SWING AWAY HITTING DRILLS

This post features basic instruction and Swing Away hitting drills for younger players. You will find these drills to be simple enough for young baseball players, but sophisticated enough for even Major League Players. Basically, these drills are good for any baseball, regardless of age.

NOTE: These drills are being performed on a Swing Away machine, but most of these baseball hitting drills could be done with a regular tee or simply by having a coach use the soft-toss drill. The Swing Away just makes it much more simple for the player to get 100's of extra swings on his own!

BALANCE POINT SWING AWAY HITTING DRILLS

Balance Point Drill
"This is my favorite drill to start my youth players out with. It helps them keep their weight back and stay aligned."

STEP THROUGH SWING AWAY HITTING DRILLS
Step Through Drill

QUARTERBACK SWING AWAY HITTING DRILLS
Quarterback (QB) Drill

ONE HAND SWING AWAY HITTING DRILLS
One Handed Drill

ONE HANDED LEAD ARM HITTING DRILL - USING THE SWING AWAY
One Handed Lead Arm Drill

SUMMARY - SWINGAWAY HITTING DRILLS
If you already have your own Swing Away Hitting Trainer, you are in great shape. Use the drills above and any others that you are aware of and you will become a better hitter! If you DON'T already own a Swing Away, be sure to visit our main Swing Away page for more information or see all the models, pricing and ordering options below. Once you learn about this awesome hitting tool, you may decide to purchase one right away!
Enjoy!

Source: http://www.my-youth-baseball.com/swing-away-hitting-drills.html

Click here to BUY

Blackstone Valley Cats To Debut in 2015

RBI's announces the addition of a Central New England Baseball Association (CNEBA) team for 2015.   RBI's has been given the first CNEBA team for the Blackstone Valley.  This long standing league has added RBI's franchise to the 2015 roster joining teams from Worcester, Clinton, Framingham, Charlton, Leominster and Acton.

This league is designed for local collegiate players who return for the summer and desire a competitive place to play. The CNEBA is a wood bat travel league covering Central MA for over 30 years. RBI's is thrilled to announce the "Valley Cats".

http://cneba.com/

Source: http://rbisstorm.zealme.com/index.html

Teaching Skills and Structuring Practices

Before we can think about how to structure a well-run Tee-Ball practice we need to first understand the perspective of the kids.  For them Tee-Ball is just another version of tag.  Playing tag is almost a daily rite for kids ages 5-7.   In this case the goal is to hit the ball and be safe at a base.  Being ‘safe’ is the central thought for these kids; not their throwing skills, not their batting skills, not their fielding skills – just getting to a base and being safe is a big deal.

As we get into teaching skills and the basics to the kids, we must keep in mind that elements of 'tag' and being 'safe' will drive much of how the kids respond to activities on the field.  

The concept of playing tag on a baseball diamond does not end with Tee-Ball.  If we watch kids, up through the age of 9-10, we will see that they too are playing tag.  At the older levels, the base runners are faster and bolder.

They recognize the difficulty the defense has in throwing the ball accurately, catching it and then getting a tag on a base or a runner.  Many of those kids are looking for any opportunity to run to the next base and be ‘safe’ before they can be ‘tagged’ (see the Coaches page – ‘Aren’t We Playing Tag?’)

On offense, when the ball is in play, the kids' experience is a mad dash of anxiety in hopes of getting to the next base "safely".  They are not particularly conscious of times when they are going to get to the next base without a play being made on them.  Some kids, because of the fact that when they are running between bases they are not 'safe' will be reluctant to leave a base even when there is a runner coming up behind them from the previous base.

The defensive side of the ball is where the majority of our teaching challenges lie.  For these kids this game of tag is a little more complicated because catching, throwing and catching that darn ball doesn't always work out real well.  For most kids on defense, simply being the one who comes up from the bottom of the pile with the ball is plenty to call it a successful day.

Our goal as coaches (and the many parents that help out at each practice and game) is to for  the kids to gain an understanding that there are three bases and home plate, which need players to cover.  One player gets the ball initially, but that player is going to toss the ball to another player at a base.  Over the course of the game, everyone will get to handle the ball plenty



Next we need to recognize a few realities of this level of play:

1.   This is not baseball

2.   The kids can’t catch

3.   The kids will find interests other than baseball during practice (and games)

Please do not view these statements as negatives.  Accepting that these points are true and being prepared to experience these points each day on the field with the kids will enable us all to enjoy the experience so much more.



This is Not Baseball

If, as a Tee-Ball coach, we go into the season thinking we are going to experience baseball we are setting ourselves up for a lot of frustration and disappointment.  If we approach the season for what it is, spending time with our child and their friends, watching them run around, laugh while they work to develop skills to catch, throw or hit that little ball then we can have a great time as coaches.

Keep in mind that as adults we are going to the park thinking ‘baseball’, while the kids are going to the park thinking ‘I get to see my friends and run around a lot’.  We want to see the activity from a kid’s perspective and teach and manage them within their perspective. We want to recognize that the activities at the park are not always going to look like baseball.  However, given the ideas in this section, over time, we can be successful in helping our kids learn the game and develop some skills over time.



The Kids Can’t Catch

Scientific research has determined that the human brain, on average, does not develop the capability to coordinate both eyes in what is called ‘binocular vision’ until around age 7 or 8.  Until both eyes learn to work together we humans lack a keen sense of depth perception, which plays a big role in catching a flying baseball.  It is important recognize that, short of a few exceptions, kids this age have not developed the motor skills required to catch a flying ball with much proficiency.

 In addition to the lack of brain and motor skill development needed to execute this skill; the fact is that most have had very little experience or practice in this skill.  Ideas and activities to help kids develop this skill are discussed in this section.  As the spring progresses the kids hey will improve and they will begin to catch the ball more often.  The most important thing is that we adults go into our tenure as Tee-Ball coaches with a clear understanding of the physical limitations of kids in this age group.



The kids will find interests other than baseball during practice

We can give our kids a glove, a bat, take them to a ball field and talk about baseball until we are blue in the face, but this is no guarantee that our kids will be thinking baseball the whole time they are at the park.  Other things they will find of interest include: other kids to poke, grab, talk to, and chase; bugs, dirt, birds, airplanes, fire trucks, etc.   These all can and will trump baseball in importance at times during a practice or game.  Adults who recognize these realities, accept them and work baseball in along the way will enjoy their time with the kids much more.  Coaches who resist accepting the reality of the Tee-Ball world will experience high levels of frustration, bewilderment and blood pressure.



Goals for the Season

1.   The kids learn that their legs power their bodies; that moving their feet is the key to playing in the field and that controlling head movement is a big factor in successfully hitting and throwing a ball.

2.   They come to recognize that “Baseball is a Game of Movement”.  On defense when they are not playing the ball they have to cover a base or back up a throw.  They always move somewhere the moment the ball is put into play.  (see the Defensive Responsibilities page - ‘Infield Base Coverage’)

3.   They remain active and having fun at all times that they are on the field (especially during practices, which always conclude with them scrimmaging).  We want them to leave the field each day having had a blast.  And at the end of the season express a Desire to Sign-up and Play Again Next Season.


In the end, our primary purpose as Tee-Ball coaches is to help the kids develop a love of the game and create an environment that leads to them wanting to continue playing the game.  (We need to get the kids to stick around until age 8-9.  At that time the game begins to resemble something like  ‘baseball’.  Kids who make it to this age are likely to continue on with the game to age 12 ...and hopefully beyond.)



Skills We Want to Focus On

Throwing and Receiving Throws

As noted above, kids this age are going to struggle with catching a thrown ball  …so how do we deal with this issue?  First, when teaching and providing feedback we keep our remarks focused on the actions of catching not the result.  If we focus on the result we very rarely will have the opportunity to give the kids praise.  When we focus on actions we can praise their efforts most every time.



Receiving (catching) a throw has three key action points:

1.   “Ready Position” (moving from a standing position to a Ready Position is and action)

2.   ”Move Your Feet to Catch”

3.   ”Reach Forward to Catch

Any child on your team can perform these three fundamental skills every time, though they will not likely catch the ball very often.  When they perform these actions in their attempt to catch, we can praise those actions and they will remain eager to keep trying ...and will make progress faster in their skill development.



