The TeeBall Coaching Clinic provides t-ball coaches and parents with free t-ball tips, teeball drills, and tee ball articles for teaching youngsters how to play baseball. You will find simple and easy explanations on how to hit a baseball, how to throw a baseball, and how to teach baseball skills to a child. Use our search feature to type in your desired topic to find articles covering it in our archive.
Friday, July 26, 2013
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Baseball Coach for Kids: 5 Smart Tips That Will Help You Get the Best Out of Them
By Guest Author: Adam C Moore
One of the major demands of parenthood is responsibility. When you bring a life into the world, it is your responsibility to sustain and nurture that life, from an infant to a teen. Do not forget to give yourself a pat on the back when the child reaches adulthood. During the course of our parenting life, there are many deals that are thrown in our direction. One of them might just be playing coach to a bunch of baseball crazy children. It does not really matter if you have never played the game. But it does help if you know what doing and get to become the cool coach. Looking forward to coaching baseball to kids? Here are 5 smart tips that will help you get the best out of them.
Never Show Up in a Shirt and Tie
Never turn up in a shirt and tie. What this implies, is that you would rather be somewhere else and not really 100% committed to the cause. Shirts and ties belong to work. When it is time to play with the kids, turn up in jeans, a t-shirt and a baseball cap. Come down to their level and be part of the gang or you will never get the best out of them.
Make it Fun
You are not gunning for the World Series. So it is really about bonding and having fun with the kids. Ask for suggestions about what name should be given to the team and any ideas they might have about the mascot. Let them work together and realize the importance of group activity and team building. When your coaching skills resemble a military drill, kids tune off and would rather be found doing something else. Expect most of the kids to defect.
Forget the Mumbo Jumbo
Teach them the basics of baseball in a way they would enjoy and understand. Use everyday things to explain how to play baseball. Kids learn faster in between the giggles and the laughs. And will easily pick tips and strategies, if you use things they are familiar with. Do not use gaudy grammar or weighty words. Make it look to serious and its school all over again, maybe even worse.
Do Not Embarrass Publicly
Children do not have thick skin. So despite things not going as planned, never verbally bash a child in public or in private for that matter. If a child has an attitude problem or is not exactly playing his position, call him aside and tell him what he's doing wrong or how a change in approach can make everything much better for the team and everyone else.
Man of the People
Do not set your sights on the kids alone. Also try to parley with their parents. Encourage them to come and watch their children play baseball. Be friendly with the kids. But you can play boss with the parents, by knowing when their kids are coming for practice or when they will be going home. If there are any issues, meet in person, never talk over the phone. It could compound whatever situations that might arise.
As a former baseball players & coach, some of my other hobbies include creating websites on the sports. One of my newest websites is this website dedicated to the best bbcor bats available. Come take a look at all of the different BBCOR bat reviews available!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Adam_C_Moore
One of the major demands of parenthood is responsibility. When you bring a life into the world, it is your responsibility to sustain and nurture that life, from an infant to a teen. Do not forget to give yourself a pat on the back when the child reaches adulthood. During the course of our parenting life, there are many deals that are thrown in our direction. One of them might just be playing coach to a bunch of baseball crazy children. It does not really matter if you have never played the game. But it does help if you know what doing and get to become the cool coach. Looking forward to coaching baseball to kids? Here are 5 smart tips that will help you get the best out of them.
Never Show Up in a Shirt and Tie
Never turn up in a shirt and tie. What this implies, is that you would rather be somewhere else and not really 100% committed to the cause. Shirts and ties belong to work. When it is time to play with the kids, turn up in jeans, a t-shirt and a baseball cap. Come down to their level and be part of the gang or you will never get the best out of them.
Make it Fun
You are not gunning for the World Series. So it is really about bonding and having fun with the kids. Ask for suggestions about what name should be given to the team and any ideas they might have about the mascot. Let them work together and realize the importance of group activity and team building. When your coaching skills resemble a military drill, kids tune off and would rather be found doing something else. Expect most of the kids to defect.
Forget the Mumbo Jumbo
Teach them the basics of baseball in a way they would enjoy and understand. Use everyday things to explain how to play baseball. Kids learn faster in between the giggles and the laughs. And will easily pick tips and strategies, if you use things they are familiar with. Do not use gaudy grammar or weighty words. Make it look to serious and its school all over again, maybe even worse.
