Baseball Coaching Digest - The Three Best Slides in Baseball and 3 Coaching Tips For Teaching Each

Baseball Coaching Digest - The Three Best Slides in Baseball and 3 Coaching Tips For Teaching Each
By guest author: Nick Dixon

Baseball sliding is an important skill for baseball players to master. It is every baseball coaches responsibility to teach every player how to slide safely. Every player should know the different kinds of slides and when each type slide is used. This article explains the three safest types of baseball slides and gives coaching points for each.

Sliding is difficult to practice. I can be relatively to easy teach if the coach knows how to properly execute each slide. Until players have a chance execute slides repetitively, they do not gain the confidence they should have to use the slides in a game. The best ways to practice baseball sliding if you do not have a slide practicing mat, is to wet the grass, use nylon cloth or card board on gym floors, or practice sliding in soft loose dirt.

There are a couple of basic safety points that should be remembered when executing all baseball slides. You must start the slide at least four steps from the bag. Sliding late is a commonly cause of ankle and leg injury. Keeping the hands high also prevent injury to hands, fingers and wrist.

Pop-Up or Stand-Up Slide - This slide is the safest and most popular sliding technique. It offers one definite advantage over other slides. The pop-up slide allows runners to advance more easily should an errant throw be made by the defense.

Three coaching points for the stand-up slide:

1. The left leg is bent and is under the right leg. The right leg is extended and it should be slightly bent.
2. The runner slides evenly on both lower cheeks of his rear end or on both back pockets.
3. The runner should adjust the slide path according to the position the fielder has assumed and where the tag glove is likely to be placed. The runner can touch the bag with his foot going directly into the bag or with a hand if the runner slides away from the bag.

Hook Slide - The hook slide is so named because of the "bent or hooked" positions of the legs during the slide and the fact that the bag is "hooked" or tagged with the back foot. The slide can to the right or left of the bag as the play requires.

Three coaching points for the "Hook" slide are:

1. The runner slides on one hip pocket or the other. The body is tilted during the slide. The body should be titled toward the side of the bag on which the slide is being made.
2. The bag is tagged with the back foot.
3. The hook slide is often used by runners attempting to break up a double play. It is also a good slide to use when trying to avoid an awaiting tag by the defender.

Reach-Around or Decoy Slide - The decoy slide is the most difficult to tech, learn, master and practice. It is a slide used when the ball beat the runner to the bag by 5 steps. The decoy slide is used to fool or trick the player making the tag. The sliding runner will fake tagging the bag with one hand and use the other hand to reach around the tag. The decoy is used only as a "last resort" to try avoiding a tag when the runner find himself "dead-to-rights" and sees the ball and tag waiting on him.

Three coaching points for the "Decoy" slide are:

1. The decoy slide must be started earlier than other slides.
2. The decoy slide should be made some distance away from the bag. The distance should allow the runner to reach the bag with both hands. The distance should require the fielder to reach way from the bag to make the tag. This reaching motion gives the runner a spot to avoid and reach around. The secret is to "sucker" the defender with one hand, then withdraw that hand, and reach around the tag with the other hand avoiding a tag and reaching the bag safely.
3. The sliding technique used at the beginning of the slide is the "stand-up" slide.

Note: I intentionally did not list the "head first" slide in this article. It is illegal in most leagues. It is a slide that is considered the most dangerous and risky. It has been the cause of many serious injuries. Coaches should consider the liability risk before teaching it as a method of sliding. I personally recommend to my players that they do not slide head first.

I hope that you found this article useful and informative. Thanks for taking the time to read this article. Have a great day, Nick.

The CoachesBest Baseball Store has a great selection of 1400 Baseball Products. Check out the BatAction Hitting Machine baseball pitching simulator. This high speed training machine is 100% Guaranteed to raise Batting Averages and has a full year warranty.

