The swing - HomeTeamsONLINE
IntroductionFirst and foremost, THANK YOU very much for volunteering as a Coach at Chichester Baseball League - CBL. Many volunteer coaches do so because of their own children, or they got elected by their significant other. Some of you just want to give back to your community and the game. And some of you, and you know who you are, just have too much testosterone. But, regardless of your reason, we congratulate you on your effort. We hope to make it a bit easier to be a volunteer coach, and answer some common questions, give you some tools and information, and just make it a bit more fun.COACHING IS A PRIVILEGE, YOUR KIDS DESERVE YOUR BEST EFFORTBefore we start with an introduction into skills and drills towards a more effective and organizedpractice, here are some coaching recommendations for a positive experience.Coaches objectives for players:1. Absolutely have Fun.2. Continue learning the game.3. Encourage player participation with their peers.4. Always be respected as an individual.5. Keep an open-mind regarding differences with other coaches, players, umpires, and parents.6. Immediately Stop and Diffuse any negative talk by your players, parents and coaches towards anyone.7. Show and use proper etiquette and sportsmanship at all times.Here are some things to keep in mind while coaching:Each player is different, what works or relates to one is not necessarily universal. However, most players are alike in certain basic ways.Players thrive on compliments. Find a way to compliment them.Be careful with comments about criticism. If you have to criticize, make it constructive and mix in a compliment.The game of baseball is a thinking person’s game, it requires constant thought.Players emulate managers, coaches and parents.Watch negative statements likeThe umpire stinks,The field is unplayableThe schedule favors the other team That team is stackedBe Positive.Youngsters have short attention spans.Keep technical jargon to a minimum. Players learn by doing and not through listening.Use your practice time wisely by developing a practice plan. A plan shouldKeep players occupied with skills and drills.Give players opportunity to practice skills. Continue to compliment your players.Teach players to motivate themselves.Constant enthusiasm.Practice does not make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect.Practice without goals and intent to improve is meaningless.Muscle memory is the key to learning baseball skills. Repetition provides muscle memory, therefore be sure to repeat each drill. Players should put in the work during practice so the games are easy and fun. Drills should have a goal. Explain your intent to the players.Keep parents well municate, be honest, and keep it professional. Verbally update parents after each practice and/or game as to when the next practice, game and/or event is.Send weekly update e-mail’s to parents.You can never be criticized for stressing fair play and sportsmanship.9. Many games are won or lost before the first pitch is thrown.Know all you can about each player on your team.Stress that the fun in playing baseball is learning and improving your skills.Head off problems before they materialize.Players want leadership and true caring.Teach your team to let their play do the talking not their mouths.Do not degrade or criticize your opponent.10. It is your responsibility to know the rules. If a question comes up with an umpire:Approach an umpire as you would want to be approached.Stay calm and speak softly.Accept the outcome of a call gracefully, you cannot change the call.You should not argue judgment calls. Question the call if a rule of baseball was broken.11. Let the players have apart in setting team rules on the team.It is really their team.It helps develops camaraderie.12. In many cases, the players on your team will know more about the opposition than you do. So solicit the players view.13. Win or lose, it is a game played for fun, keep things in perspective.How to Conduct Youth Baseball PracticesBaseball practice can be fun or boring. In order to perfect game‐related baseball skills, players mustperform many repetitive drills. These are necessary; however, repeating the same drill over and over will soon become boring to little leaguers. The only exception is if that drill is fun. With this in mind, try to keep your practices, as much fun as possible. A boring practice is distracting and some players may even quit. One approach is to use fundamental stations, designed to best efficiently use everyone's time, giving the players the proper repetitions needed.Make sure your kids are doing things right. The more they do things the wrong way, the more they areapt to perform them incorrectly in a game. Players generally play the way they practice. So, if youpractice right, your team will play right. Every successful youth