3 Strength Building Drills to Make Your Baseball Bat the Most Powerful in Your Baseball League

By Nick Dixon
These 3 batting drills should be a part of every serious baseball players daily batting practice routine. These hitting drills are well known and recognized for increasing bat speed and power. These drills should be done regularly during the off season.

Batting Drill #1 - Top Hand Drill

Purpose: To increase the coordination and skill of the top hand on the bat. The top hand is the hand that guides and controls the bat. Building strength in the top hand can make it take a stronger role in the swing thus, improving bat accuracy and bat speed.

Procedure: You can do this drill with tossed balls, a hitting stick device or a batting machine. The most common way to do this drill is to have the player assume a position with the back knee down and the front leg extended. This body position makes the batter use only the forearm and arm to control the bat. The batting aid or target should be held above the head of the batter. The batter should be instructed to take the barrel above the ball and hit the top of the ball to drive the ball unit downward.

Reps: It is recommended that a better do at least 30 to 45 top hand reps a day divided into 3 sets.

Coaching Point - The heavier the bat is the better. These are strength building exercises. We want to limit the number of reps to less than 50 three times a week. We do not want to do these during the season. We would only do these until 2 weeks before the season begins. You should also incorporate some quick hands or speed hands workouts into your daily routine as well.

Batting Drill #2 - Power Hand Drill

Purpose: To increase the muscle strength and power of the bottom hand on the bat. The bottom hand is the hand that generated bat speed and power. Building strength in the bottom hand can make it stronger and increase bat speed and power.

Procedure: You can do this drill with tossed balls, a hitting stick device or a batting machine. The most common way to do this drill is to have the player assume his normal stance. The batter should have his feet shoulder width apart. The batter will turn the hips and pivot on the back foot to do each swing. Special emphasis should be given the batter to grip the bat near the knob.

The batting aid or target should be held above the belly button of the batter. The batter should be instructed to take the barrel and drive the barrel through the ball. The bat should be moving parallel to the ground.

Reps: It is recommended that a better do at least 30 to 45 top hand reps a day divided 3 sets.

Coaching Point - The heavier the bat is the better. The batter must keep the bat higher enough to be parallel to the ground or higher. The movement of the bat should never be downward. Therefore the target to hit must be kept high. The reason for this is that the batter can not be aided by gravity if the bat moves parallel to the ground and level. Any downward movement by the bat reduces the work of the muscles and reduces the effectiveness of the drill.

Batting Drill #3 - Bat Power Resistance Drill

Purpose: Use strength building resistance exercises to increase the strength and power of the muscles in the hands, forearms, and shoulders that are vital in generating bat speed and power. The stronger these muscles are the more bat speed and power the batter will be able to generate.

Procedure: This weight resistance exercise requires a stationary object like a pole, corner of a wall, or tree to give resistance to the bat during this exercise. The bat will not move. The batter will do these 3 exercises.

Exercise - Knob Drive Resistance Weight Exercise

The batter when flex the muscles of the forearms. The batter will put place the knob against the resisting object. The batter will flex the muscles 10 times at two locations. The two locations are:


Pressing downward
Pressing toward the pitcher

Exercise - Bat Barrel Resistance Weight Exercise

The batter when flex the muscles of the hands, fingers, forearms and biceps. The batter will put place the bat barrel against the resisting object. The batter will flex the muscles 10 times at two locations. The two locations are:


6 Inches behind the belly button - belt high - (toward catcher)
6 Inches in front of the belly button - belt high - (toward pitcher)
12 Inches in front of the belly button - belt high - (toward pitcher)

Coaching Point - Each exercise is done with the batter keeping the barrel level, belt high, and pressing toward the pitcher.

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Nick Dixon is the President and founder of Nedco Sports, a sports training company established in 1999. Dixon is also an active and full time high school baseball coach with over 25 years experience. Coach Dixon is better known as the inventor of the BatAction Hitting Machine, the SKLZ Derek Jeter Hurricane Hitting Machine, the SKLZ Target Trainer, the SKLZ Derek Jeter ZipnHit Pro, and the SKLZ Strikeback Trainer. Dixon is also a contributing writer for Baseball Coaching Digest, the Youth Baseball Digest, the Baseball Parent Guide, the Baseball 2Day Coaches Journal, and Blog4Coaches.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nick_Dixon

College Division 1 Baseball - 3 Steps to Playing Baseball at the Highest Level

By Gary V Hawkins

If you are a high school baseball player and you are trying to get recruited to play college division 1 baseball, this article can help you reach your goal. This article will give you three powerful steps that can take immediately that will set you apart from your competition.

Step 1 - Develop Your Athletic Resume

First of all, you need to develop a great athletic resume. Your resume has to do the same thing a resume does when you are looking for a job. It has to generate more interest in you from the coaches and cause them to want to learn more about you.

In order to get the interest of college division 1 baseball coaches, your resume should all key contact information for you and for your current coaches. It should describe your key strengths and abilities. Additionally, it should give all your key stats and physical measurements (height, weight, etc.)

Step 2- Develop You List Of Potential Schools

The next step to playing college division 1 baseball is to make a list of the school you want to play for. This list should be realistic and the schools on the list should match your skills and abilities. Not everyone can play at the elite schools, but there are still plenty of other division 1 schools out there who need talented baseball players.

Your list should be at least 50 schools. A list of 100 schools will give you an even better shot at playing in college. The longer your list of schools, the better your chances will be.

Step 3- Start Making Contact With Coaches

Some people will tell you that if you are good enough to play at the next level, especially college division 1 baseball, the schools will find you. There is some truth in that statement, however, there are many high school baseball players who fly under the radar of college coaches each and every year. If you are reading this article, you just may be one of those athletes.

