up through High School by going out to the backyard and playing a game we made up that had about the same rules as tennis or racquetball.

Our Pitch Back found at http://baseballtips.com/field-equipment/screens-and-nets/pro-rebounder.html and Rookie Pitch Back found at http://www.baseballtips.com/rookierebounder.html models allow work and play with ground balls, long drives and even short pop ups.

Our Game We simply threw and caught, where all bobbled or mis-played balls added a “run” to the throwers score…1st to 11 is the winner… and you must win by 2 (ratcheting up the competition when you are at your weakest and most tired).

A great cardio and skill drill/game that would allow even a dad to sweat, compete & dive to make game-saving catches                  (FYI – My kids nickname for me was “Old Man River”)… niiice!

In Summary:                                                                                              You may never be closer to your own child than when you are doing something fun in baseball…it goes so quick, you don’t want to miss a thing. These drills are really just fun…they just happen to be the drills that produce quicker ballplayers… Always strive to find ways to make these times fun!

Here’s a Great FREEBIE for you:

Join over 15,000 baseball families around the globe and subscribe to our FREE Baseball Tips Newsletter (don’t forget your baseball-friends too)

Its a quick read to some awesome information that we email each week. No Junk, no spam and you get to read the latest in training baseball and fastpitch players and the newest in training equipment too…coup0ons come often enough to make it worth the read.

Here’s a newsletter subscription link: or if does not work with your browser…

http://baseballtips.us1.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=fcce39a80b0615297abbf4374&id=8140ff7ff5

see you next time                                                                                                                     –JP

The Number 1 Reason Kids Quit Baseball Is…                                                                   THEY SAY IT’S NO LONGER ANY FUN!

Please Watch This 30 second video clip…You’ll either cringe or LYAO but you can’t help  feeling the kids point… Great little actor; I wonder if he can hit?

Little Leaguer Goes Off On His Dad

Please read the comments below the video clip… not so funny.
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I got this info from the only major study done where 130,000 players were interviewed (not that the results are astounding…parents generally understand this just because they are parents…kids just do not like doing what they don’t want to do or what they feel they are not good at).

BUT, there’s a point in that, as parents, maybe we can influence our kids (and out teams) to have a bit more fun and perhaps stay in the game long enough for them to love it more!

And believe me if you will… the kid who is having the most fun on a ballfield is the kid that’s playing well!

If We Improve – They Improve! We ask our kids and players to continue improving by practicing new and existing skills so shouldn’t we adults be asking the same of ourselves?

Lets All Get Better At This… Hey, its our free time too and if we have more to offer our kids & our ballplayers, we will all be better for it!

Here’s Some Free Ideas! Have you found our 200 Baseball Tips Free Training Articles on how to improve your batting, pitching, catching, fielding & coaching?

It’s a great resource for all age players  their coaches & parents too!

Here’s The Link: http://baseballtips.com/instruction.html

Free Is Good! Keep Learning & Spread the Word. Knowledge indeed is power! More of our players can & should play baseball at a higher level.

Coach JP’s                                                                                                                        Quick Baseball Tips on Baseball Player & Coach Training

What I’ve Learned From Baseball… in 40 years of trying! Here’s a few of my Baseball Tips for Youth Coaches… regardless of the level you coach or play… Enjoy!

· I have found that few 10 year olds grasp the concept of competing and winning… keep em having fun while learning the game!

· I have found that around half of 11 year olds grasp the concept of competing and winning.

· I have found that most all 12 year olds grasp the concept of competing and winning… the stings and lessons of winning & losing are a new experience.

· Make the last 10 minutes of every practice fun…even better, find fun ideas, fun drills and fun games that involve sucking oxygen…. puppies love to run!

· My First Rule on Pitchers – Pitchers should be pulled one batter too soon rather than one batter too late! I made & broke this rule twice & got my team beat…twice! – a slow learner!