Nick Dixon is the President and founder of Nedco Sports, a sports training company established in 1999. Dixon is also an active and full time high school baseball coach with over 25 years experience. Coach Dixon is better known as the inventor of the BatAction Hitting Machine, the SKLZ Derek Jeter Hurricane Hitting Machine, the SKLZ Target Trainer, the SKLZ Derek Jeter ZipnHit Pro, and the SKLZ Strikeback Trainer. Dixon is also a contributing writer for BaseballCoachingDigest, the Youth Baseball Digest, the Baseball Parent Guide, the Baseball 2Day Coaches Journal, and Blog4Coaches.

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Baseball Coaching Tips - When to Put on a Defensive Shift

Baseball Coaching Tips - When to Put on a Defensive Shift
By guest author: Jim Bain

Baseball players have their "Normal" fielding positions which are designed to provide the greatest amount of area coverage in which one fielder will be able to reach and field a hit baseball. These positions are tried and true from tens of thousands of ball games.

However, these "Normal" positions are just that, Normal. There's nothing set in stone as to not being able to vary the defensive set depending on the situation. Let's look at a few of these situations which could dictate you moving your defense into a shift.

The very first and most used shift involves the corner infielders. Once again depending on the score, the manager must determine if his best bet is to put the odds in his favor as far as the third baseman or first baseman fielding the ball for an out, or increase his odds of not allowing an extra base hit.

With the score close, within 2 or 3 runs of each other, and the game being in the late innings, 6th and 7th of a 7 inning game, 8th and 9th of a 9 inning game, the coach will position his corner infielders very close to the base.

The reasoning for this is quite simple. A ball hit through the infield to the left side of the 3rd baseman or the right side of the first baseman, will result in a base hit, as the outfielder will easily be able to field the ground ball and get it back into the infield, holding the runner at first base.

However, a hard hit ground ball to the right of the third baseman or left of the first baseman, which gets passed the infielder, will most likely result in a double for the hitter, placing him in scoring position. The reason for this huge difference, is a ball hit like this will have a natural spin which will take the baseball in direction towards the foul line and away from the outfielder.

Instead of waiting for the ball to reach him, he will have to go and retrieve the ball which allows the runner more time to reach second base.

Another type of shift utilized is an Over Shift, in which either the second baseman is shifted to behind second base or slightly on the shortstop side of second, or the shortstop is shifted behind second or slightly to the right field side of the base.

The reason for utilizing this shift, as we will see, is actually two fold. This shift is implemented when there is a Pull hitter, with power at the bat. Some hitters are capable of pulling (hitting) any pitch, whether it be outside or not, into a specific field, most likely left or right field.

The extra infielder is placed on the side of the field the hitter will 99% hit the baseball, giving the defense an advantage of fielding the ball for an out instead of a base hit.

Secondly, the shift is also implemented in order to induce the hitter to hit the ball to the open side of the infield, which will be his Non Power side. The team in essence is saying "I'll allow a free base hit in order to prevent a home run or extra base hit."

In a pitcher's duel, this shift and the results it produces, could have game winning or losing implications.

Jim Bain - Former Minor league baseball player, who since retiring has dedicated his life to teaching baseball to youth. Visit his exciting info packed website: http://www.Learn-Youth-Baseball-Coaching.com

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Baseball Coaching Digest - Teach Batters to Use Their New Brain When Batting

Baseball Coaching Digest - Teach Batters to Use Their New Brain When Batting
By guest author: Nick Dixon

To me the hitter's brain is his eyes. If you literally try to think yourself through every at-bat, you are in trouble in today's game. The hitter must let his eye's do his thinking at the plate. I consider the eyes a batter's new brain. They must learn to properly use it. This article discusses several coaching points, tips and details related to this approach to hitting.

Teaching young hitters to swing at what they see, not what they think they see or what they think that they are going to see is one of the most important coaching responsibilities as a youth coach. What I mean about this statement is that players have to step into the box realizing that they "never know" what the pitch will be. They should not guess pitches but rather learn to keep the hands back and see what the pitch is and then react.