Contact coaches on your list by sending them your athletic resume along with a personal letter. If you have the talent and skills (baseball and athletic) to potentially play in their program, they will be glad to hear from you. Make sure you have some video available for them if they contact you back and ask for it.

Summary

Playing college division 1 football can be a reachable dream for you. Follow the three steps I have outlined in this article and you can be miles ahead of the other kids you are competing against for a scholarship....because most of them (99%) will never make contact on their own with a college coach.

"Learn more about how to get on the path to playing baseball in college, download our Free Report: Five Secrets You Must Know To Get Recruited For Athletic Scholarships.

Get your free report at: http://www.recruitedforscholarships.com/freereport.html

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gary_V_Hawkins

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Nick Dixon is the President and founder of Nedco Sports, a sports training company established in 1999. Dixon is also an active and full time high school baseball coach with over 25 years experience. Coach Dixon is better known as the inventor of the BatAction Hitting Machine, the SKLZ Derek Jeter Hurricane Hitting Machine, the SKLZ Target Trainer, the SKLZ Derek Jeter ZipnHit Pro, and the SKLZ Strikeback Trainer. Dixon is also a contributing writer for BaseballCoachingDigest, the Youth Baseball Digest, the Baseball Parent Guide, the Baseball 2Day Coaches Journal, and Blog4Coaches.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nick_Dixon

Happy Holidays & Season’s Greetings From Nick

Happy Holidays & Season’s Greetings From Nick



Thank you for being a regular reader of our blog. We are taking some time off for the Holidays. Our post schedule is normally 5 to 6 daily articles posted per week. During the Holidays and until Jan. 4, 2010, or post will not be daily because of Holiday activities. If you are looking for great coaching articles, please consider one of our sites: The BaseballCoachingDigest.com, the YouthBaseballDigest.com or the BaseballParentGuide.com. Have a safe and happy season! Nick Dixon

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How Would You Like to Run a Fun, Effective Youth Baseball Practice?

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By Chip Lemin

Practices in any sport can be boring and unproductive if not planned out ahead of time. Having a clip board with your practice itinerary written out is just a good solid idea.You can keep track of your time slots for certain drills,and keeping these on file, you will know what you have covered.

Keep your practices to 90 minutes when possible. I realize that early pre season practices will likely go over due to weather wiping out some valuable time early on.

Break up the practices with a couple of water breaks, so that you add some instruction as a group.Water breaks are not free-for-alls, they are for listening. Go over what you have been doing so far,and what you going to do next.

KEEP PRACTICE MOVING ALONG!

Practices can be broken up into different stations.A station is a group of players and 1 or 2 coaches.The term station refers to whatever skill is being worked on at that "station".

Typically you will divide your players and coaches up to best suit the drills you are doing.For example, take 3 catchers and run a blocking drill for 15 minutes.Then take your catchers to home plate and along with 3 middle infielders,conduct a throwing and tagging station.You can also work on back ups at 2nd base,along with pitch out drills for catchers . GET PARENTS INVOLVED!

Obviously you will need help to run these stations. That is why in the parental letter at tryouts or sign ups, you must be clear in asking for help. The parents or relatives do not have to have coaching experience,although it is helpful.

This one good way to get parents to see how much work you put in to the team.Please make it clear who your assistant coaches are right away. NAME them in your letter if possible.Just because someone helps with practice doesn't mean they are now on the staff.

I know some of this seems obvious,but believe me,it must be spelled out to avoid confusion.You will be training the parents as well on how to help with the drills,and they just might work with the player at home also.

A GOOD PRACTICE SHOULD SEEM TO BE OVER QUICK!

My nightmare practice scenario is this.A coach is trying to throw batting practice to 1 batter at a time.The coach can't get it over the plate.There is no on deck batter to quickly help pick up balls at the backstop.The rest of the players and coaches are standing in the field looking very bored.

This is a very common practice,and 1 reason that kids don't like baseball practice. It's too boring. Well I'm here to help you take charge of your team with an energizing practice.

Use your creativity and come up with some different stations.Or just use some old stand byes. Hitting stations,throwing stations,catching stations,fielding stations,or pitching stations.

Rotate your coaches and volunteers to different stations each practice to give them another station to learn. Keep track of which person worked what station so you can them experience at all of stations.

KEEP THEM MOVING!

HITTING STATION

What is stressed at each hitting station is a good balanced stance, starting the swing with your bottom hand,along with a strong hip rotation,and balanced high finish or follow through.

We like to use a drill called the Towel Drill. It is simply placing a folded towel under the back elbow of each hitter.Each hitter then gets several balls soft tossed to them one at a time.Each hitter is then trained to rotate the torso to hit the ball without the towel falling out from under their elbow.They quickly catch on after a couple practices.This is a good drill and inexpensive.

Another drill is balanced beam drill.Using a 60 inch 4x4 flat on the ground,have the players hit a ball off of a tee or soft toss to them to see whether their swing is balanced.It will also show you if they are stepping out of the batters box.

I use soft toss all season long.Try a purchase a hitting net to set up wherever you go during the season.Using soft toss you can look at the player's swings to see whether they are swinging correctly. All of the other hitting stations work a different part of the swing.Soft toss is where you can see the progress of the stations.

REPETITION, REPETITION REPETITION

Baseball skills are learned with repetition.We must guard against boredom however by keeping station times to 15 minutes. Have players hustle from station to station. While others run the stations, the manager can go from station to station and observe players while heaping praise on them.Stop at a station and interject if needed.

Take a water break after all players have cycled through stations, and go over the fundamentals of the drills again.Also preview what they are going to do next,and praise their efforts on previous drills.Have a coach actually demonstrate the drills coming and what expect.Take questions from players if needed, but don't get off topic.90 minutes goes by fast.