· Draft Athletes…why? Your team becomes much more versatile and able to overcome a key injury and other unforeseen problems…. its a long season!

• Learn as much as you can about pitching!                                               Aside from the fact that so much of your team’s success rides on your pitchers… it is the biggest area of the game where you can effect your players PRESENT AND FUTURE HEALTH! Take it seriously.

• There is only one reason to be coaching baseball… for every single player you coach. Make them all “your kids” no matter what the age group!

HELP: I would like to become a better resource for you. Do you have any thoughts or recommendations on what I might include in these blog posts? I am learning, have a head-full of great stuff to share with you and don’t want to become more junk in anyone’s inbox… email me at coach@baseballtips.com

Finally: I really want you to see all the new innovative products that we will be adding to BaseballTips.com as early as next week. It’s exciting for those who get what it takes to help today’s modern player to improve & become next-level-players! …and don’t forget our 200 FREE Baseball Tips Instructional Articles  on the site itself.

So, it should make perfect sense that whatever age you are… you should be more interested than anyone else in improving and being the best you can be. Ok, I’m done with the scolding <g>

The reality is that you know yourself best and can really help yourself even more than you think. Here’s some easy tips to help you repeat what it takes so that you can make more solid contact consistently.

Check These Out:

♦ Use “coaching-points” to check, observe & correct yourself.

♦ Highlight your most important items below. You won’t memorize all this.

NOTE:  Learn to check yourself from the feet up, every time!
This will keep you from missing certain parts of the swing and more easily allow you to remember all the details. Using a full length mirror is a great way to see yourself  completely…be careful with swinging and ask first before getting both of us in trouble.

The Rest Position – How does it look, how does it feel? Are you comfortable? Is your weight about 40% front foot and 60% back foot? Are you on the balls of your feet with your weight bearing on the inside of your slightly flexed knees and again, the balls of your feet?

Hands about 4-6″ from your body? Tall backside? Head equal distance between both feet? Eyes level, so both eyes see the ball?

The Load Position – Take a negative move (this is when you “load” with your hands moving toward your back shoulder) with hands held high (at the top of the strike zone). Are your hands lose on the bat? Tight slows your muscles though they will naturally tighten when you go to contact.

Can you feel the slight pull of muscles from your torso and upper body.like the winding of a spring?

Keep your stride shorter rather than longer! Hands go toward the back of your body while front foot strides toward pitcher (some coaches will call this ‘walking away from your hands’).
NOTE: Your weight should now be 80% on the back foot and only 20% on the front foot with knees slightly flexed.

The Contact Position – Are you up on the toes of your back foot?
Is your front foot slightly open at a 45% angle with FRONT KNEE BRACED AND LOCKED?
Are your hands in a palm up and palm down position? Head still and between both legs like a stick man drawing?

Are your eyes focused at the point of contact?

Finish – Are you hitting off a firm front side with your front knee locked?
Are you still balanced with head between both legs and not lunging forward?
Is the bat completely wrapped around your back?

One More  Thing … Is your head still at contact? That’s a biggie!

Guys, this is great stuff and can be made even better by printing this out and taking it with you the next time you hit. Keep it simple…and don’t be surprised if you improve by using any of this!

Want more? Here’s a quick link to our 200 FREE baseball instructional articles to help you train better and improve quicker! Go To http://www.baseballtips.com/instruction.html

Keep Swinging! See you soon!

–JP

Much has happened since last we crossed paths…

I have recently had players suit up for their last college games and young ones who have pitched their 1st innings. I have watched from a distance as a marvelous pitcher I spent time with as a budding High School frosh… conquer a brain tumor and has now been cleared to pitch in college this coming fall and yet a potentially more talented HS Junior pitcher who lost his eligibility for one full year simply because school work and work study habits are simply not important enough.

One of the great things about baseball is that you are judged everyday so whatever has happened…there is a tomorrow, complete with another chance at making it better including maybe 5 at bats and unexpected opportunities to make a memory.