“Ready Position”

Instruct he players to stand with their feet wider than shoulder width and with their hands (and elbows) held out in front of their body.  This stance is difficult for a child because of their lack of leg and shoulder strength, but they can do it.  However, we will need to remind them over and over and over again.  Saying, “Ready Position” is one of the primary things we will be doing when coaching Tee-Ball.



“Move Your Feet to Catch”

We want to remind our kids that the ball does not always come straight to them.  They will need to “Move Their Feet” in order to take their hands to the ball to catch it.  We “Move Our Feet to Catch”; we “Catch the Ball with Our Feet”.

“Reach Forward to Catch”

When a player (at any age) extends their arms and hands out in front of them; not necessarily ‘in front of their face’, but in front of the space occupied by their body.   The result is they have both the ball and their glove in their line of sight.  This positioning of the glove, within the player’s line of site, and gives the brain a better chance of coordinating the glove with the ball.  Most young children, because of the lack of shoulder strength to support the weight of their arms (and the glove), hold their glove (and elbows) close to their body when preparing for, and attempting to make, a catch.

Important Note: We will often see the kids position their glove outside their shoulders when attempting to catch.  They recognize they will often miss the ball and are smart enough to not stand directly in the flight of the ball.  However, a child can still extend their glove out ‘in front’ of where their standing and not have their glove directly in front of them.

Throwing at this age is not going to look pretty early on for most kids.  Not much at this age will look pretty, but it all is cute and fun if we adults see the game of Tee-Ball from the proper perspective.

Before teaching throwing we need to clarify a misconception that most every kid (and many adults too) has; they think the ball is thrown with their arm.  We need to state emphatically to the kids, “You don’t throw the ball with your arm!” “…you throw the ball with your legs, by ‘Moving Your Feet to Throw’”.

First, explain to the kids that when they are preparing to throw they want the ‘glove side’ of their body pointing at their target - NOT their chest.  Next they want to lift their elbows up to shoulder height and point their glove elbow at their target (or, if it’s easier, have them point their glove).  They are now in a "Power Position" (a term found throughout the rest of the Coaching Guide on this site) Now they are ready to throw…

We instruct them to shuffle towards their target (“Move Your Feet”), with their head pointing at their target (“Your head is your steering wheel”). After a couple of shuffle steps they pull their glove elbow back and snap their throwing arm and hand toward their target.  The teaching phrase is, “Shuffle, Pull, Snap”.

 It will take a couple days for the kids to do two things at once: shuffle their feet and throw the ball ('walking and chewing gum'), but they will get it and the result will be stronger and more accurate throws. (We will need to stretch out the distance between the kids playing catch with each other).

Note: given the fact that this age group will have great difficulty catching the ball, the ideal practice scenario involves each player having an adult (mom or dad) as their throwing partner.  Yes, you read correctly; we should strive to have a 1:1 adult-player ratio at Tee-Ball practice.  Parents, how long will our kids be this small and cute?  We can make 60 minutes a day, a couple days a week, to spend time with our own child.

If we find that each child does not have an adult to play catch with it is critical that we immediately establish this very important rule with the kids, “NO CHASING MISSED THROWS!!!”  If we allow kids to chase missed throws our practices will turn into kids chasing balls instead of developing skills.  The solution is to have an adult or two behind each row of kids playing catch.  These adults have a half a dozen balls in hand and when the kids miss the throw, those adults give them a new ball. (We don’t throw the ball to them – they can’t catch.  We roll the ball to them or gently toss it to them on a bounce.)

Note: This practice is not unique to Tee-Ball.  I have parents positioned behind 12 year olds while they are playing catch.  The same rule applies, ‘No chasing missed throws’ …this is the biggest time waster and skill development killer in the game of baseball and softball for kids aged 12 and below.



Receiving Throws at a Base

First we need to explain to the kids that the “The base belongs to the runners”.  Kids on defense think if they are the first, second, or third baseman that the base is theirs.  One of the first things they do when they go out to the field is stand on ‘their’ base.

 A quick way to educate the kids is to take them over to a base (first or third is best).  We stand at the first or third baseman’s position (approximately 10’ away from the base).  We tell them “I am the first/third baseman”, and then we point at the base and ask, “Who does that base belong to?”  Their response will be “The first/third baseman’s!!!” (kids love to show us how much they know).  Then we go stand on the base and ask them, “I am the first/third baseman.  When I stand on the base, am I safe?”  They will give you a silent and bewildered look.  Then ask them again, “Who does the base belong too?”  Hesitantly, and likely in a much softer voice, one or two will say, “The base belongs to the runner?” – BINGO!  …the base belongs to the RUNNER, NOT the fielder.

With that clarified we teach them where the defensive players’ positions are, and then we can teach them how to take a throw at a base.


Positioning: we want the first an third baseman to position themselves 10’ from the base.  DO NOT tell them a distance (they will start doing a heel to toe measurement from the base to their position), tell them to stand “Four Giant Steps” away from the base when the batter is getting ready to hit.  Have the shortstop and second baseman stand half way between the corner base and second base (maybe err a step toward second base from halfway).  This is not 'regular' baseball positioning (remember: this is not regular baseball).  The reason we position them exactly between the bases is addressed below.


Defensive Responsibility: When the ball is hit, if you are not fielding the ball, you run to the base to get ready for the throw.  (see the Defensive Responsibilities page - ‘Infield Base Coverage’)  RULE: “The defensive player is NOT allowed to touch the base until they have the ball”.  The defensive player stands ‘near’ the base (the foot closest to the base can be within a few inches, but does not  touch the base when waiting for a thrown ball).  At that spot they stand in a “Ready Position”, NOT a stretch position.

Note: College and pro first baseman do not stand in a stretch position when they arrive at the base (not all teenage and high school first baseman have been taught how to properly take a throw at their base).  They stand in a “Ready Position”.  It is not until the ball is in the air, on its way to the base, and the first baseman sees that the throw is accurate that they move to a stretch position (many adults are not aware of this, either).

It is understood that early in the year most of the kids on defense will want to attack the ball and will not recognize that some/many balls that are hit, are not 'theirs'.  The 'positional movement' drills will start the kids on their way to recognizing that one infielder gets the ball an the other infielders cover a base.

We then go back and review what the kids are being taught when playing catch: “Move Your Feet to Catch”.  We add the point that they need to “Get the ball first, and then get the base second”’.  We tell them “The ball is the key to the base”.  Without the key, they are not allowed to touch the base. (This is not only a rule that frees them to move away from the base to catch the ball, it is also a safety issue.  When a defensive player is standing on the base, there is a collision with the base runner waiting to happen.)

Safety (and fun) Point:  When the kids tag a base we tell them to ‘stomp’ on the base.  They think this is a lot of fun, but more importantly it has a safety component.  A player cannot run and stomp the base at the same time.  In order to stomp on the base they must slow down.  When we have the defensive player slow down to ‘stomp’ on the base we minimize the chances of the defensive player and the base runner running into each other.


Batting

The first statement we want to make to Tee-Ball kids (not to mention most other kids age 12 and under) is, “You don’t swing the bat with your arms”.  Why?” …because you don’t.  Nearly 100% of kids think (and many adults too) that the arms power the movement of the bat.  The fact is that the majority of the effort in moving the bat comes from the legs.  (Watch the baseball highlights on TV tonight.  Only look at the batters from the waist down …you’ll see that there is a lot happening there.)

The most basic teaching point to convey to a young batter is that “Your legs swing the bat”.  We teach them to think of their legs as a spring. They want to turn their knees back towards the ‘catcher’ a few inches (like they are compressing a spring) and then turn their legs and feet as fast as they can to start the swing.  Their legs ‘Turn back, then TURN FAST!” ..then they snap the bat with their wrists to finish the swing*.  While they do these movements we instruct them to “Keep Your Head in Place”. (When watching the batters on the TV baseball highlights tonight notice that when they are in their stance their head is centered between their feet and at the completion of the swing their head is still centered between their feet.

