By Nicole Roberts
When it comes to browsing through youth baseball gloves, there are some things that you should consider. Not all gloves are created equally. For the player to do his best, he should have a glove that will work well for him while he is out on the field. With a glove being a necessary piece of equipment for baseball, it is important that you choose one that will leave the player well protected and ready to catch the ball in his position.
There are a few different materials with which youth gloves can be made. Leather is by far the most durable material for a baseball glove. Within the realm of leather, there are three choices. These depend on the grain of the material, and are known as premium steer hide, top grain, and full grain. Top grain youth baseball gloves are the top pick for most players. This is because they are easier to soften and quicker to break in before use.
Another consideration you should make is the position you play while using the glove. Various positions on the baseball field can call for different gloves. For example, a catcher uses a special mitt. Having an outfielder's glove would not provide the catcher with the proper protection in order to catch the fast pitches coming his way. Be sure that you are aware of your position before selecting the appropriate glove.
Youth baseball gloves come in sizes, and these can be important to determine which glove will best fit the player's hand. You will want to make sure that you choose a youth size, as adult sizes run larger. The exception to this rule would be if you have extremely large hands for your age. Most youth can properly use gloves ranging in sizes from 9 to 11.5
Your budget should also be considered when purchasing youth gloves. Gloves can range from $20 to over $200, so it is important to know what you can spend before you start shopping. The differences in prices will have to do with the brand, material, and customization of the glove. A standard glove will the cheapest, and can be found in most sporting goods stores.
Custom-made gloves are another option, but are more often chosen by adults. This is because the young player's hand is likely to not be finished growing. This will mean an upgrade within one or two years. An adult glove, on the other hand, will tend to get more use, as their hands are already full-grown. It is also important to note that the price will be higher with a custom baseball glove, but the fit of the glove is likely to be much better.
Selecting from the all the youth baseball gloves on the market can be a difficult decision. However, there are some things you can decide on before beginning your shopping to make the choice easier. Consider the material, size, position, and your budget in order to choose the right glove.
Nicole Roberts
Welcome to ballglovesgalore.com where we sell a variety of youth baseball gloves to meet the needs of novice as well as the serious player.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nicole_Roberts
Friday, October 15, 2010
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
You Stink! We're Leaving the Team
By Nate Barnett
My son is on a soccer team. Most of us are reasonable and committed parents who want the best for our 9-11 year old kids - i.e. to develop and learn the sport. That is except for the whinny couple parents who troll the sidelines spewing their discontent into any ear that will open up. The team has been getting crushed for the most part in tournaments (aside from a few games). But, the good news is that their coach is great. He knows the game, likes the kids, and is patient enough to help them with their skills.
So what more to the whinny trolls want? TO WIN! There is nothing more important than winning they say. Once I entered the danger zone and got too close to one of them on the sidelines and overheard one say their son could be winning more if he was on a rec. team.
Who cares I say. Winning will come, but learning the right skills and mind set to play a game is so important at young ages.
I know you're not one of these complaining parents who leaves good developmental teams if you're not winning... but you know some who have. My encouragement to you is to find a program that will teach your son the correct fundamentals he needs to succeed in baseball first. Winning is a bonus. I say this because when your boy is at an age where winning is more important, he better have the skill set and mental framework to compete.
Nate Barnett is co-owner of The Pitching Academy.
You can find The Pitching Academy's articles, blog, and videos on baseball pitching grips when you visit the website.
The Pitching Academy's pitching mechanics DVD.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nate_Barnett
My son is on a soccer team. Most of us are reasonable and committed parents who want the best for our 9-11 year old kids - i.e. to develop and learn the sport. That is except for the whinny couple parents who troll the sidelines spewing their discontent into any ear that will open up. The team has been getting crushed for the most part in tournaments (aside from a few games). But, the good news is that their coach is great. He knows the game, likes the kids, and is patient enough to help them with their skills.
So what more to the whinny trolls want? TO WIN! There is nothing more important than winning they say. Once I entered the danger zone and got too close to one of them on the sidelines and overheard one say their son could be winning more if he was on a rec. team.
Who cares I say. Winning will come, but learning the right skills and mind set to play a game is so important at young ages.
I know you're not one of these complaining parents who leaves good developmental teams if you're not winning... but you know some who have. My encouragement to you is to find a program that will teach your son the correct fundamentals he needs to succeed in baseball first. Winning is a bonus. I say this because when your boy is at an age where winning is more important, he better have the skill set and mental framework to compete.
Nate Barnett is co-owner of The Pitching Academy.
You can find The Pitching Academy's articles, blog, and videos on baseball pitching grips when you visit the website.
The Pitching Academy's pitching mechanics DVD.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nate_Barnett
Friday, October 8, 2010
Baseball Coaching Digest - Want to Be a Great Hitter? Learn to Be Patient
By Nick Dixon
One of the worst hitting flaws in baseball is "lack of patience" at the plate. This article discusses importance of being a patience batter and the reasons being a patient hitter puts the odds in the hitters favor. It also discusses one common baseball practice procedure that causes batters to not be patience at the plate
To be a great hitter, you must learn to defeat the pitcher. The pitcher's job is to get you out. The easiest way to get a batter out is to throw bad or unhittable pitches that "bait" the impatience batter into getting himself out. Having good patience at the plate allows the batter to have three traits that put the odds in his favor.
