Teach Your Child to Think Like an Olympic Athlete

The Olympics are magical and inspiring. We watch with amazement the unparalleled feats of human agility, grace, strength, and beauty. We know that those athletes live in a different stratosphere from our world, but what do our children think when they see these phenomenal human beings being cheered by the world, receiving medals and thunderous applause, only to get frustrated when they can’t perform like that in their own sports? 

As an anxiety therapist who works with children struggling with sports performance and perfectionism—there is so much our kids can learn about their own lives from the Olympics. Our children can wish for the super-human talent, the near perfect skills—those may be out of reach—but what is absolutely in your child’s grasp, where the level playing field truly lies, is in the mindset of an Olympian.

That mindset is the gateway to their great success.

Are Olympians immune to thoughts of doubt, dread, self-criticism, pressure, and perfectionism? No, these superstars have the same thoughts that we hear in our mini-vans driving our own kids home from sports, and that I hear from kids in my office each week. The difference between the giants and mere mortals is not the thoughts; the difference is what professional athletes train themselves to do with these thoughts. In sports, managing the mind is as important as managing the body. Practicing mind-management yields what United States figure skater Jeremy Abbott describes as “mental toughness.” I think of it as mental agility—being flexible in your mind to put your focus where you need it most.

It is just that toughness that allows Olympic athletes to tune out the billions of admiring viewers and the pressure of representing their country to the world, and keep eagle-eye focused on the task at hand. Cultivating the mindset that allows that focus is a true feat that athletes of all ability levels can strive for—and achieve. Here are eight ideas to get your child started:

1.    Don’t think success or failure, think growth: Psychologist Carol Dweck distinguishes between a fixed mindset (focused on proving oneself constantly—each moment proving worth or lack thereof) versus a growth mindset (focused on improving, with the understanding that improvement is constantly underway through practice and even mistakes). Successful Olympians have a growth mindset. If you notice, there is a lot of similarity between the way they respond in those on-the-spot interviews whether they’ve just set a world record, a personal best, or missed the mark: they stay close to the specifics of their performance. They focus on what they were working on form-wise, strategy-wise, or their technique. They understand that moment was one data point in an ongoing (wonderful) work in progress. Teach your child to focus on the big picture of improving, not over-interpreting the importance of any one game or meet. This way he can focus on his game, rather than getting derailed by the constant pressure of proving himself with every move.

2.    Think trends and outliers: We all prefer to succeed; we don’t love losing. When our favorite figure skater falls (though as we saw in the men’s figure skating, you can still win gold!), we know that the falls are an exception—they fall outside the “trend” line of what is typical for a person’s performance. Help your child distinguish between what is typical for her and what is rare, or an exception. She may be able to learn from her mistakes or outliers, but shouldn’t assume or conclude that these low moments are somehow the truer marker of her ability. A bonus: Keeping the meaning of these outliers small is exactly what allows athletes to recover from them quickly, without missing a beat.

3.    Don’t fall for the trap door trick of losing talent: When kids understand about trends and outliers they are less likely to fall for what I call the “trap door trick of losing talent or ability.” Inevitably when children mess up, they don’t look at the specific cause, they go global: I’m stupid, I stink, I’m an awful player.  It’s as if a trap door opens up underneath them and all the talent and ability they had before the mistake goes right down the shoot. Ask them what really changed: Did they lose all of their talent, or did they just make a mistake or struggle with this one instance? Ask them if the pros lose all of their talent or ability when they mess up. Talk with them about what athletes say in those on-the-spot interviews—they don’t say something global like: “I totally blew it!,” they focus on the details: “I got a slow start out of the gate,” or, “I didn’t keep my feet tucked in the jumps”—essentially their reaction to a mistake reads like a to-do list for their next practice; so it can, and should, be for your child.

4.    The smartest move: Turn off your head: One of the best pieces of advice I’ve heard about focus in sports came years ago from Olympic figure skater turned sports commentator, Scott Hamilton. He describes how when you get out on the ice, you have to turn off your head, you can’t focus on thinking, remembering every step, every move, every instruction, you just have to turn off your brain and in his words, “skate stupid.” If we tried to ride a bike by telling ourselves exactly what each foot should do, we’d fall for sure; we need to not interfere with what has become—through practice—automatic for us. When kids are thinking about what they’re doing on the court or the field, they may be overthinking their technique, but likely they are thinking: What are other people thinking of me right now? Am I playing well enough? You see it in their face—they’re analyzing: doing the post-game recap instead of playing. Playing is playing, analyzing is analyzing—there’s a time and place for each, help your child keep them separate. Help them find their way to get into the flow of the game, turn off their head, don’t over think, play “stupid”—it’s the best way to play smart.

 5.    Practice is for everyone, even the pros:  We know that Olympians devote every minute of their lives to training: they eat, breathe and sleep their sport. Many kids want to just be “great” at their sport but don’t want to practice—they just want to be there. They may believe that that their heroes don’t have to practice (or don’t realize how much!), that they are just naturally great, or once they’ve achieved a certain greatness—it’s permanent. Ask your child how many hours she thinks professional athletes train each week, and why. Professional athletes train at least 40 hours a week. Wait—but they are professionals—why do they need to keep practicing? Because ability is about improving your skills—goodness or even greatness is not an endpoint that you achieve and you have arrived. As masters know, their work is never done. Encourage your child to track his progress in specific areas every few practices so he can see the benefit it provides.