Be sure to praise players who are doing drills correctly for their skill level.Remember not all players have the same skill levels, but all players need consistent praise and encouragement.

90 minute practices do not include 15 minute prepractice meeting and warm up time. Please have parents bring kids 15 minutes early, or if you are really on the ball, just schedule practice time 15 minutes earlier.

WARNING :COACHES MUST BE EARLY TO GAMES AND PRACTICE!

Parents will not get players to games and practice early if they see coaches and manager getting there late.Set an example right away!

My son had a coach who would always be there when we arrived and we were usually 30 min early for practice and 1 hour early for the game.We only arrived before him twice,and that was because we left even earlier than normal.There were no issues on that team about latecomers.

Getting to games early also helps to get good dugout sides if they are not marked.You can look at field conditions during uncertain weather.You can do some work on fields if needed or permitted.If it was a difficult place to find, you can communicate that to others by phone so they aren't late.It shows other team that you mean business,it may give you a slight psychological edge.

PRACTICE EXAMPLE

Practice is set for 12 noon

1150 or earlier - you arrive to get make sure everything is set, bases,pitching rubber,equipment, etc...

1145- players arrive hopefully, put them in parallel lines 20-35 ft. apart depending on age group. Have begin warming up using proper mechanics. Any overthrows are to be picked and run back into the line. This prevents more overthrows from further away.

12 noon Call practice to order. Go over what stations are being set up and which adults are running them.Divide players up as equally as possible,splitting up buddies,and or siblings.

If this is 1st practice using stations,please demo for kids what you want at each station.

Station 1 A drill called Fly

Players line up single file, coach throws a football pass type throw over the shoulder of player on the run to make the catch.Run the ball back to the coach on the outside of the line so there are no collisions between players. do this for 10 min.

Station 2 Fly ball drill with tennis balls

Using a tennis racket, hit fly balls to a single file line of players, one at time. Players must use 2 hands with tennis balls or they will have hard time catching them. do this for 10 min.

Station 3 5gal bucket drill

Set up a 5gal bucket at home plate or anywhere else you want.Put players in a single file line, throw them a grounder or fly ball, using proper throwing techniques, attempt to throw baseball into the bucket. Put bucket at least 100' away depending on age group of course. Do this for 10 min.

Station 4 Cut off man drill

Have the players rotate as cut off man,throw or hit ball past the outfielder,have them chase,then pick up ball,using good throwing form, hit the cut off man.Rotate after each throw. 10 min.

1245pm

Have a water break,go over how drills went.Kid around with players a little and be very positive. Highlight all the good things you saw first, then maybe touch on what needs work. Above all,stay positive,and fun.

1250pm

Divide into 2 groups 1 at 3rd,another at 1st. Single file lines Have players field some grounders and pop ups, throwing to coaches or catchers 15-20ft up each baseline. 10 min.

1pm

Put players into regular positions or close to it.Bring in 2-3 players to hit. Machine or coach pitch.Give each player 7 swings, then rotate to next batter. Each player hits 2 times, then goes out and shags balls. After hitting for 2nd time,call in another player. Always have 1-2 players ready to hit,and have everyone ready to hustle in and pick up balls between hitters.

125pm

Call team together, go over things,and announce next practice or game time.Thank everyone for being prompt,especially the parents.

BE CREATIVE BE FUN BE POSITIVE

There are many other ways to run a practice, I have given you a basic format that you can modify anyway you see fit.Just don't fall into a rut of doing the same things over and over. Variety is the spice of life and same is true for baseball.

Sometimes you will have entire practices on fielding or hitting. Schedule as many practices as the team's families will tolerate before the season starts.Once the season starts, have team arrive 1 hour before game time for some hitting and fielding workouts.

CONCLUSION

Practice will make your team better.Well run productive practices will do even more. When you run challenging varied workouts players will develop their skills quicker. Always encourage working hard on their games.Most important is be positive,and be fun.

Chip Lemin has been a promoter of youth baseball since they started using aluminum bats. That's a long time. I have witnessed many good people get into coaching without solid coaching skills and it is not fun for them or the kids.Today's newer coaches are also being shortchanged on sportsmanship, like there is none. Visit my site to sign up for a insightful, informational, free coaching e-course at http://www.baseballecourse.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chip_Lemin

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Hitting Did You Knows

www.HandsBackHitter.com

By Todd Thomas

Did you know...

...a baseball and/or softball bat is one of the few retail products of significant value that comes with no directions on how to use it?

...hitting is at the very least 50% from the neck up and very few hitters are taught the mental side of the hitting equation?

...most hitters and coaches will say on average that a player's mental game of confidence, focus, and composure make up 80% of how they perform in game situations over and above their mechanics. Yet, those same people will readily admit that they spend 2% or less of their time practicing their mental game while practicing 98% on the other 20% of the game. Hmmm???

...there are only TWO hitting techniques? A hitter either comes forward or stays back. If he weight-shifts forward (continuously moves his vertical plane forward out over the top of the front foot)as he swings, the hitter is linear. Rotational hitters also weight-shift, but once they reach the balance point in their stride, they rotate around a stationary axis as they swing. Simply put, hitters that "stay back" are rotational. A hitter CANNOT stay back and be considered linear.

...good hitting mechanics incorporate BOTH linear and rotational movements? A "hybrid" swing is nothing new. Good swings have always been "hybrid".

...that despite all the talk of what "linear" hitting is and what linear hitting isn't, it barely resembles what it was 25 years ago?

...there is no such thing as the one "perfect swing?" The perfect swing is the adjustments a hitter makes to the pitch each different pitch they see. As a result, the "perfect swing" constantly changes!