And then I was sent the following email about a very sick boy who would find pleasure in just being able to play.

Have a read… it’s of more value than I can provide in this writing… its tough and its life…and ultimately is the stuff that makes all of us just say thanks for whatever our own problems may be.

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TWO CHOICES (What would you do?….you make the call)

Don’t look for a punch line, there isn’t one.                                                   Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the same choice?

At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves children with learning disabilities, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its
dedicated staff, he offered a question:

‘When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does, is done with perfection.

Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do.
Where is the natural order of things in my son?’

The audience was stilled by the query.

The father continued. ‘I believe that when a child like Shay, who was mentally and physically disabled comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child.’

Then he told the following story:
Shay and I had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, ‘Do you think they’ll let me play?’ I knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but as a father, I also understood that if my son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.

I approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and said, ‘We’re losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we’ll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning.’

Shay struggled over to the team’s bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt. I watched with a small tear in my eye and warmth in my heart. The boys saw my joy at my son being accepted.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay’s team scored a few runs but was still behind by three.

In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in right field. Even though no balls came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as I waved to him from the stands.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay’s team scored again.

Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat. At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game?

Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn’t even know how to hold the bat properly, much less that connect with the ball.

However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay’s life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact…

The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed.

The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.

The game would now be over.

The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game.

Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman’s head, out of reach of all team mates.
Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, ‘Shay, run to first!

Run to first!’

Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base.
He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.

Everyone yelled, ‘Run to second, run to second!’ Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the base.

By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball; the smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to be the hero for his team.

He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher’s intentions so he too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman’s head.

Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home.

All were screaming, ‘Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay’

Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, ‘Run to third!

Shay, run to third!’

As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on their feet screaming, ‘Shay, run home! Run home!’

Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team

‘That day’, said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, ‘the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world’.

Shay didn’t make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making me so happy, and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!

As much as baseball has and is a huge part of my life…there are still some times when it really just doesn’t matter all that much… its just part of life…not life itself.

Enjoy your time in the game, be the best that you can be at the age and level that you presently are…complete with all that is not right or perfect in your own games and days.                                                                               You have a tomorrow…most of us do…and that might be plenty good enough.

Every Big Leaguer seems to have had the dream of playing Major League Baseball since they were young players.

Some of the common threads revolve around their home. It could be that the dad loved the game so they did too… and what an advantage it is to have older brothers in the game…huge! Just ask guys named George Brett, Aaron Boone, Marcus Giles or perhaps Joey Mauer… all with older baseball-brothers.

Everyone’s situation is different and many of us older guys did not have either of those advantages… today’s dads are just so much more in tune with their players today than they used to be… I never knew anyone who had a pitching machine and a batting cage in his backyard…but it is unbelievable how many competitive players now do…yes, it is that big of an advantage… and now more affordable than ever before! We now carry over 32 machines starting at under $200! http://baseballtips.com/pitchingmachines.html  

For me, I remember the defining day… my father took me to the New York Yankees Ft. Lauderdale Florida Spring Training. Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford, Bobby Richardson, Yogi Berra, Roger Marris & Moose Skowren were all there…that’s all it took.

When I got my first Little League uniform…all baggy and scratchy with Mickey Mantle’s number 7 on the back… I was totally hooked.

And that is indirectly how I find myself reaching into your computer… and into your interest and perhaps love for the game.Passing The Game on to The Next Generation! Though too many kids don’t continue playing past their younger years, I know that many more would… if they were influenced… maybe by you?

Here are a few thoughts that require nothing special other than your interest in a young budding ballplayer:

· Take younger players to local High School Baseball Games… especially if it is the High School they will someday attend if you do not move. Better yet, bring them in their uniform with a few team mates or neighborhood kids. Some of today’s High School players are as big as pro players. Picture your own young player standing near the on deck circle just listening to the players talk to one another… only a fence separating them from these giants in baseball uniforms… so close they can hear the spit hit the ground… it has got to be an awesome experience as they gaze upward at these local heroes… and it costs you a few hours, a short drive and a couple of bucks at the gate… even the hotdogs are cheap!

