If it’s so easy to coach youth baseball and do it well, why do you see so many poor coaches? In my years as a player and as a coach, I can tell you that my opinion of poor coaching can be simply boiled down to: A LACK OF KNOWLEDGE AND A LACK OF PREPARATION! Simply stated… NO Game Plan! The great news is…both can be taught and both can be learned! And please don’t say that you don’t have the time. You do!

Here’s the math over a typical 15 week season:
10 practices of 90 minutes = 15 hours
20 games (includes exhibitions, etc.) = 40 hours
Misc. phone calls of 2 hours a week = 30 hours
Plus meetings, evaluation & draft, rainouts, team pictures, personal
instruction, travel time, etc. Lets say that = 65 hours

Plus, who knows what I haven’t added in, and the money you spend just doing these activities! You’ve just spent 150 hours… 10 hours per week (plus cash) on a hobby, community service, enjoying baseball, mentoring kids, or whatever your motive is for being a coach.

Get a plan…save your sanity… NOW! It will flat out save you time, not cost you time. It will reflect positively on your kids and your team’s play, and as a byproduct, coaches, parents and players will see a better coach who is having a better time!

So… What does it take?

1. Interest in becoming a better coach.

2. A PLAYBOOK. A simple 3-ring binder where you can write out your practice plans on lined paper. If you write in it the night before each practice or game, you will be dedicating about 25 minutes each week (based on 2 practices/games). You will begin remembering to do it as soon as practice sessions start because you will be bringing it with you and referring to it at each practice.

Hints for your Playbook

Include all the correspondence, notes, and forms from your league or school that you find yourself collecting and passing out to your players. Keep that stuff in your new “playbook.” It will easily become a habit and a central spot to refer to regularly.

Use a pencil and simply make it legible. Don’t make a big deal out of this, just get it done!

Beginning in practice #2, you should always spend 10-15 minutes reviewing any new concept you might have introduced in practice #1 or the previous practice. It is a common fault (not to mention a complete waste of time) to teach your team a concept and assume that players will perform when the time comes in a game situation just because you taught it once. And it just kills player confidence after the play because he knew he’d been taught. But obviously, not well enough. Your error, coach!
So … What’s in the binder?

The practice session number

The date, time and field of the practice.

Goal of the particular practice (keep it simple).

Each activity or drill. Note whether a review or new concept.

Time allowed for the activity or drill. NEVER OVER 20 MINUTES! If you’ll simply wear a watch, you’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish and how much fun your kids have, not to mention how much more baseball your team will learn. Keep ‘em moving: No drills over 20 minutes!!

Anything else that will help you, such as: which coach runs which drill, which pitchers and catchers throw together, reminders of when the next game or practice is. Just make it legible and don’t allow this to take up too much time. This isn’t supposed to be work, it’s an activity to keep coaching from becoming work! ENJOY YOURSELF!

Coach JP’s Note

Want to know the easiest way to teach and learn winning, fundamental baseball? Check out our newest videos aimed at younger ballplayers. Why do we suggest videos? Quality repetitions!! Learn at your own pace and on your own time. A remote control lets you slow it, repeat it, absorb it and understand it…year after year. Trust yourself to learn. If you are a dad or are coaching a team, you are your kid’s best chance of learning about the game. Camps, clinics and lessons can be great, but you are there to teach and reinforce through quality repetitions. Every day…every week…all season long! You can help! It is your responsibility to get better and learn more! You want it for your kids so you should ask it of yourself! Videos will give you a chance to help your kids quickly…and for a reasonable cost. Start a library now and watch your knowledge grow and your teams improve while everyone has a lot more FUN along the way!

Tags: AABC, ASA, baseball, coaching, little league, softball, youth sportsAABC, ASA, baseball, coaching, little league, softball, youth sports

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Here are some thoughts on the above topic from a buddy of mine. The guy’s name is Steve Springer.

“If baseball is 90% mental, why do we work on it less than 10% of the time?”
“You cannot control getting a hit, but you can control hitting the ball hard!”

