Important Aspects Of A Baseball Coach

Important Aspects Of A Baseball Coach
Expert Author: Sintilia Miecevole


Being a baseball coach can be very rewarding. It is a big responsibility, though. You are basically the 'leader' of your team, and how you act will directly affect how the assistant coaches and the players act.

There are some tips you can follow to make yourself a better baseball coach. These tips are:

1. Give everyone on your baseball team a responsibility. Make each and every person on the team feel if they don't do something, it won't get done! Any accomplishments made by a member of the team are shared by the whole team. (It is important to give recognition to individuals, though.)

2. Help everyone on your baseball team make good, informed decisions. As the baseball coach, you need to guide and teach the players to make the good decisions you want them to make. Don't bully the baseball team to do what you want them to do, just encourage them to do what is best.

3. Always treat your baseball team like they are winners! If your baseball players feel like winners, they will be more likely to win.

4. Let everyone on your baseball team know you care. Be interested in every individual baseball player. Encourage them and show them your support. Look at your behavior around your baseball team and evaluate it carefully.

5. Help your baseball team understand the meaning of playing with good sportsmanship! Good sportsmanship is just as important as winning. Make sure your baseball players understand the meaning of fair play from the moment you become their baseball coach.

6. Make sure you motivate and reward your baseball team players. Just knowing the basic skills and strategies of baseball won't necessarily make you a very good baseball coach. Being a baseball coach is truly more than just teaching these things. A really good coach can motivate a baseball team to do its best! Good baseball coaches understand and can empathize with the players' feelings of joy, anger, anxiety, frustration, and pride.

7. Don't make your baseball practices boring or repetitious. Shake up practices by playing games and teaching new techniques and plays. Since only 9 players can play at a time, make sure to keep the rest of the baseball team feeling useful by having them keep score or charting pitching and offence. Make sure to keep each baseball player feeling they have an important role in winning.

8. Make sure you have a plan for your baseball team. Just like a teacher needs to plan for the school year, a baseball coach needs a plan for the season. Having no plan is a sure road to failure.

9. Give your baseball team enough time to review things they have learned. Whether at the end of a practice or the end of a game, give your players time to review what has been learned and what could be improved upon. Keep the review as positive in tone as possible.

10. Make sure you communicate with your baseball team. If you cannot get across to your baseball team what you want, how will they know what to do?


Sintilia Miecevole, host of http://www.reelbaseball.com provides you with baseball information from games, cards and equipment to teams, gloves, pictures and more. Be sure to visit www.reelbaseball.com for the latest news.

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Be a Better Batter Through Repetition

Be a Better Batter Through Repetition
By: Anthony Stai

All parents want their children to reach their full potential in anything that they do. If you have kids playing baseball or softball then you know that one of the most exciting and difficult aspects is hitting. And since you may only get 3 to 5 at-bats per game then you want to make sure that they count.

Whether your kids are playing baseball or softball, if they can hit the ball like they want then they will enjoy playing so much more. There's nothing worse than watching a player walk back to the dugout dejected and sad.So what can you do as a parent to instill confidence at the plate? The best way to accomplish this is with repetition.

Unless you are willing to pitch to your kids 200 balls a day then they won't get the kind of repetition that will improve their batting. Plus, unless you have Nolan Ryan accuracy, you won't be doing your kids any favors by having them swing at pitches outside the strike zone. And, you'll save your arm for throwing that football in the fall.The best tool for repetition is a pitching machine.

Pitching machines come in a variety of types and costs. Some have large wheels and run on gas motors and can feed up to 12 baseball sized balls. Some are just for baseball and others just for softball. These are usually expensive for a parent to purchase and are bulky and can't be self-operated safely by young batters.The less expensive options are portable whiffle ball pitching machines.

Most of these use the golf ball sized whiffle balls and run on rechargeable batteries so they can be used almost anywhere. Plus, they are just as effective for softball players as baseball players.Many ask, "Why golf ball sized whiffle balls?" The small balls force the batter to concentrate more and to aim for a smaller target. When you can hit a small target consistently then a larger target will be even easier to hit. Plus the small balls are inexpensive and can still be thrown at high speeds.

The whiffle ball pitching machines are lightweight, some hold up to 100 whiffle balls, adjusts from 20 mph to 60 mph, pitch consistently, can pitch curve balls and sliders from both right hand and left hand pitchers.Best of all, the whiffle ball pitching machines are FUN! Kids and adults of all ages have fun hitting from these machine and it truly has the ability to increase the confidence and ability of young and older batters in a matter of minutes.

