Showing posts with label Major League baseball. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Major League baseball. Show all posts

Monday, February 8, 2010

Derek Jeter - All Baseball Players and Coaches Can Learn From His Mental Approach to the Game


Derek Jeter Baseball Trainer by SKLZ

By Nick Dixon

Derek Jeter's mental approach to baseball is one that every player, coach and parent should take notice of. He is a true American Sports Hero yet he does not consider himself bigger than the game itself. His words and quotes reflect his attitude, his commitment, and his love of the game.

What can all baseball coaches learn from Derek Jeter's mental approach to the game? He is one of the most "decorated" Major League baseball players in the past decade. But, more impressive than his talent is his ability to keep the game in proper perspective mentally. He is humble. He knows how important the game is to him. He appreciates the opportunity he has to play the game and he considers it an honor to wear the pin stripes. In this article I present Derek Jeter quotes that I feel reflect how every player should approach the mental part of the game.

Derek Jeter helped the New York Yankees win the 2009 Major League Baseball World Series. The win earned the franchise's 27th World Series Championship. In 2009 Jeter made his 10th All-Star Team. The list of honors and awards Jeter received in 2009 is extremely impressive. He Won his 5th World Series Ring. He became the all-time Yankee leader in hits. He won his fourth Gold Glove. He won his fourth Silver Slugger award by batting .334 with a .406 On-Base-Percentage. He won the Hank Aaron Award as the best hitter in the AL. He received the Roberto Clemente Award for his commitment to service in the community. He was honored with Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year for his overall accomplishments in 2009. But, what is more impressive that his honors and accolades is his mental approach to the game.

Derek Jeter considers himself blessed to play the game of baseball. He does not look at himself like many pro athletes do. Many pro athletes consider it a privilege for the game to have them as a player. They put themselves on a pedestal above the game itself.

All coaches should be happy if they players take the same mental approach to baseball as Jeter does. Here I take three Derek Jeter quotes that I feel reflect the proper mental attitude for any player at any level to have toward the game.

Quote #1 This quote reflects Jeter's thoughts about the importance of having fun and enjoying the game.

"You have got to have fun. Regardless of how you look at it, we are playing a game. It is a business, it is our job, but I do not think you can do well unless you are having fun." Derek Jeter

It is refreshing to see a Major League Baseball All-Star like Jeter feels that having fun should be a priority. I feel that more players, coaches, and parents should share that same sentiment. Many coaches and players forget the fact that baseball is just a game and games are meant to be played for fun!

Quote #2 This quote shows that Jeter values defensive play and pitching as keys to winning.

"That is how you win - pitching and defense." Derek Jeter

This quote is coming from one of the best hitters in Major League Baseball History, yet he is makes it clear that he considers pitching and defense the keys to winning. Maybe some coaches and players should put more emphasis on the defensive aspects of the game.

Quote #3 This quote reflects how important Jeter thinks it is to keep working and improving. This quote shows the importance of staying focused and staying "hungry".

"We just want to win. That is the bottom line. I think a lot of times people may become content with one championship or a little bit of success, but we do not really reflect on what we have done in the past. We focus on the present."Derek Jeter

As you can see from Jeter's quotes, he does not put himself or his success above the game or his team. He shows a commitment to continue improving and working hard. His love for the game is obvious. He is an inspiration to anyone that watches him play.

I hope that you enjoyed this article. Thanks for taking the time to read it. Have a great day, Nick.

The CoachesBest Baseball Store has a great selection of 1400 Baseball Products. 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, a sports training company established in 1999. Dixon is also an active and full time high school baseball coach with over 25 years experience. Coach Dixon is better known as the inventor of the BatAction Hitting Machine, the SKLZ Derek Jeter Hurricane Hitting Machine, the SKLZ Target Trainer, the SKLZ Derek Jeter ZipnHit Pro, and the SKLZ Strikeback Trainer. Dixon is also a contributing writer for BaseballCoachingDigest, the Youth Baseball Digest, the Baseball Parent Guide, the Baseball 2Day Coaches Journal, and Blog4Coaches.

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

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Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Baseball Hitting - The 3 Basic Elements of the Major League Baseball Swing


HandsBackHitter.com

By Nick Dixon

The Major League baseball swing is a thing of beauty. The dream of millions of little league baseball players is to become a major league baseball player. Hitting a major league home run is a fantasy baseball dream of every youth baseball player. How do the major league baseball players hit with such power? What makes their swing so powerful, productive, and perfect?

The smoothness, compactness, and timing of the professional baseball swing make it one of the most graceful things to watch in all of sports. Professional players practice and practice the fundamentals of the perfect baseball swing. If you watch it in slow motion, you will see that there are 3 common elements of the swing that that most major league baseball players have in common. Baseball batting practice repetition makes the Major League Baseball Swing consistent with the same 3 basic elements exhibited with every swing of the bat.

Great hitters always have the following swing qualities:

1. Solid and Stiff Front Leg

2. Rotational Swing allowing them to Stay Over Stack

3. Maximum Extension of the Hands and Barrel

Here I will discuss each of these 3 elements of the Major League baseball swing:

1. STIFF FRONT LEG
The power hitters in major league baseball use a stiff front leg to give them leverage for their power. When you study their swing, the front leg is firm and at an angle that allows them to stop all body movement forward. The front foot is the anchor that prevents lunging and hip travel forward. Maximum power is generated when the arms are extended and the hips rotate. If the front leg bends power is lost.

Coaching Point: A stiff and firm front leg requires the hitter to have the timing and patience to allow the baseball to get inside the front foot before attacking the baseball. Maximum power is generated when the lower body, hips, and torso spin to generate bat speed. The tendency to lunge at the ball must be avoided.

2. STAYING BALANCED AND OVER STACK
This is a term that refers to the spinning motion of a batters body and the process of keeping the head and torso perfect aligned over the back leg during the swing. The head does not move, travel or lunge forward during the swing. The perfect swing is a rotational motion with the body staying back and spinning over the back hip.

Coaching Point: Head travel is a no-no. If the head is moving forward then the batter has too much forward movement. The body must stop all forward movement and spin like a top. This rotational hitting motion generates maximum bat speed and power. A great tool for teaching and training young and advanced hitters this skill is the STAY BACK TEE and HandsBackHitter Trainer by Swing Buster. This innovative tool is a great baseball training aid that forces the batter to keep the correct front leg position during the swing. The STAY BACK BATTING TEE will teach the batter to have a stiff front leg and to stay over stack through the swing.

3. GETTING MAXIMUM EXTENSION THROUGH THE BALL
What this means is that when the bat makes contact with the ball, the hitters drive the hands and barrel of the bat through forward as long as they can to prolong the bat to ball contact. They power-drive the moving the hands forward on a level plane as long as possible. This down and through motion of the hands is like the landing of an airplane. The bat travels quickly and compactly to the ball on what is commonly called an A to C swing. But, once contact is made with the ball great hitters have the ability to drive the hands and barrel forward on a level plane to generate and maintain bat barrel to ball contact. The longer the barrel stays in contact with the ball, the more force will be exerted on the ball.

Visit the Baseball Coaching Digest Blog for daily post and articles on every aspect of coaching baseball. The Baseball Coaching Digest Blog. 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.

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



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