Who Is This Guy?
Springer isn’t just another “dry jock” (a not-so-flattering term given to many broadcasters who never played the game).

No, this guy logged over 7,000 pro AB’s with 11 years in AAA ball alone! He is now a very successful agent for some future Big League Impact Players!

Ok, Lets Get To The Point!
Spring also said, and I paraphrase, “The majority of hitters think fastball, curve, slider, change-up on 0-0 counts.”

In My OpinionThis Is Plain Crazy!
Maybe some younger athletes can get by on raw ability with this mindset, but sooner than later the game eliminates us all. Some of the biggest reasons are that they can no longer hit quality pitching in their age group.

NOTE: For more information on this last statement, you may want to read an article I wrote on the topic entitled, “The Game Eliminates Us All.”

Personally, I think much of this is avoidableit just takes having a plan!
Spring went on to say that “when you are facing Dwight Gooden in his prime, you saw 95 mph followed by the hammer (the curveball), YOU BETTER PICK ONE BECAUSE YOU AREN’T ADJUSTING TO ANYTHING! Doesn’t this make sense?

Ok, Lets Get To Some Real Solutions!
We Must Have A Simplified Plan!
Ok, how?

Well for starters, Watch The Pitcher!
He’s going to show you and tell you what you are going to getif you will really watch him!

It’s not about what you want!
(which at best is about the only plan most youth hitters seem to have.)

It’s about what am I going to get!
And how do you know if you don’t watch the game?

From the dugout, when the pitcher warms up, whenever and wherever you can! The pitcher is going to tell you what you are going to get. They live on patterns. Pitchers like to be comfortable and hate it when they are not!

Now, your job is what Ted Williams (perhaps the greatest hitting coach of all time) says is of greatest importance…FIND A PITCH TO HIT!

And How Do You Find A Pitch To Hit?
You Watch The Game!

HERE’S THE PLAN!

1- Consider that pitchers are taught to get ahead. This means strike one is their aim. What is the number one pitch that a batter is likely to see 0-0? Yep, a fastball. In much of youth baseball, chances are that if it is a strike, it will pierce the fat of the plate.

You walk into the box looking to drive this pitch…swinging hard but controlled! If you can’t drive it and hit it hard somewhere, you will leave it! They give you three strikes anyway, right?

2A- When and if you are struggling and/or experimenting under fire Let’s make things simple, the hitter is to sit on fastball-only! Repeat, fastball only…until 2 strikes… THEN YOU BATTLE!

The more pitches you make him throw, the more likely he throws the mistake. And you will crush the mistake, right?

No matter how the curve or off-speed hangs…you will sit fastball…until 2 strikes!
No matter who yells from the dugout or the stands “What are you waiting for?”, you stick with your plan! You have your plan and YOU ARE A REAL & DANGEROUS HITTER!they are fans.

2B- When and if you are going great (and if breaking balls or off-speed is a reality for your age group) you will go to the plate looking (PICK ONE) fastball or off-speed (either his breaking ball or his change).

And how do you know which to sit on (look for?)
WATCH THE PITCHER & WATCH THE GAME!

Ok, you are watching the pitcher, he is telling you what he is going to throw you. We have established that all pitchers throw fastballs and let’s face it, at youth levels I doubt you will find guys who can throw 3 hooks for strikes in a row anyway…so let’s strongly consider sitting on the fastball until 2 strikes, no matter how well you are presently playing…then we will battle!

The curveball, off-speed note - I am absolutely not advising that you do not sit off-speed and only attack fastballs. If you are watching the game, you can and will make a correct decision!

So what did we just do?

1- You now have a plan!

2- You now have a simple plan requiring little thinking!
3- You now know to swing controlled and hard….at fastballs (your plan)!

FINALLY

Consider investing in your future hitting successes!
Purchase a simple 35 minute audio CD called Quality At Bats, by Steve Springer. Of course it is available on our site.
Listen to it 3 times within 10 days and you will understand even further. I know players who have had an immediate and profound impact on how they approach hitting!