...that parents and too often even coaches are confusing young hitters by telling them when they are in the batter's box to get their elbow up or down? Having the elbow "up" or "down" is a "style" issue—NOT a mechanics issue?

...the major league average bat speed is 78 mph?

...that bat "speed" and bat "quickness are two distinctly different things?" Bat speed measures bat velocity or the actual speed of the bat; bat quickness measures the time lapse from launch-to-contact. If a hitter has good bat quickness (major league average is .16 seconds), they will have high bat velocity. However, a hitter can have high bat velocity and NOT have good bat quickness. Good bat quickness is a product of good torque in the swing.

...to get the "same" performance/production from a wood bat that hitters get from aluminum, the wood bat should be two inches longer and two ounces heavier?

...there is no "proper" batting stance? It's different for each hitter and is a product of the hitter's "style"—not his technique.

..."no stride" hitting can make it easier for a hitter to focus on the pitch better because of less body/head movement?

...that Rogers Hornsby when asked what he did during the winter when there wasn't baseball said..."I stare out the window and wait for spring." Don't we all!

Now you know...if you didn't already.

Todd Thomas is a Baseball Coach and Professional Hitting Instructor for Mike Epstein Hitting. Coach Todd's personal hitting website is http://www.HitItHere.net . Coach Todd also enthusiastically endorses http://PlayMyBestBaseball.com as a place where baseball and softball hitters can master the Confidence, Composure, Focus and Consistency of their game so they can reach their full potential.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Todd_Thomas

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Choosing the Right Bat For Your Baseball Swing

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By Nate Barnett

A question I get asked a lot, especially from younger players, is regarding the correct bat weight and length. The reason it's a difficult question to answer is because it's not cut and dry. However, here are a few things to consider as you select a bat that matches your baseball swing.

1. The goal in selecting a bat that is the correct size is to not get sucked into the fallacy that bigger is better. This is not always the case. I was a power hitter during my playing days and always batted in the 3rd or 4th spot in the lineup. The biggest bat I ever used was a 33 inch, 30 ounce bat. Some guys used a 34 inch bat, but that was the exception and not the rule. In fact, we had quite a few hitters through college and into pro ball who used small bats. The reason? Bat speed. If you want a good baseball swing, bat speed is important.

2. While bat speed is valuable, there is a point where too light of a bat is counterproductive. A hitter should want to be swinging the bat instead of the bat swinging the hitter. If the bat swings like a whiffle bat, then it will be tough to maintain bat control while hitting a baseball. This usually happens when swinging a bat where the weight of the bat is far less (minus 9) than the length of the bat.

3. Don't worry so much about if the bat is long enough to cover the entire plate. If a hitter is swinging the correct way on an outside pitch, he will be able to reach the outside part of the plate with most bats. And even if the hitter is having a tough time covering the outer part of the plate because of the bat, chances are that most pitchers at that point will not be able to throw on the outside part of the plate consistently.

4. Lastly, rely on comfortability. Many hitters, even younger ones, can pick up a bat and swing it and can tell if it "fits". It's much like trying on a pair of shoes that are too small. You can tell instantly that they don't fit right, especially if you compare them with a pair of shoes that fit comfortably.

Nate Barnett is owner of BMI Baseball designed to improve the mental game of baseball in athletes. Learn how to help your game by improving your baseball psychology

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nate_Barnett

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Baseball Tips on Hitting - The Most Common Hitting Problem at Any Level of Play!

By Larry Cicchiello

If you have what is referred to as a "quick hip," please forgive my bluntness but you will have no chance of being a successful baseball hitter.

Only on an inside pitch, can you get away with opening the front hip a little bit early.

A "quick hip" is when the front hip opens a fraction of a second early. It is a common hitting problem and a very serious one for many hitters at all levels of play. The swing itself should force the front hip open.

If the hip is a fraction of a second too quick, it forces your front side to open too early and this is a recipe for disaster for a baseball player at any level of play.

Three Major Problems Occur if You Have A Quick Hip:

1. You will not see the ball well. Your head will go along for the ride with your "quick hip" and you will be looking at the ball out of the corner of your eyes when the moment of truth arrives and you attempt to actually hit the ball.

2. Your power will be lost. You will be leaning toward third base if you are a right-handed hitter or toward first base if you are a left-handed hitter. That is NOT where the hitting is taking place. The hitting is taking place in front of you, not to the left or right of you.

3. Your plate coverage will be poor. The only pitch you'll be able to hit with any success at all is the inside pitch and low and away pitches will cause many baseball hitting problems for you.

I wonder how much young players who are struggling at the plate would improve considerably if they made this fairly simple adjustment at the plate.

Keeping the front hip closed is one of the best baseball tips on hitting you will ever hear.

How common is the baseball hitting problem of having a "quick hip"? You can check it out for yourself.

When watching a game live in person or on TV at any level of play, observe the weaker hitters.

(The ones who are batting.220,.230 or.240.) Keep an eye on their front hip. In almost all cases, it will be opening too early.

On the other side of the coin, you can also check out the better hitters. They will be keeping their front hip closed!

Larry is the president of Larwenty Online Enterprises Inc and is also the author of "Excellent Baseball Coaching: 30 Seconds Away." If you are a baseball player or baseball coach at any level of play, or a parent who wants to help your child improve, you will be fully equipped! His baseball website offers several FREE baseball tips from his very informative and very fairly priced eBooks.

Larry's baseball website is http://www.larrybaseball.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Larry_Cicchiello

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Baseball Hitting Tips - How to Recognize a Curve Ball Quickly!

