Baseball Coaching Tips - Some Are Simply Not True

False Baseball Coaching Tips

By Larry Cicchiello

Here is a list of 7 baseball coaching tips or beliefs that are overused and were either wrong from the start or have become totally obsolete:

Come on Johnny, get your elbow up. The reference is to the height of the back elbow when hitting. You will very often hear this hollered to a young player by a coach, manager or one of his parents. Some young players raise their back elbow up by their back ear. This is not a comfortable position for most hitters. It's much more efficient to have the back elbow just below shoulder height. If a hitter wants to make an adjustment up or down, only then should the back elbow be raised or lowered.

If you're going to get beat, get beat on your best pitch. Let's say that a pitcher's best pitch is the fastball and the batter is a very good fastball hitter. Let's say that the pitcher's second best pitch is a good curve ball and that batter has had trouble with his curve ball in the past. It would make no sense for that pitcher to get beat on his best pitch, the fast ball, with the game on the line. Forget this myth.

Don't look at the ball, just run. All good base runners DO look at the ball. This is not to say that if you hit a grounder to the infield you should be looking at the grounder while running to first base. On the other hand, there are many, many times where you should be looking at the ball. Good base runners very seldom need a coach to guide them while running. They watch the ball, the fielder and watch the play unfold. The infamous quote of, "don't look at the ball, just run," should be changed to, "don't just run, look at the ball."

Come on Jimmy, level swing. Many young players hear this hollered out so often that as soon as they start their swing, they try to make sure it's level. This is one of the worst baseball coaching tips they will ever hear. The proper baseball swing is not level at all. If a hitter levels out his swing at the very beginning, he can be virtually guaranteed he will be late on every fastball because he is not being "short to the ball." The swing starts out going downward with the back of the bottom hand facing the pitcher and not facing the sky. Only at the point where you are making contact should the swing be level, with one palm facing up and the other palm facing down. Being a fraction of a second late when swinging the bat is an eternity!

Catch the ball with two hands. This is often hollered out to a younger player who is catching a pop up or a fly ball. Baseball gloves have come a long way in the last few decades.They are much bigger and better. Putting your bare hand next to your glove hand when catching pop ups or fly balls will be more trouble than it's worth. It can easily interfere with your catching the ball with these very good, modernized gloves.

Touch the bases with your right foot when running. The concern used to be that if a runner touches a base with their left foot, they may trip over the base with their right foot. That is obsolete now. It makes no sense whatsoever to "stutter step" and lose precious time when running around the bases.

The perfect count to put on the hit and run is 2-0 or 3-1. This started several decades ago is very played out. To have a batter be forced to swing at a 2-0 pitch that would be a ball and make the count 3-0 is senseless.The same holds true on the 3-1 count. To have a batter be forced to swing at a 3-1 pitch that would be ball 4 is a scary strategy.

In 95% or more of all cases, good baseball coaching tips of fifty years ago are still good today. There are a few things however, that have evolved.

Larry is the successful author of several very user friendly eBooks and CD's covering 320 topics on playing or coaching excellent baseball. ANY player, coach or parent who wants to help their child will be fully equipped! Check out some FREE baseball tips on hitting and FREE baseball pitching tips at LarryBaseball.com.

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

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Little League Digest - Proper Baseball Swing Mechanics and the "Belly Button" Rule of Hip Turn

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By Nick Dixon

Little league Digest: Baseball Batting Coaching Tips: Teaching Hip Turn Mechanics and Using the "Belly Button" Rule to Improve Baseball Swing Quality

The hips play an important part in the baseball swing process. The turn of the hips helps to generate power and bat speed. There are several important coaching points about the involvement of the hips in the swing. The "B B" rule is one good way to teach young players the degree of hip turn on various pitch locations. This article presents several coaching points and explains the "B B" rule.

Here are 10 Coaching Points related to Hip Movement Mechanics:

1. The degree of hip movement is determined by the location of the pitch.

2. The hips must turn more when hitting an inside pitch.

3. The hips will turn less when hitting a pitch away.

4. The hips should not move before the hands and bat.

5. To free the hips, the back foot must spin, rotate or turn onto the toe.

6. The hips follow the barrel. The hips should open behind the barrel, not before it.

7. Premature front side or hip movement will cause a batter to pull the head and to pull of pitches.

8. The correct hip movement is a spin. Lunging or sliding the hips forward is not acceptable.

9. The hip movement should be a thrust or fast rotation. The faster the rotation of the hips, the faster the bats speed.

10. The degree of hip rotation can be taught by teaching the "Belly Button" rule as explained below.

The "Belly Button Rule" is explained as the following:

The Belly Button should follow the barrel of the bat through the baseball swing process. The location of a pitch determines hip turn. The degree of hip turn determines where the belly button is pointing when the batter finishes the baseball swing. The belly button should always finish in a position that points toward the direction in which the baseball was hit.