baseball manager arms himself with theproper baseball fundamentals and a plan to go out onto the field and teach these fundamentalscorrectly. Have fun and do things right. Your kids will soon learn that success is far more fun than failure.Discipline is necessary, but if you find yourself spending more time handing out laps than teaching theproper way to field a ground ball, ask yourself why. Do you have a dozen youngsters standing aroundwhile you hit one grounder at a time?Come to practice with a planBefore you practice, identify the areas you'd like your team to work on. If you don't have any idea what's going to happen in practice, chances are, the results won't be good. Don't waste a lot of valuable time. Kids come to practice, ready to play. Quickly get them into action. Start with proper warm‐uptechniques. Please refer to the section below in this manual about the proper way to stretch and warm‐up. Baseball fundamental drillsYou should spend little time with the entire team working on the same drill. Instead, break your teaminto three or four groups if possible. Have one work on hitting, one work on ground balls, another work on relay throws, etc. After 15 or 20 minutes, rotate the groups. This ensures that each player gets many more repetitions than they ever would have otherwise, and it breaks the monotony. If you don't have enough coaches for this, ask for parental help. Tell them what to do, then go to the next station before they can back out.Show youngsters howYou should spend at least three minutes at each station. Players must understand exactly what you want them to do. Show them how and don't just tell them. Things sometimes get lost in your terminology. Use only words they understand. Every player on the team must get the same meaning.Get parents involvedThe more you can involve parents, the better the season will be for you, as coach. You will only need acouple of parents to help at each practice; therefore, try to work out a schedule involving as many aspossible. Some may not be able to come out every week, but I've found you can always find more thanenough parents willing to help.How long to practiceUse common sense in determining length of practices. Anytime you have a group of kids, it's easy to tellwhen they lose interest. Age is a determining factor, too. For example, you won't keep the attention ofan eight‐year‐old more than two hours. Their attention span does grow with age. Keep this in mind. It is always better to err on short practices rather than those long boring sessions.For the five to eight age groups, practices should never last longer than one hour. Rotate yourfundamental stations more frequently and shorten twenty‐minute stations to ten‐minute stations. A lotcan be accomplished in an hour. Eleven and twelve year old players begin having longer attention spans and have a better understanding of the game. At this age, practices can become a bit more traditional and they will develop much quicker. Again, use common sense as you move up in age groups.Reward players oftenTurn drills into contests ‐ give points to different teams within your squad, and watch the intensity levelrise. Raise the stakes by offering a small reward; a stick of gum motivates a kid more than you believe.Keep in mind that, as a Little League coach, you are one of the most influential people your players willever have in their lives. Don't fall into the trap of always criticizing failures without recognizingachievement and effort. If a kid is giving his best, recognize that fact, even if he is failing. Support him,and he may amaze you ‐ and himself ‐ with what he can do.Sample Practice PlanWarm up Running/Stretching or base runningPractice Previously taught drills and introduce new drills and skills - Throwing, catching or hitting drills, stations are the best.Infield/Outfield - Split groups into an infield group and an outfield group and goover details of those positions, switch groups after 10 to 15 minutes.Practice under game like conditions or scrimmage. All situations should be covered use base runners whenever possible.Cool down and evaluate. Base running is a good idea or a team competition.Note: At any time during practice, if possible, work on the side with pitchers and catchers.Stretching and Warm upPrior to stretching, a short warm‐up should take place.1. A lap around the field or a lap around the bases.2. Jumping jacks, march in place, or run in place.A short stretching routine, this may be enhanced depending on the age group.Upper Body1. Arm circles forward 10 to 15 seconds and then arm circle backwards 10 to 15 seconds.2. Elbow behind head – Pull elbow back with opposite hand on elbow. Both arms 10 to 15 seconds.3. Elbow forearm stretch – Arm straight out and pull fingers down, palm up.4. Torso Twist.5. Neck rolls.Lower Body 1. Spread leg, shoulder width, bends at waist touching