Hurricane Hitting Machine

By Larry Cicchiello

Recognizing a curve ball quickly is not an easy thing to do. Hitting a well located curve is not easy either.That's why you will hear the expression, "he's a good fastball hitter" ten times for every one time you will hear, "he's a good curve ball hitter." I'm well aware that part of that is because there are many more fastballs being thrown, so of course more fastballs will be hit harder. But I'm also well aware that the movement on the curve makes baseball hitting much more difficult and the slower speed disrupts timing. The quicker you can recognize that it's the curve that the pitcher is throwing, the better chance you will have of hitting it well. Like we've said many times, a fraction of a second is an eternity when it comes to baseball hitting and it most certainly applies here. That's why pitchers who have "late breaking" pitches are usually very successful, because the batter does not realize it is a breaking ball until it's a fraction of a second too late.

Ways to Recognize the Curve Ball Quickly:


Watch the release point of the pitcher very closely. The pitcher's release point may be slightly different from the fastball point of release.
Watch the trajectory of the ball as soon as it's released by the pitcher. It could very well have a slight arc to it that is not present on the fast ball.
Watch the pitcher's arm angle. There's a strong possibility that with the fastball, the pitcher may come almost directly overhand and with the curve he may drop down a little bit. This happens very often.
Practice watching as many curve balls as possible.

Let's say you play three times a week and get about ten at bats per week. Out of those ten at bats, you see about one curve per at bat, which is about ten per week. I strongly suggest that to improve at recognizing a curve quicker, you must see more than ten per week. If you are serious about baseball hitting and having better at bats against the curve ball, here is what I highly recommend you do.

Whenever you have batting practice with your team, ask your pitcher to mix in some curve balls during your last ten or twelve swings.

If one of your pitchers is pitching batting practice, stand behind the backstop and practice trying to recognize his curve ball as quickly as possible.

If one of your pitchers is throwing a "bull pen," go stand nearby and watch him closely. Try to read the curve as quickly as you can. (If you're serious about your baseball hitting, you will find the time to do these things.)

By doing the things listed above, you may very well be seeing 50 curve balls per week instead of only 10 per week. I'm well aware that it's not as efficient as if you were up there hitting in the batter's box but it will still improve your recognition of the curve. How can it not help? It has to to help you.

Hitting the Curve Ball:


Quick hands are an essential part of successful baseball hitting. If your hands are quick, you can "stay back" longer. By staying back and not over committing, this is extremely useful when attempting to hit the curve ball. There is much less of a chance you will be fooled by it and be off balance and too far out in front. There is no substitute for having quick hands.
"Hit it where it's pitched." An old cliche but a tough low and away curve ball with very good downward movement is not an easy pitch to hit. I highly recommend hitting it to the opposite field. Very few well located low and away curve balls are pulled by a batter and hit well.Very few.

Larry is the president of Larwenty Online Enterprises Inc. He is also the author of "Excellent Baseball Coaching: 30 Seconds Away." If you are a baseball player or baseball coach at any level of play, or a parent who wants to help your child improve, you will be fully equipped! His baseball website offers several FREE baseball tips from his very informative and very fairly priced eBooks.

Larry's baseball website is http://www.larrybaseball.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Larry_Cicchiello

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Baseball Batting Machine - The Backyard Basketball Goal For Baseball Players

One of my pet peeves in life is that there are many hundred thousands of future high school baseball players that will spend millions of hours of their spare time shooting basketball today. They will go out into their own backyard and spend hours and hours shooting games of “Horse” or playing “Pick-up” basketball.

Why does this bother me? The reason is that I know that these players could be having just as much fun and entertainment swinging a baseball bat if they had the right batting machine at home. They could be building skills in the game of baseball that will benefit them greatly when they compete for a spot on their high school team later.

Backyard batting machines such as the BatAction Hitting Machine and the Derek Jeter Hurricane Hitting Machine are the “Backyard Basketball Goal” for the Future Baseball Prospect. The future baseball prospect “lives” to swing the bat like the future basketball prospect “lives” to shoot the hoop.

Here are my 5 reasons the Batting Machine is like a Backyard Basketball Goal:

1. It is pure fun to hit. It offers a variety of fun and entertaining games and batting drills that kids love to play. The batting machine makes your backyard the most popular backyard in the neighborhood.

2. It is always ready for action. When the player gets bored at home, the machine is readily available.

3. There is not set-up required. To shoot basketball, all you need is a basketball. To hit the batting machine, all you need is a bat.

4. There is no energy required. The batting machine is fully self-contained. It operates off its on energy source. It uses the energy of the bat’s contact to propel the ball for the next swing.

5. A player can shoot basketball solo. The player can hit the batting machine without having to have a second person also. The “Streak” hitting game is comparable to shooting “Horse”. Players can play the “Streak” game alone.

So you can see why I call the batting machine, the backyard basketball goal for hitters. The two batting machine that are most poplar today are the BatAction Hitting Machine by Nedco Sports and the Derek Jeter Hurricane Machine by SKLZ.

You can see the batting machines described in theis article at BatAction.com and HurricaneMachine.com

Nick Dixon is the host for BaseballCoachingDigest.com, the YouthBaseballDigest.com, and BaseballParentGuide.com.

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Contents includes:

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Baseball Instruction - How's That Mental Game?

By Nate Barnett

So many times the only skills worked on in practice have to do with improving the physical part of the game. It's necessary, but how much of baseball instruction is spent on the mental side of the game? You know, stuff like the following:

1. Dealing with failure

2. Building confidence on the field

3. Visualization or imagery

4. Creating belief

5. Goal setting and achievement

6. Creating a culture of winning

7. Eliminating fear

I know you'd agree with me that the points above are valuable to any athlete's game. But, if they are that valuable, why aren't they being taught more? The fact of the matter is the mental side of baseball IS being taught more, just not at the lower levels of baseball (college and below). Until more emphasis is placed on mental baseball instruction, you're on your own for development. There is help along the way, you just have to look for it. The articles I write here are a good place to begin.

