Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Youth Baseball Drills Are a Valuable Aspect of the Game, Learn Them When You Are Young!

By Joseph Harrison Jr

There are many youth baseball drills that a coach can use to aid his team in becoming better. And, the more of these that a coach employs, the more apt a baseball team will be at gaining that competitive edge.

Let's begin with discussing the different aspects of the game itself and then follow with a discussion about each one individually. There are three main areas that a new player will be most concerned with, and each is equally important.

Hitting drills should include the stance, the rotation of the hips during the swing, and the swing itself. The stance will include the player having their feet apart so as to feel comfortable and the proper gripping of the bat.

An especially good drill does not even use a ball. It will simply include the coach standing on the mound and winding up as if they are going to pitch and throwing an imaginary pitch. The player wall then watches and to be aware of their actual movements during their swing at this imaginary ball. Where are they holding their weight? Are their knees bent? Did they drop their hands? Did they keep their head up? Did they step into the ball or toward third base, or even out of the batting box itself? Did they rotate at the hips or was their power coming from their arms?

Now, let's assume that a player has hit the ball and needs to run the bases.

There are many drills that will help with this aspect too. For example, on a single hit, have the players run through the first base bag. Then, after they have run through the bag, have them know which way to turn. For example, by turning to the right, the player would be considered safe. However, if the player turns to the left, then they would still be considered in play and can easily be tagged out. A coach can call out, single, double, or triple and have each player run from home plate through the bases depending what the coach had called out. This allows the players the ability to think while running.

Catching is probably the easiest aspect to learn, but the hardest to master. It takes good eye and hand coordination and the ability to use both at once. Many times, a new player will be afraid of being hit with the ball and this will limit him in the beginning. But, by simply tossing a baseball back and forth and letting the player have the opportunity to appreciate the catch itself, their confidence will grow and they will no longer fear getting hit. Also, a good drill for catching grounders is for the players to line up opposite one another and roll the ball back and forth on the ground. This will allow the players to develop the ability to field a ground ball.

While there are many different types of youth baseball drills that can be used as a learning tool, keep in mind that the basics are probably best when starting with younger players.

I am Joseph Harrison, a baseball coach since 20 years ago. I love baseball since I am young, especially the feeling when you know you will absolutely crush the ball. Training your kid to gain interest in baseball will benefit him from both mentally and physically. In with he will gain team spirit, learn how to cope with teammates, and at the same time train up his physical, and concentration (to have good eye and hand coordination and the ability to use both at once). Go through my article and you will know all the benefits of baseball.

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