glove laying on the ground.2. Move glove to front of right foot and repeat.3. Move glove to front of left foot and repeat.4. Move glove between legs and rear and repeat.5. Lunges each leg. Front leg bend at a right angle, back leg straight.6. Quad Stretch. Grab one leg and heel should be to the butt. Repeat for each leg.A polymeric sequence is recommended before or after stretching. This should be down the first baseline as a team. The distance is usually the distance from first to second. Here are a few to consider:1. High Knees: In a slow jog, quickly drive your knees up towards your chest as you move forward. Perform with a slight forward lean.2. Butt Kicks: In a slow jog, kick your heel to your back until it hits your butt. Repeat quickly on both sides. Perform with a slight forward lean.3. Monster Walk: Keeping your left leg straight, kick it up in front of you as high as you can, trying to touch the fingertips of the opposite arm – basically a straight leg march – then repeat with the left leg. This is excellent for hamstring flexibility.4. Carioca: Assume a low athletic position with your feet slightly wider than shoulder‐width.Stepping laterally with your right knee high and far across the left side of your body. Step laterally with your left foot and once you have taken that step then follow that by driving your right leg behind your body, again reaching to the left side. Repeat this sequence for required distance.5. Sprints.BattingPicking out a batThe player must use a bat they can handle. There's a simple test to know if the bat is too heavy or not. Ask the player to hold the bat in his dominant hand (right hand for righties; left hand for lefties), and hold it straight out for five seconds. If the bat wobbles or drops, it is too heavy for them. If it can be held easily, it is the right weight.There are three standard barrel sizes for baseball bats; 2 1/4, 2 5/8 and 2 3/4 (full size). The full sizebarrels generally have a difference of 5 between their length and weight. Smaller bats should beselected with a difference of 8 or more between length and weight. For many young players, a 21 ouncebat that is 30 inches long is ideal.Below is a rough guide for bat selection. It is simply a place to start and depends not only on the size ofthe player but the level of competition. It is better to err on the light side rather than the heavy side.Today's power hitters in the major leagues use lighter bats for faster bat speed. Power hitters ofyesterday used much heavier bats. Bat Weight Bat Length Age (Min) (Max) (Min) (Max) Barrel Size4 ‐ 6 years old: 16 ounces to 19 ounces 24 inches to 28 inches 2 1/47 - 8 years old: 19 ounces to 21 ounces 27 inches to 30 inches 2 1/49 years old: 20 ounces to 23 ounces 28 inches to 30 inches 2 1/410 years old: 20 ounces to 23 ounces 28 inches to 31 inches 2 1/411 years old: 21 ounces to 24 ounces 29 inches to 31 inches 2 1/412 years old: 23 ounces to 25 ounces 30 inches to 33 inches 2 1/413‐14 years old: 27 ounces to 30 ounces 30 inches to 33 inches 2 3/415+ years old: 28 ounces to 31 ounces 31 inches to 34 inches 2 3/4GripUsing the proper grip allows the batter to achieve as much hand quickness and bat speed as possible. The key to a good grip is positioning the bat in the fingers and not the palms. The bat should be held firmly but not tight that the batter's hand speed is slowed. The batter can assure a great grip every time by lining up the "door knocking knuckles" as shown.StanceThe batter should always be taught to use a balanced parallel stance with both feet about shoulder width apart with his toes even and slightly facing inward. They should assume their stance about 8-10 inches from the plate. Their belt buckle should be at the center or slightly toward the back of home plate. The batter should slightly bend his knees with their weight on the balls of his feet. The batter's front shoulder, hip and knee should be slightly turned forward. A proper stance will allow the batter to react to the pitch with speed, quickness and power. The swingAs the pitcher prepares to throw the ball, the batter should be concentrating on the pitcher's throwing hand so they can get a view of the ball for as long as possible. The batter starts off with their weight on their back leg. As the pitcher lets go of the ball, the batter needs to transfer their weight from their back leg to their front side in a smooth and seamless manner. Some players take a small step (stride) towards the pitcher’s mound. This triggers the swing. They do this by stepping forward slightly with their front foot while keeping the back foot in place. The bat should come forward and hit the ball when it is 10 to 12 inches in front of home plate. A good way to get the player to transfer their weight is to use the expression "squish the bug" when stepping forward with their front foot. By squishing