6.    Look to your heroes: When an Olympian has had a tough run, he looks to his coaches and other trusted advisors such as parents or teammates for their input. It’s not a weakness to get help, seeking the wisdom of others builds a broader base of strength. Coaches can see things that we can’t see, and know things that we don’t know. To help your child recover from a disappointing day on the field, have him identify his dream team of consultants—favorite coaches, athletes, a grandparent perhaps and run his day past his board. He can imagine (in his mind) what advice they have for how to accurately interpret what that disappointment really means and what he can do about it. He might imagine too what his dream team does when they experience disappointment. Finally, he can also learn to be proactive and ask his coach for additional pointers.

 7.    Find a coaching voice that you like (and treat yourself that way, too): Children are often very self-critical and hard on themselves; to help them see how unhelpful that is, it may be easier to do that from a distance. Ask them which coaches they thought were best in the Olympics—or in general in their experience—ones who get angry and yell when you make a mistake, or ones who stay calm and show you exactly what to do to improve your game? Next, bring it back home: Ask your child how she can be that coach for herself—what does she want to be saying to herself in her head when she’s going into a game? What does she want to be hearing in her head if she has a mis-step?


The Sochi Olympics will be over soon, but the lessons you can teach your child from them can be a springboard to a strong mindset that will serve your child for a lifetime. Practice, perseverance and physical training are essential, but not the whole picture, in the words of figure skater Jeremy Abbott: “Once you’re out there, it’s all about the mental game.”

Source: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/worry-wise/201402/teach-your-child-think-olympic-athlete

Sleep And Athletic Performance: How Just An Extra Hour Of Rest Can Make You A Better Athlete

If vigorous exercise makes you a better sleeper, can more and better sleep make you a better athlete?

According to Haley A. Davis and James B. Maas, Ph.D. and their new book, "Sleep To Win!", the answer is yes. Davis and Maas recently joined host Ricky Camilleri to discuss the importance of sleep for athletic performance -- and healthy, everyday functioning -- on HuffPost Live.

"We take professional athletes and we give them one more hour of sleep," Maas explained in the clip above. "We make sure every night they're getting a good night's sleep, and we make sure they don't get up too early in the morning. Even at the pro level, these people are amazed that their performance actually improves when they add that extra hour of sleep."

But how do you add an hour of sleep without cutting into practice time? Turns out, it might not matter. Healthy Living caught up with Maas earlier this month, after the release of the National Sleep Foundation's annual Sleep in America poll, focused this year on exercise and sleep.

Teams that traditionally have practiced twice a day perform better skipping the morning practice if it allows athletes to get enough sleep than sticking with two sessions, says Maas, a former fellow, professor and chairman of psychology at Cornell University. In fact, a number of professional sports teams, most notably the New York Jets, have changed up their practice schedules in order to afford players more time for shut-eye.

Just like with cognitive memory, sleep seems to solidify muscle memory as well, he says. But the big benefits don't take place until somewhere around the seventh hour of sleep, he says, an hour many athletes and casual exercisers are missing out on.

"Sleep is food for the brain, sleep is fuel for exercise." he says. "Sleep is simply not valued in our 24/7 society. We treat it as a luxury and it's a necessity. If you sleep longer and better, you can be a better athlete overnight."

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/26/sleep-to-win-athletic-performance_n_2935705.html?utm_source=aug+external+&utm_campaign=read+experiment+track+subjects&utm_medium=email

Fathering a Passion for Sports

The 2014 World Cup is in full tilt. Billions of fans are watching the action, rooting for their favorite teams and players in this burst of nationalism and athleticism. The World Cup also gives us an opportunity to consider another feature of fatherhood: the role of dads in facilitating their children’s sporting interests.

I know from experience how much a father can do for his son in the realm of sports. My dad took me to countless games and practices in ice hockey, football, baseball and soccer. In retrospect (this wasn’t as clear at the time), the devotion to drive teammates and I to games an hour or more away or to early morning ice hockey practices was remarkable. He stepped in to be my ice hockey coach during a year when the team would have folded without a coach volunteering. He helped as an assistant football coach another year. He made sure I always had opportunities, even when the equipment and travel cost more than the expenses warranted.

This past year, I watched my daughters, aged 8 and 10, begin their soccer experiences. They enjoyed the team experience, post-game snacks, and playing (more than practicing). While one was content to watch a ball after kicking it, the other displayed an aggressiveness and spark that was not taught but came from some deeper well. My wife helped as an assistant coach when one team was in jeopardy of folding without a volunteer coach stepping up, and I became a referee for both of their leagues and games. In that capacity, I did what my dad and many other fathers have done before: foster their kids’ sporting experiences in part to also foster their kids’ social development. If the kids act inappropriately, the whistle blows.