Note: the phrase ‘keep your eye on the ball’ is incomplete; we must also include (or replace with) the teaching phrase, “Keep Your Head in Place”.  The last, but not least, point is that when a child stands at the Tee they want their front foot even with the ball/tee stem, their feet wider than shoulder width apart and we should be able to draw a straight line from their back toes to their front toes to the pitching rubber.  (see the League Leadership page - 'Herding Cats' )

The kids’ swings will be far from perfect.  We are not looking to produce perfect swings in Tee-Ball.  We want to work to achieve ‘Goal #1’: they come to recognize that their legs power their movements.

Fielding

Watch the baseball highlights on TV tonight and take note of the players fielding and throwing the ball …watch their FEET.  You will notice they “Move Their Feet” to get to the ball, they get their “Feet Wide (apart) to Catch” the ball and they “(shuffle) Move Their Feet to Throw” the ball.  Fielding and throwing is all about footwork and “Moving the Feet”.  (Occasionally the pro players, in situations where they need to make short, quick throws, will not move their feet to throw, but they are generating most of the power for their throws in their legs.)

 When working with kids on their fielding skills we want to be using the word ‘Feet’ and the phrases ‘Move Your Feet’ and ‘Feet Wide’ constantly, all day, every day, all season long.

 The cadence in fielding and throwing is ‘Fast, Slow, Fast’.  We want the kids to run (move their feet) ‘Fast’ to the ball, ‘Slow’ down (and get their “Feet Wide”) to catch the ball, and then move their feet ‘Fast’ (shuffle) to throw the ball.

 Note: when delivering ground balls in practice, don’t use a bat; instead throw or roll ground balls.  It is difficult to consistently hit the ball accurately and at the correct speed when using a bat.  We can consistently place the ball where we want it and deliver it at an appropriate speed when throwing or rolling ground balls.  This technique is used in college practices around the country and in pro spring training drills for the reasons mentioned above.  If throwing/rolling a ground ball is appropriate at the college and pro level it surely is OK at the Tee-Ball level.  We can make it through the entire Tee-Ball season and never hit a ball with a bat …and we will be hugely successful in getting kids the good repetitions they need to develop their skills.



Practice Structure

“Kids don’t sign up to practice baseball, they sign up to PLAY baseball” – we want to incorporate a 50/50 practice which ensures that practice will be FUN every day and the result will be the kids wanting to go back to the park to play again.  A 50/50 practice means that 50% of the practice time is drills and 50% of (every) practice is playing a game.



Skill and Drills Session (50% of practice)

Start practice with the entire team in a group and take the kids through their batting, throwing and receiving throws drills (see the Video page).  This segment is limited to five minutes or less.  The kids are not going to ‘get it’ right away and that doesn’t matter.  What is important is to expose them to the teaching, get them a few reps and then keep things moving along.  Over time they will learn the skills.

 Next divide the kids into three groups (if your team has eight or fewer players, you can have two groups) and have three skills stations:

Station 1: Playing Catch

Station 2: Batting

Station 3: Fielding

Note: at this age the kids do not need to ‘warm up their arms’ before participating in other activities.  The group drills session at the start of practice will get them plenty ‘warm’.



Station 1: Playing Catch

Described above; we also have them work on their Underhand Toss skills (see the Skill Building Warm-up page, Fielding – Underhand Toss).  Ultimately, most throws in Tee-Ball will be underhand given the short distance of most of the throws. Note: Major League players throw the ball underhand a half dozen or more times every game.  The ‘underhand toss’ is a major league play.



Station 2: Batting

Ideally we have two Tees available and use whiffle balls.  We have two kids batting and 1-2 kids chasing the balls (they LOVE chasing the balls). When using whiffle balls two kids can hit at one time and nobody will get hurt if a flying whiffle ball hits them in the side of the head. When two kids hit at the same time, the team as a whole, over the course of a practice, gets twice as many swings – every day.  Note: make sure the two tees are at least 15’ apart so the batters don’t hit each other with a bat.



Station 3: Fielding

Fielding Drills: 20’ Ground Balls, 'Two Player, One Base' Drills, ‘Double Plays’, Rollers, Fly balls (toss drills – the kids can’t catch the fly balls but they LOVE trying!) …and the ‘Infield Base Coverage Responsibilities Drill’

(These drills are found on the ‘Skill Building Warm-up’ page and the ‘Drills’ page.)



After about eight minutes rotate the kids to the next station; the total time for the batting, throwing and receiving throws drills segment and the three stations will take 30 minutes, then scrimmage for 30 minutes …Then the kids are free to have wrestling match.



Game (50% of practice)

When we play a game we have six players on defense - there is no need for outfielders in Tee-Ball  (see the League Leadership page “Herding Cats”). The other kids are on offense.  We have a batter and runners on first base and second base.  “Start with runners on first and second?  That’s not real baseball!” – exactly, this isn’t real baseball.  It’s a bunch of highly energized little, itty-bitty kids playing a glorified game of tag.  What makes more sense?: telling a five year old to ‘sit and wait’ in the dugout or to put two of them out on the bases and tell them to “RUN!”



* Childhood Motor Development

 by Joseph Lao, Ph.D.  

…Catching balls takes a little longer, (typically an additional 3-4 years), i.e., until 5-7 years of age.  During infancy children can only catch large balls rolled directly at them.  If a smaller ball is thrown directly at them they tend to close their eyes, turn their heads, and stiffly extend arms and legs.  It is not until about seven years of age that children develop the capacity to track flying objects, make appropriate leg and body adjustments, and prepare their arms, hands and fingers quickly enough to catch a three inch ball.

Note:  I have read other articles, written by child development researchers that state that eight is the age that kids become better able to judge and catch.


Drills/Source: http://www.baseballpositive.com/tee-ball/

Teaching Baseball to Kids: LESSON 1 – PLAYING CATCH

Playing catch.  One of the most fun, relaxing things you can do in baseball.  Until your kid tries to catch a ball the wrong way.  Or he throws like a girl.  Or he’s scared of the ball.  Can you feel your blood pressure rising just reading that?  Then you’re at the right spot. :)

Your goal with a 5-8 year old boy is very simple and has nothing to do with skills. YOU NEED TO GET (AND KEEP) THEM CONFIDENT. Even if your son is on a 7u travel team, and routinely makes backhanded putouts from deep in the hole at shortstop – BEGIN EVERY PRACTICE SESSION WITH A CONFIDENCE BUILDING ACTIVITY. This is the most important thing that you’ll do.

NEVER start out by firing line drives or throwing hard to your son to warm up- no matter his skill level. Start slow, easy and close.  Kids love games and races. If you’re playing pitch and catch, give them a reward or tell them you’ll do 5 push ups every time they catch 3 in a row. You want them smiling as they play.  Here’s 4 steps to build confidence in young players.

1 – Use tennis balls underhand from about 10-15 feet away when you get to the field or in the back yard.  The ONLY thing you want to see is your son catching the ball with his thumbs together above his waist, and pinkies together below it. If you can get him to turn his glove over and reach across his body to catch balls on the side opposite his glove – that’s great. Throw balls to him left of his body, right of his body, high and low. Try not to get anything around or near his face.

I know what you’re thinking. I even think it every time I write this. “He’ll never learn how to catch balls that come at him in a game then. If he’s on an all-star team, he’s going to get balls thrown to him way harder than this – and he won’t be ready!” You’re forgetting our first goal already. You have to build him up and ease him into tougher and tougher catches. Let him experience success. If he catches it – praise him. If he misses it, say nothing or show him his mistake in a positive way.

FOR LITTLE LITTLE GUYS – try using THOSE VELCRO PADDLES with a tennis ball.  This will get them used to putting their thumbs together and pointing fingers up to correctly catch above the waist balls.

FOR ADVANCED PLAYERS, go ahead and use a baseball, but stay close- and your goal doesn’t change: we just want to see them catching the ball correctly, wherever the ball is in relation to their body.

2 – Once he’s consistently caught balls all around him, give him some tosses around his midsection. Tell him beforehand, and point out how good he’s doing already.  You want to encourage him to stay in front of the ball at watch it into his glove.  Once he’s been thrown a few, each of you take 2 steps back. Rinse and repeat.

3 – If he’s looking confident (note: I didn’t say catching everything) and having fun go get the squishy tee ball. Toss it to his left and right, make sure he’s got his glove in a good position on either side of his body.

