Organizing Youth Baseball Practice

By Tom McGilliray   

For the coach youth baseball practice actually begins before you get to the field. You need to plan out what you want to work on and what drills you will use to accomplish your objective. It is advisable to utilize parents and volunteers to help you. If possible you want to be the facilitator who walks around insuring everyone is doing what they need to do.

Youth baseball teams typically are assigned a practice field on certain days for a given time period, so depending on your teams needs and areas they need to work on will determine what your practice plan will consist of. Make sure to write it down and stick to the time allotted.

It is advisable to have the players warm up as a group. I ask two players to volunteer to be the captains for the day. They will lead the stretching and warm up. Once that is done we will move into our throwing routine. The warm up, stretching and throwing routine is consistent before every practice and game. The player's become familiar with it and develops a routine they are comfortable with.

After warming up the following would an example of a normal practice.

• Rundown - Half the players will be on 1st base the other half on 2nd, and a runner in the middle, the runners run with their gloves so as to keep the drill moving. The goal is to keep the drill moving and teach one throw and get the runner out.


• Cutoff & Relay - Break your team into groups, if you have 12 players use three groups of four players. Make sure the players are moving their feet to the ball with their glove side to the target. I use the phrase, step-catch-throw to emphasize quick release of the ball. This is a good opportunity to make a competition between the teams and adds fun to practice as well.


• Individual skills - keeping the same groups as cutoff & relay one group will go to shortstop, another group to second base and a final group to center field. The infield works on ground balls, the outfield works on fly balls. You could have one of the infield groups working on charging slower grounders while the other group fields and makes a strong throw to 1st.


• Group skills - This is where you may work on 1st & 3rd defense, bunt defense, turning double plays, pop fly's, pitchers fielding practice.


• Hitting - Like the above we will utilize groups. Most youth baseball fields don't have a cage so to perform live hitting a coach(s) will need to throw on the field.

I have found that putting a screen on home plate and the hitters close to the back stop not only prevents lots of foul balls from leaving the field, but I can have two coaches throwing to two hitters simultaneously. This allows the other two players in the group to be working on the side with soft toss and/or tee drills.

I have one group shagging in the outfield, and one group fielding ground balls hit by helpers in the infield.

Another option you could do is have one group throwing a bullpen during this time.

This method of taking BP makes hitting practice efficient and productive, and the kids aren't bored.
I finish practice with a base running drill. It may be step-by-step instruction or it may be a drill they like and have done before.

This type practice will typically last two hours. It encompasses a lot of instruction and repetitions. I look at practice as my time and games as the players time to show the world what they have learned.
The biggest thing for the coach is too organized. Save your practice plan as you may want to use it or a similar version later in the season.

Tom has been coaching youth baseball for the past 20 years. LeftHandedBaseballGloves.com is a site designed to offer quality baseball gloves. Tom's blog is dedicated to offer coaching idea's for the volunteer baseball coach.

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The Importance of Baseball Drills

By Adam C Moore   

Baseball drills are very essential when you are training for baseball. It is of utmost importance that you work on your drills regularly. This is to guarantee that your playing style improves over time and any issues that you may have with your baseball training can be addressed right away. In addition to this, these exercises can not only improve the playing skills of the players, but can likewise teach them self-discipline and concentration.

In training for baseball, determining the areas where you may be needing some improvements won't always be a breeze. This can only be done accurately through breaking down your games into several sections and incorporate drills on each of them. Baseball drills can really help show you what your strengths and weaknesses are, and will help you improve on these areas. No matter what your age is, or whether you are an expert or a beginner in baseball, baseball drills exercises will truly make a big difference on your playing skills.

Moreover, most professional baseball coaches have a variety of drills prepared for their teams. A good baseball coach focuses not merely on winning every game, but also knowing where his players are good and where they are not. This way, he can make a better game plan because he knows exactly what each members of his team can do.