the bug with their front foot, the player is transferring their weight from their back leg to the front side and then the arms and bat will follow into the hitting zone and the batter will make contact. The player will now hopefully make contact with the ball with their hands/wrists still locked creating power. Weight shift begins to occur with the player making contact off a straight front leg, ending with the majority of their weight on their front leg.Important points to remember: Head should remain quiet, not moving forward during the swing. Headis down the whole time and goes from left shoulder to right shoulder while tracking the ball to the bat.Bat Speed DevelopmentBat speed dictates power, not how hard one swings. Therefore, development of bat speed will helphitters drive the ball over the infielder’s and outfielder’s heads. There are three excellent drills for this development:1. The Fan or Pendulum 2. Figure 83. Vertical SnapAll can be done as sets of 3 with 10 repetitions or less for the younger players. Batting DrillsThere are many drills that can be utilized to improve a player’s hitting. These drills need to bedemonstrated and repeated at practice in order for “muscle memory” to develop especially in theyounger players, so each step to a sound swing becomes habitual. Remember practice doesn’t makeperfect, perfect practice makes perfect.1. Stride Drill (all ages) – With or without a bat, have players practice their stride only, which as mentioned above should be low and short, and directed toward the pitcher’s mound while keeping the head quiet. The front leg should be straight without any bend and don’t allow the front foot toes to point forward.2. Squash the Bug (all ages) – with a bat or broomstick behind their back, have the players Rotate on their back foot promoting the explosion of the hips and thereby “squashing the bug”.3. Tee Drills (all ages) – a mistake made by many coaches is that we do NOT do enough tee work. This is very important to a young player because it gives them immediate feedback regarding the proper mechanics of their swing.a. Two Tee Drill – have a second tee just behind the tee you are hitting from. This will promote a downward arc to the ball and proper technique.b. Progressive Ball Tee Drill – This is intended for a player who is having trouble hitting aregulation ball from the tee. Have a player start hitting a larger ball and progress down to a baseball. Early success hitting the larger object will breed success via confidence in eventually hitting the baseball from the tee.c. Tee Drill in all Three Positions – Have the players swing at the tees in proper positions for pulling a ball, hitting the ball up the middle and pushing an outside pitch. Contact should be made with an inside pitch in front of the plate, over the plate for a pitch down the middle and deeper on the plate for an outside pitch. Remember, don’t change the players swing only where the make contact with the ball.4. Soft Toss Drills ‐ This is also a very important aspect to developing good hitting mechanics.However, many times the soft toss is NOT performed properly by the coaching staff. The tosser must use proper technique. First, the tosser will “present” the ball to the hitter, the coach will then drop his hand with the ball. This is the time where the player will perform his loading technique. The coach will then re‐present the ball and toss it to the player.a. Routine Soft Toss Drill ‐ The coach will toss the ball from the side of the player hitting into a net or fence area. The tosser can also stand behind the hitter tossing the ball into the hitting zone. The batter has to accelerate his bat after the ball. This will develop arm strength, bat speed, and overall power.b. Soft Toss Drill with Back Leg Down/One Knee – This drill is the same as above, but now the player’s back leg is down on one knee. Make sure the front leg is straight. This promotes fast hands and downward swings. This can also be done with only the lead hand (bottom hand) on the bat. After 10 swings with the bottom hand on the bat, repeat 10 swings with just the top hand on the bat. Finish with 10 swings with both hands on the bat.5. Short Toss in the batting Cages – Using the pitching net, the coach sits behind the net approximately 15‐20 feet away from the batter. This allows the coach to direct the ball with better accuracy. It also rotates the kids at a faster pace.Base Running and Drills Great motto for all players: You do not have to be a fast runner to be a good base runner.1. Run to positions (Recommended for 5 and 6 year olds) The basic of drills but essential for all new players. Coach should call out a position (i.e. shortstop) and all players run to that position. From there another position is called for players to run to. Coaches cannot assume that kids know the positions. This drill will teach