Again, build confidence with good catches and show him pointers with misses. Be positive. He’s going to make dumb mistakes. He’s going to start doing things he’s NEVER done before.He’s going to be afraid of the ball. You just have to encourage through it, show (not tell) him the right way and keep at it.

4 – After you’ve thrown a bit ask him if he wants some grounders, etc. Let him experience good catches and let him decide if he wants more. If he’s done, move on to something else-at this age kids will like playing catch, but not as much as you do.

Source: http://teachbaseball.wordpress.com/2010/03/18/lesson-1-playing-catch/

Teaching Your Kids to Catch a Baseball

Some kids just have a natural physical ability to play sports, specifically baseball or softball.  The rest of us had to learn and practice, practice, practice.  Personally I had the reflexes of a cat and was an aggressive and mean child growing up…perfect for playing Little League baseball.  As a follow up to my previous article on how to teach your kids to hit a baseball, here are some helpful tips for how to help them learn to catch a baseball…

Coaching my boys through T-Ball and into Little League allowed me to share my lifelong knowledge of baseball with the young players on our teams.  I worked hard to make every practice worthwhile and fun at the same time.  Learning to catch a baseball provides skills your kids will hopefully keep with them the rest of their lives.  So here are the basics… and a little secret for you aspiring coaches (Dads).

FEAR FACTOR – Regardless of all your intentions, some kids are just afraid that the ball is going to nail them.  Resist the urge to simply peg them with the ball to show them “it doesn’t hurt”.  That only validates and reinforces the fear.  Just like my other article on how to hit a baseball, start out using big balls…soft vinyl balls…or volleyballs in order to help them learn the basic in a fearless environment.  Don’t use any gloves so that 1) they learn footwork and hand placement; and 2) you can clearly see what they are doing and their hands are not hidden inside or behind the gloves.

FOOTWORK – No matter how a ball is hit or thrown to you, your best opportunity for catching it cleanly is with good footwork.  First year players really benefit from focusing on moving quickly to “square up” your body to catch the ball.  Position players will sprint to a spot and set up themselves to receive the ball STRAIGHT ON.  As your kids get older and more experienced, this is even more critical.  Setting up to catch the ball eventually transforms into setting up your body to be in the best position to properly throw the ball after the catch.  It all begins and ends with the right footwork.  Practice side-shuffling; hopping; charging; and dropping straight back.  All these drills can be done without even using a ball.

THE HANDS – Any balls hit or thrown all around you are almost intuitive to catch.
 The “overhead” shot; on your “glove side”; and even a “backhand” can seem like a natural motion.  Where catching a ball gets harder for beginners is when the ball comes straight at you either on the ground or as a line-drive.  And remember, with the proper footwork your child is already in position to make the catch by being in front of the ball...so most catchable balls end up in this “juggle zone”.  This is the area where your child will spin their glove left-right-up-down in a valiant effort to line up their glove in order to catch those balls coming straight at them.

THE SECRET – So here is how I teach kids to catch those straight-on balls.  I drill them with two very easy rules in every practice until I can see they have developed an automated reflex approach.  This is called the “Pinkies & Thumbs” drill.



Pinkies – Any ball hit (or thrown) towards you that is below your waist is called a “pinkies” catch.  What this means is in order  for your child to catch this ball they need to put their pinkies (little fingers) of each hand together in a side-by-side manner.  Spreading out their fingers and forming a big basket – one bare hand and one gloved hand.









Thumbs – Any ball hit (or thrown) towards you that is above your waist is called a “thumbs” catch.  The opposite of the pinkies, this requires your child to put their thumbs of each hand together side-by-side, again forming a two-handed basket with proper hand placement to catch and throw.


COACHING - This “pinkies & thumbs” drill puts their hands in the perfect position to catch the ball in their glove; secure it with the bare hand; and be ready to pull the ball out for the throwing motion.  It’s really simple and easy for your kids to remember.  You can easily run this drill with a repetitive hand motion (not even throwing balls) by calling out loud “pinkies” or “thumbs” and mimicking the proper hand placement with them.  Plus it provides you as the coach with a quick and subtle verbal reminder during the game if a player misses a ball.  Just simply call out “pinkies” if a player misses a grounder…or yell “thumbs” on those fly balls or pop-ups.

So there is my simple how-to approach to help you teach your kids to catch a baseball.  Remember to practice with them regularly…but most of all remember to make it fun!  I hope this article helps please post your comments and check out my other post on Teaching Your Kids To Hit A Baseball.


Source: : http://4busydads.com/article/teaching-your-kids-catch-baseball#sthash.6DiEOgiz.dpuf

Duck, duck, goose

Children love to play games and those involving active play which allow them to move around or even run are perhaps the best loved of all. Duck, Duck, Goose is one of those very games. Simple to play, this non-competitive game requires no special equipment, skill or abilities and children as young as kindergarten can participate.

Duck, Duck Goose is best played outdoors on the grass or other soft impact surface. However, on rainy days when recess must be held indoors the game can be played in open areas such as a gymnasium. Before beginning, you will want to talk to your students about fair play and making sure that everyone is included in the game play and gets to have a turn. Because the game involves physical contact, you will also want to talk to them about the appropriate way to tap someone on the head or shoulder without actually hitting or hurting.

To play the game, one student is chosen as the goose while all remaining students are the ducks. The goose can be picked at random or a classroom leader such as the student of the week can begin the game as the first goose. Once the goose is chosen the ducks all sit in a circle facing each other. The goose then walks slowly around the outside of the circle lightly tapping each duck on the head or the shoulder while saying the word duck with each tap.

At some point in the game the goose will choose a new student to take its place as goose and then join the circle of ducks. The way this happens is that when the goose reaches the chosen successor in the circle, he or she taps them and says "goose!" and then takes off running. The duck gets up from his or her seat and chases the goose around the circle trying to tag them in return. The goose must reach the duck's vacated spot in the circle and take their seat before the duck can tag them. (The goose has to stay close to the circle while trying to avoid being tagged.)

                                                         

(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duck,_duck,_goose#mediaviewer/File:Duckduckgoose.gif)

If the goose successfully reaches its destination the duck then becomes the new goose. If not, the goose must start over and try and get another duck to take its place outside the circle. Play continues in this manner until the time allotted for the game is up. It should be noted that this is not a game for groups that include children who are physically challenged and might have difficulty with walking or running.

Source: http://www.educationspace360.com/index.php/how-to-play-duck-duck-goose-14584/

Top 10 Benefits of Youth Sports

Friendly competition, opportunities for getting involved with your child, and the excitement of gamedays are all reasons why parents choose to enroll kids in sports; but engaging little ones in athletics has a bevy of other benefits! Take a look at some of the top ten benefits for involving your child in youth sports!
 

1. Socialization skills: Learning to share is a skill children are introduced to very early on, but being socialized and "playing well" with others requires a lot more than that! Sports give children a way to practice a range of critical social skills including effective communication and conflict resolution; all while making new friends!
2. New friends: Not for the kids this time...but for the parents! New to the area? Stay-at-home-mom? Busy professional?? Youth sports are beneficial to parents also because they provide parents an opportunity to meet other parents in the community, and those parents who share a similar interest of engaging their youngsters (an added benefit!)
3. Community Awareness: Do you want to learn more about where you live? What better way than by participating in a youth athletic league! (YAL) parents can learn a great deal about their communities through increased knowledge of local parks and recreation offerings; volunteering, by attending league or local government meeting; and by associating with community members and parents from neigboring schools. 
4. Parent/Child Involvement: Speaking of being involved in the community, sports also helps parents to be more engaged with their children--even if finding time can be a predicament sometimes! Parents can bond with their children by helping them with practice sessions, volunteering (of course!), attending games, or by engaging them in good 'ole baseball chat around the dinner table or during car rides. Sharing stories about your own involvement in sports as a kid, or recent news events about sports events or baseball can also be interesting. Consider attending a professional game with your child as a reward or special treat! Tip: Youth leagues occasionally offer tickets to professional games as a fundraiser. Check with your league.
5. Energy Aversion: Too much energy and hyperactivity are some of the most common gripes of parents to young children; but children sometimes only need more options for applying their endless energy...or more challenging options. Sports are a great solution. The physical demands of training, practices and games, can return children home feeling accomplished, yet tuckered out and ready for a good nights rest! Physical fitness: With physical fitness programs being cut in many schools, the need for extracurricular sports activities is even more important. Kids get exercise benefits through sports without even realizing that it is exercise!
6. Mental fitness: Sports are a natural outlet for stress. Tantrums, mood swings, and occasional irritability are all part of being a kid, but instead of throwing in the towel, try an athletic league! Sports also are a self-esteem enhancer. Children gain a sense of pride as family and friends cheer for them. Sports provide a sense of connectedness and community, which are critical to development and overall well-being.
7. Mentoring: A great coach not only motivates a team, but also is a great role model. Be sure that when you are choosing a youth league, that you also take the time to choose your coach! Send your coach an email introducing yourself, attend any meet-and-greets offered, or...volunteer to be a coach! Who know how to be a great coach other than you? 
8. Free time: Need to run a quick errand, get apples at the grocery? Practices can afford parents a little much-needed time occasionally. Parents can also find creative time-saving options such as car-pooling, or arranging pickups and drop-offs with other parents. 
9. Academic performance: Sports equals discipline, and good discipline equals increased school performance. When children learn the essence of being rounded, its easier for them to apply the same principles in other areas such as work, school, and personal life.
10. Discipline/Life Skills: Speaking of work, sports teach important leadership skills, provides cultural exposure, and helps kids to learn how to manage difficult situations or difficult people! Respect, listening, arriving on time, training on regular schedule, eating well (plenty of fruits and veggies) and staying focused from distraction; are rules of almost any game. Winning and losing also teach kids fundamentals of pride and humility.

