"4 Common Pitching Flaws

"4 Common Pitching Flaws
of Young Pitchers"


1. NOT SEEING THE TARGET - Teach pitchers to "lock in" on the chosen "target spot" during the delivery. I call these target "anchor points" . They may be the mitt, catchers knee, catchers mask, umpires mask, and other visual points. The "anchor points" vary with the pitch being thrown. When runners are on, make sure the pitcher "refocuses" on the target after checking the runner/runners and before throwing the pitch.
2. LANDING ON THE HEEL - Landing on the heel of the stride foot will cause control problems and excelerate fatigue. The pitcher should land softly on the "ball" of the stride foot. Landing on the front half of the stride foot reduces the "landing impact" to the pitcher's body thus helping to improve body control and pitch control. Control the body; control the pitch!

THROWING ACROSS THE BODY - This is caused when the pitcher strides to "closed" to allow a smooth delivery and follow through. The pitcher must throw across the body causing a "front hip lock" that prevents proper and adequate front hip movement and rotation. The pitcher should stride into "center zone" toward the plate to prevent this flaw.

3. POOR FOLLOW-THROUGH - The pitcher should finish low with a bent back and slightly bent front leg. The pitcher should strive to finish with the throwing arm outside of the knee and chest over thigh. The emphasis should be on achieving a smooth and proper follow through on every pitch.

The Baseball Coaching Drill Book is available at CoachesBest.com.

Baseball Pitching Know-How - The 30 Cardinal Sins of a Baseball Pitcher

By Nick Dixon

Every baseball team's fortune lies in the hands or the "arm" of the pitcher on the mound.

This can be said for pitching at every level from Little League Baseball to High School Baseball to College Baseball and to Major League Baseball. As I was watching the College World Series on ESPN last June, I noticed that every pitcher did the little things perfect. Every pitcher had basically the same approach to the game. Every college baseball pitcher in Omaha tried to get ahead of the batters, pound the strike zone with good pitches, and let their defense make plays behind them.

Before a pitcher "toes the rubber" there are many things that that pitcher must know. Little things make a big difference when it comes to baseball pitching success or failure.

Here are what I consider to be the 30 Cardinal Sins of a pitcher.


Not stretching and properly warming up before you pitch.
Walking the lead-off hitter!
Not spotting the fast ball.
Not knowing the number of outs.
Not knowing what bunt coverage is on.
Not sprinting to the plate to cover after a passed ball or wild pitch.
Hitting the lead off batter in the inning.
Hitting a batter with a 0-2 count.
Letting a hitter go from a 0-2 to a 3-2 count.
Allowing the batter to get a 0-2 base hit.
Hanging a curve ball.
Failing to cover first base on a ball hit to the right side.
Failing to back up 3rd or Home on a base hit to the outfield.
Making an errant pickoff throw to a bag.
Failing to vary your looks to check runners on base.
Allowing 2 walks in inning.
Not knowing who is covering 2B in a double-play situation.
Throwing a different pitch from what the catcher calls
Not setting up on the correct side of the pitching rubber. (RH on R, LH on L)
Allowing a walk with two outs.
Going 3-ball-count on any hitter.
Showing negative emotion!
Questioning an Umpire's Call!
Not running or icing your arm after the game to prevent injury.
Not wearing a warm-up jacket in cold conditions.
Failing to check a runner back to the bag on a come backer hit to you.
Throwing out of the windup with a runner on 1st or 2nd base.
Not pointing up in the air at a fly ball.
Not pounding the strike zone with a 5 or more run lead.
Not getting ahead of batters early in the count.

I am sure that you can add more. I hope that you find this information useful.

Good Luck till next time, Nick Dixon

The CoachesBest Baseball Store has a great selection of Pitching Trainers. Check out their huge selection of Pitching DVDs and coaching books.

Nick Dixon is the President and founder of Nedco Sports, the "Hit2win Company". Dixon is also an active and full time high school baseball coach with over 25 years experience. Dixon is widely recognized as an expert in the area of baseball training, practice and skill development. Coach Dixon is better known as the inventor of several of baseball and softball's most popular training products such as the Original BatAction Hitting Machine, SKLZ Derek Jeter Hurricane Hitting Machine, Original Hitting Stick, Hit2win Trainer, SKLZ Target Trainer, SKLZ Derek Jeter ZipnHit Pro, and Strikeback Trainer. Dixon is also a contributing writer for BaseballCoachingDigest, the Baseball 2Day Coaches Journal, Batting Cage Builder, the American Baseball Directory and the Hit2win Baseball Coaches Monthly Newsletter. Dixon has 5 blogs related to baseball training including the BaseballCoachingDigest Blog, CoachesBest Training Blog, Hurricane Machine Training Blog, Batting Cage Buyers Blog, and the Bat Action Training Blog.

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

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Bat Certification - Ball Exit Speed Ratio (BESR)

By Wiley Channell

BESR Ball Exit Speed Ratio is a rule which applies to all non-wood bats used by all high schools who are members of the National Federation High School Associations.

All non-wood bats used must bear the BESR certification mark.

The Ball Exit Speed Ratio mark ensures a maximum exit speed of 97 miles per hour. The rules also a part of the BESR standard, have the following requirement a maximum of 2 5/8 inches diameter bat barrel and a minus-3 differential between the length and weight. (i.e.,a 33-inch-long bat cannot weigh less than 30 ounces).

Folks all of the above criteria and certification is dedicated to safety for our high school baseball players.

Good people first off let me admit some ignorance on this dedicated to safety part of this BESR certification. I originally thought the safety thing was referring to the bat staying in one piece and not flying apart when some over strength lad really laced into little white baseball.

That is not the safety bit at all it is the safety of those lads out there in the infield trying to corral the well hit ball. It seems the elasticity of materials used in a metallic bat will cause a baseball to leave the bat so fast and with such velocity it is or could be a dangerous missile.