It is very crucial for the team's coach to have a well-planned and organized set of drills. This can save the whole team a lot of time in trying to determine the exercises that can either improve, or pinpoint a player's weak point. Most coaches do have a book for baseball drills, while some have already mastered these exercises by heart through several years of experiences. Because they know the importance of baseball drills, they usually are on the look out for new drills from other coaches for them to use on their own teams.

If you happen to be a coach or a player who wishes to learn more baseball drills, the internet is a great place to start looking for some. There are actually hundreds of websites out there that can give you some ideas about drills, as well as teach you some very effective playing techniques. Most of these websites use illustrations so you could easily follow the drills, or better yet, you can look for those that have video illustrations of the drills. You may also get some nice drills from other players or coaches as you can get several different styles from a number of people.

While you may often see the same old baseball drills in these websites, you might want to check them every now and then for new updates. It should be a constant learning process because as we all know, one can never learn everything all at once. And lastly, performing these skills correctly is just as important as learning new techniques. Thus, make sure that you perform the baseball drills properly to ensure optimum results.

As a former baseball player, I have had an opportunity to try out many different products. As a former catcher, I have wrote articles on Catchers Mitts, and gear such as Easton Catchers Gear.

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Learn to Throw Harder Through Hard Work Over Years

By Jake Packer   

Anyone Can Gain Velocity Through Hard Work
Gaining velocity is the most sought after improvement pitchers would like to make. Learning how to throw harder will definitely help pitchers gain this velocity. Most people assume you can't be taught to throw harder but you can. There are a lot of factors that go into the generation of velocity. Some of it is pitching mechanics. Pitching mechanics take a lot of time and hard work to change. If you are truly motivated you will be able to see an increase in velocity. Another, and one of the main factors, is how the pitcher's body is currently maturing. At around 15-17 years old you're at the beginning stages where your body and your velocity can begin to really benefit from a good strength and conditioning. At this point, heavy lower body lifting and plyometrics will contribute to increased velocity.

Different people's bodies mature at different rates and some start much earlier than others. In any case, whether you're 12 or 17, over the next few years your body is going to change a lot physically and even without a strength and conditioning program, you will get much stronger. However, a strength and conditioning program will magnify and multiply these strength gains.

Some pitching coaches tend to take credit for any velocity gains made through maturing. Most of these velocity gains however would have come naturally. While some say velocity can't be taught; I say otherwise. Certain changes to pitching mechanics that result in increased efficiency will help you throw harder and more accurately too. That being said; there really is no substitute for hard work.
A current Major Leaguer, Tim Collins, wasn't always destined for success. In his junior year of high school, he was only 5'5". While he was still effective, he only threw 84 MPH. Over that summer he grew two inches and enrolled in a great strength and conditioning program. He gained 21 pounds of muscle and 8 MPH to his fastball. He is a great example of how maturing combined with a great strength and conditioning program can lead to throwing harder and great velocity gains. Tim Collins made it to the big leagues as a Kansas City Royal against all odds. Use him as your inspiration as he didn't throw hard and he was also 5'5". Most people only have one of those problems.

Don't worry, you CAN and will improve. Just how much is the big question.

My Story
After I learned to throw harder in baseball and a long career, I hung up my cleats to help other players do the same. My main goal is to continue pitchers careers longer than they thought possible! Visit my bio: Here!

Until my junior year, I was not the best pitcher on my high school baseball. But when I learned How To throw Harder and Faster, I became the best pitcher in the league.

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Common Sense Coaching, Four Things Little League Teams Should Practice, But Don't!