For example, when a ball is hit to the opposite field, the batters "Button" should point or be directed toward the opposite field when the swing is completed. If a batter pulls an inside pitch, the belly button should follow the ball and point toward the direction in which the ball was hit.

Coaching Point: For right and left handed batters, if the ball is hit through the box, up the middle, the belly button should "shine" or point toward second base when the swing is complete. For right handed batter, is a ball is pulled, the belly button should finish pointing toward third base. If a right handed batter hits the baseball down the right field line, the button should point toward first base when the swing is completed. If a left handed batter pulls the baseball, the hips should turn completely and the button should finish pointing at first base. If a left handed batter hits the ball to left field, the hips should turn less and the belly button should finish the swing pointing the 5-6 hole or between 3rd and 2nd base.

I hope that you found this article to be informative and helpful. Thanks for taking the time to read it. I wish you and your team good luck this 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 Little League Digest the Baseball Parent Guide, the Baseball 2Day Coaches Journal, and Blog4Coaches.

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


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Sports Psychology and Baseball Hitting Tips - How and Why to Relax at the Plate

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Article Title: Sports Psychology and Baseball Hitting Tips - How and Why to Relax at the Plate
By Jay Granat

The baseball season is about to begin and I already getting calls from parents, players and coaches who are concerned about hitting slumps.

Anyone who has played baseball for any length of time has experienced the frustration of an extended hitting slump. And there are many causes of these performance valleys.

Some of the causes are physical. A breakdown in mechanics, poor balance, poor technique, a moving head, a tight grip on the bat or an injury can contribute to poor performance by baseball players.

Some of the causes of hitting slumps are mental. A batter who has been hit by a pitch can be scared in the batter's box. A player who has been hitting poorly can lose his confidence. A batter who is worried about impressing his coach, his parents or a scout can become quite anxious. A player who is conflict with teammates may find it hard to hit to his potential. Similarly, a player with stress related to his or her life off the field can have difficulty concentrating when he or she steps up to the plate.

Also, it is important to understand that there are many relationships between the mind and the body where hitting a baseball is concerned. For instance, a nervous player is apt to grip the baseball bat too tightly. Likewise, a tense player is apt have difficulty turning on a pitch.

Interestingly, some people believe that our vision gets worse when we are tense and that it improves when we are relaxed.

There are many ways to relax one's mind and one's body before you get up to bat.

Players can learn relaxation techniques, meditation, visualization or self-hypnosis. Some players benefit from listening to music in the dugout or before a game. Others do some aerobics before they take the field as they find that this helps them to relax when they get up to bat.

Tension will work against you at the plate, so it is important that baseball players learn how to get very comfortable when they face the opposing pitcher.

Jay P. Granat, Ph.D. is a psychotherapist and the founder of http://www.stayinthezone.com. He is also the author of 101 Ways To Break A Hitting Slump With Sport Psychology And Self-Hypnosis. http://www.stayinthezone.com/shop-stay-in-the-zone.html?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=21

Dr. Granat can be reached at 888 580-ZONE.

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

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Little League Baseball Coach: Don't Overlook Any of Your Players

By Larry Cicchiello

As a baseball coach, I've always enjoyed watching my so called "superstars" perform. Hitting a "seed" up the gap or pitching six scoreless innings is lots of fun to watch. But I also enjoy a player who has been struggling and then overcomes any baseball struggles.

I've had my share of championships and have enjoyed them tremendously. After one of them, my 10-11-12 year old team doused me with many different colors of an athletic beverage. One of my player's mothers asked me if it feels terrible. I was sticky, slimy and multi-colored from head to toe, including my glasses. I looked at her in honest disbelief and replied "no not at all, it feels great." Being a very competitive coach, what mattered to me was my kids were celebrating their championship victory.

OK, so we all enjoy winning and I'll put myself at the top of the list.

Now I want to switch gears for a moment and let's forget about winning, home runs, shutouts and all the other things our outstanding players accomplish.

I want to share with you a story about Nick, a 12 year old I coached back in 2002.

I knew Nick off the baseball field and knew he was a great kid with great parents. That's why I drafted him that year and in future years as well. We went to the batting cages about three weeks before our season began. I had never seen several of the kids swing a bat, including Nick. I had my clip board in hand to jot down notes as to what I need to work on with certain players. I watched Nick and after only one or two of his swings, I saw a glaring weakness. Nick had this "long and looping" swing and was over matched by every pitch. Constantly late on every pitch. I jotted this down. I mentioned this to Nick, a very intelligent kid. We went to the cages a couple of more times and he is still "long and looping" to the baseball. I'm not getting through to Nick.

