Drills, Drills and More Drills
Drills are a great way to get the player to feel what you are trying to get them to feel. If done properly, they can benefit the players immensely. If done improperly, they are reinforcing bad habits.
“Practice doesn’t make perfect, practice makes permanent.”
Occupy Baseball, 99% vs. 1%
This time of year, many travel baseball teams here in the Midwest have secured inside training facilities on a weekly basis. Travel baseball is big business now. Players pay a pretty penny for coaches, training, leagues and tournaments. Training sessions for teams inside can last anywhere from an 1-2 hours. If your team is lucky enough (or has spent enough money), you will rent a field and some cages.
Fielding Footwork
While it’s safe to assume that the vast majority of major leaguers possess great arm strength, a closer look may reveal something you might not expect. Players seldom during a game “air it out.” Not every pitch or play requires a player to use 100% of his arm speed/strength. But when they have to, how do they do it?
What Really Loses The Game
Time and time again throughout the course of the season, games are lost more frequently by poor fielding. Think back to last year and remember how many times you won and lost and what the cause was. A missed ground ball, fly ball or bad throw turns into a run(s). An extra out may be all a team needs to push across the winning run or build a cushion to put the game out of reach.
Hand Path
The hand path is one of the most critical parts of the baseball swing, and the hardest to perfect. Being able to get your hands “On plane” with the pitch as quickly as possible is so difficult because during the swing it’s not just the hands that play a role, it’s also dependent on body rotation.
Offseason Home Workout
Tips
One of the hardest exercises for kids to do is a push up. Until you get to the point where you can do a good push up, here are some tips to make them easier.
- Do push ups on your knees. The arm position remains the same, just make sure your body is straight when doing the exercise.
- Do incline push ups. Maybe do them on the 2nd or 3rd stair up a flight of stairs, just make sure when you lower your body, the stair your hands are on comes right to your chest.
**Form matters to get the full benefit of the exercise
Strength and Speed Stations
Prisoner Squats
Keep back straight and upright. Get as deep as possible on squat. Drive through your heels.
Forward Lunges
Big Step. Do not allow your rear knee touch the ground. Do not allow hands to touch legs. Explode back up to starting position in one motion.