Coaching Tips From the Dugout of Coach John Peter

For Coaches For players to win with consistency, they must feel that they belong on the field with the other team. Spend time learning how to teach them to win. This is as important as the hours you will spend on drills.   (Do note that this is truly secondary at the younger age levels.) For Hitters Thinking From The Dugout If you don't have a plan before each at-bat you will not have the success your talent deserves! For Pitchers Finish What You Start! There are not 11 or 12 men on your pitching staff so plan on getting the final out yourself! Start The Hitter's Bat Real pitchers understand that it is his job to get the hitter to hit a (hopefully weak) ball to the defense, not try and strike out every guy who comes to the plate. You cannot count on striking out all the good hitters; you do have eight guys behind you. Besides, it takes a lot of pitches to strike a guy out. Getting a batter to hit a ground ball or weak flyball on less pitches will leave you with a lot more life in your arm by the last inning!

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Baseball Bytes
From the book Coaching Baseball Skills & Drills by Bragg Stockton
  Excerpt from Ch. 8, Outfield Play

Throwing From The Outfield The throw from the outfield is very similar to an overhand pitcher's delivery. As outfielders play a fly ball or ground ball they should build their momentum into the throw by performing a little "crow-hop," which distributes the weight on the back leg and allows them to put the full force of the body into the throw. In this move the elbow is relaxed as it extends backwards during the throw, and the glove hand points toward the throwing target. As the weight comes forward, the outfielder should release the ball from an overhand position and follow through low with the throwing shoulder. The throw from the outfield must be overhand so that it stays on a straight line as it comes into the infield. If the ball has the slightest side-spin it will kick to one side as it hits the infield grass. Outfielders should develop a strong downward wrist snap as they release the ball, to impart the proper spin and to insure that the ball goes in the right direction as it hits the infield grass. Throws from the outfield should be kept low. A high, arching throw doesn't have the speed or direction that characterizes a low throw. In order to throw low, an outfielder should be certain not to drag the throwing shoulder. The throwing shoulder must reach a higher plane than the lead shoulder does as the throwing arm starts forward to release the ball. The outfielder must get "on top" of the throw with the upper part of the body, otherwise the throw will sail off with a high, ineffective arch. To be effective, outfielders should learn to hit specific targets. They should practice throwing to second base, third base, and home plate, always trying to hit the base on a low, one-bounce throw. They should practice "hitting" the cutoff and relay people in the chest from various distances on direct throws. If an outfielder's throwing is sound mechanically and he is mentally alert, he can be invaluable to his team. Outfield Ground Ball-Fly Ball Drill Purpose: To work on outfielding fundamentals. Procedure: A coach stands on the right field foul line about 30 feet behind first base. Three players stand in left-center field. One player acts as the catcher, feeding the coach balls, and another stands closer to the outfielders and acts as a relay person. The coach hits a variety of ground balls and fly balls to players in the outfield. They throw to the relay, who throws to the catcher. The coach should hit balls fairly continuously. Players rotate periodically. A variation of this drill can be performed by having only one outfielder field the batted balls at a time. After fielding a ball, the outfielder throws the ball to a cutoff man and promptly assumes another ready position. The coach then hits another type of ball to the outfielder. Each outfielder fields 20 balls, then a new outfielder begins. Baseball Tips Best-Selling Book - Just $24.95 Coaching Baseball Skills & Drills A great book for anybody involved in youth baseball. You'll learn in-depth aspects of hitting, pitching, defense, and planning, plus baseball-oriented conditioning drills and a team practice chart. Coaching Baseball Skills & Drills by Bragg Stockton is considered by many to be the most comprehensive baseball skill development book ever published.   264 pages, includes over 600 illustrations & 85 drills "I firmly believe that the ideas and drills presented in this book will benefit both players and coaches alike."   - Woody Williams, St. Louis Cardinals All-Star pitcher Send this page to a friend   Featured Article Using Batting Practice as Pitching Practice   Terry Mularski, Westmoreland County Community College Coach Mularski outlines his rationale for why all pitchers must pitch batting practice on a regular basis. [ article excerpt ] How many times have you heard the cliches that coaches yell at their pitchers when they are struggling to throw strikes? You do not have to strike everyone out. Get ahead. Let your fielders help you out. Throw it over and make him hit it. From a personal standpoint, nothing is more irritating than coaches, players or fans yelling at a pitcher to throw strikes when it is obvious there is nothing more he would rather do. Yes, it is very frustrating, but do not let the players see that frustration. Face it, pitchers have extremely fragile egos and their confidence can be shattered easily when things are not going their way. Pitchers must develop confidence in their ability to throw strikes, and game situations should not be the first time that a pitcher tries to do this. Batting practice is the key! Batting practice is the perfect opportunity for all pitchers to develop and internalize confidence in their ability to throw strikes and master pitches. Very few coaches would think of scripting a practice schedule without batting practice, and the same should be true with pitching practice.....    Read the rest of the article

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Baseball Wisdom

You Can Learn A Lot By Watching The Game.... Notes from those who cover baseball Bat Grip Dan Shaughnessy, Boston Globe Manny Ramirez is a fascinating hitter. Watch him at the plate. He has incredible balance and his hands are loose around the bat when he waits for the pitch. He has the requisite bat speed and power, but it's his hands that make him different. Show this to your kids and tell them not to strangle the handle of the bat when waiting for the pitch. He gets more two-strike hits than any player. Tipping Off Pitches Bill Chuck, Billy-Ball.com Oakland outfielder Jermaine Dye was watching a report from ESPN commentator Rob Dibble on Baseball Tonight that Barry Zito was tipping off his curveball, and he passed the tip to the A's starter before the game. The video indicated that when Zito was setting up for a curveball, he was wiggling his glove as he dug into it for the ball, but he wasn't doing so for his fastball or changeup. Zito isn't certain to what extent he was tipping the curve, and isn't sure how much Dye's tip helped him limit the Angels to one run in six innings in his next start on April 18. On the other hand, during his previous start in Texas he gave up 11 hits and six runs, so I'm sure it didn't hurt.

