Youth Baseball : Little League Baseball Batting Tips

Youth Baseball : Little League Baseball Batting Tips
Uploaded by eHowSports

Teaching little league baseball players how to bat requires a great deal of practice, patience and making sure each kid feels comfortable at the plate. Get the most out of your hitters with tips from a professional baseball instructor in this free video on little league baseball batting tips.

Expert: Mickey Hiter
Contact: www.sandlotter.com
Bio: Mickey Hiter played baseball at Lipscomb University.
Filmmaker: Dimitri LaBarge

Series Description: Little league and youth baseball coaching requires a great deal of communication skills, patience and understanding of baseball. Be a great coach and mentor with tips from a professional baseball instructor in this free video series on youth baseball.


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4 Baseball Pitching Drills For Little League Players

4 Baseball Pitching Drills For Little League Players
By guest author: Nick Dixon

Teaching, training and developing young baseball pitchers takes a lot of time, patience, and practice repetition. Many young pitchers need to practice pitching skills daily. To keep the interest level high, it is best to use a variety of drills on alternate days to prevent boredom. Here are 4 baseball pitching drills that can be used to train youth and beginner pitchers.

Drill #1 - Up & Out Foot Drill Objective - To help pitchers perfect the proper back leg action. The purpose of this drill is to stop foot drag and prevent over striding.

Equipment Needed - A brick, block or wood or other suitable object. The object will be placed at a location just in front of the pivot foot of the pitcher. The pitcher will be working out of the stretch. The pitcher should be reminded to roll and pick his back foot up so that it clears the object.

Procedure - The pitcher throws using his normal motion and delivery. If the pitcher fails to clear the object, then his back foot is "dragging" or he is over striding. Young pitchers should be coached to step out of the "hold" and up and over the block.

Drill #2 - Dot Spot Drill Objective - The purpose of this drill is to build confidence, to teach young pitchers to hit their spots and to teach young pitchers to have great control.

Equipment Needed - Good balls, Catching equipment, and glove.

Procedure - The catcher has 4 dots on his gear. The 4 dots or spots are different colors or they each have a number on them. The dots are taped to each knee on the shin guards and one to the left shoulder and right shoulder. The catcher or coach calls a color or a number. The pitcher must hit the dot called. The pitcher has 6 pitches to hit all 4 of the dots. All dots should be called in different orders each time. If the pitcher fails to hit 4 dots correctly, the pitcher must do 10 push ups. Two pitchers can compete to see which finishes first. The dots may be placed lower on the catcher to stress keeping the ball low or down in the zone.

Drill #3 Long Toss - Power Building Drill - Pitchers should long toss several times a week to build strength and endurance. The two players should warm-up as usual and then move back a few steps after each 4 throws. Pitchers should be able to increase their strength and extend their distances within weeks. Pitchers of all ages should work out to a distance at least 3 times their normal pitching distance. Some coaches allow players to "crow hop" at the farthest distances. That is up to you.

Drill #4 - Front Side Drill Objective - This drill is used to teach and reinforce the proper front shoulder action during delivery.

The drill is performed as the pitcher kneels on the pivot-leg knee. The pitcher will begin the drill with the throwing arm in the "T -position" and the stride foot aimed at the plate. The pitcher begins the throwing motion by pulling and tucking his front arm and glove. At the same time he is bringing his throwing arm and shoulder around and toward the plate. The drill should be performed many times to give the pitcher the feel of proper mechanics and front shoulder movement. The front elbow should be used as the guide for the front side. The glove should be extended out and tucked as the pitcher rolls his lead shoulder and pulls it in. This deceptive move is used to distract and deceive batters. The drill should be finished with the throwing arm in proper finish position outside the stride leg knee.

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Baseball Drills For Youth - The Proper Batting Technique

Baseball Drills For Youth - The Proper Batting Technique
By guest author: Peter S. Smith

There are a lot of tips and tricks when it comes to youth baseball. However, no matter how gifted the child is, a proper technique needs to be developed at an early age. Without this, further along the way injuries could occur and this could end a promising career fast.