Do Not Embarrass Publicly
Children do not have thick skin. So despite things not going as planned, never verbally bash a child in public or in private for that matter. If a child has an attitude problem or is not exactly playing his position, call him aside and tell him what he's doing wrong or how a change in approach can make everything much better for the team and everyone else.
Man of the People
Do not set your sights on the kids alone. Also try to parley with their parents. Encourage them to come and watch their children play baseball. Be friendly with the kids. But you can play boss with the parents, by knowing when their kids are coming for practice or when they will be going home. If there are any issues, meet in person, never talk over the phone. It could compound whatever situations that might arise.
As a former baseball players & coach, some of my other hobbies include creating websites on the sports. One of my newest websites is this website dedicated to the best bbcor bats available. Come take a look at all of the different BBCOR bat reviews available!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Adam_C_Moore
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Baseball: Fundamentals Skills for Young Players
TeeBall Baseball: Fundamentals Skills for Young Players
Coaching Tips from WeCoachKids.com
Baseball is all about technique, execution and precision and it starts with fundamentals. Some of the fundamentals will be too hard for young players to master but there are many that they can achieve and should be introduced from the beginning. A perfect example of this would be how to hold a bat correctly. Can you think of anything more fundamental? Most coaches however never teach this. Maybe it gets over looked because it seems so simple. Check your kids, you’ll be surprised at how many are doing it fundamentally incorrect. Below are some baseball fundamentals that can taught from the beginning to any age player.
Batting
Gripping the bat- The bat should be held in the fingers (like a golf grip) versus back deep in the palms. Have the player pick up the bat and “chop” with it like they are chopping wood. When the bat is gripped correctly the knuckles on your hand that you knock with (not the ones you punch with), should be lined up from one hand to the other.
Batting stance- The feet should be slightly more than shoulder width apart with the front foot set slightly pigeon-toed in order to make sure the front knee points to the plate not to the first base.
Ball contact- Are you a t-ball coach? Please put the tee in the proper place. Too many tees are manufactured with a home plate attached to the base to help them stand upright. And too often the young player steps up to the plate and the ball is right inline with the batters bell button. If you use a tee like this, spray paint a strip right inline with the tee and have your player place their front foot across from that line when setting up at the tee. This will have them making contact with the ball at the proper place in the swing and avoid all sorts of other problems.
Hand position on contact- Holding the bat correctly will help with this but it is a good thing to show the kids from the start as it is not intuitive for many of them. Assuming we have a right-handed batter, on contact with the ball, the left hand should have the palm facing down and the right hand should be facing up; not palms pointing to catcher and pitcher.
Throwing
Gripping the ball- The size of a child’s hand may effect their ability to do this, but it is still important that the player knows what the fundamentally correct way is to hold a ball. The thumb goes under the ball (inline with the first finger), the first 2 fingers on top and the last 2 fingers and curled and on the side of the ball. Most important is that the ball is not sitting back deep in the palm, but is being held in the fingers. Smaller hands may need to use 3 or maybe all fingers on top, but still try to keep the ball of the palm.
Stance- Jump on your skateboard is all you have to say and most kids these days knows what that stance looks and feels like.
Ball position- The ball needs to be held in the proper position in the back before the forward motion can begin. To get the ball in the proper position, have the child hold it down by their body so their thumb is to their thigh and then with a full extend arm take it back with the knuckles to the sky. Starting knuckles to the sky will create the right forward motion. Try it. Teach yourself to throw with your opposite hand and feel the difference in your motion when you start knuckles to the sky versus knuckles facing down.
Catching
Square up to the ball- Get their shoulders square to the incoming ball from the first day of practice. Fingers up/Fingers down- balls below the waist should be caught with the fingers facing down, while balls above; fingers up.
Two handed catch- Teach them to follow the ball into the glove with their throwing hand right from the start.
Base running
Crossover step- Are you coaching baseball, not softball? Then have them run like a baseball player. Teach the crossover step not a sprinters take off that is used in softball but often seen on the baseball diamond if leads off are not allowed. If your player is on first, facing the batter, on contact their first step should be with the left foot crossing over the right. On a fly ball, teach shuffle, shuffle, cross-over to go and cross-over to come back.
