By Jim Bain
I was driving past the junior college the other day when I noticed the parking lots were filled to the maximum, which would not have been strange if school was in session, but it wasn't. As I slowed, being nosey, I saw the baseball field was swarming with baseball players of all sizes and dress and realized what was going on.
Either the college or a professional ball club was holding tryouts, and based on the amount of participation, I was betting a major league team. I actually became nauseous to my stomach, sympathy pains for the players, as visions of my first try out flooded my mind. I know it sounds silly, but I actually pulled the truck over to the side of the road to allow my hands to quit trembling.
Try out sessions are either by invitation or a general open session which any one can attend, which an open session may seem crazy as every Tom, Dick and Harry could show up, but believe me, they weed out the impostors incredibly fast.
A player, who is very honest with himself, knows if he actually feels he can play at this level, but that does absolutely nothing to calm the nerves. The saying " A big fish in a little pond... is now a small fish in a big pond," definitely applies in this situation.
For the most part, even on traveling teams, you've seen most of the competition you'll be up against, but suddenly there are literally a hundred unfamiliar faces with unknown talents in which to compete against. If your stomach is not in knots by this time, you may be dead, because no matter how good you are, there's always the doubt someone's better.
As I said earlier, they weed out the want-to-be and other non-qualified contestants rather quickly. The very first measure they use to evaluate you is your size. Too short, too fat, small frame and whatever criteria they may have gets you a polite " Thanks, but no thanks." You've been cut without ever having an opportunity to show your skills.
You'll then be herded like cattle into different groups and put through physical tests, such as a 40 or 60 yard dash, timed from home to first, home to home, left field to center field, the list goes on and on. This cuts the field down dramatically, again without seeing any baseball skills.
I won't go any further with the try out explanation, because from what I experienced they are all a little different. Maybe one coach puts more emphasis on a physical requirement than another, or they want to keep everyone guessing as to what they'll be tested on, doesn't matter why, just know they are.
There are four tips I can give you if you're contemplating going to a try out.
1. Come prepared. Glove, bat, spikes, hat and sunglasses are the minimum requirement. I guarantee you nobody will lend you their sunglasses to help cope with a sun field you're going to be trying to catch fungos in.
2. Prepare mentally. Use positive thinking techniques and meditation to calm your nerves and keep self doubt from creeping in. Don't wait until the try out date. Perform these tasks religiously weeks ahead.
3. Pray. With the intense competition, if you truly want to be a professional ball player, a little Devine intervention is required.
4. Don't give up. Some players who were quickly cut because of their size eventually became major league ball players. David Eckstein is a prime example. He was too small, too slow and didn't have the arm to play shortstop at the professional level, yet he became a star doing just that.
Jim Bain, former Minor league baseball player, who since retiring has dedicated his life to teaching baseball to youth, shares his advice on running baseball drills on his exciting info packed website: http://www.learn-youth-baseball-coaching.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jim_Bain
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Coaching Infield Basics
By Jim Bain
As coaches, we stress fundamentals as well as advanced skills while we teach our players, but sometimes in our quest to be the best, we may push our players too far and too fast.
I have seen coaches who have their 8 and 9 year old players practice performing double plays. I'm sure it's happened somewhere at sometime, but in my many years of coaching I've never witnessed a shortstop to second to first double play turned by 8 or 9 year olds. I'm not saying don't expose them to the fundamentals of turning a double play, but don't use half the infield practice time trying to perfect it.
Based on the premise we may push too hard, too fast, let's exam two very basic infield drills which must be mastered.
1. For young players, 6 through 10, at this stage of the game neither you nor the players know for sure where they will eventually find the position they are best suited for, therefore it's important to include All your players in infield practice. Position them as you determine their talents. In other words I wouldn't put a player with a rocket for an arm at second base, but rather at third or shortstop.
2. The Most important skill you can teach an infielder is proper fielding position, because without this skill they'll never become a good infielder.
3. It may sound silly, but it's important you stress to your players a ground ball is just that... it's on the ground. Once they fully comprehend that, the reasoning for the proper fielding position becomes clearer.