If professional baseball is now investing time into having sports psychologists teach mental skill development, why isn't everyone? The answer is, it's tough. There is little immediate feedback. It's not black and white like hitting a baseball is. You either hit it hard or you don't, right? The observation of success or failure is immediate while hitting. Mental training is long term; results are not always seen immediately. Plus, few coaches have the time or the capacity to teach it. When was the last time you handed your players a piece of information on the mental game or devoted a practice to teaching the skill of dealing with failure? It doesn't happen. But my point is it can happen. It takes education. Which is precisely what you're doing now, reading, learning, and transforming the way you think about mental baseball instruction. Just make sure your learning doesn't stop with this brief article.

How important is learning how to embrace and master the mental side? Combined with your devotion to physical improvement, it will be the deciding factor for what gets you to the next level (as a player or coach). Do your homework; don't take my word for it. Ask any college coach, professional player, or scout how important understanding the mental side is.

Nate Barnett is owner of BMI Baseball designed to improve the mental game of baseball in athletes. Learn how to help your game by improving the skill of mental baseball

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nate_Barnett

Youth Baseball Coaching - 8 Elements of a Super Baseball Swing

By Nick Dixon

The perfect baseball swing is a thing of beauty. There are few movements and actions in sports that are practice more often than the baseball swing. Players take thousands and thousands of practice swing during a season. The key to game swing quality is practice swing quality. There are certain basic rules that every batter should remember when taking a swing in practice and games.

Those rules are:


Make your stance wide to keep a short stride. A shorter stride is desirable because it allows the batter to execute the swing with little or no striding action. This allows the batter to keep the weight and hands back longer thus eliminating the possibility of being fooled on off-speed pitches.
Keep your hands close and stay inside the ball. The batter must learn to execute a swing that keeps the hands, wrist, and bat inside the ball.
Keep the head in and the front shoulder down. This body position will prevent the batter from pulling of the ball or popping up.
Move the lead foot...keep the back foot still. The lead leg should be planted and kept stiff. The back leg and hip will turn and rotate during the swing. The proper swing action is a "turning of the hips" and not a lunging action toward the ball.
Pivot of the back leg. The back toe should finish "on the toe-shoe laces to the pitcher". The turning in of the back toe and knee serves to free the hips allowing a smooth powerful swing with the hips generating power.
See the ball go flat. The concept is that the batter should see the bat distort one side of the ball upon impact. The barrel of the bat will "flatten" one of the ball when the ball is hit. The batter should keep the eyes and head on the ball so well that he can see the ball go flat.
Get extension through the ball. The batter should drive the hands through the ball using a quick wrist action to get maximum bat speed generation. The path of the bat should be similar to the path of a "landing plane". The path should be downward and through the ball to maintain bat to ball contact for as long as possible.
Finish long and smooth. The hands, wrist and arms should be driven through the ball in a long smooth path. The finishing position of the hands and bat should be one that has allowed the bat to go long through a long arch. A quick or abrupt stopping of the swing will alter the path and timing of the bat.

The CoachesBest Baseball Store has a great selection of BASEBALL HITTING, COACHING and TRAINING DVDs.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nick_Dixon

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Non-Stop Explosive Power - The Absolute Best Strength Workout For Speed!

By Brandon Richey

Explosive power and superior speed can be developed with the implementation of kettlebell swings and snatches! That's right, swings and snatches are tremendous lifts that can be performed with kettlebells in order to help you to develop superior strength and tremendous athletic speed. By now you may be familiar with the ancient kettlebell and realize that this is one tool that is sure to enhance your personal strength and speed training workouts.

The kettlebell is an ancient strength and conditioning device that has been around for over three centuries. This single device has been utilized by the world's greatest athletes and strongmen to forge their bodies into to the mold of athletic masterpieces. You see the key to kettlebell training is that it is movement based in nature rather than being a form of training that concentrates on training specific muscle groups. By learning to manipulate body movements against the resistance of the kettlebell you stand to develop superior explosive strength and power which is necessary for the development of your speed and athleticism. Two of the best strength endurance lifts that you can implement with the kettlebell are swings and snatches. Both lifts are certainly very dynamic and incorporate the use of your hips and core to generate the necessary force to lift the bell. Both of these kettlebell lifts utilize hundreds of your muscles at once giving you a total body workout that is more intense than anything you have ever tried. Both lifts help you develop superior core strength, hip power, and shoulder stability in order to prepare you for any athletic task that lies ahead. You see by implementing the movements such as the swings and snatches you stimulate your body's nervous system causing your body to react quicker by forcing your muscles to contract quicker and more forcefully. This is the key to a successful speed workout.

If you are serious about learning more about kettlebell training and what it does for your body then you have got to take the time to learn about how to execute the swings and snatches for your own program. I will make it easy for you by inviting you to access the rest of my articles on this topic for free. Start improving your speed and power development today. Remember that anyone can train hard, but only champions train smart my friend!

To learn more about how to utilize your body, Kettlebells, and to achieve Mind Blowing fitness get your copy of My "Better Than Steroids Ebook" by clicking here: http://www.betterthansteroidsebook.com/www.betterthansteroidsebook.com/Better_Than_Steroids_Ebook.html. You will become one of my Free Elite Members if you make your "Better Than Steroids" purchase, but to just become one of my Elite Members and receive my free Newsletter just go to http://www.efandps.com/www.efandps.com/Brandons_Members_Newsletter.html

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Brandon_Richey

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Shop CoachesBest.com for your baseball coaching needs including baseball training aids, training videos, and other coaching supplies. Check out the Derek Jeter Hurricane Hitting machine by SKLZ at HurricaneTrainer.com.