About The Author-- Anthony Stai is a proud contributing author and writes articles on several sports related topics including baseball. To learn more about the Personal Pitcher and a unique opportunity to get a FREE Personal Pitcher visit Free Personal Pitcher Pitching Machine at http://www.squidoo.com/personalpitcher for all the details and a personal review.

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Baseball Drills - Hitting Problems? - Check The Lower Half First

By Nate Barnett

There are very few things more frustrating to an athlete than than to struggle at the plate as a hitter and not understand where the problem stems from. When I work with hitters, I focus on perfecting the functions of lower body mechanics because of the affect the lower body has on the upper half. Trying to solve upper body hitting mechanics without addressing the lower half first is like attempting to build a house beginning with the second story prior to building the basement - it doesn't work too well.

Some of the common mistakes that can be ironed out with some common lower body baseball drills are:
1. Collapsing of the backside (shoulder dipping)
2. Front side (hip) flying open
3. Hunching over the plate (upper body)
4. Hands extending away from body through swing

Here is what to check for as you work with the lower body mechanics of your athletes during some baseball drills.

As the hitter shifts some weight onto his back leg (the load) prior to the pitch, look to see if that weight continues to stay on the back side as the swing begins. Many hitters have the problem of letting their hips slide forward towards the pitcher during the beginning stages of the swing. This problem (often called floating) can be a major cause of some of the above problems.

Because I understand that visualizing the process I'm referring to in text can be tricky, there are a couple videos posted on my blog that will illustrate a proper trigger and lower body mechanics. Upon entering my blog, click on hitting on the left hand side of the screen and you will be able to view that will illustrate what I've written on.

About the Author
Nate Barnett is owner of BMI Baseball http://bmibaseball.com and is based out of Washington State. His expertise is in the area of hitting, pitching, and mental training. Coach Barnett's passion is working with youth in helping expand their vision for their baseball future. After finishing a professional career in the Seattle Mariners Organization, Nate pursued his coaching and motivational training career. His instructional blog is located at http://bmibaseball.com/blog
His new FREE ebook, Toxic Baseball: Are you polluting your game? can be found on the main BMI Baseball website.
Hitting 101, an ebook on complete hitting mechanics will be released by June 1st, 2008. Features include numerous illustrations, video clips, and a special offer to discuss your hitting questions over live on the phone strategy sessions.

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How To Throw Baseball Curving Ball

How To Throw Baseball Curving Ball
Expert Author: M. Awara

The curveball grip is fairly simple and, unlike other pitches, allows a pitcher to maintain a good grip on the ball, and therefore, control, and throwing an effective curveball involves more than just your arm. There is no specific moment when a coach or parent will say it is time now to throw curving ball.

However, the proper age for the player to be able to throw curving ball is 14 or 15 years old. If young players throw curveballs on a consistent basis at younger ages they can cause damage to their elbows and thus hinder the growth process.

The mechanics of throwing a curveball are completely different from a fastball. The path of the ball on a fastball is generally far from your head. In the case of a curveball, the path will be much closer to your head. There are several key elements to the curveball that must be followed in order to throw the pitch properly:

First of all, start out by hiding your baseball in the palm of your glove. There is no need to advertise what type of pitch you are about to make. The same applies to your windup. Do not use it to advertise what you are about to do. Keep the batter guessing for as long as you can. Grip the ball with your middle and index fingers together, with the fingers across the seams of the ball at the widest part (the widest distance between the seams). Keep a tight grip on the ball, especially with the middle finger. Don't let the ball touch the palm of your hand, or you won't generate enough topspin, which is what allows the ball to drop when it gets close to home plate.

Practice developing your speed as you master your form and stance. Speed is a very important factor in your delivery. Curveballs with little speed are easily hit by the batter as any batter that is any good will seek to determine the particulars of the pitch and respond accordingly. The more time the batter has to gauge the speed and angle of the throw, the easier it will be to successfully launch your curveball into the outfield.

When releasing a curveball, your wrist will be hooked and your hand will pull down in front of your body. It is important that you release the ball close to your body (Short Arm). The further you release from your body, the less resistance your middle finger will have on the seam and therefore your rotation will be looser.

M. AwaraYou can read more articles about Baseball and many other Sports different topics, visit http://www.onlineweblibrary.com

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