1) He does not chase or swing at bad pitches or unhittable pitches, so he does not get himself out.
2) He knows the strike zone and is content with taking a base on balls if he does not get a good pitch to hit.
3) His patience allows him to stay back, trust his hand speed, and hit the ball to all fields.
This flaw means that a batter attacks the pitch incorrectly or too soon. Being a great hitter requires skill, bat speed, and patience. Batters must know the strike zone like they know the inside of the bill of their cap! They must know what a strike is and when a pitch is out of the strike zone. Impatience hitters often fall victim to good pitching because they swing at bad pitches and get themselves out.
"Patience at the Plate"
Teach your hitters to be patience. They must learn to attack the inside pitch early, to attack the strike over the plate behind the front foot, and to attack the off-speed or fastball away late, just inside the back foot. Patience hitters hit to all fields. They never get fooled. They always seem to hit the ball on the "sweet spot" of the bat and frequently hit line drives.
"Practice for Patience"
One way to teach hitters to be patience is to not allow them to swing at everything during batting practice. I know that you have heard a coach say, "Swing the Bat"; to a kid that takes a pitch during batting practice. The coach becomes impatience with the player because the coach wants every batting practice throw hit. That tactic can often confuse young batters as to what pitches they should or should not hit in a game. You as a coach should remember, this one statement from this article, "If you want them to only swing at hit good pitches in a game, then make then take bad pitches during batting practice."
I advocate allowing all batters to take or let bad pitches go by during every drill and during batting practice. Often times, the only way you can hit a bad pitch is to take a bad swing. You do not want your players practicing bad swing because that leads to bad habits. What I suggest is to allow then to track bad pitches from the pitcher's hand to the catcher's mitt or until the ball hits the back stop screen, without swinging the bat. They are seeing the ball, and they are learning the strike zone. If you want to work on swinging at every pitch, have a "hit and run" batting practice session in which they must swing the bat at everything. Then they must concentrate, stay inside the ball, and make every possible effort to hit the ball to the desired location.
I hope that you found this article to be informative. If you want to read more of my articles or to read more articles on every aspect of coaching baseball, go to the Baseball Coaching Digest, the Youth Baseball Digest, and the Baseball 2Day Coaching Journal. Thanks for reading this article. Have a great day, Nick.
The CoachesBest Baseball Store has a great selection of 1400 Baseball Products. Check out the BatAction Hitting Machine baseball pitching simulator. This high speed training machine is 100% Guaranteed to raise Batting Averages and has a full year warranty.
Nick Dixon is the President and founder of Nedco Sports, a sports training company established in 1999. Dixon is also an active and full time high school baseball coach with over 25 years experience. Coach Dixon is better known as the inventor of the BatAction Hitting Machine, the SKLZ Derek Jeter Hurricane Hitting Machine, the SKLZ Target Trainer, the SKLZ Derek Jeter ZipnHit Pro, and the SKLZ Strikeback Trainer. Dixon is also a contributing writer for BaseballCoachingDigest, the Youth Baseball Digest, the Baseball Parent Guide, the Baseball 2Day Coaches Journal, and Blog4Coaches.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nick_Dixon
One of the worst hitting flaws in baseball is "lack of patience" at the plate. This article discusses importance of being a patience batter and the reasons being a patient hitter puts the odds in the hitters favor. It also discusses one common baseball practice procedure that causes batters to not be patience at the plate
To be a great hitter, you must learn to defeat the pitcher. The pitcher's job is to get you out. The easiest way to get a batter out is to throw bad or unhittable pitches that "bait" the impatience batter into getting himself out. Having good patience at the plate allows the batter to have three traits that put the odds in his favor.
1) He does not chase or swing at bad pitches or unhittable pitches, so he does not get himself out.
2) He knows the strike zone and is content with taking a base on balls if he does not get a good pitch to hit.
3) His patience allows him to stay back, trust his hand speed, and hit the ball to all fields.
This flaw means that a batter attacks the pitch incorrectly or too soon. Being a great hitter requires skill, bat speed, and patience. Batters must know the strike zone like they know the inside of the bill of their cap! They must know what a strike is and when a pitch is out of the strike zone. Impatience hitters often fall victim to good pitching because they swing at bad pitches and get themselves out.
"Patience at the Plate"
Teach your hitters to be patience. They must learn to attack the inside pitch early, to attack the strike over the plate behind the front foot, and to attack the off-speed or fastball away late, just inside the back foot. Patience hitters hit to all fields. They never get fooled. They always seem to hit the ball on the "sweet spot" of the bat and frequently hit line drives.