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Featured Products at Baseball Tips.com

Order online in our secure shopping cart or call toll free at 1-800-487-7432 (9-6 EST). Skills & Drills Complete Coaching Series  - Save $64.95 Videos On Sale Through May 12 - Includes Free Coaching Book A comprehensive set of video instruction for the thousands of youth level coaches who can use help in multiple areas.and for those who understand the value of improving both their stronger and weaker points! The book Coaching Baseball Skills & Drills is included free of charge with Bragg Stockton's Complete 12 Video Coaching Series. Hitting I  -  Hitting II  -  Pitching I  -  Pitching II 1st Base  -  2nd Base/Shortstop  -  3rd Base/Outfield  -  Catching Defensive Skills  -  Team Practice & Home Training Conditioning & Fitness  -  Bunting, Baserunning, & Sliding Video Set Retail: $299 Book: $24.95 Sale Price: $259 You Save $64.95 Coach JP:  Most videos and books tend to specialize in particular topic areas. This video series is absolutely comprehensive and thoroughly covers all aspects that players need to learn. By teaching coaches first, players will learn quicker. Personal Pitcher Pitching Machines - From just $189 New & Improved 2004 Models at Lower Prices The only golf wiffleball machine that is fully portable and rechargeable. Throws a very straight ball every 6 seconds, unless you prefer the brand new curveball model. Great for pre-game warmups or hitting stations. Zero set-up time. Use any bat. Eliminate fear of the ball and build confidence! New Features All 2004 models include 45/25 mph* dual pitch speed and pitch release indicator light. * Speed can be adjusted by moving the machine closer or further away from the hitter. At 18-20 feet, the speed can be equivalent to a 70-85 MPH pitch from 60 feet. Mark Wyatt, Shafter HS Coach (Bakersfield, CA):   "Possibly the best batting training aid on the market!" Coach JP:   All you need is 25 feet and enough area to swing a bat. Model 2003 2004   Includes Standard $189 $189   24 balls, 2 hour battery, AC Adapter, 1 year warranty Minor Leaguer Pkg $260 $250   Standard model w/ Tripod, 60 balls, 40' x 14' net   HS $229 $209   48 balls, 4 hour battery, AC Adapter, 2 year warranty All-Star Package $319 $275   HS model w/ Tripod, 72 balls, 40' x 14' net   Curveball Pro N/A $259   New Model - Throws left and right handed curve balls Triple Crown Package N/A $315   Curveball Pro w/ Tripod, 72 balls, 40' x 14' net   Package info: Type of Balls, Battery, 40' x 14' net, Tripod, Warranty

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Take A Look at Our 2004 Personal Pitcher Golfball Wiffle Ball Machines!
Perfect for all ages and skill levels! Built for backyard, ballpark, travel, basement, garage, driveway, pregame, batting practice and anything else you can think of. My highest recommendation! - Coach JP

Making Great Use of Your Personal Pitcher
My son was 13 when he received his Personal Pitcher. We placed the machine in our yard around 22 feet from him and he used his game bat and after a short learning curve, some misses and tipped balls, he began hitting with varied success.

I did notice that soon after he first began hitting, his chatter slowed as he began to focus on every ball that came his way. Right away he began competing with himself trying to hit everything hard and in his intended direction. Having 6 seconds between pitches kept him even more focused.

The lessons here are strong and seemed to be instinctive:
1st, kids will focus if they want to... regardless of age.
2nd, they will do this much easier if they are having fun... he sure was!
3rd, as soon as he began hitting with some consistency, I found him competing with himself...He called me a ton of times when he had hit an entire rack to show me the "pattern" where all the balls had landed! He understood that he was to strive for consistency. And as kids do. He made a game out of it!

My only suggestion to him was to do this in series of 10 swings and keep track of how many "good hits" out of ten that he achieved.
THEN, create situations to see how well you do.

Here Are Some FUN Situations, Done In A Series of 10 Swings
(adjust for player-age)

Man on 2nd and 3rd With One Out
We want to hit a ball HARD to the right side past the 2B to score 1 or 2 runs and make the throw farther for the defense!
Count how many you get right ...out of 10!

Read the rest of our Fun Drills & Practice Situations: Making Great Use of Your Personal Pitcher

Softball

Softball Videos by Sue Enquist 19 Videos - New for 2004 Baseball Tips is proud to offer a complete set of softball videos by Sue Enquist, who has been a player, coach, and head coach with the UCLA Bruins for 28 years. A former All-American center fielder who led UCLA to its first softball national championship in 1978, Enquist guided UCLA to its record 10th championship in 2003. Each video is presented in an easy-to-understand and apply manner. We are carrying seven packages and five individuals videos. Packages: Basic Softball Hitting Hitting Drills Complete Softball Hitting Series Youth Coach Outfield Coach Pitching Coach Catching Individuals Videos: Hitting Mechanics Common Hitting Problems and Solutions Fundamental Defensive Drills Defensive Drills for Every Position Mental Toughness Training

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