Would you want your kid waiting patiently down there at third base trying to stop a baseball coming off a metal bat travelling like a shot from a 30 ought 6 rifle? Never ! so the BESR certification establishes that the flexibility or elasticity if that metal bat has been tempered to a control point so that the ball will not be leaving the bat at more than the specified 97 miles per hour.

So much for science and physics in the matter all we can hope for is that the manufacturing and production process is up to snuff and have it right all the time when the BESR mark is put on every metal bat.

Maybe the rules committee failed to certify or place a mark for size of the boy or muscle strength allowed to use a bat.

Collegiate use of non-wood bats might want to consider this Exit Speed Ratio thing to consider the safety net. A bat with a Ball Exit Speed Ratio maximum above 97 miles per hour might ruin the College home run records and statistics.

Since professional or major league baseball has placed non-wood bats off limits this BESR thing is of no consequence in professional baseball as of today.

I seriously doubt professional baseball leagues will ever adopt the use of non-wood bats. The sweet sound of that wood on the baseball has a sound so unique an experienced player can by the sound alone tell if the ball is well hit and heading to the far reaches of the ball park.

The sound of the metallic bats meeting the ball has a pinging sound and reminds one of the sound of a hub cap coming off the wheel of a car. The professional and sandlot players have yet to become attuned to judging the travel probability of a ball leaving these modern day metallic bats.

Major league teams still have to contend with the "Tar Baby Bat" because George just might knock the tar out of that hosshide.

Batter Up---Let's Play Ball...

BaseballFarming is for real so an Introduction to the concept of baseball farming which includes ideas on strategies, training, and winning! by Major Wiley B. Channell USMC (ret) is available at: http://www.baseballfarming.com

Baseball Lingo is real baseball talk by the baseball world. You can become fully up to speed walk the walk and talk the talk by visiting us at: http://www.baseballfarming.com/BaseballCoachingClinics.html

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

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Advanced Skills Tee - Questions and Answers

What is the Purpose of the Outside Barrier?

The outside barrier eliminates "casting". It keeps you form swinging "long" and helps you "keep the hands inside the ball". If the bat or arms are extended prematurely the bat head will slap the flexible upright barrier post. For years coaches have set a tee adjacent to a fence or screen to force hitters to compact their swing. The outside barrier does the same thing except it is a lot more effective. It rotates around the tee to accommodate LH or RH hitters and it moves along with the forward arm to help you keep the hands "tight" when you are working on inside and outside pitch locations. With the outside barrier you are forced to rotate the hips and torso and extend the hands only at the point of contact. It produces a "quick" bat and more power as well.

What Makes the Advanced Skills Tee™ So Durable?

The tubing for the AST is molded from polyurethane, using a open casting process. Polyurethane is a flexible material like rubber; however, polyurethane is much stronger and more durable than rubber (as much as 10 times more durable!). Wheels for roller blades, industrial rollers, and dimpled pitching machine balls are among the many items typically made with urethane. It's a great material for products that must withstand impact and stress yet remain flexible. Urethanes are expensive, and whilte the AST may cost more than a traditional rubber tee, it is guaranteed to last 10 times longer too. We back our Advanced Skills Tees with a two-year warranty.

Is it Practical and Portable?

The AST can be assembled or disassembled, by hand, for easy storage and transportation. And, it uses a hollow, canteen style base that is filled with sand or water (and sealed with a rubber plug). When filled, the base provides weight for stability and when empty, the base is light and portable.

For more information on this great baseball and softball training aid. go to AdvancedSkillsTee.com.

Baseball Managing/Coaching Quotes From The Baseball Greats

I thought you would like to read some quotes from Major League Baseball Hall of Famers.

"There are three types of baseplayers: those who make it happen, those who watch it happen, and those who wonder what happens."
Tommy Lasorda

"If the guys on the bench were as good as the guys you have out there, they'd be out there in the first place."
Frank Robinson

"Show me a guy who's afraid to look bad, and I'ss show you a guy you can best every time."
Lou Brock

"Most ballgames are lost, not won."
Casy Stengel

"Win any way you can, so long as you can get away with it."
Leo Durocher

"There are three secrets to managing. The first secret is 'have patience.' The second is 'be patient.' And the third and most important scret is 'patience.'"
Chuck Tanner

"It's what learned after you know it all that counts."
Earl Weaver

Have a great day, Nick

Baseball Training - The BatAction Machine Makes Learning to Hit Easy and Efficient!

The BatAction Hitting Machine is the Original Rotational Hitting Machine. The BatAction Machine is a great baseball training device for baseball players of all ages and ability levels. The BatAction Machine has an innovative patented design that has a ball suspended horizontally.

This simple design makes learning to hit easy, simple and safe. When a player hits the BatAction Ball, the ball is driven forward and around the machine. The machine then stops the ball and returns it to the player. The horizontal patented design of the machine suspends the ball in mid-air allowing the ball to react to bat contact like a real baseball or softball. The player can hit the ball moving or wait until the ball stops. The batter has ample time between swings to reset and prepare for the next swing.

The Bat Action Machine allows the batter work at a comfortable speed and pace. There is no need for another person. The batter has to do nothing but swing the bat. The Bat Action Machine does everything else. These are no balls to gather, no balls to chase and no balls to pick up. There are no levers to press, balls to toss, or pedals to step on. The Bat Action is absolutely 100% energy efficient and it is so much fun to hit! It's no wonder; the Bat Action Machine is one of the most popular and best selling baseball training machines ever!

The BatAction Baseball Training Machine offers 5 great benefits:

1. The BatAction Machine has a large circle of ball movement - This large path of ball movement allows the batter to see, hit and track the ball before and after each swing. The BatAction ball movement closely simulates live pitching!