Fun: But come on...Winning is fun--when it happens! And the overall experience of being on a youth athletic team is fun; so if you haven't already, go register for something!

Now those are some good reasons to take your kid to the ballpark!

Source: http://www.arlingtonlittleleague.org/Page.asp?n=109716&org=arlingtonlittleleague.org

Upton Youth Baseball is now taking registrations for the Spring season !!!

To my local followers… Upton Youth Baseball is now taking registrations for the Spring season

http://www.uptonmabaseball.org/Registration/Default.asp?org=uptonmabaseball.org

"Visualization" the Secret to 15 Olympic Gold Medals

Visualization is the Secret to 15 Olympic Gold Medals, According to Record-Setting Olympic Swimmer Michael Phelps, Who “Mentally Rehearses” the Perfect Swim Each Night Before He Goes to Sleep to Experience Feeling Victorious Before He Even Sets Foot in the Pool

Mental visualization is the secret to success for Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, who today became the most decorated Olympian in history with 19 Olympic medals. A record-breaking 15 of Phelps’ 19 medals are gold medals.

Despite some media speculation that he wouldn't be able to remain focused enough to break the Olympic record, Phelps continues to demonstrate that he knows what it takes to continuously beat the fastest, strongest and most disciplined swimmers in the world. And according to Phelps, his success stems from first visualizing himself winning each race before he even steps foot in the pool.
In fact, Phelps claims he's been visualizing since he was seven years old, watching what he calls "his videotape" of the perfect swim in his mind each night before going to sleep to mentally map out his ideal swim for the next day.

“I like to think of myself as a normal person who has a passion, has a goal and a dream and goes out and does it,” Phelps told The Daily Telegraph. “Throughout my career, nobody has been able to stand in my way. I have gone through ups and downs. Nobody is going to put a limit on what I'm doing. I’m going to do what I want to do, when I want to do it. That is how I have always worked. If I want something I am going to go and get it."

Law of Attraction guru Natalie Ledwell said that many athletes attribute their success to what they call ‘sports visualization.’ Olympic figure skater Randy Gardner and basketball star Michael Jordan have also credited their success to visualization, defined by Wikipedia as “the practice of seeking to affect the outer world by changing one's thoughts and expectations.”

"When people learn how to use visualization, they gain the ability to mentally condition themselves for unstoppable success all kinds of life events and goals, just like Michael Phelps,” said Ledwell. “Yes, you can use this for sports, but visualization has also proven extremely effective for goals around losing weight, earning more money and much more.”

A celebrated speaker and author, Ledwell is also the co-founder of San Diego-based Mind Movies, a personal development company dedicated to helping others bring the full power of visualization and the Law of Attraction into their lives. Over 900,000 people worldwide have already received Ledwell’s free pre-made Mind Movies, which are dynamic, moving video vision boards that help users visualize and achieve their goals faster and easier than they ever thought possible.

To find out more about Mind Movies and download 6 free pre-made Mind Movies, visit: http://mindmoviestv.com

About Mind Movies:
Founded in 2008, Mind Movie's mission is to help empower people from all over the world to visualize their goals and manifest their greatest dreams and desires. Mind Movies has touched the lives of over 900,000 people around the world and is headquartered in downtown San Diego, California.

Company Contact Information:
Mind Movies
Media Relations
113 West G Street #122
San Diego, CA 92101
http://mindmoviestv.com

Source: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/8/prweb9762730.htm

The Truth about Agility Training for Baseball

Agility training for baseball is a very misunderstood concept. Most coaches and players think that by simply using an agility ladder or cone drills that an athlete will become more agile. Most coaches and players also think that by doing “agility” drills, athletes will increase linear speed, however both these arguments aren’t true.

The truth is that in a baseball game no player knows which direction they are going have to move in to track down a fly ball, field a ground ball or block a wild pitch. For this reason I don’t like predetermined ladder or agility drills because they have no carry over to the athletic field. My approach to agility training is very simple and old school. Great agility training for young kids is playing a game like tag. Sounds crazy but look at what is going on during this game. Kids are constantly dodging each other, moving in different directions. They are reacting to an unknown stimulus.

Realistically, baseball players should perform their agility training by reacting to a ball. Baseball players can improve their agility and range by doing player position drills. For a catcher there is nothing more dynamic then blocking balls in the dirt or fielding bunts. Middle infielders should work on their footwork on fielding ground balls and double plays.  Outfielders should work on improving their routes to fly balls. Working on these drills at 100% intensity will improve your agility and range.

Like everything in the performance world, the agility ladder has its place. For me, I would use it for my athletes as part of their warm up as a plyometic effect and to maybe get their nervous system going but no more than a couple of minutes. It is also great for young athletes because it will help improve their coordination. As far as cone drills go, unless you are getting tested specifically in the 3 cone drill or other drills of this nature, you are better off reacting to a ball or an unknown stimulus. Sure you will get good at ladder drills and cone drills if you perform them over and over again but let me ask you- how many sports can you name that have predetermined movement patterns?


In addition to actually playing baseball what can you do to improve agility?

The ability to control one’s bodyweight is critical to improving quickness. Like all other physical attributes such as speed, power and explosiveness, agility will increase once an athlete develops a certain level of relative body strength. Once a solid foundation of strength is built, an athlete will be able to handle his or her bodyweight better and thus be able to move in different directions quicker.

How about increasing speed?

The ability to increase the rate of force production will improve speed. In order to increase speed, you need to increase the rate of force production. I have found that there are three ways to increase rate of force production into the ground. The first way is through sprinting. If you want to run fast then sprint!  The second way is through building a strong lower body. This comes through using the max effort method, strengthening the posterior chain and through unilateral leg training. In addition to building strength, athletes need to train explosive strength, or dynamic strength. The most economical way of doing this is through jump training.

Improvements in an athlete’s vertical jump will lead to improvements in speed as well because of RATE OF FORCE DEVELOPMENT, NOT BECAUSE OF AN INCREASE IN “QUICK FEET” OR AGILITY.


Source: http://megliofitness.com/truth-agility-training-baseball/

MLB unveils “Pitch Smart”: a guide to help youth baseball players avoid injury

Major League Baseball today unveiled the first step in an initiative aimed at reducing pitcher injuries. It’s called “Pitch Smart” and it’s designed to educate youth players, parents and coaches about how to better avoid arm injuries. This is important because, as Dr. James Andrews noted last spring when a rash of Tommy John surgeries hit Major League Baseball, the cake on arm injuries is often baked back when the pitcher is young, not when he is already a professional.

The website sets forth best practices, guidelines and identifies risk factors for young baseball players. Stuff like this:



Source: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/11/12/mlb-unveils-pitch-smart-a-guide-to-help-youth-baseball-players-avoid-injury/

Cone Agility Drills: Texas Rangers MLB

These drills emphasize 45-90° changes of direction. Remain low and athletic throughout each of the drills.