The world of fathers and their children’s sports activities has aligned cross-culturally and historically more often with sons than daughters. In a cross-cultural survey of sports activities, of 248 sports identified in 50 societies, males participated in far more of these sports (95%) than females (20%). The contrast was most stark when focused upon contact sports like wrestling, with males participating in 57 contact sports, females 2. In cross-cultural perspective, most male sports participation was not for idle fun either—it was training for success hunting or in coalitionary violence. Consider buzkashi, as featured in a recent NPR piece (npr.org/buzkashi), in which an Afghani man’s prowess knocking around a dead goat’s headless body while riding horseback could also help hone his riding, hunting and fighting skills. Even for sports originating in England, like soccer or rugby, the saying that “the battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eaton” suggests some of the important military function of boys’ team sports participation.

Sports can serve other ends. For team sports, they can enhance a child’s social development and motor skills. There is no I in team. You’re only as good as your weakest link. Think of all the mantras you’ve heard a coach utter, and there are nuggets of social wisdom embedded, many encouraging a player to give her or his best effort and to sacrifice individualism for the benefit of a larger social group.

Team sports can also manifest the glories and anguishes of group identity. For World Cup fans, that means rising and falling with your favorite team, maybe waving the flag and painting your face. It’s not the first time this has happened. While there is debate about the details of Mesoamerican ball games, archaeologists have found the remains of countless of these beginning to appear 3500 years ago, and well beyond their origins: some of Phoenix today sits atop ball courts, they reached east into the Caribbean isles, and they extended south to today’s Nicaragua. Reconstructions of these games suggest they may have been important opportunities for intergroup competition to (literally) be played out by men, encouraged by fans, with sports betting another piece of that puzzle (and long before Vegas).

In the U.S. today, some aspects of sports continue to show sex-specific patterns. Both males and females are physically active, but males are more likely to choose to play in team sports, particularly at older ages. Just as researchers did at various recreation spots in the U.S., the next time you are at a public park, notice who’s running or stretching alone, and who’s involved in a pick-up basketball game. Yet male involvement, even in the U.S., in team sports diminishes with advancing ages. As they grow older, more men, including fathers, become more likely not to play the team game, but to watch it on TV or to foster their kids’ playing it. So now there are plenty of fathers who may share a beer with their grown son while watching their favorite World Cup match (even beer commercials portray this father-son bonding). My dad no longer drives me to practice, but we talk about the Denver Broncos offseason moves, and whether another Super Bowl is in the cards for Peyton Manning (who is a dad, and whose football career was fostered by his football-playing father).

So whether your favorite World Cup team wins, this may be an opportunity to thank dad for cultivating your sporting spirit.

Source: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-evolving-father/201406/fathering-passion-sports

TIP: Try This Simple Tip For A More Engaged Game Of Catch

The other day my five-year old son, Carter, asked me if I’d play catch with him. When we started to play, he wasn’t catching and throwing the baseball very well. When I threw the ball to him it glanced off his glove, popped in and out or he wouldn’t even get a glove on it. When he threw the baseball back to me, it was all over the place. I was spending most of my time running after his wild throws.

Carter didn’t seem to be concentrating on our game of catch. A bunch of the neighborhood kids were out running and riding their bikes around, so I figured he was a little distracted. I knew it wasn’t a case of him not wanting to play ball at the moment, because he was the one who asked me.

Make It A Game Within A Game
Then I tried one simple thing. I said, “Hey Carter. Let’s see how many times we can catch and throw the ball without dropping it.”

It was amazing how much more he concentrated on catching and throwing the baseball. The first round we made it to 32. Then 73. Then 97! Before adding this little contest into our game of catch, I bet we didn’t make it to five good catches and throws in a row.

Concentration
It was so funny to see him concentrating on watching the ball all the way into his glove. Then again when he threw it back to me. He did an awesome job of stepping toward his target and looking at my glove the whole time. Plus, he had a lot of fun with it!

I can’t wait to try this at his next practice. I don’t know about you, but my little guy gets distracted a lot while playing catch before practice or games. A lot of times he pays more attention to his teammates playing catch with their dads instead of playing catch with me.

Source: http://www.sportsdadhub.com/try-this-simple-tip-for-a-more-engaged-game-of-catch/

Visualization Tips: Baseball

Visualization: 
Tips For Getting More Out of Your Mental Practice

Visualization is the widely-used technique of seeing your performance in your mind. It can be done simply in passing by closing your eyes and imagining a play or can be used as a central training tool to take the place of physical activity when an athlete is injured or worn down.

We use visualization constantly during the day without realizing we’re using it. If someone asked you to describe the difference between a McDonald’s hamburger and a Wendy’s hamburger, you would have to picture them both in your mind in order to answer. You’d talk about how McDonald’s hamburgers are perfectly round and most of them have smooth buns instead of Wendy’s square burgers with the cornmeal buns that have lots of texture. And the more adjectives we use to describe our images, the more vivid they become.

Why Visualization Works

Visualization is effective for two reasons:

1. It strengthens neural pathways, the roads that our brain uses to send out messages to our bodies. A strong neural pathway is like an exact route you know to get from your house to the airport, the mall, etc. The more you picture yourself executing your skills, the stronger your neural pathways become until eventually you feel so comfortable playing your game that the movements feel automatic.