By Marty Schupak

It is amazing how Little League baseball teams and beyond do not practice some fundamental aspects of the game. From my standpoint, the reason I practice certain things other coaches may not is because I've been burned by other teams and have lost games and championships because of it. In my 21 years coaching youth baseball, the list of things that should be practiced is long but some situations come up over and over again. Here are four of them:

1) Pitchers not practicing fielding. This issue is incredible to me, though it took a few years before I began having my pitchers practice fielding. When youth baseball teams practice fielding, usually it will include every position but the pitcher. Youth baseball coaches need to put pitchers on the mound in practice and include them in fielding drills. Coaches also need to rotate the pitchers. Have the pitcher to go through his pitching motion without the ball. The coach then throws or hits a baseball to him. And not just right at him. Hit the balls to the left, center and right of him. Then put one or more runners on base and declare how many outs there are and continue hitting to him and let him decide which base to throw to. Try also having the coach hit ground balls to the pitcher on the mound and instead of trying to catch it clean, he has to knock it down, establish himself and then field the ball. The drills work and also get pitchers familiar with game situations.

2) Catching a foul ball near a fence. I swear I'm the only one in my league who takes this serious. Probably because I've seen more catchable foul balls hit the ground than any team in my league. The scenario usually starts with a pop fly just foul of first base. The ball moves deeper into foul territory. The first baseman looks like he has a beat on the ball as he gets closer to the fence or dugout. He then looks like he is hesitating the further he moves into foul territory. Then "plop"! The ball falls right near his feet about 12-24 inches from the fence. Of course we all know the consequences of giving away outs in youth baseball. This stuff kills me. So how can we coaches rectify this? At least once a year usually before the season I do the "Fence Drill" with my team. I first start on the first base side having the players line up behind each other about 6 feet from the fence in foul territory parallel to first base. I'm located around home plate. I throw pop ups as close to the fence as I can and instruct my players to track the ball. As they do this they should come right near the fence and either with their glove hand if they are a rightie or free hand for lefties, put their arm out feeling for the fence then proceed to track and catch the ball from there. This is getting them used to feeling for structures while keeping their eye on the ball. It makes them more comfortable and helps limit the fear of getting hurt. I then move the line closer to fair territory eventually moving the line where every player is a first baseman and has to hustle to feel for the fence first then catch the ball. I then move the line to the third base side of the infield. Is this drill fool proof? Absolutely not! But I did notice a few more catches over the course of a season if we practiced this drill!

3) Players not sliding at every base. This is tough one. I've seen major leaguers not slide and cost their team runs. The Yankees-Oakland A's 2001 American League Championship series comes to mind when Derek Jeter made that great backhand flip to home and Jeremy Giambi didn't slide and cost his team a run and possibly the game and series. You can preach and preach for players to slide but they will continue to forget to slide. As youth coaches, we have to remember that these are 10, 11 and 12 year old kids and their retention is different than say a high school player. But this is also something that you can practice instead of just telling the player when it comes up in a regular game. I want my players to slide on a force play even if they know they will be thrown out. To me having a reputation even on the youth level that my team slides might become a potential distraction for the opposition and the fielders might bobble a throw to them at the base. When we practicing sliding, I take my team in the outfield grass and have my players remove their cleats. I have a diamond set up with throw down bases. We go through a few scenarios rotating players having them slide in the grass and this process helps. We reinforce for them to slide during the game from the coaching box. Again, not fool proof, but very effective.

4) Practicing fielding a wild pitch or passed ball with at least one player on third base. In youth baseball usually not a game goes by without a wild pitch or a passed ball. When there is a base runner on third base, he has a better than 50% chance of scoring if he has just average speed. Let's break this down from the defensive end. The pitcher pitches and the ball gets by the catcher. The pitcher recognizes this and rushes home to protect against the runner on third from scoring. His head is going back and forth between the baserunner coming from third and the catcher getting ready to make the toss. Many times the toss from the catcher is off target or the pitcher swoops down to tag the runner without the ball. Very few coaches practice this other than to yell out to the pitcher, "Cover home if the ball gets by the catcher" when the situation comes up in a game. To practice this, set up the positions with a baserunner at third. Plant a ball behind the catcher without him seeing it. Have the pitcher do his wind up without the ball and when the coach yells "go" the baserunner breaks for home and the catcher locates the ball while the pitcher comes to cover home. Here we are setting up a practical situation and the catcher is practicing his toss and the pitcher is getting used to the baserunner coming at him while trying to secure the toss and tag him. Coaches should rotate both pitchers and catchers during this drill.