See the “Original” Rotational Hitting Machine at BatAction.com. Are you looking for the perfect trainer to teach proper timing and swing mechanics? You can stop looking and go to HandsBackHitter.com.

Baseball Recruited Athletes - How to Get Scholarship Offers

By Gary V Hawkins
If you find yourself as a baseball recruited athlete and you don't quite know what to do next, this article can help you stay on track to playing in college. Being recruited is just the beginning of the process and you want to make sure you give yourself the best shot at playing college baseball.

Once you begin being recruited, here are some steps you want to take:

1- Keep The Lines Of Communication Open

Once a coach has made contact with you, you want to make sure that you stay in contact. Send him periodic updates on you and your team. Although you are already a baseball recruited athlete, don't make the coach wonder if you still have in interest in his program.

2- Save Everything

Save all your press clipping and articles and use some of them to update the coaches.

3- Don't Assume Anything

Coaches usually recruit several players for each position. Just because they are showing interest in you don't assume the offers will start rolling in. Keep working hard.

4- Continue To Get Better

Even as a baseball recruited athlete, you want to strive to get better. Coaches want players who are never satisfied with their skills and who are constantly working to get better.

5- Don't Let Your Grades Slip

Coaches will be comparing you to your competition in all ways... including your grades. Don't let your grades be the reason you don't get any offers to play in college.

If you do these five things, you can put yourself in a good position to get offers as a baseball recruited athlete. If you are not being recruited or you want more college competing for your services, I recommend marketing and promoting yourself to college coaches. A simple athletic resume and a personal letter is all it takes to get the process started. If coaches have an interest, they will make contact with you.

Learn more about how to get on the path to playing in college, download our Free Report: Five Secrets You Must Know To Get Recruited For Athletic Scholarships.

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gary_V_Hawkins

Shop CoachesBest.com for your baseball coaching needs including baseball training aids, training videos, and other coaching supplies. Check out the Derek Jeter Hurricane Hitting machine by SKLZ at HurricaneTrainer.com.

Coaching Baseball Batters - 3 Common Baseball Swing Mistakes and Corrections

www.HurricaneMachine.com

By Nick Dixon

Coaching youth and high school baseball batters requires a watchful eye and close attention to detail. Baseball coaches must identify and correct any flaw in batting hitting mechanics. Players should not be allowed to practice their swing over and over without correcting their mistakes. Good baseball coaches are always on the constant lookout for any bad habits that a young player may develop. Here I discuss three of the most common hitting mechanical flaws and my approach to correcting each. Here are three common mistakes I often see at my baseball camps and when I observe youth games and youth practices.

1) BARRING THE FRONT ARM - The batter locks or stiffens the front arm as the swing begins. Many young batters will have assumed the correct stance and launch positions but have a tendency to tighten up as the swing begins. The barring of the front arm causes the swing to loop and to be too long. The batter has great difficulty taking the bat to the ball and making contact unless the ball is thrown exactly on the swing plane. The proper swing has a "short stroke" or path to the ball. The best way to correct barring of the front arm is to make sure that the batter keeps the front arm elbow bent or at an "L" position prior and during the swing.

2) STEPPING OUT OR PULLING OFF PITCHES - I often see this with young kids in our summer camp program. They always step out or their front side often flies open before the ball arrives. This batter has great difficulty making contact. Until this flaw is corrected, the batter will only become frustrated and embarrassed. To keep the front shoulder in the proper "closed" position, teach the batter to keep the front shoulder closed and directed at the second baseman for right-handed batters and toward the shortstop for left-handed batters. The stepping out is a more difficult flaw to fix. Having the batter pick the front heel off the ground and stepping just slightly toward the plate may help. I frown on putting obstructions behind the front foot to keep it from moving backward, although many coaches do this to stop this bad habit. I often use the "step in and hit: drill with a hit trainer, Bat Action Machine or batting tee. The batter assumes a position back away from the ball target that requires the batter to step toward the ball in order to make contact. If the batter does not step toward or into the ball, the batter will not be able to hit the ball.

3) UPPER CUT SWING - The upper cut swing may be caused by two things that are quickly identified Dropping the hands and back leg collapse can both cause the batter to swing upward. Make sure that the batter keeps the hands at the top of the strike zone and does not drop the hands or dip the back side shoulder during the swing. The back leg should be keep "tall or straight" to prevent back side dipping which can also cause an upper-cut swing. Two great drills that we use to stop this is the "Zone Circle" tee or soft-toss drill. We make a circle the side of our batting cage by inter-weaving a white or yellow rope in the net. The batter must hit or drive the ball off the tee or from a soft-toss into the circle. The batter must have a level swing and keep the front side in to be able to hit the zone.

COACHING POINT: Make sure that the batter is not over striding. This too can cause a batter to pop up. The batter must concentrate visually on the top half or middle of the ball to make good contact.

Visit BaseballCoachingDigest.com for a great selection of Baseball Coaching and Training Articles. Check out the BatAction Hitting Machine baseball pitching simulator. This high speed training machine is 100% Guaranteed to raise Batting Averages and has a full year warranty.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nick_Dixon



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Baseball Tips on Hitting - Are You Popping Up Or Grounding Out Too Often?

By Larry Cicchiello

No matter how high or how low your batting average is, you should pay close attention to how your outs are being made. We improve by working on any weaknesses we have. Even if you are hitting.350, if most of your outs are either on pop ups or grounders, you should be looking to make an adjustment. If you take your baseball hitting seriously, you must make adjustments. Here are some baseball tips on hitting that should help you.

Grounding Out Too Often and Topping the Ball

You may be getting your stride foot down too late. This will not give you enough time to get the bat to the hitting zone because your bat will still be too high when the moment of truth arrives, thus topping the ball.