2. Our brains see real performance and imagined performance the same. We experience this phenomenon often in our dreams.  For example, you might dream that you are falling and wake up bracing yourself or dream that you are in a panic and wake up sweating.  When you’re awake you might experience a real feeling if someone describes that light, tingling you get that resonates from the bat all the way down your arms when you connect with the ball on the barrel or the stinging in your hands when you get jammed on a ball.

Batman and Visualization

When practicing visualization, you should describe the sounds and feelings that go along with swinging the bat, fielding the ball, and throwing pitches. In comic books, Batman and Superman would beat up the villains by punching them, but to get added effect, the artist would draw in a big POW and BAM. When a bomb went off, you’d read KABOOM! These words strengthen our pictures and make our visualization exercises more effective.

Pitching words: fastball ZIP, curveball DIP, slider WHOOSH, POP into the glove

Hitting words: CRACK, SLAM, WHAM, CONNECT, LIGHTNING, POW

Fielding words: GLIDE, REACH, STRETCH, SCURRY, LEAP

Using Visualization to Build Physical Skills

The biggest obstacle many athletes have with using visualization is NOT that they can’t imagine the details of their performance, but that they can’t see themselves succeeding. For this, we have to reference the difference between process and outcome and separate from using visualization to build confidence and positive attitude. Visualization to build physical skills should regularly reinforce the execution of the process. In this way, mechanical processes can become automatic. Hitters should practice feeling their weight shift, knowing where their hands are, pausing their image with the ball halfway to the plate to make sure that they have gotten to their best position to hit on time. Pitchers should be grooving their balance, their rhythm, their leverage and lines so they will feel more comfortable and be able to repeat their deliveries when it’s time to throw sidelines and pitch in games. Images that are outcome-oriented do have a purpose, but they should be used to help build skills for performing under pressure.

Using Visualization to Perform Under Pressure

Visualization is most commonly used to build confidence and positive attitude. The stereotypical sport psychology reference involves “seeing yourself” hit the game winning home run or strike out the side with the game on the line. It’s true that picturing what you want to accomplish will help you accomplish more. But if you really want to become better in pressure situations, then you have to practice seeing yourself get into a jam and then deal with it successfully.

Mental toughness is built through overcoming adversity, not through dominating your competition without being challenged. Don’t make the mistake of picturing yourself executing your plan successfully without any hiccups along the way. If you want to get better at controlling your emotions then see yourself at the plate with an 0-1 count and imagine that the umpire calls a low pitch a strike instead of a ball. How do you react to that? How do you get yourself back under control so you can focus on the next pitch? If you need to throw more consistent strikes, see yourself walking the lead-off hitter on four pitches, then stepping off the mound, regrouping, and getting into your rhythm. Seeing yourself strike out the side on nine pitches might make you feel good when you’re practicing your visualization, but it isn’t very realistic.

“See You” Later

Remember that the goal we are trying to reach in using the mental game is to know what to do without thinking about it. Using visualization helps us practice our skills so we are more familiar with them and we feel like we’ve already “seen” our performance happen when it does.

Source: http://thewinningmindinbaseball.com/2009/10/30/visualization-tips/

Playing Video Games, tune hand-eye coordination

Playing video games, such as Super Mario, not only helps tune hand-eye coordination, but also enlarges brain regions associated with memory and spatial thinking.

The study, conducted by researchers at Max Planck Institute for Human Development, found a causal link between video games and brain volume.

For the research, participants were asked to play Super Mario 64 for two months for about 30 minutes a day. A separate control group didn't play any video games.

Researchers then compared the MRI scans taken before and after the study period to determine whether playing video games changed the brain volume.

They found that regions associated with memory, spatial thinking and strategizing were significantly larger in people who played these games than those who did not.

Related research had found that video games slow memory decline in older adults. Duke University researchers had earlier reported that people who regularly play video games tend to "see more" in a visual field and have better decision-making abilities than other people.

 "While previous studies have shown differences in brain structure of video gamers, the present study can demonstrate the direct causal link between video gaming and a volumetric brain increase. This proves that specific brain regions can be trained by means of video games", says study leader Simone Kühn, senior scientist at the Center for Lifespan Psychology at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development.

Importantly, these games could help people suffering from mental disorders such as Schizophrenia, Alzheimer's and even Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

"Many patients will accept video games more readily than other medical interventions", added psychiatrist Jürgen Gallinat, co-author of the study at Charité University Medicine St. Hedwig-Krankenhaus, according to a news release.

Source: http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/4703/20131031/playing-video-games-increase-brain-volume.htm

If you want your child to be a professional baseball player, you should start planning early.

The Boys of Late Summer
Why do so many pro baseball players have August birthdays?

In Major League Baseball, there are a lot more Juan Pierres than there are players like Alex Rodriguez. Yes, Pierre is a light hitter, and A-Rod is one of the greatest sluggers of all time, but there's another important difference between the two: Pierre was born in August, and Rodriguez was born in July.

In 2000, John Holway argued in a book called The Baseball Astrologer that the sign under which an individual was born played a significant role in whether he made it in pro ball. Holway identified a real phenomenon, but the explanation does not lie in the stars. Since 1950, a baby born in the United States in August has had a 50 percent to 60 percent better chance of making the big leagues than a baby born in July. The lesson: If you want your child to be a professional baseball player, you should start planning early. Very early. As in before conception.