These are only four situations out of many that need to be practiced. In youth baseball we coaches tend to try and teach during the game. Practices are the place to teach and games are the place to reinforce what we conveyed to the players. With this formula they become familiar with the situation and give your team the competitive edge on the field.

http://www.YouthSportsClub.com


Marty Schupak has coached youth baseball for 21 years and is the video creator of "The 59 Minute Baseball Practice", "Backyard Baseball Drills", "Winning Baseball Strategies", "Hitting Drills & Techniques", "Pitching Drills & Techniques", "Baserunning & Bunting Drills" and author of the popular book, "Youth Baseball Drills". He is President of the Youth Sports Club, a group dedicated to making sports practices and games more enjoyable for kids.

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Important Baseball Skills Honed During Baseball Practice

By Louis Liem

Anyone who aspires to play baseball satisfactorily - either at amateur or professional levels, or for recreational purposes - should give all their mind and heart to mastering baseball skills. There are at least four fundamental baseball skills: batting, pitching, catching, and running. While some players can specialize in mastering one or two of these skills, it is important for them to realize that for a more fulfilling baseball experience, they should be adept in all four skills, and learn how to recognize situations where each of these baseball skills apply, in baseball practice and in real games.

The most important of the four baseball skills is hitting, as this action is the one that gets the baseball team a potential score (home run). Hitting the ball hard and accurately could be difficult for some to develop, for during formal baseball practice, many players rarely get hold of the bat for them to practice their hitting. Therefore, a good advice for aspiring hitters is to practice their batting during their spare time.

Here is some advice for players wanting to improve their hitting:


1.Players should hold the baseball bat with their fingers and not with their palms.


2.The left and right knuckles - the hand portions used for knocking a door should be vertically aligned together.


3.When preparing to bat, players should not squeeze the bat tightly; they should hold on sufficiently and keep the hand muscles relaxed, but not too relaxed as to make them lose control of the bat. When they swing, they will feel that their grip steadily tightens.

In hitting, stance is also important: know where to stand, maintain feet at shoulder width or more apart, bend knees slightly, and focus weight not on heels, but on the balls and the back of the feet. When preparing to hit: keep feet a shoulder width apart, bend knees slightly, shift more weight to back feet, then tighten your grip. When the ball flies in the air, keep your eye on the ball. Then once you decide to hit, you hit. Do not hit baseballs indiscriminately. Hitting and missing will get you an automatic strike; not hitting will get you either a strike or a "ball".

While hitting may be one of the valuable baseball skills, there are other baseball skills that ensure a team's success in the game. Pitching should be done through the "four-seam grip": use only three fingers - thumb, middle, and index; index and middle finger on one side of the ball, and the thumb on the other side; not squeezing the ball, and retaining some space between hand and ball. Baseball should be released by flicking the wrist (not the arms).

While hitting, start with your glove side in front of your target; keep feet a shoulder width apart, shift weight to back leg; move you arm toward the target, flick the wrist, then continue movement of arm down and across body and follow with throwing leg. Catching could be done by applying plenty of hand-eye alertness through properly anticipating the ball. Running should be done in coordination with catching if you are a catcher; or done with all your might if you are on for a home run. All of these baseball skills could be honed with plenty of regard for proper form, dedication, and baseball practice.

What does one need to be a great baseball player? Good baseball training, knowledge and talent. The first two are available on BaseballSquare.com. Just one click away!

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Kids Baseball Drills - 3 Drills That Make Practice Fun

By Kenny Buford

Fun Drills for Kids

Coaching kids baseball can be hard: you have to combat hot summer days, short attention spans, and varying ability levels. The key to kids baseball drills is to keep them fun so the kids don't realize they're learning -- they think they're just playing around! These drills for kids are designed to teach them the basics of baseball while keeping them excited about practicing the game.

Hubba Bubba Ball

For this kids baseball drill, the coach needs an oversized plastic bat and balls -- they can be found at most toy stores. The coach divides the team into defense and offense and acts as full-time pitcher.