Several coaching points come to mind when I discuss this process. Many of these are saying that you should teach or convey to your staff and players. Those points are:

1. Always set yourself up physically to hit the fastball on the outer 3rd of the plate, and adjust to hit the fastball in. Notice, I said "physically" set your stance at the plate. I did not say, "Convince yourself that the next pitch is going to be a "fastball away". The key is getting in a position to hit it and being able to reach. Batters should always be ready to hit the fastball away first and then adjust to the fastball in, curveball away, or pitch on the middle 3rd of the plate. The batter must let his "eyes control his hands". The decision to hit or swing comes from the eyes, not the brain. Therefore, the eyes are the hitter's brain.

2. Always set yourself up physically to hit the fastball and adjust to hit off speed pitches. The batter must be able to hit the soft stuff on the outer 3rd of the plate at all times. The batter should always be ready to hit the fastball, but should keep the hands back, and adjust to hit the off speed pitch. The key here is that to be a confident batter, a batter must have confidence in his "hand or bat speed". He must know and realize that if he keeps his hands back, he can still catch up with the fastball, but if he "leaks or cheats his hands forward", he will be incapable of hitting the away fastball and the way off speed pitch. He must learn to keep his hands back and allow his eyes to do his thinking. He must see a pitches location before he reacts. Assuming a position that allows you to see, react, and hit all pitch locations is the key to hitting success.

3. The hitter should never guess. Guess hitting makes a hitter an easy target that will fall victim to good pitches. Hitting is a process of see and reacting, not guessing and swinging. The hitter must see the pitch location before he swings, not guess a pitches location before he swings. The difference is that when you guess, you start too early. When you guess, you have a tendency to start the swing prematurely. The guess hitter may be able to get it right sometimes, and crush the fastball with power. But, more times than not, he will lunge, jump or get out to quick and strike out or pop the fly ball into the air.

4. The only thing a hitter should know is that you "never know" what the pitch is going to be. The key is to trust you eyes as your brain to allow you to be a "see" hitter and not a "guess" hitter. I know that count awareness can give you the edge as a hitter in many situations. If you are ahead, you are more than likely going to get a fastball. If the pitcher is ahead, you are more than like going to get his best out pitch, which may be a breaking ball. But, more and more in today's game, we are pitching batters backwards. So, the absolute best way to hit is to make batting a "seeing, identifying and reacting process" that allows the swing to be triggered, controlled and executed by the eyes.

I hope that you found this article to be useful and informative. You can find more like it at Baseball Coaching Digest, Youth Baseball Digest, Little League Digest, and the Baseball Parent Guide. I thank you for taking the time to read this article. I wish you and your team the best of luck in the coming season. Have a great day, Nick

The CoachesBest Baseball Store has a great selection of 1400 Baseball Products. Check out the BatAction Hitting Machine baseball pitching simulator. This high speed training machine is 100% Guaranteed to raise Batting Averages and has a full year warranty.

Nick Dixon is the President and founder of Nedco Sports, a sports training company established in 1999. Dixon is also an active and full time high school baseball coach with over 25 years experience. Coach Dixon is better known as the inventor of the BatAction Hitting Machine, the SKLZ Derek Jeter Hurricane Hitting Machine, the SKLZ Target Trainer, the SKLZ Derek Jeter ZipnHit Pro, and the SKLZ Strikeback Trainer. Dixon is also a contributing writer for BaseballCoachingDigest, the Youth Baseball Digest, the Baseball Parent Guide, the Baseball 2Day Coaches Journal, and Blog4Coaches.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nick_Dixon

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---If you are looking for BatAction Replacement Balls or Power Bands Click Here

Baseball Coaching Digest - Why Baseball Players Are the Most Accountable Athletes in Sports

Baseball Coaching Digest - Why Baseball Players Are the Most Accountable Athletes in Sports
By guest author: Nick Dixon

Baseball players are held to a higher level of accountability than any other athletes in the world. If you compare baseball, football and basketball to see which sport holds the player athlete more responsible for mistakes and errors, you will find that baseball holds players to a higher level of accountability. This article explains my perspective on why baseball players are the most accountable athletes in sports.