The table below lays out the full month-to-month data. As of the 2005 season, 503 Americans born in August had made it to the major leagues compared with 313 American born in July. (In this article, the United States refers to the 50 states and the District of Columbia but not territories like Puerto Rico. And again, these are players born since 1950, and the data are current through 2005.)

The pattern is unmistakable. From August through the following July, there is a steady decline in the likelihood that a child born in the United States will become a major leaguer. Meanwhile, among players born outside the 50 states, there are some hints of a pattern but nothing significant enough to reach any conclusions. An analysis of the birth dates of players in baseball's minor leagues between 1984 and 2000 finds similar patterns, with American-born players far more likely to have been born in August than July. The birth-month pattern among Latin American minor leaguers is very different—if anything, they're more likely to be born toward the end of the year, in October, November, and December.

The magical date of Aug. 1 gives a strong hint as to the explanation for this phenomenon. For more than 55 years, July 31 has been the age-cutoff date used by virtually all nonschool-affiliated baseball leagues in the United States. Youth baseball organizations including Little League, Cal Ripken/Babe Ruth, PONY, Dixie Youth, Hap Dumont, Dizzy Dean, American Legion, and more have long used that date to determine which players are eligible for which levels of play. (There is no such commonly used cutoff date in Latin America.) The result: In almost every American youth league, the oldest players are the ones born in August, and the youngest are those with July birthdays. For example, someone born on July 31, 1990, would almost certainly have been the youngest player on his youth team in 2001, his first year playing in the 11-and-12-year-olds league, and of average age in 2002, his second year in the same league. Someone born on Aug. 1, 1989, by contrast, would have been of average age in 2001, his first year playing in the 11-and-12-year-olds division, and would almost certainly be the oldest player in the league in 2002.

Twelve full months of development makes a huge difference for an 11- or 12-year-old. The player who is 12 months older will, on average, be bigger, stronger, and more coordinated than his younger counterpart, not to mention more experienced. And those bigger, better players are the ones given opportunities for further advancement. Other players, who are just as skilled for their age, are less likely to be given those same opportunities simply because of when they were born. Alex Rodriguez would've been a star no matter his birth month, but a player like Juan Pierre, who has less natural aptitude for the sport, might have gotten a small leg up over similarly skilled players because he's an August baby. It's clear from the chart above that this small advantage can have an impact that lasts a lifetime.

This phenomenon will not come as news to social scientists, who have observed the same patterns in a number of different sports. The first major study of what has become known as the "relative age effect" was published in the Journal of the Canadian Association for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation in 1985. This study, by R.H. Barnsley, A.H. Thompson, and P.E. Barnsley, determined that NHL players of the early 1980s were more than four times as likely to be born in the first three months of the calendar year as the last three months. In 2005, a larger study on the relative age effect in European youth soccer was published in the Journal of Sports Sciences by Werner F. Helsen, Jan Van Winckel, and A. Mark Williams. This study found a large relative age effect in almost every European country, though it seems to shrink in adult leagues and is less significant in women's soccer. (Stephen J. Dubner and Steven D. Levitt of Freakonomics fame wrote about the age effect in European soccer for the New York Times Magazine.)

Interestingly enough, the relative age effect doesn't appear in the two other major American sports leagues. (These data on NBA and NFL players born since 1950 were provided by Sean Lahman, who has edited encyclopedias on pro football and basketball.)

The relative age effect might not be prevalent in the NFL and the NBA because size is a bigger factor in those two sports than in baseball and hockey. Since an athlete's ultimate height and weight aren't clear until fairly late in his youth, league cutoff dates aren't as important in determining one's athletic destiny. Another possibility is that (men's) basketball and football are much more popular high-school sports than baseball is. Since the cutoff date for high-school sports is more variable than that for organized youth sports, the influence of birth month in youth basketball and football leagues is relatively minor.

If you find all this data convincing, perhaps you're already planning an August birth for your little slugger. Not so fast. In 2005, USA Baseball, the nation's governing body for amateur baseball, announced it was shifting the "league age determination date" from July 31 to April 30. This change was made so the age-cutoff times more closely jibed with the baseball calendar: Under the previous rules, a player who turned 13 on July 30 would've been ineligible to play in that summer's 12-and-under league despite the fact that he would've been 12 years old for the entire season.

At first, this change was fiercely debated by the various youth baseball organizations, many of whom couldn't even agree on one date internally. It looked possible, then, that parents might be able to shop among different youth baseball organizations, blunting the impact of the relative age effect. However, this year, for the first time, all the major youth baseball organizations have fallen in line and will be using the April 30 cutoff date. Future Juan Pierres, take note: If you want to make it in the majors, forget about August. Make sure you're born in May.

