Good Coaches Take Nothing for Granted – Valuable Base Running Tips
“Baseball is a game of inches,” is an often-used phrase and nowhere is that more evident than with base running. Saving an inch or two when running the bases makes all the difference whether players are out or safe and makes a difference in the win/loss column. A couple inches here and there mean a […]
Preseason Timing Tips for Hitting
I have seen so many kids season ruined before the season even gets close to starting. Dad or team coach takes player(s) to the batting cages and sets the speed at game speed on their first day of hitting, after a long offseason. It is important to realize that hitters’ eyes are not close to […]
College Baseball Showcases – Good or Bad?
I am often asked about whether college baseball showcases are worth attending. In general, I answer, “Yes, if affordable and if the showcase is not an apparent money grab. Attending one or two is a good experience for kids for a few reasons. One, it gives player (& parent) an idea of how they compare […]
Hitting Drills using Two Batting Tees to “Stay” Fundamentally Sound
Three important ingredients of a good baseball swing are staying compact, staying inside the ball, and staying through the ball. The following drills involve using two batting tees. These drills work on good hitting fundamentals and just as important, give hitters a better understanding of what those ingredients mean. 1. “High, Low tee drill” develops […]
Valuable Off-Season Baseball Tips Parents and Players should Consider
1. With the Holidays coming, it is a good time to assess your child’s baseball equipment for next season. Do they need a new bat, glove, etc…? If yes, do some research so that you have a good idea exactly what brand, size bat they need and desire – remember once used, gear is not returnable, […]
How to Help the Baseball Player that is Extremely Hard on Himself
Baseball is a difficult game to begin with. Add in a child, who is very hard on himself when he fails, and parents have the recipe for many unhappy nights. This type child is often difficult to reason with and parents may feel like their child needs outside help. That may be true. First, parents […]
Valuable Tips so Your Batting Tee is not a Waste of Money
One thing I always ask my baseball and softball students is “How many of you have a batting tee?” and the answer is usually encouraging with a number of hands being raised. I follow that up with “How many of you use your batting tee regularly? To which very few hands shoot up. I admire […]
Make the Players the Coaches: Team Fielding Drill for Guaranteed Fun
Let me warn you that this drill is only for kids under the age of thirteen. As all coaches know, once kids hit the age of thirteen, their personalities change and this drill will not work very well. In fact, try this and coaches will get the “Are you serious” look from players. However, for […]
Developing Clutch Baseball Players
Clutch baseball players are able to focus in the moment. They do this by understanding the things they can control, which is simply the ball and the situation at hand. Clutch hitters understand that they can only control two things: getting a good pitch and taking a good swing. Clutch pitchers believe in the pitch […]
A Pre Game Infield Alternative You should be Using
As coaches, we constantly try to convince our players to practice the same way they play in games, with the same focus and intensity. Then coaches proceed to take pre-game infield practice in an un-game like manner. Hitting the ball to a player, who knows the ball is coming in a position-by-position designated way, is […]
Having an Offseason Baseball Plan
The end of July is one of those transition times of year when kids stop competing in baseball and begin playing or practicing for another sport. Playing multiple sports when young is good and a great form of conditioning. Taking a break from playing any sport for a while is also OK, as long as […]
Baseball, More Than the Fundamentals
Recently, I was asked to evaluate players for a 13-year-old travel baseball tryout. I was surprisingly impressed and disappointed at the same time. Impressed with the baseball skills that many of the young players displayed, but disappointed with the athleticism of a majority of the kids. Many of the players had good baseball fundamentals, but […]
Leadership – What it Takes
Leadership is often lacking on our playing fields, even at the highest levels of sport. It certainly makes a coach’s life easier when they have a player, or two, who has leadership skills. Of course, good coaches develop leaders by showing youth players how to deal with the various situations that sport present, good and […]
Helping Ballplayers Eliminate Fear of Being Hit by the Ball
Let’s face it, when you get hit by a pitched ball, it hurts. When a ball hits young ballplayers, it can lead to such fear of being hit that it actually ends their desire to continue playing. Sometimes, nothing will work, but with time and patience, this fear can disappear. One thing that I have […]
Not so Obvious Baseball Tips – Teaching the Game
Since retiring from major league baseball many years ago, I have studied and taught the game to many. I wish I had a few extra bucks for every time I thought to myself, “If I only knew then what I know now.” The good news is that what I know now, I pass on to […]
Ten Hitting Tips that Guarantee Success
Never accept mediocrity. When hitters have good hand, eye coordination there is no reason for inconsistent contact – work harder on the fundamentals. Hitters do not need to know what they are doing wrong but they need to know how to adjust. I often tell my students that no one forces them to […]
Keeping It Simple – 4 Keys to Hitting and Pitching Success
I have been teaching baseball for a long time and feel like I could spend hours and hours discussing the fundamentals of the game. Along the same lines, I believe I could list well over 100 baseball drills. In addition, I wrote a two hundred-page book on all aspects of hitting and […]
Batting Practice using Pitching Machines – Good or Bad?