A. Player should place feet at shoulder width apart....
B. Knees are bent, upper body leaning forward....
C. Arms are extended, glove in front of the body and visible...
D. As the ball approaches the fielder he should be moving forward to meet the ball, maintaining his low posture...
E. Watch ball all the way into the glove.
These are the basic positions required for a good fielding stance. Drill these into your players no matter how old or how good they think they are.
The second suggestion, which goes along with the fielding stance, is the importance of keeping the ball in front of you. Demonstrate, then practice, that if the ball is kept in front of them, they are still quite capable of throwing the batter out. This teaches two skills.
1. It teaches the player, if possible, to always get in front of the ball when trying to catch it. This will increase his fielding ability a 100% over trying to field the ball on his side.
2. It teaches the fielder to not give up on a booted ball, but to continue the play in an attempt to throw the batter out. How many times have you seen a player quit on a ball, conceding the runner the base, because he didn't field it cleanly?
Sometimes returning to basics is the best way to move forward.
Jim Bain, former Minor league baseball player, who since retiring has dedicated his life to teaching baseball to youth, shares his advice on running baseball drills on his exciting info packed website: http://www.learn-youth-baseball-coaching.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jim_Bain
As coaches, we stress fundamentals as well as advanced skills while we teach our players, but sometimes in our quest to be the best, we may push our players too far and too fast.
I have seen coaches who have their 8 and 9 year old players practice performing double plays. I'm sure it's happened somewhere at sometime, but in my many years of coaching I've never witnessed a shortstop to second to first double play turned by 8 or 9 year olds. I'm not saying don't expose them to the fundamentals of turning a double play, but don't use half the infield practice time trying to perfect it.
Based on the premise we may push too hard, too fast, let's exam two very basic infield drills which must be mastered.
1. For young players, 6 through 10, at this stage of the game neither you nor the players know for sure where they will eventually find the position they are best suited for, therefore it's important to include All your players in infield practice. Position them as you determine their talents. In other words I wouldn't put a player with a rocket for an arm at second base, but rather at third or shortstop.
2. The Most important skill you can teach an infielder is proper fielding position, because without this skill they'll never become a good infielder.
3. It may sound silly, but it's important you stress to your players a ground ball is just that... it's on the ground. Once they fully comprehend that, the reasoning for the proper fielding position becomes clearer.
A. Player should place feet at shoulder width apart....
B. Knees are bent, upper body leaning forward....
C. Arms are extended, glove in front of the body and visible...
D. As the ball approaches the fielder he should be moving forward to meet the ball, maintaining his low posture...
E. Watch ball all the way into the glove.
These are the basic positions required for a good fielding stance. Drill these into your players no matter how old or how good they think they are.
The second suggestion, which goes along with the fielding stance, is the importance of keeping the ball in front of you. Demonstrate, then practice, that if the ball is kept in front of them, they are still quite capable of throwing the batter out. This teaches two skills.
1. It teaches the player, if possible, to always get in front of the ball when trying to catch it. This will increase his fielding ability a 100% over trying to field the ball on his side.
2. It teaches the fielder to not give up on a booted ball, but to continue the play in an attempt to throw the batter out. How many times have you seen a player quit on a ball, conceding the runner the base, because he didn't field it cleanly?
Sometimes returning to basics is the best way to move forward.
Jim Bain, former Minor league baseball player, who since retiring has dedicated his life to teaching baseball to youth, shares his advice on running baseball drills on his exciting info packed website: http://www.learn-youth-baseball-coaching.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jim_Bain
Monday, April 18, 2011
Being a Team Player in Baseball
By Dan Gazaway
I remember a decade ago I was lacing up for our afternoon workout prior the 7pm home game. The director of scouting for the minor leagues would be observing our workout for the next couple days. He'd be working in as one of the coaches but was also there to get a better sense of who among our minor league team could potentially fill the future role on the Big League roster.
I remember clearly our hitting coach said that the ability to place your teammates above your own needs/stats was highly attractive to the organization. He told us that the win/loss of the team reflected more on our unification as a team which said a lot about us as individual players.
How important is a team first mentality in baseball? Think of it this way. There are 162 games in the regular season; throw in about 30 spring training games and dozens of travel days and these guys are around each other most of each day for roughly 60% of the calender year. That is a ton of time. Team dynamics are extremely valuable. It's not the only factor in winning, but it ranks up there as highly important.