Source: http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/sports_nut/2008/04/the_boys_of_late_summer.2.html

T-Ball & Coach Pitch Drills

Useful Drills


T-Ball is a lot of fun. Not just for the kids learning the game of baseball, but for the parents as well. This is where kids learn their skills, some faster than others. As a coach or parent teaching a young child these skills, it is essential to have them develop the skills in the right way. In doing so, as they continue to grow and play, they will enjoy the sport and game in more ways. To help you accomplish this goal, we have included some drills to help the younger players. These are great drills at the T-Ball level and even the Coach Pitch level were you have kids that need help. Make it fun and make a game out of it and the kids will want to continue to compete. We hope that you will take the time to use some of these drills in your practices.

Catching and Fielding Drills

SCOOP DRILL 

--What you need:  Plastic one gallon milk jugs with the bottoms cut out. One half also needs to be cut out. It should resemble the set up of a baseball glove, with one side cut out, so it looks like a scoop.

--How it works:  Since a scoop is something that is carried outside the hand, younger kids will be able to manoeuver the scoop easier than having a glove on their hand. With the scoop shaped similar to a glove, they will begin to understand glove positioning.

When you are instructing the kids on how to use their 'scoop', show them where the scoop goes in certain situations.

Show them grounders, waist level tosses, and shoulder / head level tosses.

--Results:  What you want to show the kids is how their glove is just like the scoop. When they have the web side down for grounders the ball rolls into the glove, etc.


Oven Glove Drill

Once your little players have learned the scoop drill, it is time to learn how to field a ground ball using two hands. This drill will help them in doing that.

--What you need: An oven glove or mitt like the one pictured below.

 

--How it works: Have your player place the mitt on their glove hand. Roll them some ground balls. The mitt is bulky enough that they cannot grip the ball and does not have a pocket so they can scoop the ball without using the throwing hand to cover it up. The only way for them to field the ball is by using both hands.

--Results: What you want to show the kids is how to properly field a ground ball using two hands. Using an oven mitt for this age group has the same benefits as using a "paddle or pancake" glove for the older more advanced players.

--Advanced drills: For Coach Pitch level players, you may use this mitt for fly ball drills. Use a wiffle ball for this and not a baseball. Teach them how to get under the fly ball and use two hands in catching it. Once they grasp the concept of getting under it and using two hands, then use the wiffle ball and their glove. Once they do well here and have passed the fear of getting hit, start using baseballs. With all three stages, start with low flys before moving to the higher fly balls.


PIZZA SLICE DRILL

This helps the players learn to stay in their own area based on the position they are playing.

--What you need:  You need to get some cones, pylons or other markers. Separate the field into 'slices' like pizza. Kids love pizza and can understand the slices. Have it correspond with one of the positions on the infield like the image below.

           

--How it works: This drill is intended to teach younger players the importance of playing their position on the field - to prevent kids from fighting over the ball when it is hit. Show the players that they each have a 'slice' of the pizza, but they can't have a slice of any one else's pizza. When the ball is hit, or rolled to the players, they must stay on their own slice of pizza when the ball comes out. They cannot go to another player's slice to steal the ball. For balls hit in the pitcher's slice, have the second baseman or short stop back him up in that slice.

Players who go into the other players slice will have someone else come in and take their piece of pizza from them. Only the second baseman or short stop can can go into the other slice, only if they are backing up the pitcher and not trying to get the ball away from him.

--Results: Gradually, when players lose their slice of pizza, they will understand that they cannot go into other players' areas to get the ball. This prevents five infielders from going after the same ball.


BUCKET DRILL

This is a fun, productive drill, especially for younger kids, though older kids can gain benefit from it too. It focuses on the importance of getting rid of the ball in a hurry and helps in making accurate throws.

--What you need: A five gallon bucket or garbage can.

--How it works: Split your into team in half. Line the first team up, one behind another, at the shortstop position. Take the second team and place them behind first base. Next, place a five gallon bucket or garbage can upside down on first base. Make sure that you have plenty of baseballs handy. Depending on the age level, the coach rolls or hits a ball to the first person in line at the shortstop position, who then has three seconds to pick up the ball and throw it at the bucket. The coach should loudly count off the seconds; this will initially fluster some of your younger players, but will also help them to cope with pressure better in the long run. If the bucket is missed, the player behind first base fields the ball and returns it to the coach. Regardless of the outcome, the player who made the throw rotates to the back of the line. After several passes through the line, switch sides.

As an added bonus, keep score between the two teams. You can give a point if the throw is in time and a point if they hit the bucket. It is amazing how much more effort you can get out of a kid if he’s competing against his friends. If you have enough coaching help, you can vary this drill by having both teams throw at the same time; the competition is a big hit with players.

--Results: After repeatedly going through this drill, your players should be able to quickly field a ground ball and get it to a base with some degree of accuracy.

Source: http://www.devinelittleleague.org/league/page.aspx?PageID=3649

Minimize The Fear Of Being Hit By The Baseball

Having received a large number of questions concerning their player's fear of being hit with a baseball, from coaches and parents, I thought a page relating to that topic would be helpful.

Whether it is batting or fielding, this concern has certainly been a part of baseball since its' inception, over 170 years ago.

Without a doubt, if you have played baseball at any level, to include your neighborhood park, you have experienced being hit.

The most common fear is with a pitched ball; but there is also a bad hop ground ball, as well as a thrown or batted ball.

All are real and legitimate.