"Practice for Patience"
One way to teach hitters to be patience is to not allow them to swing at everything during batting practice. I know that you have heard a coach say, "Swing the Bat"; to a kid that takes a pitch during batting practice. The coach becomes impatience with the player because the coach wants every batting practice throw hit. That tactic can often confuse young batters as to what pitches they should or should not hit in a game. You as a coach should remember, this one statement from this article, "If you want them to only swing at hit good pitches in a game, then make then take bad pitches during batting practice."
I advocate allowing all batters to take or let bad pitches go by during every drill and during batting practice. Often times, the only way you can hit a bad pitch is to take a bad swing. You do not want your players practicing bad swing because that leads to bad habits. What I suggest is to allow then to track bad pitches from the pitcher's hand to the catcher's mitt or until the ball hits the back stop screen, without swinging the bat. They are seeing the ball, and they are learning the strike zone. If you want to work on swinging at every pitch, have a "hit and run" batting practice session in which they must swing the bat at everything. Then they must concentrate, stay inside the ball, and make every possible effort to hit the ball to the desired location.
I hope that you found this article to be informative. If you want to read more of my articles or to read more articles on every aspect of coaching baseball, go to the Baseball Coaching Digest, the Youth Baseball Digest, and the Baseball 2Day Coaching Journal. Thanks for reading this article. Have a great day, Nick.
The CoachesBest Baseball Store has a great selection of 1400 Baseball Products. Check out the BatAction Hitting Machine baseball pitching simulator. This high speed training machine is 100% Guaranteed to raise Batting Averages and has a full year warranty.
Nick Dixon is the President and founder of Nedco Sports, a sports training company established in 1999. Dixon is also an active and full time high school baseball coach with over 25 years experience. Coach Dixon is better known as the inventor of the BatAction Hitting Machine, the SKLZ Derek Jeter Hurricane Hitting Machine, the SKLZ Target Trainer, the SKLZ Derek Jeter ZipnHit Pro, and the SKLZ Strikeback Trainer. Dixon is also a contributing writer for BaseballCoachingDigest, the Youth Baseball Digest, the Baseball Parent Guide, the Baseball 2Day Coaches Journal, and Blog4Coaches.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nick_Dixon
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
3 Ways to Increase Bat Speed
By Jarrod B.
Despite what you may think, bat speed is the single most important factor when it comes to how far you can hit a baseball. Increasing your swing speed by only 5mph can add up 25 feet of distance when you hit a baseball. Most people have the ability to increase bat speed by using a few simple methods.
1. Use the lower half of your swing more efficiently: Most players primarily swing with their upper body. As far as hitting is concerned the upper body is the weakest part of the swing. Power in the upper body is generated from the lower half. Watch your swing on video in slow motion. If the upper body starts first and your lower half follows then you know that you are losing a lot of power. Practice initiating the swing with your lower half and you should instantly be able to increase bat speed.
2. Use Overload/Underload Training: Even though it may sound complicated all this means is you should train using different weight bats. Rotate between a bat that is heavier than normal, one that is lighter than normal, and your regular bat weight. Take around 150 dry swings per day and make sure that you swing correctly each time. You don't need to go too heavy or too light, only around 3-4oz difference each time should do. Swinging wooden bats of different size and weight is a great option for overload/underload training to increase bat speed.
3. Increase Core Rotational Strength Hitting is predominately a rotational movement and power is generated by the torque created between the upper and lower body. Good hitters have a strong, stable core and are able to make powerful rotational movements. Work on core strength by doing exercises with medicine balls, stability balls, and resistance bands.
If you can increase bat speed you will become a much better hitter and hit for more power.
www.PurePowerHitting.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jarrod_B.
Despite what you may think, bat speed is the single most important factor when it comes to how far you can hit a baseball. Increasing your swing speed by only 5mph can add up 25 feet of distance when you hit a baseball. Most people have the ability to increase bat speed by using a few simple methods.
1. Use the lower half of your swing more efficiently: Most players primarily swing with their upper body. As far as hitting is concerned the upper body is the weakest part of the swing. Power in the upper body is generated from the lower half. Watch your swing on video in slow motion. If the upper body starts first and your lower half follows then you know that you are losing a lot of power. Practice initiating the swing with your lower half and you should instantly be able to increase bat speed.
2. Use Overload/Underload Training: Even though it may sound complicated all this means is you should train using different weight bats. Rotate between a bat that is heavier than normal, one that is lighter than normal, and your regular bat weight. Take around 150 dry swings per day and make sure that you swing correctly each time. You don't need to go too heavy or too light, only around 3-4oz difference each time should do. Swinging wooden bats of different size and weight is a great option for overload/underload training to increase bat speed.
3. Increase Core Rotational Strength Hitting is predominately a rotational movement and power is generated by the torque created between the upper and lower body. Good hitters have a strong, stable core and are able to make powerful rotational movements. Work on core strength by doing exercises with medicine balls, stability balls, and resistance bands.
If you can increase bat speed you will become a much better hitter and hit for more power.
www.PurePowerHitting.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jarrod_B.
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