4-Cone Box Drill
Start at Cone #1 and run through the full course under control.
Start at Cone #1 and sprint forward to Cone #2
Shuffle to the right from Cone #2 to Cone #3
Backpedal from Cone #3 to Cone #4
Shuffle to the left  from Cone #4 to Cone #1
Move at full speed and under control through the course at full speed.


3-Cone L-Drill
Beginning at Cone #1, sprint from Cone #1 to Cone #2 and back
Turn and sprint, tightly rounding Cone #2 and Cone #3
Sprint back around Cone #2 and finish through Cone #1



3-Cone T-Drill
Beginning at Cone A, sprint from Cone A to Cone B
Shuffle from Cone B to Cone C
Reverse direction, and shuffle from Cone C to Cone D
Reverse direction, and shuffle Cone D to Cone B
Backpedal sprint from Cone B to through Cone A
ALWAYS face the same direction as when you begin the drill



3-Cone V-Drill
Beginning at Cone A, sprint to Cone B and touch the cone
Reverse direction, and backpedal sprint to Cone A
Sprint to Cone C and touch the cone
Reverse direction, and backpedal sprint to Cone A
Repeat 3 times on both sides per set..

Source: http://www.rangerstrength.com/conditioning/conditioning/agility/3-cone-v-drill/

Has Baseball's Moment Passed?

On Opening Day, Gloomy Studies Suggest Kids Are Losing Interest; Hank Crone Laces 'Em Up

Hank Crone is the grandson of a major leaguer and the son of one of the top scouts for the Detroit Tigers. Growing up in north Texas, one of the world's great breeding grounds for baseball talent, there was no question he'd play the family game.

But after a few seasons, the athletically gifted 13-year-old said he found himself absent-mindedly kicking the outfield grass during travel-team games. The problem: he was bored. "I like baseball," he said, "but it's just too slow for me."

Two years ago, Hank dropped baseball for hockey, a game that feeds his love for speed and constant movement. He now plays wing and center for a Chicago-based select team that has traveled to tournaments in Russia and Sweden. "Look, if anyone would want him to play baseball it would be me," said Hank's dad, Ray Crone, Jr. "But you've got to follow your heart in this sort of thing, so let him do what he wants."

As the 2011 Major League Baseball season begins Thursday, the national pastime has a problem. Too many kids like Hank Crone are choosing to dedicate themselves to other sports.

With 11.5 million players of all ages in the U.S., baseball remains the fourth-most-popular team sport, trailing only basketball, soccer and softball.

But over the last 16 years, numbers for Little League Baseball, which accounts for about two-thirds of the country's youth play, have been steadily dropping. And there are signs the pace is accelerating.

From 2000 to 2009, the latest year for which figures are available, the number of kids aged 7 to 17 playing baseball fell 24%, according to the National Sporting Goods Association, an industry trade group. Despite growing concerns about the long-term effects of concussions, participation in youth tackle football has soared 21% over the same time span, while ice hockey jumped 38%. The Sporting Goods Manufacturing Association, another industry trade group, said baseball participation fell 12.7% for the overall population.

"The days of kids being born with a glove next to their ear in the crib and boys playing catch in the backyard by age three, those are over," said Len Coleman, the former president of the National League.

Coleman, who counts Hall of Famers Hank Aaron and Frank Robinson as close friends, said he watched his son, now 23, drop baseball as a teenager for soccer—the sport he starred in at Georgetown University. "I even tried to keep him interested by having him catch so he'd be involved in every play," Coleman said.

According to scouts, the declining numbers are beginning to alter the talent pool in ways that could have a noticeable impact on player quality. "There are still players, but there aren't the numbers out there anymore," said David Bloom, a scout with the Baltimore Orioles. "The great players just don't stand out like they used to."

Tim Brosnan, an executive vice-president for Major League Baseball, said the recent gloomy studies have prompted the league to order up its own research, which is ongoing, and to review the league's efforts to grow the game. Since 1989, baseball has spent more than $50 million building and renovating fields and creating baseball leagues, especially in urban areas where kids have been abandoning the sport. It has also opened youth training academies in California and Texas to teach all aspects of the game—even umpiring. "We know if you play as a kid you over-index in your propensity to become a fan," Brosnan said. "That's our core right there, so any decline in it is going to get our absolute and full attention."

At the high school level, baseball has held steady with about 15,786 programs in the U.S.—a number that ranks it No. 3 among all boys' sports. Youth sports officials say there's been a small decline in the number of teams, but largely because of funding cutbacks.

As for Little League, which covers kids aged 4 to 18, about two million kids played in the U.S. last year, compared to about 2.5 million in 1996—an overall decline of 25%. The only growth in youth baseball participation since the 1990s, according to the NSGA, has come from kids who play more than 50 times a year—which suggests more children who play baseball have chosen to specialize.

Lance Van Auken, Little League's spokesman, said baseball seems to be morphing into a more-structured year-round activity that requires expensive lessons, equipment and travel. "Our position is that kids should play baseball, soccer, a musical instrument, do scouting, and specialize later on," Van Auken said. "It seems ridiculous that there are eight-year-old travel teams, but there are."

There hasn't been any definitive research on why baseball is losing ground. Anecdotally, parents say it has to do with the game's languid pace—and the fact that other sports do a better job forcing kids to stay alert. "Parents want to see their kids moving," said John Mitchell, a former college baseball coach from Alabama. "They drop their kids off at soccer and they know they're going to run around like maniacs for an hour. When they watch baseball practice, they often see them standing around in the outfield while the coach throws batting practice."

Lou Warner, the principal of Tennessee-based Warner's Athletic, an athletic field construction company, said much of his municipal work these days involves converting the outfields in countless parks into multi-sport facilities for soccer, football and lacrosse use.

Studies suggest more people now play soccer in the U.S. than baseball, and lacrosse participation among kids has more than doubled in the last decade. The number of high school lacrosse programs has been growing by about 7% a year.

Todd Hargrove of Rockwall, Texas, had hoped his son, Colton, would play baseball—the same sport he'd played as a teenager. But Colton Hargrove, 18, chose elite hockey instead—and now plays for the Fargo Force of the U.S. Hockey League. "He's 6 -2, 210 pounds, with big hands," Hargrove said. "Could have thrown a mean forkball if he'd stuck with it."

He didn't. "I'd sort of just be standing there on the field," Colton said. "It was kind of boring."

Coleman said baseball's only hope may be to make some radical changes in youth and high school play. His idea: eliminate the walk. Walks slow the game down, he said, and also rob the best players of opportunities to hit because opposing pitchers get orders from their coaches to walk the other teams' best players. "Give the batter three strikes and tell the pitcher he's got to throw the ball over the plate," Coleman said. "That ought to liven things up."

Source: http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052748703712504576232753156582750

How to Run Faster: Arm Mechanics & Fascia

I have to admit, I am still a kid, and I still enjoy connecting the dots.

I wrote about the proper use of the arm and hand action in at least 5 articles (see below for the links).

And I wrote about the importance of fascia in past articles More on Stretching – Active Isolated Stretching (AIS) and More on Stretching and Movement (Part 3).

So what does Fascia have to do with sprinting arm mechanics, and more specifically, how can it be used to make you run faster?

Yes, believe it or not, there could be a connection, based on David Weck, whose claim to fame is the invention of the Bosu Ball!

Arm Mechanics and Fascia

In last January’s Men’s Heath, there was an article titled The Revolutionary New Science of Speed.

The article is about David Weck who developed a theory about how "spiraling" your arms could make you run faster, based on Fascia.

You can read the printer friendly article instead of going through 6 pages.  Plus it’s easier on a mobile device!

Below is a snippet of the relevant portion:

Weck believes in an arm swing that turns outward as the arm moves forward, and inward as the arm moves back. The arms stay close to your sides, and the fingers wrap tightly at the top—and then unwrap and extend at the bottom. His explanation for this seemingly trivial instruction—after all, how could corkscrewing your hands and fingers have any effect on your running speed?—is based on the supposed downstream effects of tightening one long network of connective tissue known as fascia. One example of fascia is the opaque membrane covering a chicken breast when you peel back the skin. You probably don’t give it much thought when you eat meat, and early anatomists ignored it as well. But if anything is clear about physiology, it is that the body doesn’t waste materials.