You may be trying to pull the outside pitch instead of going with the pitch to the opposite field. Your bat will have a slight drag to it and you won't be swinging through the ball.

You may be hitting too much off the front foot and not keeping your weight on your back foot. This will cause you to be "top heavy" and most likely hit the top of the ball.

You may be opening your front shoulder and/or front hip too quickly, causing you to pull off the ball and not swing through the ball.

Popping Up Too Often and Hitting Under the Ball

Pay very close attention to what your back shoulder is doing. If it is collapsing and dropping down below the front shoulder, there is a very good chance this is the problem. Basically, you are lowering your entire swing and you almost have to swing underneath the ball. The same applies to your back leg. If it's dropping down and "collapsing" too much, that can very easily lead to "uppercutting" the ball and popping it up.

Make sure you are not dropping your hands too low when actually swinging. This obviously will increase the chances of you hitting the bottom of the baseball. If your hands are too low, your bat will be too low and there is a very good chance you will hit the bottom of the ball.

Make sure the back of your bottom hand is facing the pitcher when you start your swing. Remember, it should be one palm up and one palm down only at the point of contact and not before.

Make sure that your front elbow is pointing downward at the very start of your swing.This is very possibly the most common baseball hitting problem you will ever see. The very beginning of the swing is a downward movement and is not level at all. Only at the point of contact should the front elbow be level and pointing toward the pitcher.

If you learn only this one thing out of all the baseball tips on hitting, you will see a major improvement in your baseball hitting immediately!

Larry is the president of Larwenty Online Enterprises Inc. and also the author of "Excellent Baseball Coaching: 30 Seconds Away." If you are a baseball player or are involved in baseball coaching at any level of play or a parent who wants to help your child improve, you will be fully equipped! His baseball website offers several FREE baseball tips from his very informative and very fairly priced eBooks.

Larry's baseball website is http://www.larrybaseball.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Larry_Cicchiello

Shop CoachesBest.com for your baseball coaching needs including baseball training aids, training videos, and other coaching supplies. Check out the Derek Jeter Hurricane Hitting machine by SKLZ at HurricaneTrainer.com.

See the “Original” Rotational Hitting Machine at BatAction.com. Are you looking for the perfect trainer to teach proper timing and swing mechanics? You can stop looking and go to HandsBackHitter.com.

Players develop incredible bat speed and confidence when they regularly use the Quick Swing Trainer. See it at QuickSwingTrainer.com. See the world’s most advanced batting tee at AdvancedSkillsTee.com.

A Real Workout For the Baseball Player!

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A Real Workout For the Baseball Player!
By Brandon Richey

In my experience as a strength and conditioning professional baseball players don't put enough emphasis on trying to enhance their athleticism. The truth is that all athletes should try to improve their athleticism and baseball players are not an exception. Check out the following 2 kettlebell drills you can implement in order to develop superior hitting power and blazing speed.

1. The Overhead Kettlebell Swing: The overhead kettlebell swing is a fantastic drill for baseball players to include in their strength training program. To execute this drill all you will need is the availability of a single kettlebell of moderately heavy resistance. To begin, simply place the bell right between your feet. Make sure your feet are about shoulder width distance apart in length. From here you will want to execute the hip snap motion. This is done by you smoothly and fluently flexing and extending at both your knees and hips in order to create enough momentum to swing the kettlebell in an arc from between your legs all the way up to above your head. You will develop superior core power by implementing this drill. This will certainly help with your hitting power and explosiveness when running on the field.

2. Kettlebell Figure 8's To A Hold: This drill is a bit sophisticated to look at, but it is actually not as difficult as it may appear. This drill will help you to develop a serious amount of core power and is a tremendous strength endurance lift for baseball players to perform. To begin, simply place the kettlebell between your feet. You will want to flex at your hips and squat down to pick up the bell with one hand. Lets say you start with your right hand. From here simply swing (or hike) the kettlebell between your legs and pass the kettlebell off to your opposite hand behind your left leg. Make absolutely sure that once you catch the kettlebell with the opposite hand that you have a firm grip on it. From here your hips are still flexed and the bell's momentum is carrying it around to the outside of your left leg. Next, explosively extend your knees and hips and swing the bell with your left arm up and diagonally across your body to your opposite shoulder. When you swing it to the opposite shoulder you want to make sure that you catch it at your shoulder with your right hand. From here simply drop the bell into a swing to hike it once again in order to start the whole process over on the opposite side. There is no substitute for a sound strength training program for baseball players. This is a great place to start!

To learn more about Kettlebells, Fitness, and achieving Total Mind-Blowing Strength come and visit me at http://www.efandps.com

To be one of my members and to receive more tips on INSANE BODY CONSTRUCTION please visit me at: http://www.efandps.com/www.efandps.com/Brandons_Members_Newsletter.html

I'm Brandon Richey the Strength and Conditioning Pro!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Brandon_Richey



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Baseball2u.com/CoachesBest.com is the ultimate online baseball training and coaching store. With over 1400 products organized into categories Baseball2u.com makes finding that baseball training product easy and simple. Order securely online or by phone. Baseball2u.com is a fully licensed company and has a full time staff available from 8:00 to 5:00 CST. Their toll free customer service number is 1-877-431-4487.

The Categories they have are: Baseball Training Equipment, Youth Baseball Training Equipment, Training Bats, Pitching & Throwing Trainers, Defensive Trainers, Batting Cages, Pitching Machines, Jugs Equipment, Game and Practice Baseballs, Protective Practice Screens and Nets, Portable Pitching Mounds, Baseball DVDs & Books, Clearance Items on Sales, BatAction Hitting Machines, Hurricane Hitting Machines, NEDCO Bataction Replacement Parts, SKLZ Hurricane Replacement Parts and Much Much More! Visit Baseball2U.com today!