Our regular season begins and Nick is struggling big time. After about ten games Nick is hitless for the year. Hitless as in 0-20 for the year. I'm coaching third base and Nick is up. He has a count of 2-2. For about the hundredth time, I call out to Nick, "come on Nick, short to the ball." I then actually demonstrated it to him as if I were holding the bat.

Nick is a right-handed hitter and the pitcher throws him a fastball over the outside portion of the plate. With this lightning quick motion, Nick throws the head of the bat directly at the ball. It almost looked like a quick karate chop. He hits a seed into the right-center field gap and gets a stand up double. I can't describe the great feeling I had. Remember, this is a great kid who had been severely struggling at the plate. Nick is standing on second base and looking toward home plate in his usual humble fashion. I called out to Nick. Before he completely turned his head toward me, I could already see a very, very huge grin. When we are making eye contact, I wave my right fist in the air at about head height. Nick, who is usually refined and quiet, shakes his fist back at me so aggressively that I honestly thought he could have injured his right shoulder. Really.

Sure, I remember many details of playoff victories and championship victories. Who got the big hits, who pitched great, who made game saving defensive plays, etc.

But I remember Nick's seed to right-center like it happened five minutes ago and not seven years ago. If you are into baseball coaching, maybe you have a player similar to Nick on your team. Helping that player will be at least as rewarding as any playoff or championship victory. And believe me, I love to win.

Once in a while, it's good to take a step back and not just focus on baseball tips on hitting, baseball pitching tips, etc. Occasionally looking at baseball from a different point of view is very healthy.

Larry is the president of Larwenty Online EnterprisesInc. and also the author of "Excellent Baseball Coaching: 30 Seconds Away." If you are a baseball player or are involved in baseball coaching at any level of play or a parent who wants to help your child improve, you will be fully equipped! His baseball website offers several FREE baseball tips from his very informative and very fairly priced eBooks.

Larry's baseball website is http://www.larrybaseball.com/.

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

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Youth Baseball Digest - 4 Important Factors That Can Help New Little League Coaches Be Successful

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By Nick Dixon

The 4 Most Important Rules that all New Little League Baseball Coaches Should Follow

Coaching Little league is a great way for baseball and softball players to give back to your community. Every baseball player remembers his first t-ball coach, coach pitch coach, little league coach, and high school coach. Baseball coaches have a profound effect on the lives of the players they coach. Being or becoming a great youth baseball coach requires a high level of commitment and dedication. There are 3 important rules that every new little league coach must always follow. Those rules are:

1. You must be a student of the game. To be a good youth baseball coach, you must have a good knowledge of how the game is played, how the rules are applied, and how certain skills and drills are performed. If you feel uncomfortable about a certain position, skill or fundamental, look for help. You may ask another coach. You may go to your local library or book store and find a book on how to coach baseball. You have access to an enormous amount of information about every aspect of the game through your computer and the internet.

2. You must have good help. You can never have too much help when coaching a youth team. Ask your parents and friends to find other volunteers to help you coach your team. It is best to have a parent meeting. Ask for parent volunteers. The parents that volunteer to help should choose a specific area in which they concentrate their effort. You will need at least 2 good assistant coaches. One needs to have enough knowledge and patience to be the pitching coach. One should be the hitting coach.

3. You must remediate your weaker players. In you draft, you may find that you must pick children that are good at certain skills but extremely week in other areas.One often overlooked and neglected aspect of coaching is remediation/ Remediation is special attention and help given to those players that need it. This is a job for what I refer to as the remediation coach. The coach that takes one or two players to the side and works on specific areas of the game in which they are too weak to compete. They may need help with swing mechanics, throwing mechanics, or simple footwork. These kids will master these skills easier and faster when they receive one-on-one personal attention. These "tutoring" lessons pay back huge returns if you can have enough help. The theory is that you must bring every player up to a certain level or much valuable team time will be lost to working with them during team drills. It is best to take these kids aside and work them separately from the team until they get their skill levels up. These lessons should be done in such a way to not embarrass the child or players involved.

4. You must work hard and set a good example. A willingness to work hard may be the most important trait of a successful coach. They work hard at planning, organizing, and executing individual and team drills for both offense and defense. They have high energy levels and are always willing to put forth that little extra effort to make a practice or game run smother.

I hope that you found this article to be helpful. Good luck to you and your team. 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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