So how do we help players move beyond the paralysis level, to the aggressive take charge level, in their baseball life? Providing them with the skills to manage the fear and decrease their vulnerability for getting hit, is a big step towards that goal.

An experience easy to forget? Not hardly!

Some, Or All Of The Following May Sound Familiar: 


Put it out of your mind.

Don't think about it.


Jump back in there.


Don't rub it.


Take one for the team.


Wear it.


The list goes on; Unfortunately, none of those suggestions will do anything to help the situation.

The phrase,"don't think about getting hit," becomes think about getting hit. The image implant is "getting hit", and the words "don't think" cannot block out the getting hit image.

Fears come from uncertainty, and the uncertainty indicates a lack of confidence. That lack of confidence comes from not having a plan to deal with the situation.

Providing them with a plan to minimize the perceived danger of getting hit, the steps to concentrate and hit the ball hard, creating good hop ground balls for themselves, and the rules of thumb for catching a baseball safely, all increase confidence and cause success levels to rise.

A Plan For The Batters' Box. Turning Their Front Shoulder Back Towards The Catcher Will Turn Their Head And Protect Their Face.

As you look at the image below, there are things you can point out to the players as to how much safer this method is:

Their head is turned away from the baseball, protecting their face.

Elbows, hands are also out of harms way, as well as their ribs and chest.

While nothing short of the ball missing them will eliminate the pain, they will have done everything in their power to minimize the impact.


Controlling The Concern ~ Tips From the Dugout

You can practice it with no ball, then with a rolled up sock. Throw them good pitches, where they simply load/stride and track the ball past them.

Start mixing in pitches they need to protect themselves from. All this can be done with the rolled up sock, or at most a tennis ball.

Getting hit is not what they need to get used to, it is the movement to minimize the hit, or get out of the way.

Once they develop a good reaction to the pitch, no longer freezing or turning into the ball, they will have more confidence, as there is a definite plan for dealing with the situation.

Getting them to focus on the pitcher's release point, then load/stride on line(straight back at the pitcher), getting their front foot down early, will help them focus on the at bat, rather than the possibility of getting hit.

Bailing out, or stepping in the bucket is generally caused by stepping to hit, rather than step, then hit, as well as fear of getting hit.

When the pitcher is in his power position, with the ball loaded back, the hitter should be in his load/stride, or power position, the position he will hit from. That is accomplished before the pitch is released, so it should be on line, straight back at the pitcher.

The fear of being hit with a baseball is universal for sure. No one is immune to it; but millions of players have learned to control it over the years. Some of the fear disappears with experience, the rest controlled within a framework of skills that allow the player to concentrate on the skill at hand.


A Plan For Ground Balls

Play the ball, don't let the ball play you. A standard rule for all ground balls, but how do I accomplish that?

I was always taught that if you didn't need to come and get a ground ball, you wouldn't have time to think about it anyway.

Providing young players with a goal, or objective for each ground ball provides them with something to focus on, rather than the possibility of a bad hop.

Try setting a goal for them to limit all ground balls to no more than 3 hops for younger players, 2 hops for those more advanced:

Have them start by counting the hops as they move forward to catch the ball.

Attempt to catch the ball on the fewest hops possible. Simplify it to two hops, high hop and shorthop. It is most always the inbetween hop that will get them hit.

As they come to the ball, have them line the ball up on their left eye, so they will be fielding the ball left of the body midline.

If you can get them thinking that the shorthop before the next long hop is the best one to get, they are well on their way to creating better hops for themselves, and the confidence level goes up another notch.

Get them started towards the hitter with the pitch, using a short right, left step, as the pitch is being delivered, or as someone is hitting or throwing a ground ball to them.

It isn't an immediate process. With time they will see that the hops they are creating for themselves make everything easier and safer, to include the subsequent throw.


How About Those Line Drives, Or Balls That Are Thrown?

So much of the receiving process is an understanding of the rules of thumb. These rules allow the player to get their glove in the best possible position to catch the ball, as well as the safest.

The Rules Of Thumb

Eliminate Fear.

It is absolutely essential to keep fear from being a part of their experience. If they have already had that bad experience, start back at the beginning creating successful and painless experiences that you can build upon.
Demonstrate Rules Of Thumb.

If the ball is above waist, have your thumbs together.

Below the waist, pinkies together.


Use Two Hands.

A good analogy for using two hands is to have players think of a short cord, 7-8 inches long, attached to both of their wrists. When their glove goes, their throwing hand goes also. Not because they are beginners; but because it will make them quicker when they go to throw.

Catch In Center Of Body.

To accomplish this, players must learn to move their feet, to get around the baseball, catching it in the center of their body.

The Payoff

It's the purest reward for a baseball coach when you see the smile emerge and the eyes light up, as all the effort comes to fruition. A 6 year old catches a ball above his waist with his thumbs together, keeping the ball from rolling up his glove, straight at his face.

He is on his way to a skill which helps eliminate the fear of being hit with a thrown or batted ball, dramatically increasing his safety, self confidence and level of fun!

They are special moments indeed, and some of life's greatest pleasures, no matter what level you coach!

