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 [...]
What is the difference between cage hitting and field batting practice? I have seen baseball players that were awesome hitters in batting cages. You couldn’t throw the ball by them. They hit every ball hard. To see if batting cage hitters are real hitters, we incorporate field batting practice with live pitching and situations after [...]
Aside from innate baseball talent and pure baseball instincts enhanced by playing a lot, the best attribute a player can have is mental toughness or the ability to cope, adjust, and learn from tough situations and failure on the baseball field. Many professional baseball players have not lived up to their own or others’ expectations [...]
I have seen significant changes to how youth baseball has been “taught” in the U.S. since the 1960s. And the change hasn’t been positive. I didn’t say “coached” because coaching refers to strategy and competition. The concentration of youth baseball today must be on skill development, rules understanding, and team play. We need teaching coaches [...]
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 [...]
If you ever played with dominos, you know that all of the pieces need to be lined up correctly for the chain reaction to occur causing every piece to fall by simply pushing over the first one in line. Failing to think properly or not having the right mental approach before each at-bat is similar [...]
Coaching baseball in northern climates can be extremely challenging, as coaches are forced to train their players in confined, indoor spaces during the pre-season months. Furthermore, some high school baseball programs do not even have adequate gym space to get their players ready for spring, and are forced to conduct practices in hallways or even [...]
Ted Williams was quoted as saying that “hitting and pitching are the same” when it comes to teaching and coaching those skills. Who am I to argue with the most gifted hitter in baseball history?! I will however try to explain that statement. Let’s start with the hitter’s back foot pivot. Every professional hitter digs [...]
I recently watched a 10-year old B championship game in a Chicagoland suburb and was pleasantly surprised by their level of play. It wasn’t the players’ individual skills that wowed me but their knowledge and execution of baseball plays. In the span of two innings there was a perfect cutoff throw from an outfielder to [...]