2. The BatAction Machine allows the batter to read swing contact. The ball is suspended in mid-air without cables, string, or ropes. This unique patented design allows the ball to react to bat contact much like a real ball. The batter receives instant feedback as to the quality and power of every swing. The batter can immediately read the ball after contact to see if the ball hit was a line drive, ground ball or fly ball. This instant feedback is extremely useful and beneficial to rapid skill improvement and bat speed development.

3. Every swing is a challenge - The BatAction Machine features a moving ball with adjustable speeds. Players really love the challenge and fun of seeing and hitting a moving ball. The harder a player hits the ball, the faster it will return. This ball movement keeps the batter challenged and motivated to practice more and more.

4. The BatAction Machine fast moving ball makes every swing a challenge - The BatAction Machine features a moving ball with adjustable speeds. Players really love the challenge and fun of seeing and hitting a moving ball. The harder a player hits the ball, the faster it will return. This ball movement keeps the batter challenged and motivated to practice more and more.

5. The BatAction Machine is a great trainer for planned or impulse training - The BatAction is often used as a hitting station for team training. It is great for these planned activities. But, one of the benefits that makes it one of the most popular home trainers ever, is the fact that it can be set up as a hitting station in the backyard. This makes the BatAction Machine always available to a hitter for fun and recreational use. These impulse workouts can be done alone, even when Dad or Mom is not at home. This is why the Bat Action Machine is often called the Backyard Basketball Goal for baseball and softball players. It is so much fun to hit that kids spend hours and hours of their free time hitting the fast moving ball. These fun workouts are the reason that BatAction Machine owners are some of the most dominate hitters in the game today.

For more BatAction Hitting Machine drills, tips, and coaching information visit the BatAction Training Blog. 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.

Baseball Hitting Drills: Using Small Baseballs to Improve Hitting Skill

Hitting a baseball has often been described as the most difficult task in all of sports. It certainly is a skill that requires a great amount of practice to master. Great hitters are not born, they are made. They have a love for the game, they live to hit, and they never grow tired of hearing the reaction of the fans when they drive one off the wall in left-center for a stand-up double. Players at every level including high school baseball, college baseball and major league baseball must commit themselves to a regiment of daily batting practice if they are to maintain their swing and stay at the top of their game. What gives the great hitters the ability to perform so well under pressure and to dominate their game? What is the one common trait of all great hitters other than a great swing? The answer can be found in their eyes. The great hitters have the ability to focus. They have the ability to see the ball better, to pick it up quicker out of the pitchers hand, and to track it into the zone and off the bat.

Batting practice with Small Baseballs is a proven method of improving the ability of a batter to see and focus on the baseball. The small ball concept has been around for decades. The theory is simple, if you practice hitting a ball much smaller than a baseball, then when you actually are hitting a real baseball, it will look bigger and easier to hit. I was skeptical about this movement when it first came about in the early to mid nineties. But, firsthand experience has made me a believer. I purchased 6 dozen small baseballs last season for my players to use in batting drills and the batting cages. I must admit, I had visions of the small baseballs flying through the netting of our batting cages. That concern proved to be unmerited. During months of use and thousands and thousands of batting practice swings, I never witnessed a single small baseball pass through the net.

Players are always receptive to new ideas and concepts. My players are always eager to see what I come up with next. As the inventor of the hitting stick, BatAction Machine, Hit2win Trainer, and ZipnHit, I often use my team practices to experiment with new ideas and concepts. The players loved the small baseball on first sight. I basically gave them access to them to use in our daily batting cage workouts.They quickly developed their own routine and drills. They quickly adopted a 3-stage progression during their daily batting cage workouts. They used the small baseball in two of our 6 mini-cages. When they hit the small baseball, they would take 12 swings with a Livewire brand training bat, a small barreled bamboo bat. Then they would take 12 swings with the Sweetspot brand training bat. Then they would finish with 12 swings with their regular metal batting cage practice bat. After hitting the small baseballs, they would use regular sized baseballs in the batting cages, taking 48 swings in 4 sets. So the small balls acted as a warm-up or prep work before their regular batting cage workout with regular batting cage balls. The small baseball performed great. Soon, all of our hitters used then on a daily basis. The use of the small baseball greatly improved eye focus, batter concentration, and most of all, it improved batter confidence. There was normal wear and tear on the small balls because they were sometimes used in cage with bare cement floors. If you are looking for a new twist to add to your daily practice routine, I highly recommend small baseballs. I am sure that you will see and experience the same benefits that I did with my team.

The CoachesBest.com Baseball Store has SMALL BASEBALLS at discount prices. Check out the BatAction Hitting Machine baseball pitching simulator. This high speed training machine is 100% Guaranteed to raise Batting Averages and has a full year warranty.

Nick Dixon is the President and founder of Nedco Sports, the "Hit2win Company". Dixon is also an active and full time high school baseball coach with over 25 years experience. Dixon is widely recognized as an expert in the area of baseball training, practice and skill development. Coach Dixon is better known as the inventor of several of baseball and softball's most popular training products such as the Original BatAction Hitting Machine, SKLZ Derek Jeter Hurricane Hitting Machine, Original Hitting Stick, Hit2win Trainer, SKLZ Target Trainer, SKLZ Derek Jeter ZipnHit Pro, and Strikeback Trainer.

Dixon is also a contributing writer for BaseballCoachingDigest, the Baseball 2Day Coaches Journal, Batting Cage Builder, the American Baseball Directory and the Hit2win Baseball Coaches Monthly Newsletter. Dixon has 5 blogs related to baseball training including the BaseballCoachingDigest Blog, CoachesBest Training Blog, Hurricane Machine Training Blog, Batting Cage Buyers Blog, and the Bat Action Training Blog.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nick_Dixon

Baseball Hitting Instruction: The STEP IN & HIT DRILL - "STOPS A HITTER FROM STEPPING OUT"

The "Step in and Hit" baseball hitting drill is used to teach a hitter not to step out or "into the bucket". The drill works very well in stopping this common flaw.