Michael Young of the Texas Rangers is one of these hard-working team first guys. Because of his enjoyment of playing for the Rangers, he has no qualms about being shifted around the infield each year. This may not seam like such a big deal, but it's difficult to play at the elite level in many different positions. It takes a certain type of work habit and personality to build new skill sets each year.
I always love to read stories about the good guys in baseball who play the game hard. Michael Young is one of them.
Dan Gazaway is owner and founder of The Pitching Academy in Utah. Dan teaches pitchers how to throw a baseball.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dan_Gazaway
I remember a decade ago I was lacing up for our afternoon workout prior the 7pm home game. The director of scouting for the minor leagues would be observing our workout for the next couple days. He'd be working in as one of the coaches but was also there to get a better sense of who among our minor league team could potentially fill the future role on the Big League roster.
I remember clearly our hitting coach said that the ability to place your teammates above your own needs/stats was highly attractive to the organization. He told us that the win/loss of the team reflected more on our unification as a team which said a lot about us as individual players.
How important is a team first mentality in baseball? Think of it this way. There are 162 games in the regular season; throw in about 30 spring training games and dozens of travel days and these guys are around each other most of each day for roughly 60% of the calender year. That is a ton of time. Team dynamics are extremely valuable. It's not the only factor in winning, but it ranks up there as highly important.
Michael Young of the Texas Rangers is one of these hard-working team first guys. Because of his enjoyment of playing for the Rangers, he has no qualms about being shifted around the infield each year. This may not seam like such a big deal, but it's difficult to play at the elite level in many different positions. It takes a certain type of work habit and personality to build new skill sets each year.
I always love to read stories about the good guys in baseball who play the game hard. Michael Young is one of them.
Dan Gazaway is owner and founder of The Pitching Academy in Utah. Dan teaches pitchers how to throw a baseball.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dan_Gazaway
Friday, April 15, 2011
The Changeup - The Deadliest Pitch In Baseball
By Dan Gazaway
love it when a pitcher has a great changeup. The Circle Change just happens to be one of the deadliest changeups out there. The reason: It not only slows down it has wicked movement.
The Circle Change has a screwball type movement and it breaks down and away. It appears to look like a fastball and is very deceiving to a batters eyes.
To throw this pitch pronate your wrist and forearm slightly inwards. Your arm slot and arms speed is the same as your fastball. Place your fingers in the same position as you do with your fastball (thumb and middle finger split the baseball in half). Next, make a circle with your thumb and index finger. The tighter the circle the more drop you will have. However, your wrist and forearm angle is more important than the grip with this pitch. The most difficult part of this pitch is the forearm angle.
Gripping The Circle Change
The smaller the circle, the more downward movement you will have on the pitch. The slight wrist and forearm pronation is important when throwing the circle change. I recommend starting to throw this pitch making a C-shape instead of a circle when you first try this pitch. You will not find success with this pitch unless you throw the circle (or okay sign) toward home plate; that is what truly slows the pitch down. Most pitcher's think they are throwing a circle or a c-change just by gripping the pitch correctly. The C or Circle is thrown at the cather. Again, Keep your arm speed the same so that the pitch will be deceivingly slow to the hitter.
Arguably the most challenging pitch to learn is the circle change because of how the pitch is released. While the pitch can be tricky to learn, do not alter your body movement or motion in any way while attempting to throw it. Instead, work hard on the wrist and forearm angle.
I recommend just playing catch with it practicing the release.
Releasing The Pitch:
Throw the circle change early in the count and try to get a ground ball out of it. Remember, it is best to throw fewer pitches in an inning than to try and strike everyone out. The best change-up counts are the same as the split-finger fastball counts 3-1, 2-1, and 2-0. Also, whenever a fastball is in order a changeup can be thrown in its place. Becoming a successful pitcher simply means you mess with and throw off a hitter's timing. When you are successful at doing that you will get any hitter out.
Here is what Nate Barnett from The Pitching Academy has to say about this nasty pitch.