The kids play the game as they normally would, only because of the plastic ball the defense doesn't need gloves. The batters should focus on clean hits and correct tossing of the bat -- the coach might want to set up markers on either side of home plate so the kids can see where they bat should go once they get a hit. The defense should focus on catching and throwing with soft hands.

Beat the Heat

This baseball drill for kids teaches them about passing and hitting using water balloons. The coach will need to bring plenty of water balloons to practice -- about 100.

First the kids will practice passing by lining up in two relay lines with a big bucket at the end. The two lines compete to see how many unbroken balloons they can get into the buckets in the fastest time by passing from one player to the next. How far apart the kids are spaced when passing the balloons should be based on their age and ability level -- or how hot it is outside!

Now the kids can practice hitting with the remaining balloons. The kids take turns at bat with the coach pitching them water balloons. This drill is great for kids who have trouble keeping their eye on the ball and are hesitant to follow through with their swing because they don't want to miss seeing the balloon burst.

Ball-Go-Round

For this kids baseball drill, divide the team up into groups of four and have them form a square with each player spaced 10 paces apart. The drill begins with the first player rolling the ball to the player on his right, who will catch the ball, pivot, and roll it to the player on his right, who will in turn catch, pivot, and roll, continuing around the square.

The coach will then add another ball into the mix. The players will continue rolling, catching, and pivoting, but this time with two balls going around simultaneously. The players should start calling out the name of the person they are passing to. The coach continues adding balls until there are four going at the same time. The players can then advance to soft-tossing the ball.

To learn more about coaching kids baseball and some fun drills to try, visit my site to watch a free video:

http://www.baseball-tutorials.com/vid/



Kenny Buford is a youth baseball coach, and the owner and publisher of Baseball-Tutorials.com, the web's #1 resource for kids baseball drills, tips, and practice ideas for youth and high school coaches.

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How to Run a Youth Baseball Practice

By Mickey B

If you are new to coaching youth baseball or have been coaching for awhile but struggle with it, here are some do's and don'ts for running a youth baseball practice session. It is not really that complicated. In fact, after reading these you will probably say, "Well that's just common sense." However, it has been my experience that more than 80% of youth baseball coaches do not use any of these suggestions.

1. Don't try to "wing" it!

Do show up with a game plan. You are dealing with kids. Remember these two things: they want to have fun, and they get bored very easily. With a good plan of action, you will be keeping them busy, they will be learning, and all of you can have some fun.

2. Don't forget about the parents.

Do ask some of the dads to help with practice sessions. Most youth baseball leagues allow you to have an assistant or two during games. That does not mean you can't have four or five during practice. Some of the dads may have played ball in high school or college. Where I live there is a good chance that they played professionally. Their help is vital to running a successful practice.

3. Don't talk down to the kids.

Do establish good communications with them. They already know that you are in charge, but they don't know what your guidelines are. Before they ever step onto the field for the first practice, establish the ground rules. Greet each of them by name, look them in the eye, shake their hand, and tell them you are happy to have them on the team. Then let them know what you expect. This should include things like showing respect for everyone else, paying attention to the coaches, and maintaining a good attitude.

4. Don't allow the activity to focus on one or two players while everybody else stands around.

Do have several different drill stations set up. Each station should have one of your assistant coaches or volunteer dads running it. Be sure that the coaches and volunteers know exactly what you want taught and that no single player is getting all of their attention. Split your players up evenly and have each group start at a different station. It is usually a good idea to separate siblings and best friends. That way they are more likely to pay attention to the coach and less likely to goof around. Allow fifteen to twenty minutes at each station and then rotate the groups to the next work area. It is also wise to have your helpers teach at different stations from one practice to another. This will give them experience at teaching the methods that you want. You will be visiting each station to check on the progress of the players, give praise to those who are working hard, and interject tips that might help a player improve.