and inform.2. Going down to first base only (Recommended for 5 years old and up)Have the kids, in proper running position, running through the bag and after crossing first base turn their heads immediately to the right. This enables the runner to look for overthrows to first base. The base runner should be his own coach. Players should strive to hit the front center of the bag. Why have them touch the middle of the bag if the front is closer? Coach should monitor how the players run to first simulating a ball hit to the left side of the infield and the right side (2nd base area). Make sure they never look at the ball on the left side of the infield. On the right hand side they are able to make the decisions themselves since the play is in front of them. T‐ballers should be made to run past the bag by having them high five an assistant coach about 10 feet past the bag.3. Rounding first base bag on a single (Recommended for 6 years & up)Have the kids begin their arc to 2nd base gradually from the home plate box until they reach an area about 5 feet off the line. This 5 foot area off the baseline should be reached about halfway down the line so that your arc starts making its way back to 1st in order to round the base with the stride foot hitting the front left corner of the bag. The use of cones at specific points down the base path will assist the players in learning the correct route. The base runner will advance towards the 2nd base bag as far as the outfielder will allow and begin his crossover back to the base while keeping the playing field in sight. The crossover will be determined by where the ball is positioned in the outfield.4. Going from first to third (Recommended for 6 years & up)Sane arc as rounding first base, however pick up the third base coach 2/3 of the way from first.5. Leading off the first base bag on an outfield fly ball (7 years old and up)Have the kids take their position on the first base bag. The coach tosses an outfield fly to Coaches positioned in all three outfield locations. The coaches choose to either catch or drop the ball to see the runner’s reactions. Leads should be sufficient to reach the next base in the case of a dropped ball or to return to the bag in a timely matter if the ball is caught. Positions of the runner will be determined by the location of the fly ball.6. Going from first to home (Recommended for 6 years & up)Have the kids take an imaginary swing and sprint a home run. Coaches are looking for proper Rounding techniques, areas of contact with the bag and proper running position. Good conditioning tool.7. Competition running drill (Recommended for 5 years & up)Have half the team at 2nd base and the other half at home plate. Players at 2nd base run 2nd, 3rd to home. Players at home run home, 1st to 2nd. As each player reaches his destination a coach allows the next runner in line to go. Coaches are positioned at both home and 2nd base.SlidingHave players sitting with legs apart with hands behind them for support. Coach yells slide and players go into figure 4 position with hands thrown back and off the ground.Take 4 steps and sit down in position holding a bat over your head for proper hand position.Throwing a baseballIf a child wants to play on a baseball team, they need to have good throwing accuracy. Flag this photo Many children learn to play catch at a young age, often in a manner that is incorrect or oversimplified. Good throwing requires the use of the entire body, not just the arm. Whether a child is learning to play a position on a little league team or just wants play catch in the backyard, good throwing mechanics will allow him greater speed and accuracy.Show the player how to grip the baseball. The ball should be held across the seams with two fingers (three for smaller hands) with thumb under the center of the ball. Use a light grip. This is a four‐seam grip. It takes a lot of practice to get the alignment right for each throw and may not be as important for younger players to learn right away.Teach the player to use their wrist. Many children throw with a stiff wrist, but in reality, the wrist must be cocked back during the throwing motion. A good way to practice this is by telling the player to hold their throwing arm just above the wrist with his opposite hand. The throwing arm should be bent at the elbow with the forearm vertical. Keeping the arm is this position, have them practice throwing the ball with just their wrist and fingers. This is an important skill to work on right away, as it improves throwing accuracy.Teach the player to throw in a circular motion. Depending on the distance they need to throw, the arm must make either a larger or smaller circular motion. The circular motion should begin as soon as the ball is in their hand. The arm should start by the knee, pass below the hip, behind the ear, over the head and