• The batter begins the drill standing farther away from the machine than normal. This starting position allows the batter to take two steps inward before swinging the bat.
• The batter step first with the back foot and then with the front foot. When the front "lands" the batter attacks the ball.
• The drill may be performed with the ball moving or in the "still position".
• The batter takes time to reset and observe all body movement before and after the swing. It is sometimes good to have the hitter freeze after the swing to see if the proper finish position is achieved.

The batter should make sure to make contact with the ball component and not the shaft.

The CoachesBest Baseball Store has a great selection of BASEBALL HITTING, COACHING and TRAINING DVDs
Check out the Bat Action Hitting Machine baseball pitching simulator. This high speed training machine is 100% Guaranteed to raise Batting Averages and has a full year warranty.

Coaching Youth Baseball: The BaseballCoachingDigest.com - Great Baseball Coaching Information and Resource

Our goal is to provide you with a source of coaching information that you will find useful and interesting. Make sure to "bookmark" this site to your favorites so that you can visit us often. We will be adding at least 12 new coaching aricles every month.

We have articles on every aspect of baseball coaching including coaching baseball hitters, coaching pitchers, coaching defense, baseball practice planning and organization, baseball player motivation, and much, much, more.

Welcome to the Baseball Coaches Digest, one of the internet's largest collections of baseball coaching articles.

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

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.
Continue reading learn how to:
KEEP PRACTICE MOVING ALONG
Click here to continue reading this great article at the BaseballCoachingDigest.com

Coaching Youth Baseball: The Closed Eye Baseball Hitting Drill

Closed Eye Hitting Drill

This is one of my favorite drills. The hitter assumes a comfortable and correct stance each time. Then the hitter closes the eyes. The coach or Hit2win or Target Trainer hitting stick coaching trainer holder will change the strike height and location each time. A verbal command is given, the hitter opens the eyes and hits the ball correctly wherever it is located. The batter must use the correct swing to hit inside, middle, and away pitches. The holder will also locate the ball out of the strikezone. Any ball above the hands or on the ground is a ball and should not be hit.

Suggested - 15 Swings - 3 Times a week.
Target Trainer By SKLZ - A Drill "Dream Tool"!

6 Great Youth Baseball Training products that Produce Incredible Results

6 Great Youth Baseball Training products that Produce Incredible ResultsResults

Here are 6 of the hottest new training products in youth baseball and youth softball. These hit trainers are knwon and respected for producing rasining batting averages, improving hitting mechanics, and teaching the correct fundamentals of hitting a baseball.

1. BatAction Self-Trainer Hitting Machine by Nedco Sports - One of the best known trainers on the market. It is popular because it is simple to use, raises batting averages, and has speed and height adjustments for all ages and skill levels. The unit weight less than 35 pounds, packs away easily and travels in the truck of your car. Price under $200 http://www.bataction.com/

2. Target Handheld Hit Trainer - This hitting stick trainer by SKLZ offers easy, portable, inexpensive, and productive batting practice for teeball, youth baseball, and youth softball. The units is lightweight and can be carried to game for pre-game warm-up. Price under $50 http://www.baseball2u.com/prohitrbynes.html

3. Handsback Hitter by Swing Buster - This unique and innovative batting trainer features a mechanical tee that launches the ball into the strikezone. The players learns very quickly to trigger, stay back, and drive the barrel through the baseball or softball. Portable unit that can travel to games and practices. Price under $100 http://www.handsbackhitter.com/

4. Stay Back Batting Tee - This great training tee teaches players to stay back, to hit with leverage and power, and to keep the weight and hands back. This tee is simply to assemble and can be used at all ages because it has several adjustments. Portable with a weight less than 25 pounds. Price under $100 http://www.staybacktee.com/

5. Advanced Skills Batting Tee - This innnovative new batting tee by Muhl Tech is the one of the hottest selling training products of 2009. The lightweight tee has a unique design and barrier that teached the batter to have a compact, short, and prefect swing. Sells for under $100 http://www.advancedskillstee.com/

6. Quick Swing Trainer - This unique batting machine is automated. It produces incredible bat speed and builds batter confidence extremely fast. Lightweight and batter operated for complete portability. This is a great training tool and the cost is under $100. I suggest that you buy the combo that includes the net and machine for $129.95.http://www.quickswingtrainer.com/

Have a great day.Nick

The Baseball Swing - A Couple Fallacies

By Nate Barnett

Do you know why you teach what you teach to your hitters? If I stopped you right now and asked you to tell me a couple advantages of any part of what you're teaching, could you do it? If not, it's time to kick into gear your learning habit and pick up some instructional strategies.

I've picked a couple parts of the baseball swing mechanics I hear taught repeatedly that are incorrect. Don't worry, I'll follow my own advise and explain why. Don't just take my word for it, however, ask around. Get other perspectives. But most of all, build your baseball swing knowledge base. Baseball instruction is a funny thing. You can find information and hitting "experts" everywhere. However, please for your own sake make sure that you are qualifying your sources of information first before you accept it. If you don't, you'll end up spending a lot of money, and changing your philosophy often.

Two Mechanical Fallacies:

1. Keeping your back elbow up is NECESSARY for a proper baseball swing.

I hear this advice mostly in Little League or in some of the younger age leagues. There is no physical advantage or benefit for a hitter to keep his back elbow up (often sometime much above the back shoulder). I'm not quite sure where the idea originated, but I do know it spreads like wildfire. It's like the cure all for a poor baseball swing. When it doubt, it must be the back elbow! And you can be sure you'll sometimes hear from the dugout or the stands, "Keep your back elbow up, Johnny!"