5. Don't let a practice session run too long.

Do limit the time from one hour to ninety minutes. This time should include water breaks and progress breaks. Progress breaks are short periods when you call everyone together, have them take a knee, and tell them about the good things that you noticed them doing in their drills. You can also address any issues that you might have seen, but be careful not to single anybody out. That should be done on a one to one basis.

6. Don't embarrass a player in front of his friends.Do not yell at him nor demean him in any way.

Do have a talk with a player who misbehaves. Calmly let him know that you are disappointed in his behavior, but that you are confident that he is able to do better. I am talking strictly about misbehavior here. If a player merely makes a mistake there is nothing for you to be disappointed about. You just have to give him a little more time to develop his skills. Always provide encouragement to a player, even if you think he will never improve. I have seen amazing things happen to kids after they have gone through puberty.

7. Don't end practice on a sour note.

Do ask your players what they liked about practice and what they did not like. Ask them if they had fun. If they didn't, find out why. Remember, youth baseball is a game. The kids just want to have fun. You should also remember to thank the players for showing up on time, paying attention, and putting forth their best efforts.

As I said earlier, this is pretty easy when you think about it. After a few seasons it will seem natural to you. Just establish a plan of action, line up your volunteers, and go do it. Have fun!

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How to Create a Baseball Practice Plan

By Jack Perconte

There are basically two things to consider when talking about how to create a baseball practice plan. The first is the pre-season practice plan and the second is the in-season plan. Of course, for teams that may play or stay together year round, there may be an off-season practice plan, too.

First, let's consider the pre-season plan. Coaches should decide how many practices a week they are going to have, which is usually based on the age of players and the philosophy of the level the team is playing. For example, travel baseball teams should practice more often than recreational teams, especially before the season. It may become more difficult for travel teams to practice as much once the season begins because of the greater number of games. With that in mind, travel teams must take advantage of their preseason practices more.

Additionally, coaches will base how in-depth strategic instruction they are expected to provide based on the level of play. For instance, recreational coaches should devote more time into the basic fundamentals, where as travel coaches should go into advanced detail on the finer points of the game, like pick-off plays, etc...

Following are suggestions that coaches should consider when drawing up their pre-season practices:
1. Write down every phase of the game including the fundamental skills of hitting, throwing, fielding, pitching and base running.
2. Write down every strategic game situation elements of the game like cutoffs and relays, run downs, pick-off plays, bunt plays and double steal situations, etc.
3. Decide on the length of practices and then begin to plug in the amount of time that will be devoted to a) fundamentals, b) strategic elements. After allowing a 15-minute warm-up period at each practice, below is some examples based on two-hour practices.

****** Fundamental Skills - Strategy, Game Situation
Practice 1 - 45 minutes --- 1 hour strategic
Practice 2 - 50 minutes -- 55 minutes
Practice 3- 55 minutes -- 50 minutes
Practice 4 - 1 hour -------- 45 minutes
Practice 5 - 1 Hour -------- 45 - Simulated Game
Practice 6 - 45 minutes--- 1 Hr - Simulated Game
Practice 7- 45 minutes -- 1 Hr - Intra -squad
Practice 8 - 45 minutes --- 1 Hr - Intra squad

Of course, this is just a basic model that coaches can go by with the goal of dividing practice time between the fundamental skill work and the strategic game work. Initially, less skill work is recommended until players get their arms and bats in shape, before devoting more time to this skill work. Coaches can adjust and vary their plan to meet their teams needs.

Other points to consider:
1. Homework on skill work should be given at the end of each practice.
2. As practices progress, coaches should gear more time towards the areas of baseball that are needed most. For example, extra base running work for teams that show bad base running skills.
3. Simulated games are when coaches set up certain game situations with regular pitcher, hitter and fielders, etc...
4. Attention to detail during warm-ups should not be neglected.
5. Keeping kids as busy as possible with small group stations and rotations is good when coaching help is available for the various stations.
6. The advantage of simulated games is that certain situations can be worked on over and over again. Reenacting plays that are done incorrectly until players do it correctly is crucial to improvement.