In the first part of this article we talked about the proper throwing technique. In this part we'll focus on batting. Kids will love this, and playing ball will be a lot more fun for them as they will be able to swing the bat faster and hit the ball harder.

So, what's it all about? Well, first things first, you want to get your kid a bat just right for him or her. The child should be able to keep the bat horizontally for at least 15 seconds - if he/she can't, then you will want a lighter and shorter bat.

Once you have the right bat, the child should develop a right stance. This means that feet should be at shoulder wide distance apart, the foot closer to the child lined up near the front of edge of the home plate and knees and waist slightly bent. The bat should be held firmly but loosely - so don't let the child cut the blood flow to his/her hands while waiting for the ball.

When the ball comes his or hers way, he/she should solely focus on the ball, and when they hit it, their head should remain still while the body moves. Practicing this baseball drills for youth on a daily basis will improve strength, efficiency and accuracy.

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Little League Baseball Drills - Coaching Your Team to Success

Little League Baseball Drills - Coaching Your Team to Success
By guest author: Jack Perconte
It is easy for little league baseball coaches to get overwhelmed with all the baseball drills available at their disposal. Using too many drills can lead to confusion and the feeling that players are getting a little taste of everything but not enough of one thing. To prevent this from happening, little league baseball coaches should choose three or four drills in the areas of hitting, fielding and throwing and stick with them until players have mastered the drills, or until the players become totally bored with the same baseball drills.

Some drills are difficult for young players because they may not have the skill level or strength necessary to perform them. It is important that little league coaches pick baseball drills that are challenging but achievable for the little league ball player. Coaches should pay strict attention that the prescribed drills are done as correctly as possible. It is also advised that little league coaches explain clearly why the drills are necessary and the results that will eventually occur when players stick with the drills.

Following are 3 little league baseball team drills that I would recommend for each of the areas of hitting, fielding and throwing.

Little League Hitting Drills

1. Place an object to the opposite side of home plate that a hitter stands and a couple of feet forward of home. Have hitters see that object after contact and before looking to see where their ball was hit.
2. Alternate fast pitch and slow pitches throughout batting practice. Overtime, this method will help hitters understand that they must stay back, see the ball but also be quick and maintain the same swing on all pitches.
3. Play an occasional team intra-squad game using the batting tee. Hopefully, this use of the tee will emphasize the importance of using it and spur more practice with the batting tee.

Little League Fielding Drills

1. Have the first baseman raise a number up with their non-glove hand after a fielder catches the ground ball. The fielder of the ball is required to yell the flashed number out as they are preparing to throw. This fielding drill will help players concentrate on the target and begin to eliminate throwing errors.
2. Take infield practice using any extra players as base runners so fielders get a better sense of the time they have to throw batters out at first. Runners should be allowed to advance on errors and overthrows. This will also give players a chance to run the bases more. Of course, runners should wear helmets.
3. Work on drills for calling fly balls and pop ups as often as possible, requiring players to yell and not whisper when calling for balls. Learning how to communicate on the ball field is essential for winning games. Teaching players which position takes priority on balls that are called for by two different players is also essential to avoiding injuries.

Little League Throwing Drills
1. Having relay throwing drills is a great way to teach throwing accuracy under pressure. Additionally, players will learn how to catch the ball and turn correctly when performing relays, which can help teams win games.
2. Around the horn throwing (4 corners) seeing how long group can keep ball going without missing. Players can learn inside turns, double play turns and throws after tag plays, etc...
3. Line up players in outfield with a base runner tagging up from third and work on long toss by having fielder throw the ball home on caught fly balls. Have a cut off man in line is also helpful. Once again, this is a multi-purpose drill because other players are working on base running at the same time.

As mentioned, there are numerous baseball drills for the little league coaches to use. Above are just a few that I like because they often involve more than one player at a time and have a competitive factor in them, which makes them more fun and challenging to the little league player.

Former major league baseball player, Jack Perconte gives baseball hitting tips and batting practice advice for ballplayers of all ages. His baseball playing lessons, books and advice can be found at http://www.baseballhittinglessons.com/baseball
Jack is the author of two books, The Making of a Hitter and Raising an Athlete - his positive parenting advice and books can be found at http://positiveparentinginsports.com

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

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