become fully extended before release. To make sure the player is throwing in a circular motion, have them freeze at certain points during the throw. If they bring their arm straight up and back, they is not using a good circular motion.Tell the player to use their front shoulder to point the ball in the right direction. The arm opposite the throwing arm should be facing the direction they wants to throw. The body should be turned sideways in the direction of the throw.Make sure their lower body is aligned with their upper body. Just like the shoulder, the lower body also faces the target. Their back foot should be perpendicular to the target. The player must step toward the target with their lead foot, push off his back leg, and throw the ball using their entire body. The rear leg should move forward and come to rest next to the body in a fielding position.Baseball GloveSizing ChartUse the chart below as a general guideline for determining glove size.AgePositionGlove Size5-6General10 to 10 1/2 (youth model)7-8General10 1/2 to 11 (youth model)9-12General11 to 11 1/2 (youth model)High School/AdultInfield11 to 11 1/2 High School/AdultOutfield12 to 12 1/2Catching a BaseballA glove should fit firmly over the non-throwing hand. A right-handed player will throw with the right hand and catch with the left while a left-handed player will throw with the left hand and catch with the right. Some children might be more comfortable throwing with their opposite hand. To test this, have your player throw with each hand to see which feels more natural.Teach the correct stance. Instruct your player to stand in the "ready position" with their feet shoulder-width apart and knees slightly bent. Your player’s glove should be in a relaxed, open position to receive the baseball.On balls above the waist, fingers are up, thumb together, elbows bend, using soft hands that give when receiving.Below the waist, fingers are down, pinkies together, and elbows are bent and flexible.Instruct your player to shuffle left or right while remaining square with the ball for an off-target throw. Be sure that your player watches the ball from the moment it leaves your hand until it is caught.Teach your player to aim to catch the ball in the pocket of the glove, above the palm. A ball caught in the ball of the glove is more likely to bounce out, and might sting. Once the ball hits the leather of the glove, the player should close the glove and trap the ball with his or her throwing hand. This "two-handed" catching method is the most effective method for any baseball player to use.Instruct your player to attempt to catch the ball in front of his or her body around chest-level or waist-level instead of to the side with an extended arm. The glove should be tilted toward the body to receive a throw. Some children might be scared of catching the ball in front their body, so be sure to begin throwing softly.Whenever possible use two hands. After a catch, the ball must be taken out of the glove quickly to insure a timely throw to the intended target.Increase the distance and strength of your throws gradually, and correct any mistakes as you play. Be sure to keep a good attitude if your player has trouble at first.Have your child field line drives, ground-balls and fly-balls off of a bat once they are comfortable with catching throws.Catching DrillsTennis Ball Drill (use a tennis ball or soft cushion ball) – This drill is recommended for players ages 5 to 9 who have a difficult time catching. Players should use bare hands to catch the ball thrown at them underhand side to side. The player should use two hands. The coach should throw balls above, and below the waist to reinforce the fundamentals of catching a baseball. After the player is able to catch the tennis ball with bare hands, introduce the glove with a soft covered ball and use the same techniques.Begin with an "on one-knee exercise." Separate two players by roughly seven paces. Have them both on one knee. For right-handed throwers, the right knee is on the ground; for left-handers, the left. Instruct the players to throw by reaching behind them and touching the ball to the ground, then raising their arms and completing the throwing motion, tossing the ball to their partners. Being on one knee and touching the ground emphasizes the most basic parts of throwing - the back foot is planted, the arm is extended and the ball is thrown. Easily half of all Little Leaguers never integrate these elemental features into their throwing motions.Use drills. These drills should emphasize keeping thumbs together above the waist, little fingers together below the waist, at the waist, best you can. This places the hands in the correct position to field a ball, avoiding those awkward moments when a child tries to catch balls thrown at his head with the heels of his glove because he has his little fingers