Besides the slider, a good change-up is terribly frustrating for most hitters. Because of its resemblance to a fastball initially, it can be particularly deceiving in fastball counts. I'm not sure why I don't see more good change-ups in youth baseball today, but it's a very much underutilized pitch.
Hitters hate facing pitchers who change speeds well, it's tough to get good timing on anything. For a great example of this, you have to look no further than Jamie Moyer, who at age 45, helped his Phillies win a World Series championship in 2008. His signature pitch throughout his entire career has been his outstanding change-up. With a fastball that rarely ever reached 85 mph, Moyer's ability to keep hitters off balance has paid off big time.
Circle change-ups with movement are deceiving and I would argue are nearly unhittable if thrown in the right location and in the right count. Being a pitcher also throughout my collegiate career, I relied on the change-up a lot to keep hitters off balance. Early in my pitching career I was leery of developing it because the thought of throwing a pitch slower to hitters seemed backwards. Wow, was I mistaken as it became my best pitch!
Dan Gazaway is owner of The Pitching Academy in Utah. He teaches pitchers how to throw different baseball pitches.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dan_Gazaway
love it when a pitcher has a great changeup. The Circle Change just happens to be one of the deadliest changeups out there. The reason: It not only slows down it has wicked movement.
The Circle Change has a screwball type movement and it breaks down and away. It appears to look like a fastball and is very deceiving to a batters eyes.
To throw this pitch pronate your wrist and forearm slightly inwards. Your arm slot and arms speed is the same as your fastball. Place your fingers in the same position as you do with your fastball (thumb and middle finger split the baseball in half). Next, make a circle with your thumb and index finger. The tighter the circle the more drop you will have. However, your wrist and forearm angle is more important than the grip with this pitch. The most difficult part of this pitch is the forearm angle.
Gripping The Circle Change
The smaller the circle, the more downward movement you will have on the pitch. The slight wrist and forearm pronation is important when throwing the circle change. I recommend starting to throw this pitch making a C-shape instead of a circle when you first try this pitch. You will not find success with this pitch unless you throw the circle (or okay sign) toward home plate; that is what truly slows the pitch down. Most pitcher's think they are throwing a circle or a c-change just by gripping the pitch correctly. The C or Circle is thrown at the cather. Again, Keep your arm speed the same so that the pitch will be deceivingly slow to the hitter.
Arguably the most challenging pitch to learn is the circle change because of how the pitch is released. While the pitch can be tricky to learn, do not alter your body movement or motion in any way while attempting to throw it. Instead, work hard on the wrist and forearm angle.
I recommend just playing catch with it practicing the release.
Releasing The Pitch:
Throw the circle change early in the count and try to get a ground ball out of it. Remember, it is best to throw fewer pitches in an inning than to try and strike everyone out. The best change-up counts are the same as the split-finger fastball counts 3-1, 2-1, and 2-0. Also, whenever a fastball is in order a changeup can be thrown in its place. Becoming a successful pitcher simply means you mess with and throw off a hitter's timing. When you are successful at doing that you will get any hitter out.
Here is what Nate Barnett from The Pitching Academy has to say about this nasty pitch.
Besides the slider, a good change-up is terribly frustrating for most hitters. Because of its resemblance to a fastball initially, it can be particularly deceiving in fastball counts. I'm not sure why I don't see more good change-ups in youth baseball today, but it's a very much underutilized pitch.
Hitters hate facing pitchers who change speeds well, it's tough to get good timing on anything. For a great example of this, you have to look no further than Jamie Moyer, who at age 45, helped his Phillies win a World Series championship in 2008. His signature pitch throughout his entire career has been his outstanding change-up. With a fastball that rarely ever reached 85 mph, Moyer's ability to keep hitters off balance has paid off big time.
Circle change-ups with movement are deceiving and I would argue are nearly unhittable if thrown in the right location and in the right count. Being a pitcher also throughout my collegiate career, I relied on the change-up a lot to keep hitters off balance. Early in my pitching career I was leery of developing it because the thought of throwing a pitch slower to hitters seemed backwards. Wow, was I mistaken as it became my best pitch!
Dan Gazaway is owner of The Pitching Academy in Utah. He teaches pitchers how to throw different baseball pitches.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dan_Gazaway
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