"Bending and internally rotating your wrist with your fingers spread uncoils the spring," says Weck. "Your connective tissue is a unitary structure spanning the body, so what happens at your hands impacts what happens everywhere else." 
You can imagine the fascia, in this view, like a chain-link fence. If it’s loose, a pull on one end has to take up the slack before that pull causes movement at the farthest point. If that chain-link fence is purposely pulled tight, however, as fascia is with spiraling, movement on one end will be transmitted through its entire length without delay.

"It is absolutely true that movement of the arms when you run will have an effect on the fascial bag, and it’s all one fascial bag," says Thomas Myers, author of Anatomy Trains , a book dedicated to the subject. Myers calls fascia a "bag" because he has dissected enough of the stuff to view the interlocking bands of tissue as nothing more than the sack that holds us together. Like Weck, he believes subtle movements of our fingers may play a role in how precisely our legs move, because of the networks of fascia and nerves that link them.

"Just look at someone punting a football," says Myers. "You will see the person’s fingers usually in very precise positions. Splinting two fingers together could change how the foot strikes the ball, and that could change the direction of a punt." To understand this strange connection, try running with your hands open. "Fascia absorbs and distributes biomechanical forces," Myers says. So even though your hands are far removed from your hips and legs, he says, running with them open will tire out your legs and back sooner than running with them closed will.

But you don’t have to be a fervent believer in the all-powerful actions of fascia to see a potential biomechanical benefit in spiraling your arms. The movements also seem capable of translating to changes in what is happening in your back and hips. "If you pronate your hand while it’s back, you help your hip flex on that side, which is what is happening when your arm is at the back of the swing," says Weck. "It will lead to the internal rotation of the upper arm, and the ‘recoil,’ for lack of a better term, of your lats, biceps, and pecs as they prepare to help bring the arm forward again."

Here Weck has some supporters in his argument. "Rotating your arm outward at the top of your swing is in fact going to stretch your lats," says the University of San Francisco’s Dalcourt. "Your lats are on your back, but they connect to the front of your arm. Why are we set up this way? One reason is that lifting and externally rotating your palm stretches the muscle and helps create potential energy. Also, your lats blend in with and lift your pelvis." All of which is why Weck believes supinating your arm enables your opposite-side hip to rise more easily, while pronating your arm enables your near-side hip to rise more easily.

Source: http://speedendurance.com/2012/01/11/how-to-run-faster-arm-mechanics-fascia/

MLB draft can be risky business

These are the glory days.

On Thursday, June 2, a little past 1 p.m., the seniors at Lawrence Academy are living it up at Kimball Farm in Westford, Mass. Graduation, the culmination of what feels like a long journey, is just a day away. A big future beckons. For now, though, it's time to let loose.
Some blast into each other on the bumper boats. Others compete for momentary honor in the arcade. There are spirited competitions in mini golf, home run derbies at the batting cages and huge waffle cones being downed by carefree 18-year-olds.

Tyler Beede hangs out at the pitch-and-putt course. It is as good a place as any to bask.

At 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds, he is all but glowing with the future. The long-awaited first Monday in June is now just four days away. In a Major League Baseball draft rich with New England talent -- perhaps the best at the high school level in three decades -- Beede is, for all appearances, "a can't-miss kid."

With command of a fastball that has reached 95 miles per hour, a devastating changeup, and what he calls "an 11:30-to-7 curveball," he has wowed the army of area scouts and national cross-checkers who have made his every start an event. One day, five members of the Texas Rangers organization alone came calling. When Beede fanned 15 batters in six innings against Middlesex, he did so under the watchful eye of Theo Epstein, general manager for the right-hander's beloved Boston Red Sox.

It's not just the eye-popping stuff or the numbers -- however impressive (8-0, 0.69 ERA; 102 strikeouts, 8 walks, 13 hits in 51 innings) -- that stand out. By all accounts, Beede is a young man with considerable poise, a true student of the game. He talks freely about "developing my craft as a pitcher."

Growing up in the small town of Auburn, Mass., just outside of Worcester, Beede began that study at a young age. "He was never just a thrower," says his father, Walter, a former minor leaguer who has coached the game at the college level. "Even in Little League, he had an ability to understand and implement the mechanics of separation in terms of a fastball and changeup."

Along with his dad and older brother Kyle (a catcher, conveniently), Tyler Beede began spending each summer, from mid-June until late August, following the circuit of top summer baseball opportunities. From Florida to California, the Beedes found the diamonds that glittered. Tyler played on the top AAU teams. He appeared in the best showcases, ones that trip easily off his tongue: Perfect Game, Area Code Games, the Aflac All-American Game.

Often Tyler's teams won championships. He and Kyle teamed up to lead Auburn High School to a state Division 2 title in 2009. He won a national AAU championship with the Virginia Canes. As a dominant pitcher and a leadoff hitter who batted .481 with six home runs, he helped propel Lawrence Academy this year to an undefeated romp through the highly competitive Independent School League.

And not just that. According to Chris Margraf, his coach at Lawrence, Beede is something of a renaissance man. "He was a finalist in the school's poetry recitation," Margraf says. "And after he pitched us to the championship, he had to race back to campus for a dance recital. He's one of the best dancers on campus."

Team Beede has surrounded Tyler with what his dad terms "all the right people." He works out under the direction of Eric Cressey, whose Cressey Performance Center includes Kevin Youkilis as a client. ("I've put on 40 pounds and added five to six miles an hour on my fastball," says Tyler, who does everything from long-toss programs to deep-tissue massage with Cressey.) He has a private pitching guru, Len Solesky, a former big league scout, who tells his clients, "Don't give me any of that little boy stuff." And after weeding through the presentations of all the game's top agents -- or "advisors," as they are known until a professional contract is signed -- the Beedes selected Alan Nero, managing director of Octagon's baseball division.

All systems are go. As Tyler Beede works on his short game at Kimball Farm, the spoils await. There is a scholarship waiting for him at Vanderbilt University. That will be one option. The other will flow from the draft on Monday, when he is projected to be a late first-round or early second-round pick.

What would that mean? For one thing, it would entail a hefty signing bonus. First-rounders, particularly at the high school level, routinely score seven-figure bonuses as big league teams essentially bribe them not to go to college. That would be a sweet payoff on this lifelong investment.

Presumably, it would be both small step and giant leap. Certainly, it seems that a big league career now awaits. That's always been not just the dream, but the plan.

Hanging by a thread

At the same moment, as Beede pitches and putts in Westford, Rick Asadoorian sits in the bullpen at Fitton Field in Worcester. Like Beede, Asadoorian comes from a small town in central Massachusetts, Whitinsville -- a village actually -- that sits near a state park known ominously as Purgatory Chasm.

A day after deadly twisters swept through western and central Massachusetts, there is no getting around this: Asadoorian plays for a team called the Worcester Tornadoes. It's professional baseball, to be sure, but far out on the fringe. Even among the outliers in independent leagues (unaffiliated with major league teams), the Canadian-American League stands at a distance, a dream hanging by a thread.


The Tornadoes' game against the Brockton Rox started at 11:05 a.m. as a special incentive for school groups. Here in the late innings, as the Tornadoes squander an early lead, a huge group from Forest Grove Middle School heads to their buses. That leaves maybe 200 people in the stands, as wrappers from ring pops, Swedish fish and Starbursts swirl all around.

The bullpen denizens are perched on folding chairs down the left-field line, highway traffic roaring past just beyond the fence, beneath the big backdrop of a huge sign for Rotman's Furniture and Carpet.

Though Asadoorian is 30, he still looks like a young ballplayer. His body is wiry and taut, his dark hair still thick. There are just a few lines carved around his brown eyes.

"Unless I was playing affiliated ball, this is the only place that I would like to play," he said immediately after the game. "I'm home with my family. Essentially, it's turned into my hometown team. It's pretty fun to be here."

Of course, it is hard not to look back. It was a dozen years ago -- almost to the minute -- on June 2, 1999, when Asadoorian awaited his fate in the 35th MLB amateur draft. As fate would have it, Asadoorian was on his senior class trip at the time. Along with his classmates from Northbridge High School, and seniors from many other area schools, Asadoorian was living it up at a park in Connecticut.