In season practice plan:
1. As games begin, periodic reviews of all strategic game situations should be done.
2. Coaches should use their pre-game time wisely to stay on top of skill work.
3. Practices can now be geared towards the areas of the game that teams need the most based on their recent game deficiencies.
4. Coaches are responsible for protecting pitchers arms at practice, especially as the season progresses.
5. Skill work should not be taken for granted as the season progresses. It is common for hitters to get off to a good start after working on hitting drills in the off- season only to have their hitting deteriorate when they neglect the hitting drills as the season progresses.
6. Cutting down on the length of practices may sometimes be necessary during the hot summer months so players do not get run down physically.
7. Coaches should take notes during games as to what their team should concentrate their next practice on.

Of course, being organized and prepared for every practice is important for successful baseball practices. Finally, a major sign of a good coach is that their team is better at the end of the season than at the beginning. This may not always show up in the win column, but definitely in how teams execute the strategic aspects of the game.

Former major league baseball player, Jack Perconte gives baseball hitting tips and batting practice advice for ballplayers of all ages. His baseball playing lessons, books and advice can be found at http://www.baseballhittinglessons.com/baseball.

Jack is the author of two books, The Making of a Hitter and Raising an Athlete - his positive parenting advice and books can be found at http://positiveparentinginsports.com

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How to Run a Great Baseball Practice

By Jack Perconte

Of course, the number one key to running a great baseball practice is organization. Legendary basketball coach John Wooden was famous for mapping out every detail of his practices, with every second of practice accounted for. This may be a little extreme for coaches of youth baseball but the point is that coaches who are organized will get the most out of their practice time. Baseball coaches should map out their preseason practices to be sure they cover every important aspect of baseball for the age of the player. As the season progresses, coaches can gear their practice time to cover the areas most needed, based on their team weaknesses. Following are some points that coaches should consider to run a great baseball practice:

1. Get in the habit of starting practice on time - parents who bring their child late will get the message early in the season that a late player will be missing out on some instruction.

2. Do not neglect warm-up time. This time is a very important time for coaches to teach the fundamentals.

3. Get help from assistant coaches and interested parents but be sure to inform them of the correct fundamentals that they should be watching for and teaching.

4. Keep players busy - players should not be standing around very often. Small group stations are recommended when coaches have help and game action drills or play is recommended when help from assistants is not available.

5. Keep stations relatively short so boredom does not set in and try to cover as many aspects of the game as time allows each practice.

6. Mix up the pattern of each practice - for example, if you work on hitting first one practice, work on defense first the next.

7. Safety is paramount at all times so don't forget helmets, etc... Use of softer balls for younger aged players can really help teaching all phases of the game.

8. Kids love competition and contests - the use of those when players begin to get bored, or tired, can spur enthusiasm. Using contests as incentive to work hard early in practice, with the idea of competition (games) later in practice when players work hard, can be a good idea.

9. When having contests, be sure to handicap them some so each player, or group of players, have a chance at winning. Make sure and let players know that a handicap system is in place for fairness.

10. Reward hard working "practice players" and not just star game players. Rewards for best defensive, offensive and hustle player(s) of each practice will spur good effort in practice.

11. Try to give the same amount of attention to each player. Players who feel slighted will be affected and other players will generally notice the slight of another player also.

12. Give homework. Inform players and their parents of the things you would like them to work on before returning the next time.

13. Long drawn out talks are never recommended. Bringing in a guest speaker or coach can be memorable for players.

Finally, coaches who remain positive, informative and hopeful will have the best chance of developing good players, as well as fun loving baseball players.

Former major league baseball player, Jack Perconte gives baseball hitting tips and batting practice advice for ballplayers of all ages. His baseball playing lessons, books and advice can be found at http://www.baseballhittinglessons.com/baseball Jack is the author of two books, The Making of a Hitter and Raising an Athlete - his positive parenting advice and books can be found at http://positiveparentinginsports.com

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