Frequently, I receive this question from my student’s parents, “Should I take him/her to the batting cages.” You would think my response is, “Sure, practice is good.” However, it is not that simple an answer for a number of reasons. First, and this is often my response, “Let’s wait awhile, because they are just going […]
How to Raise Your Batting Average
It is true that major league players, who get two hits for every ten at-bats, go back to the minor leagues and those, who get three hits ever ten at-bats, are superstars. What a difference just one hit every ten at-bats make. All baseball players want to hit for a high batting average […]
How to Analyze Your Son’s Baseball Swing – 3 Basics to Look For
Some hitting faults like stepping out, over-striding, swinging early or late, upper cutting, pulling off the ball and taking the eye off the ball are obvious flaws that even casual baseball observers can notice. Many hitters’ mistakes are not nearly as obvious and take a trained baseball eye to know the swing problem. […]
How to Teach Hitters to Keep their Eye on the Ball
Every time a player swings and misses a pitched ball, observers, automatically, assume the hitter took their eye off the ball. In reality, that is rarely the case because most missed balls are due to poor timing or bad fundamental swings. However, there is some basis for the statement. It is very […]
Should Your Child Should Play Travel Baseball?
As youth baseball season is about to begin, many families will begin to wonder whether their child is ready to play travel baseball next season. The good news is that because of the great amount of travel baseball teams around today, most players can usually find a travel team to play on. The bad news […]
10 Tips to Develop a Complete Baseball Player
Of course, not all youth players can become star baseball players. However, becoming a well-rounded baseball player is the result when parents and youth coaches do many of the following things to help: 1. Bigger, stronger, and faster athletes advance the most, so having young athletes perform age-appropriate speed and strengthening programs is […]
Catching the Fun of Throwing a Baseball
It does not take long for kids to get bored with a game of catch, whether it is with mom or dad in the back yard or at baseball practice. Often, players get bored quickly with playing catch and want to move on to fielding or hitting right away. The problem is that many kids […]
How to Run a Great Baseball Practice
The key to running a great baseball practice is organization. Coaches should map out their practices so that there is little wasted time. Preseason practices should cover every important aspect of baseball for the age of the player. In the regular season, coaches can gear their practice time to cover parts of the game most […]
Talk Like an Expert and Help Youth Baseball Players “Stay” in the Game
Spring training is right around the corner for young ball players, too, so parents and youth coaches have to get up to speed on good baseball teaching terms. There is one word that is necessary to teach baseball. Adults need to know this word to help them sound like an expert and so they can […]
5 Habits Sports Parents and Coaches Should Avoid
Often, the parental pressure that parents place on young baseball players is subtle, but builds over time to the point where kids no longer want to play. The resulting kids’ desire to quit baseball comes as a surprise and disappointment to parents, which creates additional tension between them. Parents and coaches, who avoid these negative […]
Jack Perconte: Providing “The Fix” – 3 Hitting Solutions
Many people, who have a basic knowledge of baseball, can look at a young hitter and figure out what they are doing wrong. Certain things like stepping out, over-striding, swinging early or late, upper cutting, pulling off the ball and taking their eye off the ball are fairly obvious flaws. The solutions to these problems […]
Baseball is a Head Game and How to Fix It
This article is probably not what you think. You are probably thinking I am talking about what baseball players should be thinking about on the ball field – the mental game of baseball. Actually, this article is about the physical aspect of a baseball player’s head and how important the location of the head is […]
How to Make the Baseball Team: 5 Important Tryout Tips
Of course, there is no substitute for ballplayers, who are trying out for a team, to display good baseball skills in order to make the team. Good baseball skills and knowledge of the game are the things that baseball coaches are looking for during tryouts. However, often players have equal abilities and who makes the […]