together (and hopefully avoids the bloody noses as well). The drill can be done by having the player move his hands to various positions while in the appropriate configuration. Then start playing soft toss with him, varying where the ball is thrownFieldingBaseball is a lot of little things. This is very true when fielding a ground ball and throwing a runner out.Failure to do them all (or at least most at Little League level) results in time wasted and allowing therunner to beat a throw. Knees bent, butt down, head up – it is very hard to get young kids to do this. The best description is to imagine sitting on a bucket. Keeping your eyes level enables you to watch the ball as it bounces to you. If you bend too much at the waist, your eyes are forced down. The feet need to be fairly far apart to squat down properly. Following are some other key aspects.Alligator HandsOne area where precious time is lost is the transition from glove to throwing hand. In addition to helping the ball not bounce out of the glove, the "alligator" hands positions the throwing hand where it needs to be to get the ball out of the glove as quickly as possible.Ball in the PocketIf someone were to roll a ball to you and you are not wearing a glove, you would let it roll between your index and middle fingers and clasp with your thumb. That is exactly how you catch a ground ball wearing a glove. Unfortunately, many players have been taught to catch using very large gloves and tend to catch balls in the webbing, or ends of the fingers. In order to catch the ball in the pocket, your fingers should be point toward the ball, not down at the ground.Hands in Front and LowYour hands should be out in front of you, about as far as the bill of the cap, and below the ball. This is an ideal "ready" position and gets your hands closer to the ball as it approaches.Charge the BallIf a Little League player can run to first base in 3.5 seconds, and you wait 2.5 seconds for a ground ball to arrive, there isn't much time to throw the runner out. Field the Ball in FrontIt takes a tremendous amount of time to field a ball off to the glove side of the body, bring it back to the throwing hand, turn, and throw. Lessen the time by keeping your glove out in front of you as you collect the ball and bring it to your throwing hand.Staggered FeetThe foot on the throwing side is staggered behind the glove side foot. This helps in stability of the squat, and also positions the body so the player can quickly get to the power position to throw the ball.Open GloveThis sounds obvious, but you really need to force the glove open as wide as you can. You have probably seen advanced players pushing down on the fingers of the glove with their throwing hand. By pushing and curling the fingers, the glove widens. Hands tend to hang at your side with the palms toward the thigh. It takes some twisting to turn the palm 90 degrees.Watch the Ball into the GloveFrom when the time the ball is hit towards you, always keep your eye on the ball until it is safely in your glove. Fielding drills:Glove ExtensionProper fielding calls for the glove to be extended out in front of the player. Younger players often hold the glove directly below them when awaiting a ground ball. This drill helps promote the required glove extension.1. Lay a bat on the ground perpendicular to a line of 4‐5 players.2. The first player in line is 6 feet from the bat in a ready position.3. The coach is 10 feet from the players.4. The coach calls 'ready' and rolls a ball toward the bat.5. The first player in line runs up and gets in a proper fielding position directly behind the bat without touching it. To prevent the ball from rolling into the bat, the player must have his glove extended in front of the bat toward the coach.6. When the player fields the ball, he sprints to the coach and places it at the feet of the coach and takes his place at the end of the line.Lateral MovementUse this drill to improve lateral movement for handling ground balls and line drives. The drill station group competes to see who can keep the most balls from hitting a fence behind them.1. Find a fence about 20 feet wide and 6 feet high.2. One at a time, fielders stand in front of the fence while a coach stands about 40 feet away.3. The coach hits 10 balls to different spots within the fence area (grounders, line drives).4. The fielder must stop the balls from hitting the fence.5. Each fielder is hit 10 balls and the fielder who stops the most wins.Websites for Coaches (General little league info) (Coaching needs) (Pitching help) (Great for all practice needs) (For line‐up rotation for positions foreach inning) (Drills) (Drills) (Search baseball instruction Videos)‐youth‐ (Drills) (Drills) (Drills)‐qaaVLmNo (For 5,6,7 year olds) (Great for all practice needs) ................
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