Our Personal Pitcher golf ball-size wiffle ball pitching machine will allow you to work on your new mindset right in the backyard, by yourself or with other players too! Thousands of quality repetitions are how you quickly become a great hitter!

Remember, as my buddy Spring says, and I paraphrase…
“You cannot control getting a hit, but you can control hitting the ball hard!”

Now sting something, will ya!

—-Coach JP

Tags: AABC, ASA, baseball, batting, coaching, hitting, homeruns, little league, softball, youth sportsAABC, ASA, baseball, batting, coaching, hitting, homeruns, little league, softball, youth sports

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Let me say this up front
I do not like aluminum bats . . . but I’ll win with them.
Practice with wood . . . and you’ll win with aluminum.

It’s really very simple. An aluminum bat swing can be mechanically flawed but still get results. Inflated averages & power numbers abound with huge aluminum sweet spots & tricked-out metal alloys!

But eventually bigger fields and better pitching eliminates many aluminum bat hitters well before High School . . . and it doesn’t have to be!

Allow me to explain . . .
Much of the physical side of the game is about:
BATSPEED
HANDSPEED
FOOTSPEED

Much of hitting is about:
TIMING & BALANCE (Strength helps too)

Wood Bats feel head-heavy, with much smaller sweet spots so any imperfections in a swing are magnified. (Are you getting the picture?)

Training with wood forces the player to become mechanically precise & builds bat speed and strength. Additionally, wood trains hitters to really learn the strike zone and not swing at bad pitches (ever hit one off the end or the handle? . . . it hurts and many times it breaks!)

To successfully swing with wood

Trigger the hands earlier into the load position
Keep your hands inside the ball (meaning hands closer to the body throughout the swing to make for a quick rotation to the ball)
Stick with it until your muscle memory acclimates to this new weapon.

#1 Defined
Dead Hands Kill Players!
The first thing a hitter must do is take away the pitcher’s fastball. In general, that is a pitcher’s best pitch. From Clemens, Johnson, Martinez & Maddux, to the baddest pitcher in your league. Spot the fastball and you are a real pitcher. Ok, hitter what are you going to do about it? You’re going to crush it that’s what!

Hands Start The Swing!
Start your swing with your hands (it’s your timing mechanism). . . and you can time a jet or a fastball! Call it a trigger, load or hitch, it’s all the same. Just get some movement from your hands starting when the pitcher separates his hands from his glove with a movement toward the back shoulder.

#2 Defined
Keep Your Hands Inside The BallWhat?
Keep your hands 4-6 inches from your body throughout the swing. Think about hitting the inside half of the baseball (the half that’s closest to you). This will train you to have a shorter, quicker stroke and will help keep balls straight and not allow them to hook foulsee Barry Bonds!

#3 Defined
Use your wood bat instead of your game aluminum for tee work, soft toss, in a cage & when hitting live pitching & you’ll get the results you’re looking for!

NOTES:
Wood Increases Bat Speed!
Bat Speed Equals Power!

In summary, any player or team that trains with wood will hit the ball harder, plus increase contact and power over all who don’t. Ask any hitting coach.

Coaching Hint
Kids, like adults, do not necessarily care for change. Get creative, make it cool like real ballplayers and they may accept it easier. Use marker to put their number on the knob. Tape the handle. Buy some stick-em. Have them use a permanent marker and put their “Signature on the business end.”

The Rules
Since January 1, 2001, high school players nationwide must use bats that weigh no less than 3 oz. of their length (meaning a 33″ bat can’t weigh less than 30 oz.). The barrel diameters have shrunk from 2-3/4″ to 2-5/8″ and the exit velocities were changed so that batted balls don’t “jump” off the bat as quickly. In other words, these bats more resemble the performance of wood.

Younger players take note! The college bat rules have changed, the high schools have changed, and the changes may not be finished. So, train with wood and you will win with aluminum.

Tags: AABC, aluminum bats, ASA, baseball, bats, coaching, little league, softball, wood bats, youth sportsAABC, aluminum bats, ASA, baseball, bats, coaching, little league, softball, wood bats, youth sports

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