Keeping the back elbow up for younger hitters is often a source of a slow and long swing. When the bat head travels into the zone, the elbow of the top arm on the bat is down and relaxed close to the hitters body (if done correctly). Because of that, it makes little sense for a younger hitter to move his back elbow from a stiff position in the stance to a relax and collapsed position in mid-swing. Extra parts moving during a baseball swing mean less consistency. As a hitter gets older, his preference may be of a back elbow that is raised some. At this point (assuming he understands swing mechanics) he can make the adjustments as necessary.

2. Rolling your wrists as your bat comes through the zone is a must to create bat speed.

I have to bite my tongue (quite hard actually) when I ever hear this advice being offered for baseball instruction. While the back elbow up philosophy can be dismissed somewhat as a youth baseball strategy that does relatively minimal damage, this wrists rolling business can not be ignored in order to create a fundamentally sound baseball swing.
What "Wrist Rollers" can't do:
A. Hit an inside fastball to the pull side (right field as a lefty and left field as a righty).
B. Hit an outside fastball with any consistency to the opposite field (left field as a lefty and right field as a righty).
C. Hit line drives with back spin consistently (you know the kind that get over an outfielders head in a hurry for a double).
Here is why I can make those statements so confidently. In order to roll the wrists through a baseball swing, your arms must be straight at the elbows on contact with the baseball to do so. Youth hitters can get away with this because the velocity of the pitch is not overpowering yet. Add another 10-15 mph to the pitch and those inside pitches cannot be hit (or if they do, it stings) because the bat will be slow to sweep into the hitting zone. Outside pitches will also be difficult because the barrel of the bat will only cover the outer portion of the plate a fraction of the time necessary.
So what to do?

Teach your athletes when hitting a baseball to have their palm facing up on their top hand as they come in contact with the baseball. As the hands stay close to the body through the swing, the hitter will extend his arms after contact is made with the pitch. This proper extension is extremely important for good bat speed and plate coverage.

About the Author
Nate Barnett is owner of BMI Baseball http://bmibaseball.com and is based out of Washington State. His expertise is in the area of hitting, pitching, and mental training. Coach Barnett's passion is working with youth in helping expand their vision for their baseball future. After finishing a professional career in the Seattle Mariners Organization, Nate pursued his coaching and motivational training career. His instructional blog is located at http://bmibaseball.com/blog
His new FREE ebook, Toxic Baseball: Are you polluting your game? can be found on the main BMI Baseball website.
Hitting 101, an ebook on complete hitting mechanics will be released by June 1st, 2008. Features include numerous illustrations, video clips, and a special offer to discuss your hitting questions over live on the phone strategy sessions.

Recommended Baseball Hitting Drills that can be performed with a handheld hitting stick trainer.

These drills are best performed with a handheld hit trainer such as the Derek Jeter Target Batting Trainer by SKLZ.

Drill # 1 Top-Hand Drill

The top hand on the grip is the hand that takes the bat to the ball. It is improtant to develope strength and skill with this hand. To do this we do a one-handed isolation drill. The batter uses just the top hand. Gripping the bat at the top of the grip and using the bat like a tomahawk, the batter tries to get over the top of the ball and hit it into the ground. The batter has a coach or player soft toss the ball above the waist. The batter hits the ball from the top and drives its straight into the ground.
Suggested - 25 Swings - 3 Times a week.

Drill # 2 Power Hand Drill

A hitters power comes from the bottom or pull hand. This drill develops bottom hand strength. Have batter, using only one arm at a time, take stance, inward turn, stride and full cut at balls off of a tee. Emphasize "staying back" on the ball. Batter will need to choke up a lot, and initially need to place the unused hand under the armpit of the swinging arm for additional support. Take about 20 cuts at a time with each arm, making sure to keep the barrel higher than the hands, and follow through. At first, most players will find their top arm to be stronger; therefore, requiring more reps with the bottom arm. The objective is to reduce the gap between the ability of each arm, ideally becoming equally adept with both. (Many players suffer from a weak lead hand!) You can soft toss to older players.

Drill # 3 Multiple Location Contact Drill

The hitter is given three pitch locations to practice hitting; inside, away and middle. On the inside location, the batter must learn to involve the hips and turn on the pitch, pulling it. On the middle pitch the batter hits the ball dead up the middle. On the away pitch, the batter makes sure to take the ball to the opposite field. The coach may want to put spots on the ground showing where the batter attacks each pitch location. The inside pitch is attacked on a spot located in front of the plate. The middle pitch is attacked on a spot located just behind the instep of the hitters front foot. The away strike is attacked on a spot located just inside of the hitters back foot.
Suggested - 20 At Each Location - 3 Times Weekly.

These drills are best performed with a handheld hit trainer such as the Derek Jeter Target Batting Trainer by SKLZ.

The Reason Baseball Players Should Always Hustle!

This is a true baseball story that happened to our team. It illustrates why we coach our baseball players to run everything out and to hustle on every play. Have a great day, Nick

"A True Story That Shows The Importance
of Running Out Everything To First Base."

It was a high school game. The home team was batting, down one run, 3-1, with bases loaded and two outs. The count was 3-2 and runners were moving on the pitch. The batter, who was the home team's #2 hitter, got a fastball on the outter half. He was expecting it and he got "all of it"! He ripped a hard linedrive right at the second baseman's open glove.

The batter seeing the ball go into the fielder's glove immediately slumped in disappointment half way to first. He goes down to his knees with his face in his hands. He was basically "feeling sorry for himself". In the meanwhile he wasn't aware that the ball went through the webbing of the secondbaseman's glove. The secondbaseman had to look behind himself, go get the ball and throw to first for the out. The secondbaseman was quick as a cat so this didn't really take long. However, the batter has great speed and would have been safe at first.

