When travel league schedules revolve around tournament play, winning inherently becomes the primary focus. Rarely do travel baseball teams have time to practice because of the number of scheduled games and the associated travel. This is a glaring problem with travel baseball. Kids need a combination of practice and games to best facilitate athletic development. [...]
When I grew up in the 1980s, we all played house league. At the end of the season, the best players made the All Star team, which then competed against other community All Star teams in a post-season tournament. Then youth organizations decided to create teams that played a part-time travel schedule and a part-time [...]
Obviously, the most glaring problem with travel baseball is the ridiculous amount of games many kids are playing during the summer. Clearly, there is a problem when 10 year old kids are playing the same amount of games, if not more, as Major League Baseball’s Rookie League Players. The risk of physical fatigue and injury [...]
Originally designed for middle and high school aged baseball players, summer travel teams are now providing opportunities for kids as young as 8 years old. I have even heard that in certain parts of the country they are offering travel t-ball. These youth league teams travel all around the country like big leaguers so kids [...]
Opening up the front side early as a pitcher or a hitter will spell complete disaster unless it is corrected when it is identified. When a baseball pitcher’s front side opens before the front foot hits the ground, there is an inordinate amount of stress placed on the throwing shoulder because of overrotation with no [...]
How precise you are as a pitcher determines if you will be a starter or reliever. Pitchers that maintain command and velocity longer in games will be starters. They are able to repeat their deliveries which will make their pitch location and speed consistent. Starting baseball pitchers know the importance of correct baseball pitching mechanics. [...]
The fundamentals of the stride in baseball pitching and hitting are the same. The only difference in pitching and hitting strides is the length. Consequences of understriding and overstriding The pitching delivery and swing are initiated by striding with the front foot. If the stride is too short, baseball pitchers and hitters will rotate their [...]
Purposely showing youth baseball players the wrong mechanics first can often help them grasp the correct fundamentals quicker. We instruct pitchers to land their front foot heel first. We know this will result in cutting off their hip rotation and jarring their throwing release point. We then tell them why this technique is wrong. At [...]
The stride—movement of the front leg before contact—might be the most over taught aspect of the baseball swing. Personally, I don’t care how a hitter strides, as long as they stride to balance. Some hitters, like Juan Gonzales, kick up their front leg as if they were pitching. Other hitters, such as Chipper Jones and [...]
Rotational movement is any type of movement in a circular motion. Ultimately, it is this type of motion that generates the speed and power hitters need. Once the hitter strides to his balanced position, he needs to rotate his hips towards the pitcher. Another way of feeling this motion is to turn the belly button [...]