"We were all sitting around the pool, hanging out," Asadoorian remembers. "It was a really, really cool experience."

As he tells the story, his eyes lilt and his tone suggests that he can almost taste the nectar once again. He didn't have a cell phone back then, way back in the Paleolithic era at the turn of the century. Instead, he carried a pager borrowed from his cousin. Around 1:30 p.m. the message came through: "You're on the Red Sox. No. 17. Call home."

A center fielder considered by some to be a potential five-tool player, Asadoorian could hardly believe his good fortune. His lifelong devotion to baseball had paid off in a huge way. He was the top draft choice by the team he had grown up loving. He was brimming with confidence. A story by Gordon Edes in the next day's Boston Globe reads in part:

"I have no doubt in my mind," Asadoorian said when asked if he felt he would one day play in the big leagues.

That has not come to pass. Asadoorian's pro career has taken him through trades and releases and the Rule 5 draft. He has been converted to a pitcher. He has made it as far as Triple-A, but never so much as one inning at the big league level. He is now playing his third straight season of independent baseball. On the roster of the Worcester Tornadoes, he is the second-oldest player.

"It just didn't click for me," he says. "It was unfortunate. That was my lifelong goal: to play in the major leagues. Do I feel like I can? Yes, I feel like I can. Do I feel like I have the ability? Yes, I do. Will I get the opportunity? It's doubtful."

Can't miss? Not so fast

The cautionary tale of Rick Asadoorian is more than just a blip on the radar. True, top draft picks fill out lots of big league rosters. More than half the current Red Sox roster consists of former first-rounders (Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett, J.D. Drew, Jason Varitek, Jacoby Ellsbury, Daniel Bard, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Clay Buchholz and Jed Lowrie) and second-rounders (Jon Lester, Dustin Pedroia, Carl Crawford and John Lackey).

But it's also true that a significant percentage of top picks never make it at all. Analyzing the 25 drafts from 1981 to 2005 detailed on thebaseballcube.com, one finds some startling details. Of the 917 first-round picks, including sandwich-round selections (still considered first-rounders, but slotted in before the second round to compensate teams for the loss of elite free agents), exactly 300 (32.7 percent) never played in the bigs. Fourteen of the Red Sox' 38 first-rounders (36.8 percent) never made it.

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In 22 of those 25 drafts, at least one top-10 pick in the nation didn't make it. In nine of those years, at least three top-10 picks failed to get the treasured call.

Overall, 48 of 250 top-10 picks (19.2 percent) and 17 of 125 top-five picks (13.6 percent) fell short of the dream. Two of the overall No. 1 selections (Brien Taylor by the Yankees in 1991 and Matt Bush by the Padres in 2004) never breathed the rarefied air of the major leagues.

Asadoorian's draft year of 1999 was by far the worst one for top picks. The draft started out with two high school players: Josh Hamilton (with whom Asadoorian played in high school showcases) and Josh Beckett. After that, things went downhill in a hurry. Twenty-eight of the 51 players selected in the first round (a whopping 54.9 percent) never made it to the big leagues.

The Red Sox's next first-rounder in 1999 was Brad Baker, selected as a sandwich pick at No. 40 from the tiny town of Leyden, Mass., and little Pioneer Valley Regional High School. Red Sox scouts had been on hand to see every single pitch he threw during his senior year. They gave Baker the battery of psychological exams that are routinely administered to prospective standouts. His every move on the field was fastened to a coverslip and looked at under high magnification. Some scouts took the information gathering to the edge of espionage: asking questions at the Pioneer Valley guidance office and inquiring about the family's financial status at Mim's Market, the general store in Northfield where signs on the porch advertised bait and tackle and the services of a "bagpiper for all occasions."

But for all that scrutiny, Baker never made it to the bigs, topping out at Triple-A.

Looking for more evidence about the uncertainty of the draft? Asadoorian was one of three young men from central Massachusetts picked in the first round in 1999, an unprecedented bounty for the region. Mike Paradis, at No. 13, made it only to Triple-A. So, too, Asadoorian, at No. 17.

The other first-rounder from the area in 1999, did make it. You can look it up in the Baseball Encyclopedia. Keith Reed had a single in five at-bats with the Baltimore Orioles in 2005, for a career batting average of .200.

For all the talent, for all the desire, for all the shrewd observations of the old-school scouts and the Moneyball mensas, baseball remains maddeningly unpredictable. The 472nd pick in the 1999 draft, Jake Peavy, went from being a 15th-rounder to a Cy Young Award winner. And from 1998, a 49th-rounder, No. 1,423 overall, plays big league ball right now for the Red Sox -- Scott Atchison.

'Things happen'

"A lot of first-rounders don't make it," said Asadoorian, who has never made any real money from baseball after his $1.725 million signing bonus in 1999. "It's not that they don't have the ability. Things happen."

Injuries, of course, come with the territory. Matt Torra was the top pick in New England in 2005, No. 31 in the nation, by the Arizona Diamondbacks. Just 10 innings into his professional career in Yakima, Wash., he tore the labrum in his pitching shoulder. He has been fighting his way back ever since. He lacks the fastball he had as a junior at the University of Massachusetts. He can no longer throw his signature hammer curveball because he can't get the torque.

This past winter, Torra worked with his dad in Pittsfield, Mass., repairing roofs in single-digit temperatures and taking online courses to finish his degree. But the baseball dream lives on. At 4-0 with a 4.64 ERA for the Reno Aces (Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks), perhaps this is the year.

There are first-rounders who struggle with demons that become more accessible once that first bonus check is cashed. Jeff Allison of Peabody, Mass., the No. 16 pick in the nation by the Florida Marlins in 2003, has -- like Josh Hamilton -- battled drug addiction that has often taken him off the field. Unlike Hamilton, Allison has yet to reclaim the vast potential that once made him Baseball America's national high school player of the year. Toiling at Double-A for the Jacksonville Suns (the highest level he has yet reached), Allison is currently 1-2 with an 11.05 ERA.

The grind of the minor leagues often takes its toll. Baker, who again lives in Leyden, admits that he had grown to love the hunting and fishing season more than the baseball season. Since retiring in 2007, he has studied toward his associate's degree at a community college, given private pitching lessons, and worked in various jobs, including bartending at the 99 Restaurant and serving as a security guard at the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant.

There are times when the world of pro ball gets overwhelming. "I didn't understand how to let myself play," said Asadoorian. "Listening to everything. Just analyzing things too much."

On the one hand, Asadoorian believes, there is no substitute for ability. "The bottom line is if you're good, you're going to make it," he says. "The cream rises to the top, always."

But in the next breath, he acknowledges that there are lots of other factors besides talent that help determine one's fate in the game. Part of that is getting drafted by the right team (meaning a team with needs and one that is committed to player development). Part of that is avoiding injuries. Part of that is just being in the right place at the right time. Shrugging his shoulders, Asadoorian says, "You have to be lucky, in a way."

'There's still a chance'

Asadoorian has come to know the Beede family, and the walk-up to the draft has had a double-edged resonance for him. Kyle Beede, Tyler's older brother, was the bullpen catcher for the Tornadoes last year. Through Facebook, Asadoorian has had plenty of contact with Tyler. The two plan to play golf together soon.

"He's a good kid," Asadoorian says. "He's got that baseball look. In my opinion, he's got what it takes."

Tyler Beede has plenty of confidence, but he also has a clear sense that nothing is guaranteed. For all the master plan, for all the talent, for all the hard work, he knows that other great and well-prepared players have failed.

"There are people who deserve to make it, should make it, and then just don't make it," Beede says. "That's baseball. That's the odds you take when you play the game."

When his playing days are over, Asadoorian says he might try to establish a niche as a consultant to work with players who are dealing with draft preparation and the rigors of the minors. "I've basically been through every level of the minor leagues as a hitter and a pitcher," he says. "I did not get to the major leagues, unfortunately, but I definitely know what it takes to get there."

And deep down, he's not ready to give up the dream quite yet. "I still have a uniform," he says with a smile. "I'm still playing. There's still a chance."

Source: http://espn.go.com/espn/print?id=6628930&type=story