The saddest fact of all is that the two runners moving on the pitch crossed homeplate. They both would have scored and the home team would have won the game if the batter would have just done what his coaches had told him hundreds of times since his Little League days, "Run Everything Out, Don't Assume Anything & Don't Think Until You Know!

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Batting Cage Kits – “Build Your Backyard Batting Cage For Less”

Batting Cage Kits – “Build Your Backyard Batting Cage For Less”
Batting Cage Kits can be a great option to choose when you build your own batting cage. If you are on a limited budget or wish to save as much money and time as possible, using a kit is your best choice.

A batting cage kit contains everything you need to build your batting cage including the net, the frame, all hardware, and easy-to-follow instructions and everything is shipped directly to your home or business. Using a batting cage net and frame kit will definitely save you time, money, and a lot of headaches. Building a batting cage is a project that takes careful planning, organization and work.

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College Baseball Polls Directory and Baseball Training Equipment Specials of the Month at the CoachesBest.com Mega Baseball Store

I thought that you might want to see where your favorite college baseball team is currently ranked in the national polls. Here are the Links to the College Baseball Polls.

College Baseball Polls
Choose Your Division Below:

NCAA Division I Baseball National Rankings
NCAA Division II Baseball National Rankings
NCAA Division III Baseball National Rankings
NAIA Baseball National Rankings
Junior College Baseball National Rankings
BASEBALL 2DAY Coaching Journal
Hot-Links
Contact the BASEBALL 2DAY Coaching Journal Staff

Baseball Training Equipment Specials of the Month at the CoachesBest.com Mega Baseball Store

• SKLZ Joe Mauer Quick Swing Hitting System-FREE SHIPPING
• Sklz Multi-Sport Training Net
• BATA-1 - Baseball Pitching MachineA High Quality Economical Machine.
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• JUGS Instant Screen
• JUGS Curveball Pitching Machine (M1000)
• ALL FIELDS - Soft-toss and Practice Backstop Net
• Hands Back Hitter Pro by SwingBuster- Free Ship
• SKLZ Joe Mauer QUICK SWING Batting Aid
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• SKLZ Catch All - Heavy Duty - Multi-Sport - Training Net
• 60Lx10Wx10H #30PE PORTABLE BATTING CAGE COMPLETE WITH FRAME
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• Dimpled 11" Softballs Pitching Machine Balls-1 Dozen
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Baseball Drills - The Hitting Tee And A Cup Of Coffee

By Nate Barnett

I remember giving my players a choice of what baseball drills to begin with during batting practice a few years back. The options were: front toss, short toss in the batting cage, live batting practice, and tee work. Guess which one of the baseball drills was chosen last. That's right. The exciting tee drill (yes, that was sarcasm).

I would like to offer up the comparison of coffee to the basic hitting tee for your learning enjoyment. You'll find both are an acquired taste to be sure. But, the rewards are so enjoyable! Of course, you'll permit me to explain my analogy.

Similarities between the hitting tee and coffee:
* Both coffee and the hitting tee take some time to get used to.
* Once you have "acquired the taste", you'll find it hard to quit.
* There are so many "specialty" brands on the market today, but the basic version is just fine.
* Imagine the world without either, how would we be able to function? (Again, a bit dramatic, but you get the point)

So now that you fully understand that the hitting tee should be an integral part of your baseball drills, here is how to spice it up a bit in practice.

1. Make sure it's in the right position. If you place the hitting in the middle of the plate, make sure that the ball on the tee is across from the inside of the front thigh as a hitter sets up. Having the tee back in the zone will force the hitter to keep his weight back while he swings. Placing the tee too far out in front (unless you're working on the inside pitch of course) will allow the hitter to get away with a sloppy swing by having his hips slide toward the pitcher during the swing.

2. Set up some games to play. While working on hitting the inside and outside pitches off of a tee, put a couple screens out on the right and left side gaps and have the hitter try to hit the screens. The more correct swings are done on the tee (measured by hitting the screens), the more swings they earn in the live batting practice station.
Have fun, now go make yourself a cup of coffee.

About the Author
Nate Barnett is owner of BMI Baseball http://bmibaseball.com and is based out of Washington State. His expertise is in the area of hitting, pitching, and mental training. Coach Barnett's passion is working with youth in helping expand their vision for their baseball future. After finishing a professional career in the Seattle Mariners Organization, Nate pursued his coaching and motivational training career. His instructional blog is located at http://bmibaseball.com/blog
His new FREE ebook, Toxic Baseball: Are you polluting your game? can be found on the main BMI Baseball website.
Hitting 101, an ebook on complete hitting mechanics will be released by June 1st, 2008. Features include numerous illustrations, video clips, and a special offer to discuss your hitting questions over live on the phone strategy sessions.

Albert Pujols QUICK STICK Training Bats

The adjustable length Quick Stick Trainer is the ultimate hand-eye coordination drill. Narrow your focus and broaden your game. Adjust the Quick Stick swing trainer to the regulation length you want, and get plenty of swings for maximizing hand speed, hand-eye coordination and contact.

• Improves batters' hand speed, hand-eye coordination and contact


• Get more swings in with the lightweight training stick, and build better mechanics through repetition


• Adjust length between 28 and 34 inches to simulate regulation length bats


• 13oz. weight


• Durable aluminum design


• For use with practice balls only (3 plastic golf-size balls included)


• Great for hitters of all ages and abilities!


• Endorsed by MLB All-Star Albert Puljos.

CoachesBest.com has the Quick Stick Training Bat at a Great Price!