I am absolutely sure that baseball players are held at a higher level of accountability than other sports athletes. Why do I feel this way? Have you ever been to a football game and seen a player miss a tackle or block that cost his team dearly? Did the official score "flash" error on the football scoreboard? The answer is no. Have you ever watched a basketball player miss a wild open layup that hurt his team? Did the score keeper or score operator flash "error" on the scoreboard? The answer is no.

On the other hand, as baseball player can bobble a hard hit ground ball and the whole world will soon be notified and an official documentation of the mistake will be made in the scorebook. The scorekeeper will write a big "E" in the scorebook that makes the error officially known. Then the scoreboard operator will also turn on the "error" light on the scoreboard to let every player and spectator in the park know that an error was made.
That is the reason I feel that baseball players are the most accountable athletes in sports.

Maybe other sports consider adding an "Error" light on their scoreboard or writing a big "E" in their scorebook when a player makes a mistake. Then maybe the next time a player fails to execute on a football field or basketball court, they will know what it's like to be held publicly accountable and responsible like a baseball player.

I hope that you enjoyed this article. Thanks for taking the time to read it. Visit the Baseball coaching Digest, Youth Baseball Digest, Little League Digest and Baseball Parent Guide for more baseball articles. Good luck to you and your team, Nick.

The CoachesBest Baseball Store has a great selection of 1400 Baseball Products. Check out the BatAction Hitting Machine baseball pitching simulator. This high speed training machine is 100% Guaranteed to raise Batting Averages and has a full year warranty.

Nick Dixon is the President and founder of Nedco Sports, a sports training company established in 1999. Dixon is also an active and full time high school baseball coach with over 25 years experience. Coach Dixon is better known as the inventor of the BatAction Hitting Machine, the SKLZ Derek Jeter Hurricane Hitting Machine, the SKLZ Target Trainer, the SKLZ Derek Jeter ZipnHit Pro, and the SKLZ Strikeback Trainer. Dixon is also a contributing writer for BaseballCoachingDigest, the Youth Baseball Digest, the Baseball Parent Guide, the Baseball 2Day Coaches Journal, and Blog4Coaches.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nick_Dixon

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Baseball Hitting Tips - 100 Swings a Day

Baseball Hitting Tips - 100 Swings a Day
By guest author: Tom Read

An old baseball coach use to say after every practice, "go home and swing the bat 100 times each and every day. If you want to hit against the high level of competition we are going to be playing, swing that bat 100 times everyday". What he did not explain to the players was that doing something over and over makes it easier each time. It eventually becomes natural, second nature. So when that fastball comes flying in, and there is a half second to react, and you know where the swing needs to go, the muscle memory takes over and the swing comes naturally.

Hitting off the tee is a great baseball hitting drill. Take a 100 cuts a day off the tee and you will see your batting average start to climb. Another good baseball drill is soft toss. Here the tosser can change the location and the speed of the ball. Again, a 100 cuts a day of soft toss will bring improvement to your swing. The old coach used to tell the players that even if they did not have a tee to use, or no one was around to do soft toss with them, just go out in the yard and swing the bat thru the air. A 100 times a day. Doing this will get you comfortable with your swing. At game time, you want to be confident at the plate, and comfort brings confidence. You have swung that bat so many times, you know it is not going to let you down. You are concentrating on the pitch, not your swing. At just the right moment, you let loose with that same swing you have taken a 100 times a day.

The last thing I want to say is very important. You play like you practice. Before you start swinging a 100 time a day, you need to have found a good batting stance and good mechanics. It will not help you if each one of the 100 swings is different. Each swing needs to be identical. Find that perfect swing for you and practice it a 100 times a day.

Over the last twenty plus years, Tom Read has been a coach, parent, and a fan of organized baseball. He has shared this experience with his sons and many other players on his teams. Many have gone on to play at the college level.

Tom has recently joined with others to start a baseball website offering free baseball drills. To check out these great drills, and other great baseball information and stories, please visit Helpful Baseball Drills. It will be worth your time.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tom_Read

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