Source: http://www.theoleballgame.com/fear-of-being-hit.html

TRACKING FLY BALLS

Good outfield play is essential for a winning team. A team should develop the mentality that every ball hit in the air is going to be caught. At the youth and occasionally high school levels good outfield play is often sporadic because of the lack of teaching, repetitions, and motivation.

One of the most important skills an outfielder must posses is tracking a fly ball. Tracking the ball simply means taking the most direct route to where the ball will land.

It is very common for inexperienced outfielders to take the wrong route to a fly ball. This may be one of the reasons youth players don’t like to play the outfield. They are out there all alone and not only are any mistakes very conspicuous; they are often costly as well. Every “zig-zagged” step (route) an outfielder takes to the ball is equal to the “direct” steps a base runner(s) takes to the next base. That’s a lot of pressure.

Most teams do not hit enough fly ball fungoes to their outfielders and this is one of the essential ingredients for gaining ‘tracking’ experience.

The following are some extra tips and drills for you to use to help players develop this critical skill.

Make sure your outfielders are running on the balls of their feet. If they run on their heels the ball will appear to “bounce” and they will not track it well. Daily Form Running helps players with their running technique.
Teach them that the glove is considered as part of their hand. They pump their arms and do not hold the glove out in front of them as they run. (This restricts the body and slows you down) Put the glove up the last three steps only.

Getting a good ‘jump’ on the ball- this is where a player must concentrate. To get a good jump he must be moving at the swing of the bat. Look for a late reaction from a player. Many times they don’t move toward the ball until it is already in the air and sometimes by them. Kids must learn to concentrate on the strike zone. Have them play a game in their heads. They should pretend that the hitter is a fungo coach and every pitched ball is a fungo that is going to be hit at them. (“The game is played one pitch at a time.”)

Teach them to watch the action of the hitter’s bat. This is a good teaching tool. Have your players stand in front of home plate on the infield. Take a position in the RH batter’s box.

‘Hit’ an imaginary ball up the middle. Have your kids concentrate on the action of the bat. Ask them where the ‘ball’ went. They will tell you, up the middle.

Next pull an imaginary pitch. Your kids will tell you that you hit the ball to left field.

Lastly, hit an outside pitch to the opposite field. Your players will know where the ball went.

By watching the action of the bat and reading the hitter’s body, players can learn to get a good jump on the ball.

Do not allow back pedaling. Teach the drop step, instead. Have your players drop the leg closest to the side the ball is on. If the ball is hit to their left, drop step with the left leg, turn and go to the ball.

Hit deep and high fly balls. Have the outfielders turn and run to the spot where they think the ball will land. Don’t look up until they get there; just turn and run to the spot.

Teach your players shagging in the outfield during Batting Practice to “Break” on all fly balls. They should concentrate on the hitting zone, watch the ball off the bat and “break” two or three steps in the direction of the flight of the ball. Establishing this routine during your daily BP will begin to develop your players’ ability to track the ball.

On the big fields, it is also important for the outfielder to understand and read the spin (or slice/hook) of the ball. Example: A center fielder needs to know that a line drive directly between him and the right fielder will be slicing toward the right fielder off the bat of a right handed batter, and toward him off the bat of a left handed batter.

Coaches and parents can teach so many things in a short period of time (and space) if they will just be creative. These include:

Charge and catch line drives.
Communicate with the infielders and other outfielders.
Head first diving catches (lay out)
One handed catches.
Get under and catch ball with throwing momentum to the appropriate base. (Eliminate drifting)
Using the glove to shade the sun
Locate the “white dot” to catch a high fly ball at night on a poorly lit field.
Besides outfield fungoes these drills from our Coaches Practice Planner will help develop tracking skills and outfield play in general.

Source: http://www.baseball-excellence.com/index.cfm?Method=Instructions_Instructionsdetail&id=43
                         

Pitching Machine $400.00

I have been researching Pitching Machines and so far this one seems to be BEST bang for the buck.

Trend Sports Heater Baseball Pitching Machine with 12 Ball Autofeeder

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·         10 Speed Variable Speed control

·         Pitches Regulation Leather Real Baseballs or Baseball Sized Dimpled Machine Balls

·         Automatic 12 Ball Feeder

·         Adjustable Height Perfect for flies and grounders practice

·         110v Household Current or 350-400Watt Generator 1 Year Warranty

The Heater Baseball Pitching Machine w/ Free AutoFeeder is a heavy duty baseball pitching machine that pitches regulation real baseballs or baseball size (9") dimpled pitching machine balls. Featuring a strong steel housing and adjustable pitch height, the Heater Baseball Pitching Machine delivers real ball speed and accuracy with every pitch. A 10 speed variable dial allows you to adjust speeds from 15-50mph, based upon the standard Little League depth of 45' from the batter. The effective speed of the pitch can be increased by simply moving the machine closer to the batter, figuring 1.5mph faster for every foot closer to the batter(e.g. If the machine is placed 40' from the batter, the effective top end speed will be about 58mph). Additionally, you receive a FREE AutoFeeder ($149 Value) with your Heater Baseball Pitching Machine. The AutoFeeder holds 12 real baseballs or 12 baseball sized pitching machine balls, delivering a pitch every 12 seconds.

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