Muhl Tech Baseball Power Bag - Endorsed By Lance Berkman

The Power Bag™ develops power hitting strength in the wrist and forearms. The Houston Astros, Lance Berkman (pictured) credits a similar device his father made with much of the power he has in his wrist and forearms. Hitting the ball with authority requires power and strength at contact which results in more spring off of the bat head. Bat speed is crucial for hitting the ball a long way, but if there is give in the wrist at contact much of the benefit of bat speed is lost. Strengthening the hands, wrist and forearms by using the Power Bag™ will decrease bat recoil and cause the ball to jump off of your bat.

Have great weekend, Nick

CoachesBest.com Baseball Power Bag Info Page

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Buid Your Own Backyard Batting Cage and Save Time and Money

Here are some great tips for helping baseball parents buy and build their own home or backyard batting cage.

Build a Batting CageThe "Build a Batting Cage" Blog features tips, know-how and useful information for anyone buying, building or using a baseball or softball batting cage.
Purchase a Batting Cage Only After You Have Considered These 12 ThingsBattingCageBuilder.com Outlines 12 Things You Must Know Before You Purchase a Batting Cage.
Batting Cage Nets and FramesThe Batting Cage Nets and Frames Guide features detailed descriptions of the various types of net materials and design used to build a batting cage. Important batting cage terms are defined.
Batting Cage Kits - “Build Your Backyard Batting Cage For Less"Batting Cage Kits are a great choice when it come to saving money on the installation of your own backyard batting cage. Batting Cage Frame kits come in various sizes and can fit any budget.
Batting Cage Frame Kit Assembly PhotosBatting Cage Frame Kit Assembly photos shown below illustrate how simple and easy it is to install your won homw batting cage using a Batting Cage Nets and Frame Kit.
Batting Cage Construction TipsBatting Cage Construction Tips offers helpful tips for people considering buidling their own batting cage.

Recommended Batting Cage Hitting Drill

Batting Cage Hitting Drill
"Line Drive Contest"

After a session of batting cage workouts, we often end the day with a line-drive hitting contest. An assistant coach will do the pitching. The coach is protected by a L-screen. The player should only swing at great pitches. The contest is to see which player hits the most line-drives in a row.

A line-drive is a ball that hits the side walls, back wall, or pitchers L-Screen hard and directly off the batters bat. The hit ball can not touch the top of the cage in front of the pitching protective L-Screen. As long as the batter hits line-drives with each swing, the batter continues to bat and his TOTAL COUNT increases.

This drill tends to put pressure on the hitters making them learn to hit under pressure.

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Baseball Instruction - How To Add 50 Points To Your Batting Avg Sitting On The Couch

By Nate Barnett

Don't worry, this is not a promo article on some illegal growth hormone, or some attempt to counter all you've ever learned during your baseball instruction about hard work, practice, and dedication. What I'm about to help reveal to you takes different practice compared to going out to the ballpark every day to work on your skills. It takes more dedication than working out in the cold and rain all winter. It won't transform your game over night; but, if the skill is developed, then I'm confident you will experience a serious boost to your batting average.

The concept is called imagery, or visualization. In non-scientific language, it's simply mental weight-lifting. And the reason many of you have heard of if it is simply because rarely does baseball instruction before the collegiate level emphasize it. I'll give you a taste, but it's up to you to search out more on the topic and really chew on it.

I will be writing as if I was providing some mental baseball instruction to an athlete. If you are a coach or parent reading this, just pick up the concepts should you choose to pass the idea on.

Let's begin. Take a quick trip back to a game where you struck out with the bases juiced. What did you think about in the field the next inning, or the next time up to bat? Whatever your thoughts were about your performance, good or bad, is called imagery. The more you condition your thinking either positive or negative, the more your body will respond to what is familiar. This is why athletes that are in a hot streak have a bad game and then sometimes slip into a little slide, or a full blown slump. It's not because they suddenly forgot the skill of hitting, their visualization was horrible.

The chance of getting to the next level is determined largely by your ability to control your thoughts and feelings and use them to your advantage. This is especially true if you have a goal of playing professionally. The use of imagery is a must-you'll never get there without it. Ok, enough of the philosophical mumbo jumbo, here is how the concept is applied to your game.

Everybody is always looking for the secret for this or for that in baseball. Well here it is, the raw and uncut version of how to use imagery and take your hitting game to the next level... fast.

First and foremost you must admit to yourself that each year the skill level of the players in your league increases. Some are still figuring things out mechanically, but most have a general idea by now. This simply means that there is a good chance that you're not "the man" in your league, let alone your team. If you are, "the man" and you're not using visualization tactics, you'll have some serious competition soon.

Let me put you in the right frame of reference with an illustration we can all relate to, unfortunately. You're up to bat, it's a 2-2 count, and the guy has a nasty curve ball you haven't seen in a while. A quick thought runs through your mind and you wonder if you might see it this pitch. He winds, you ready yourself, the pitch is released, and sure enough it's the big hammer. Strike three looking. You trudge slowly back to the dugout with your head down, teeth clenched in frustration as you grab your spot on the bench.

If you haven't experienced the above scenario yet, you haven't been playing long enough. It will happen a couple dozen times to you. But, the real problem is not the strikeout; the best in the game strike out all the time. No amount of drill training or baseball instruction can prevent it.
The issue is your automatic instant replay system in your head is working overtime for the rest of the inning. It's playing back your strikeout mentally over and over and over for you to think about. Your imagery you are giving yourself stinks. It's programming your body to react the same way the next time you find yourself in a similar situation. The cool part is, you can fully manage your instant replay system with some practice.

If you want to be sure what images are being played through your instant replay mechanism, you have to make sure you've tuned it to the correct mental channel. What do you do when there is a show on television you don't want to watch? Turn the channel. The same applies to your mind in baseball.

