Don't Forget Your (Batting) Tee Time!

Don't Forget Your (Batting) Tee Time!
By guest author: Olan Suddeth


Most experienced coaches are already quite familiar with the advice I am about to give. In their case, please forgive my restating of what might be obvious, and browse some of the other articles on this site. The new baseball coach, however, would do well to pay attention.

I am about to reveal to you the single most useful tool for improving the hitting skills of your batters. Please, take a seat. I don't want the shock to overcome you. Are you ready?

I present to you: the batting tee!

That's correct. The tee is the single most useful tool for improving the hitting skills of your batters. You may bellieve that your players are too old to benefit from a tee... and you could not be further from the truth. Did you know that major league hitters practice by hitting off of a tee every single day? Are you suggesting that your eight (or ten or twelve) year olds know more about hitting than Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds, Derek Lee, or other big league stars?

Now that I hopefully have your attention, I will explain why this is. Understand, there is no substitute for live pitching - tee drills cannot help with your batter's sense of timing, or his ability to pick up on or identify pitch location, pitch type, velocity, etc. But unless you have Greg Maddux pitching your batting pracice sessions, there is no way you can hope to put the ball in the same place every time, which allows you to analyze the batter's swing. With a tee, you can really watch what your hitter is doing, make suggestions, and get many, many repititions in in a reltively short period of time. This is the reason that, if you were to take your player to pretty much any professional hitting coach in the country, the first thing the coach would do would be to drag out a tee.

If your player has a hitch in his swing, you can identify it with a tee. If he needs to work on the inside pitch (or the low pitch, or the outside pitch), you can simply move the tee and give him extra repititions. If he has a loop or dip in his swing, you can place a second tee behind the one holding the ball and force him to adapt a correct swing path. With a tee, you can build the all-important muscle memory needed for a good, consistent swing.

I cannot emphasize this enough - very few practices should ever go by without your players hitting off of a tee. This is an absolutely ideal station activity, is easy to place, and if you happen to also own a net, can be done in even the smallest of spaces.

The bottom line: if you do not own a tee, and you coach a youth baseball team, go and drop a few bucks on one today. You will not regret the investment in the best hitting tool ever made.

Olan Suddeth is a little league baseball coach in the Birmingham, Alabama area. His website, Youth Baseball Info (http://www.youthbaseballinfo.com) offers free drills, articles, and tips for youth baseball coches, parents, and fans.

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




Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/147376

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How to Coach T-Ball

How to Coach T-Ball
By guest author: Jack Perconte


I realize that kids who play T-ball are very young, so T-ball coaches do not have to be experts in the game of baseball. However, when you realize that most kids will be making decisions on which sports they like and will want to continue playing, there is a big responsibility on T-ball coaches. Unfortunately, many good athletes are lost to other sports because of inadequate T-ball coaching.

It is important to realize that T-ball coaches are often at a disadvantage because baseball is a slower moving sport than many of the other sports. By its nature, baseball involves more standing around and inactivity than other sports, with soccer being a prime example of a higher activity sport. Therefore, the first thing that T-ball coaches should understand is that kids at these ages have a ton of energy and that they love to run around and expend that energy. With this in mind, it is important that T-ball coaches learn ways of making practice energy-packed so kids do not experience the boredom that is often associated with baseball. Using practice time wisely is a necessity when dealing with such young players.

Secondly, T-ball coaches have the responsibility to know the basics of baseball. Learning a few basics of how players catch, field, throw and hit is a must for the T-ball coach. Not only is the knowledge of these basics important, but also learning ways of teaching these basics is equally important. This is where T-ball leagues have the responsibility of providing coaches with pre-season coaching training, coaching resources and with on-going training in the fundamentals of baseball. Additional training for how to work with kids of these ages (and their parents) should also be provided..

With this as a backdrop, following are tips for how to coach T-ball:

Coaches should: Read More

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Innovative Baseball Vision Hitting Tee - Trains Your Eyes To Hit Baseballs Consistently

Innovative Baseball Vision Hitting Tee - Trains Your Eyes To Hit Baseballs Consistently
By guest author: Keith Hodges

One of the most important things that baseball players fail to do is train their eyes to see a moving baseball. Your eyes, head, hands, feet and hips are the keys to hitting a baseball consistently. I'm going to start with your eyes first, because if you train your eyes to see and recognize movement hitting becomes easy. If you watch major league hitters you will see that all of them have very little head movement. Why? Because when your head is still your eyes can focus and see the baseball better, but when your head is moving your eyes can't see the ball as clear and the ball appears as if it's during something it really is not doing that's why keeping your head as still as possible is so important.

That brings me to your hands if you can see the baseball clearly your hands will follow you eyes to the point of contact on the baseball with the bat. But, if you can't see it you will never be able to hit it. Your front foot should be down on the ground all the way in a close position before the ball reaches the hitting zone. Right handed hitter If your front foot lands on the ground pointing toward third base or the pitcher your hip have open up to soon taking your power away from you before you start your swing and the same is true for a left handed hitter.

Improve your swing and hitting mechanics so that you can compete at any level of baseball or softball. Baseball and softball players should train their eyes to see a baseball coming toward them so that they can prepare for a 80-95 mile per hour fast ball.

Baseball vision training helps baseball players to totally concentrate and focus their eyes on the ball while at the same time training your eyes to see and hit a moving object. This hitting technique can be utilized in-door or out-door, day or night starting as early as 2 years of age and continuing into t-ball, little league, high school, college and into professional baseball.

This training technique will eliminate having to set-up or pick-up baseball after hitting balls off the batting tee. This technique works because as the ball moves back and forward in and out over the strike zone it forces your eyes to concentrate on the movement of the ball entering the hitting-zone.

Using the vision training techniques allows you to train your eyes to see and recognize balls and strikes crossing the plate while at the same time improving your swing and baseball hitting mechanics needed to play the game of baseball at the highest level possible. By using this technique along with the different movements and angles of the ball crossing the plate will also develop and improve the following:

* Plate Patients
* Plate Balance
* Hand / Eye Coordination
* Hitting
* Swing
* Recognize Balls In Or Out Of The Strike Zone
* Eye Tracking
* Ball Tracking
* Reaction Time To Pitches Entering The Strike Zone

http://www.2createabaseballplayer.com/baseball-vision-training.html
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Keith_Hodges

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