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

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.

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!

For younger players…note that you are going to love playing on the big field.

For 13 yr olds…it may seem almost freightening but don’t worry…the only thing that continues to get bigger is you…the field (infield) will never get larger and you will own it soon!

For you 13 plus year old players and coaches of these great prospects… congratulations… you have successfully wiped out 70% of the competition. The only bad news is that you will now compete with the best 30% who play the game… and you are now learning to successfully compete and win! What a gas…all the good stuff is right in front of you!

I have written an article that I would really like you to read that goes more in depth. It’s a 5 minute read and well worth 5 minutes of the lif of any youth baseball coach or youth baseball player of any age!

Check the new articles area of our articles page at  http://baseballtips.com/instruction.html. You will find it in the new section…right at the top of the page!

Have big fun, guys. Baseball at the age of 13,leads to baseball at the age of 14… practice and play hard and you are going to be shocked at how good and comfortable you will be on the big field, ow hard you pitch, how much better you will be in the field and how much fun it is to hit the snot out of a baseball and how quick it gets into those huge outfield gaps… doubles for everyone! Baseball at age 13 is just a tune up. Have a blast!

Can a student do it on his own? Yes, but the odds get long as the subject matter gets more difficult. Can a parent help? Sure, some kids are now even home-schooled though I would personally be of limited help to my own. So, like most parents, I limited myself to helping  with homework and preparing for quizzes and tests.

Is baseball training any different?                                            I think we have the same options:  

1. We can let em do it themselves
2. We can help them ourselves
3. We can find them instruction
4. We can combine paid instruction with our own efforts (which I think is the best idea… for many reasons and on many levels)!Remember, you may never be closer to your own than you are throwing a ball from 60 feet away!

Here’s a convenient link so you can read my entire article on this subject. Don’t forget to forward it to your friends & other baseball families on your team and in your league! http://baseballtips.com/trainingplayer.html

Read all our 185 and growing FREE baseball instructional articles including Training Your Own Baseball Player!

Yes You Can!

Jeff Kent retired recently.

Jeff Kent? – If you know the name and don’t know his game…you need to.

A veteran 2^nd baseman for 17 seasons in The Big Leagues, Jeff was like most of us…not the biggest, fastest or strongest… he was just more determined to do what it took to achieve the dream…the hurdle all of us need to clear…AFTER realizing that we have the dream of playing baseball as long as we can!

Check This Out:

“I started as a college player, probably a guy who was a fringe player,” Kent said as he announced his retirement on Thursday. “For the kids who want to be a baseball player someday, there’s a chance that you can play this great game. If you’re not the biggest guy, if you’re not the fastest guy, even if you’re not the smartest guy, you can still play this game.”

·          Here’s some fun facts:                                                                                                                            Kent, listed at 6-foot-1 and 185 pounds, ended up the all-time leading home run hitter among second basemen with 351!

·          His long career began with the Blue Jays in 1992 and included stops with the Mets, Indians, Giants, Astros and Dodgers.

·          Kent retired with a .290 career batting average, 377 home runs, 1,518 RBIs and a .500 slugging percentage.

·          The 2000 National League MVP, Kent was a five-time All-Star and four-time Silver Slugger. He drove in more than 100 runs eight times (a record at the position), scored at least 100 runs three times and had at least 20 home runs 12 times.

·          He was a walk-on shortstop at the University of California and began his professional career after being drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in 1989.

·          Early in his career, Kent developed a reputation for his work ethic and no-nonsense commitment to winning.

“We close a great chapter today on a great baseball player who finds himself to be the best offensive second baseman in the history of baseball,” Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti said.

Could this guy be you? If yes, maybe you just found a big piece that it takes to achieve your dream.  ”Baseball players are trained” is evidenced by the average ability this extremely successful player… and baseball training and equipment is where we feel we can help you too!  www.baseballtips.com

Best of luck!

–Coach JP

* note that some of the above was culled from an article by one of the great writers at MLB.com – it’s a site you really should pay attention to in your quest to become a betterplayer by paying attention to the best in the game!

Last evening on my way home, I stopped at an indoor baseball training facility and watched players training to be better ballplayers for the upcoming season.

I had just visited Georgia Tech head coach Danny Hall…where his blue chip players were just finishing up their daily workout.

Here it was Friday evening at 7 PM and there were 40 kids, mostly under age 13 having a blast. Most were batting, some off batting tees, some doing soft toss, front toss, swinging underloaded training bats, and taking live BP (batting practice). Others were pitching, throwing, running while others were just taking breaks fooling around with their buddies, new and old.

Here’s the point… they were all doing a set routine of drills and seemed very happy doing it… even though none of them would be seeing game action for quite a while yet.

Which begs the question… how important is your being the best ballplayer you can be?

• It’s a great question & one that all answers can be correct.
• It’s the one question that may actually determine how far you go in ANY important aspect of your young life.
• Eventually, you have to ask yourself how much does it mean to you!

If baseball is a fun way for you to spend a few hours each week… even when there is snow on the ground, or when you are busy doing other activities that you really enjoy as well in the off season… then you are the guy who may go as far as your talent & body will take you!

But if baseball is only fun at gametime… maybe you should look at baseball as recreation and have fun with it for as long as it remains fun to play.

Like anything else that really means something to you, it takes your time…alot of your time.

Practice may make perfect but I more believe that focused practice where goals are set first, doing it correctly as part of your style will get you there… IF, you want it and think this is a very fun way to spend your valuable time.

A-Rod said “something like” the following recently:  ‘Sweat alone won’t get you there…but without the sweat… you have no chance at’ …and that ’s from the guy who was born with more talent than most Big Leaguers that you have ever even read about!

I encourage you guys to find out as soon as you can IF this is YOUR game… everyone deserves to be good at something…

Don’t just be good…be good at  something! I think I borrowed that from the writer H.D. Thoreau!

So, think about planning now to train to be a better ballplayer this season.