You must change your station after you experience a negative result as an athlete. Here is the meat of this concept. If you've spaced out until now, this is the paragraph you'll want to understand. I'll use the previous example of the strikeout looking above. I use this image because it's often an opportune time for your instant replay to run haywire quickly. The key after the strikeout is to take a minute once back in the dugout, or before the next inning starts out in the field, and change your mental channel. Most athletes will replay the strikeout over and over again, getting more frustrated in the process. It's what feels normal, and you're mind will do this automatically. Instead, play the at bat over again in your mind, but this time with a positive ending. Maybe it's a base hit through the hole, maybe it's a double off the wall in deep left, or it could possibly be a bunt base hit. Repeat the at bat multiple times in a row and then give it a rest and refocus on your current task on defense. The next time you're on deck, play the positive result instant replay series again and you'll be fully prepared for your following at bat.

What if you can't control your thinking?
Negative thoughts running through your mind takes up space in your head used for concentration and relaxation. If your main focus is on how poorly you performed in your last at bat then you cannot use that energy for anything productive at that moment or for moments afterwards. It takes time to change your energy and focus. And if you allow your mental replay system to switch channels frequently, you'll soon find yourself not relaxed when you need to be.

What if you can manage your replay efficiently? If you've ever experienced being in the "zone" this is what it feels like to have your thoughts fully under control. Your mind will have 100% focus and concentration on your task at hand without any room for scattered thoughts about what you should have done.

The only catch to this skill development is that it takes time. Just like hitting a baseball takes time and practice to master, so does mental conditioning. But once you get it, the results will be spectacular.

About the Author
Nate Barnett is owner of BMI Baseball http://bmibaseball.com and is based out of Washington State. His expertise is in the area of hitting, pitching, and mental training. Coach Barnett's passion is working with youth in helping expand their vision for their baseball future. After finishing a professional career in the Seattle Mariners Organization, Nate pursued his coaching and motivational training career. His instructional blog is located at http://bmibaseball.com/blog

His new FREE ebook, Toxic Baseball: Are you polluting your game? can be found on the main BMI Baseball website.
Hitting 101, an ebook on complete hitting mechanics will be released by June 1st, 2008. Features include numerous illustrations, video clips, and a special offer to discuss your hitting questions over live on the phone strategy sessions.

Teaching Young Batters to Use the No-Stride Technique For a Good Baseball Swing

By: Nick Dixon

If you watched the College World Series on ESPN SPORTS TV last June, I am sure that you saw, as I did, player after player, use the no-stride technique. The abundance of players using the "No-Stride" technique at the College World Series in Omaha shows how many baseball coaches today teach the "wider stance and no stride approach" to hitting. Here I cover the basics of teaching and coaching the "No-Stride" hitting method.

The "No-stride" technique is simply the process of swinging the baseball bat without taking a big step or stride forward during the swing. The front foot is the stride foot. The back foot is called the pivot foot. The "No-stride" technique allows the batter to swing and keep the head still, the weight back, and the eyes on the ball.

When using the "No-Stride" approach, the batting stance should be wide enough to insure a solid base and wide enough so that the batter can use a "soft or short" stride technique. It is best that the batter simply lifts the front foot up less than an inch and puts in back down in the same place. There is little or no movement forward by the front foot.

A wider base and shorter stride allow the batter to keep the head still and prevents the head from dropping during the swing. When a batter assumes a narrow stance with the feet close together, the batter must take a long stride during the swing. This long stride causes the head and eyes to "fall or drop" during the swing. This is the reason that many coaches teach the no stride technique. Of course, another reason is the fact that when a batters uses a "close stance" and "long stride approach" they often cannot hit the fastball velocity of many pitchers in the game today.

The optimum width of the feet would be slightly wider than shoulder width. The weight should be on the "balls" of the feet and off the heels. The front foot or stride foot should be "placed softly as if it is on a carton of eggs". This softness allows the foot to be lifted and placed back down easily. The back foot or pivot foot is also important during the swing. The back foot should not "move or leak forward" but should turn up "shoe laces to pitcher" when the front foot settles into place during the swing.

COACHING POINT: I recommended an "even toed" stance meaning that the toes of each foot are even when the stance is assumed. A closed stance is one with the back foot farther away from the plate than the front foot. An open stance is one with the front foot farther away from the plate than the back foot.

COACHING POINT: You may actually use a simple demonstration to illustrate how a long stride causes the head to drop and the eyes to move. Have a batter assume a narrow stance. As you face the batter, hold your hand palm down exactly even with the eyes. Have the batter take a long stride while you hold your hand perfectly still at the level where the eyes were when the stride began. A long stride will cause the head to drop and the eyes to drop also. This movement of the head and eyes makes it more difficult for the batter to "see and hit" the ball as it travels through the strike zone.

Make sure to visit the Coachesbest.com for all of your baseball training equipment, batting cages, pitching machine, and coaching video needs. The BatAction Self Trainer is one of the absolute best training aids for batters of all ages and ability levels. BattingcagesDirect.com has a great selection of batting cage nets and net with frame complete packages at discount prices.

Nick Dixon is the President and founder of Nedco Sports, CoachesBest.com, Baseball2u.com and Hit2win.com. He is also an active and full time high school baseball coach with over 25 years experience.

Dixon is widely recognozed as an expert in the area of baseball training, practice and skill development. Coach Dixon is better known as the inventor of several of baseball and softball's most popular training products such as the Original BatAction Hitting Machine, SKLZ Derek Jeter Hurricane Hitting Machine, Original Hitting Stick, Hit2win Trainer, SKLZ Target Trainer, SKLZ Derek Jeter ZipnHit Pro, and Strikeback Trainer.

Dixon is also a contributing writer for BaseballCoachingDigest.com, bb2day.com, the Baseball 2Day Coaches Journal, AmericanBaseballDirectory.com and the Hit2win Baseball Coaches Monthly Newletter.