· Take any age players to a local college game…it’s the same awe that the younger players get. The older, especially High School age players, get to measure themselves; you can almost see them asking themselves whether they can do this too… take older players to see the same team twice and you will notice them remembering a few players that stick out in their minds, chances are the players who excelled or the players who are on the field in “their” position… it starts bringing the point home about their potential… and it has nothing to do with what division, a 2 yr or 4 yr school or the teams current record…its all good!

· Have a catch in the backyard, often… you may never be closer to your own than you are just 60 ft away… not coaching every throw… just having fun talking about anything baseball or anything else, for that matter… it may be just enough to fan the dream.

In short, kids prefer doing anything fun…and the better they get, the more fun they have because they will spend the time it takes to get better…and the circle keeps going until they play their last game…and even then, the good memories continue a lifetime.

And if your kids are lucky…they may see themselves handing down the same game their fathers handed them. Have a lot of fun… this will go away too quick!

Hope to see you in the clubhouse next time…we’ll talk more.

–JP

PS: If you cannot get enough baseball instruction… read some of our 200 FREE baseball instructional articles by clicking http://baseballtips.com/instruction.html  and please pass this along to your baseball-friends and their players too.

Wheeler Dealer & ZIP Net Combo

Batting Tees are for babies  ……………. tee ball players.

But batting tees, like soft toss machines & pitching machines can be the key ingredients in the progress of any age player.

Frankly,  a high school , college or pro ballplayer might even tell you that they  hit more off a tee & toss station than they ever do in live drills… these important concepts just  seem to get lost between T Ball and High School. 

Players Today Don’t Swing  Enough                                                                     A lot of it has to do with how few swings players get at practice and how limited our practices get once the season gets going. Sandlot baseball has been replaced by teams and travel ball so it seems that kids who want to really progress must do it on their own…  probably at home.

Becoming  better does involve the time players will put into their sport… just like it is in their classroom studies.

The more they pay attention in class, the more they do their homework, the more they read the book… the better they test and grade.                              

Kids Love To Hit!                                                                                                                   Our kids tend to be better students in subjects they like. They pay more attention and may even enjoy the assignmnets… no different in baseball or softball. They want to swing more, so they get better and better if they swing more. They just need an opportunity and a place to do it!

Take that philosophy into the backyard, garage or basement where you can set up stations…  start with one and add to this over time.

Heres a couple of ideas that can inexpensively get your players the swings they need to grow and improve:

Batting Tee Station - You need a tee, a portable catch net & some balls. We offer plenty of tees here  http://baseballtips.com/hittingtees.html some are even self contained and don’t require a catch net. Take a look!

Soft Toss Stations - You can do this with a dad or player sitting on a 6 gallon bucket full of balls and a catch net. To build a solo player station, check out our Wheeler Dealer Auto Soft Toss Machine  (a personal favorite)  http://baseballtips.com/pitching-machines/soft-toss/wheeler-dealer.html or our more inexpensive Scorpion Soft Toss Machine http://baseballtips.com/pitching-machines/soft-toss/heater-scorpion.html and any of our catch nets found throughout our training aids section http://baseballtips.com/trainingaids.html.

Backyard Pitching Machines & Backyard Batting Cages - It is amazing how much you can now buy that was not available even two years ago. We offer these combos in all price ranges that has opened this ideal training  to more families than ever. Stay within your budget and see if this fits your players. http://baseballtips.com/pitchingmachines.html

Hope this brief post helps you think how to best improve your favorite players.

I have written a full article on the subject that you will find by following this link. http://baseballtips.com/howtouse.html

 Please enjoy all our 200 FREE baseball & fastpitch instructional articles aimed at quickly improving your game and your coaching abilities… and free makes it easy for you to want to learn & teach!