This is just a short list of fundamentals that all kids should be introduce to from the start. Do you have others you would like to add? Send them to info@wecoachkids.com
Source: WeCoachKids.com http://wecoachkids.com/baseballfundamentals.html
Baseball is all about technique, execution and precision and it starts with fundamentals. Some of the fundamentals will be too hard for young players to master but there are many that they can achieve and should be introduced from the beginning. A perfect example of this would be how to hold a bat correctly. Can you think of anything more fundamental? Most coaches however never teach this. Maybe it gets over looked because it seems so simple. Check your kids, you’ll be surprised at how many are doing it fundamentally incorrect. Below are some baseball fundamentals that can taught from the beginning to any age player.
Batting
Gripping the bat- The bat should be held in the fingers (like a golf grip) versus back deep in the palms. Have the player pick up the bat and “chop” with it like they are chopping wood. When the bat is gripped correctly the knuckles on your hand that you knock with (not the ones you punch with), should be lined up from one hand to the other.
Batting stance- The feet should be slightly more than shoulder width apart with the front foot set slightly pigeon-toed in order to make sure the front knee points to the plate not to the first base.
Ball contact- Are you a t-ball coach? Please put the tee in the proper place. Too many tees are manufactured with a home plate attached to the base to help them stand upright. And too often the young player steps up to the plate and the ball is right inline with the batters bell button. If you use a tee like this, spray paint a strip right inline with the tee and have your player place their front foot across from that line when setting up at the tee. This will have them making contact with the ball at the proper place in the swing and avoid all sorts of other problems.
Hand position on contact- Holding the bat correctly will help with this but it is a good thing to show the kids from the start as it is not intuitive for many of them. Assuming we have a right-handed batter, on contact with the ball, the left hand should have the palm facing down and the right hand should be facing up; not palms pointing to catcher and pitcher.
Throwing
Gripping the ball- The size of a child’s hand may effect their ability to do this, but it is still important that the player knows what the fundamentally correct way is to hold a ball. The thumb goes under the ball (inline with the first finger), the first 2 fingers on top and the last 2 fingers and curled and on the side of the ball. Most important is that the ball is not sitting back deep in the palm, but is being held in the fingers. Smaller hands may need to use 3 or maybe all fingers on top, but still try to keep the ball of the palm.
Stance- Jump on your skateboard is all you have to say and most kids these days knows what that stance looks and feels like.
Ball position- The ball needs to be held in the proper position in the back before the forward motion can begin. To get the ball in the proper position, have the child hold it down by their body so their thumb is to their thigh and then with a full extend arm take it back with the knuckles to the sky. Starting knuckles to the sky will create the right forward motion. Try it. Teach yourself to throw with your opposite hand and feel the difference in your motion when you start knuckles to the sky versus knuckles facing down.
Catching
Square up to the ball- Get their shoulders square to the incoming ball from the first day of practice. Fingers up/Fingers down- balls below the waist should be caught with the fingers facing down, while balls above; fingers up.
Two handed catch- Teach them to follow the ball into the glove with their throwing hand right from the start.
Base running
Crossover step- Are you coaching baseball, not softball? Then have them run like a baseball player. Teach the crossover step not a sprinters take off that is used in softball but often seen on the baseball diamond if leads off are not allowed. If your player is on first, facing the batter, on contact their first step should be with the left foot crossing over the right. On a fly ball, teach shuffle, shuffle, cross-over to go and cross-over to come back.
This is just a short list of fundamentals that all kids should be introduce to from the start. Do you have others you would like to add? Send them to info@wecoachkids.com
Source: WeCoachKids.com http://wecoachkids.com/baseballfundamentals.html
Monday, July 8, 2013
How to Teach Baseball Catching to 5-7 Year Olds
Video shows you how to teach 5-7 year olds how to catch a baseball.
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Baseball Basics: How to Field
A team that has players who can throw and catch fly balls and grounders better than its opponents, and can come up with the clutch fielding play, is going to be hard to beat. The team that has the most agile fielders - those players who have fast reflexes and can change direction in a split second - will also have the better fielders. Thus, if the pitching and batting of the two opposing teams are of equal strength, the better fielding team will then be more formidable.
Good fielders, like good hitters or pitchers, do not require special physical qualifications. However, the player with the sharper reflex action will usually develop into a better fielder in a shorter space of time than a player of normal reflexes. This does not mean that the player of average reflex action cannot become a quality fielder.
The player of normal reflex should not be discouraged because he sees other players who seem superior to him as fielders. Better reflex action can be obtained by constant practice and proper conditioning of the body. By leaping, twisting and lunging for grounders, fly balls and throws, the fielder of normal reflexes will soon sharpen his reflex action and will in time work himself into a better than acceptable fielder.
Fielding in reflex action means the player performs his movements without thinking about them. His movements become natural and graceful and he is able to twist his body in any direction. Ground balls take many unexpected bounces; fly balls get caught in wind currents and may take sudden drops or carry farther than the fielder anticipated. The good fielder can adjust himself to these sudden hops and changes of ball direction.
Choosing a Position
In choosing a position a player should select one he thinks he can play best; then concentrate on learning all the techniques involved in playing that position. Do not pick a position because your favorite major-leaguer plays it. That's not mature reasoning and you will only hurt your chances of making the team if you can play better at another position.
Try to analyze your strong and weak points and then try out for that position where you can fit in, and also, at the same time, convince the coach that you are the best candidate for that specific fielding spot.
A player who is below average height and who can field any position equally well, should not try out at first base. It's common sense that if you can catch a grounder while stationed at second base, shortstop, third base, just as well as at first base, you should concentrate on trying out for any of the latter three positions. This is because you would not be able to use your limited height to any advantage if you tried out as a first baseman. A first baseman must stretch high for high throws and well into the diamond for low throws. The coach would be more inclined to use a fielder at that position who has more height and reach than a player of limited height.
Infielders' Stance
There is a basic fielding stance for all infielders. The infielder has good stance when his body is in a squat position, bent at the waist, knees turned out. His arms and hands are between his knees, enabling him to touch the ground without any undue strain. From this position, he is able to field a ball that hugs the ground, and he is in proper position to straighten up and grab a ball that may take a sudden bounce upward.
With practice and determination, you can become a great infielder.
About the Author
Tips & Tricks On How To Play Baseball Like A Pro - These Little-Known Secrets Will Have You Hitting The Longest Yard Over The Boundary Fence!
Click Here For Free Online Ebook http://www.baseballhittingdrills.net/
Good fielders, like good hitters or pitchers, do not require special physical qualifications. However, the player with the sharper reflex action will usually develop into a better fielder in a shorter space of time than a player of normal reflexes. This does not mean that the player of average reflex action cannot become a quality fielder.
The player of normal reflex should not be discouraged because he sees other players who seem superior to him as fielders. Better reflex action can be obtained by constant practice and proper conditioning of the body. By leaping, twisting and lunging for grounders, fly balls and throws, the fielder of normal reflexes will soon sharpen his reflex action and will in time work himself into a better than acceptable fielder.
Fielding in reflex action means the player performs his movements without thinking about them. His movements become natural and graceful and he is able to twist his body in any direction. Ground balls take many unexpected bounces; fly balls get caught in wind currents and may take sudden drops or carry farther than the fielder anticipated. The good fielder can adjust himself to these sudden hops and changes of ball direction.
Choosing a Position
In choosing a position a player should select one he thinks he can play best; then concentrate on learning all the techniques involved in playing that position. Do not pick a position because your favorite major-leaguer plays it. That's not mature reasoning and you will only hurt your chances of making the team if you can play better at another position.
Try to analyze your strong and weak points and then try out for that position where you can fit in, and also, at the same time, convince the coach that you are the best candidate for that specific fielding spot.
A player who is below average height and who can field any position equally well, should not try out at first base. It's common sense that if you can catch a grounder while stationed at second base, shortstop, third base, just as well as at first base, you should concentrate on trying out for any of the latter three positions. This is because you would not be able to use your limited height to any advantage if you tried out as a first baseman. A first baseman must stretch high for high throws and well into the diamond for low throws. The coach would be more inclined to use a fielder at that position who has more height and reach than a player of limited height.
Infielders' Stance
There is a basic fielding stance for all infielders. The infielder has good stance when his body is in a squat position, bent at the waist, knees turned out. His arms and hands are between his knees, enabling him to touch the ground without any undue strain. From this position, he is able to field a ball that hugs the ground, and he is in proper position to straighten up and grab a ball that may take a sudden bounce upward.
With practice and determination, you can become a great infielder.
About the Author
Tips & Tricks On How To Play Baseball Like A Pro - These Little-Known Secrets Will Have You Hitting The Longest Yard Over The Boundary Fence!
Click Here For Free Online Ebook http://www.baseballhittingdrills.net/
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
How to Coach Tee Ball - Fielding Ground Balls
How to Coach Tee Ball - Tee Ball Fielding Ground Balls
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