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.

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.

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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!

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6 Winning Strategies Guaranteed to Improve Your Coaching

Winning Strategies for Baseball Coaches


6 Winning Strategies Guaranteed to Improve Your Coaching

6 Winning Strategies Guaranteed to Improve Your Coaching
by: David Huizar & Matt Zavadil

Are you sure you're doing everything you can to be the best coach possible? Absolutely sure?

I've been a coach and I've had a lot of coaches. You know what I've found? Some coaches put all the pieces together and some just don't invest time developing the coaching skills that make a difference.

I can't turn you into a coaching superstar overnight but I can get you started with these six powerful communication skills. I'll break them into two groups: Verbal and Non-verbal

Read this complete article at the BBCD.

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Learning to Play Baseball

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Learning to Play Baseball

By Connor R Sullivan

When learning to play baseball, most people begin by playing little league as a child. As you grow older, baseball because a bigger part of your life that you might play in high school and preferably in college. As you get older and get better at playing the game, there are a few pieces of equipment that you will probably use as you learn and practice. Equipment such as pitching machines, weighted baseball bats, and even baseball training aids will help you or your child get better and better at baseball at time goes on. Baseball is a very popular sport that generally gives you a lot of discipline and long term lessons, so it can be a great sport for kids of all ages.

Baseball has been a sport for a very long time and it is also very popular in small communities. If your child is interested in this sport at a very young age then you should definitely look into getting your child into the sport. This will teach your child self-discipline, lifelong sportsmanship skills, as well as exercise techniques that they will use for life. Learning to play sports like this can teach your child many lessons that they will use for life and in their high school and college careers.

If your child ends up being a very good ball player in high school and intends on continuing the sport in college, then it may be a good idea to increase their off season training and their original season routine. Increasing intensity and time spent training can make a world of difference in the technique and integrity of your game. There is a fine line between high school sports and college sports because college sports are much more intense when it comes to reputation. College sports are when scouts come to watch players from real major league teams and it gets harder and harder to impress people with your good game.

There is also a very fine line between sports for fun and sports for an income and that is what the line is between community sports and professional sports that you can watch on television from your own home. Professional ball players have to set a lot of good examples because they have a lot of kids that look up to them. There are often times too many problems in professional sports that deal with image and that is something that kids have to watch out for if they are interested with the professional sports industry.

This is a great sport and if your child is interested then they should definitely get involved. Learning to play this sport can be a fun process but if your child is very interested they will stick with it throughout high school and maybe even in their adult career. If your child will stick with this sport into high school and throughout college, they may be able to create a fun and useful career for themselves and their family over time.

Connor R. Sullivan owns and operates a top ranking web site to help people find pitching machines to improve their baseball skills. He offers a large selection of baseball training aids for youth baseball coaches to purchase.

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Best Baseball Hitting Techniques For Beginners

Best Baseball Hitting Techniques For Beginners
By Peter S. Smith

If you are a beginner, then learning from the start the best baseball hitting techniques is mandatory, since this will help your game tremendously. This article is intended to do just that, so you will be able to learn the right techniques right from the beginning.

The first thing you want to do is to have a good batting stance. This means the position of the bat and body while waiting for the pitch. You will want your feet to be shoulder wide apart, and the foot closer to you should to be lined up near the front edge of the home plate.

Your knees will have to be slightly bent, and you should also have your waist slightly bended.

The way you hold your bat is also very important. You will want to hold the handle as close as possible to your back shoulder, and the barrel of the bat should be just above your head. Needless to say, you want to grip in the right way. This means that you shouldn't squeeze the bat, but rather keep it loose.

When the ball comes at you, you should keep your eyes solely on it, until you hit it. Remember that your head shouldn't follow your body as you hit it.

These techniques will help you tremendously in bettering you game, so take great care in mastering these basic baseball hitting techniques. Once you do that, you will be able to master more and more advanced techniques, but always remember that baby steps are needed before you get to be good at this game.

More comprehensive information on hitting techniques can be found here, so you should check it out.

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4 Highly Recommended Baseball Coaching Articles for High School Little League, Cal Ripken, Dixie Youth, Babe Ruth Pony, and all other Youth Baseball C

4 Highly Recommended Baseball Coaching Articles for High School Little League, Cal Ripken, Dixie Youth, Babe Ruth Pony, and all other Youth Baseball Coaches


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Baseball Youth Digest - Bunting Made Simple - Teaching Bunting Skills to Beginners

Bunting is a skill that must be taught and practiced just like throwing hitting, and fielding. It is wise for t-ball or Little League coaches of coach pitch teams to introduce every young player to the basics of bunting. This article outlines 10 recommended coaching points for teaching and introducing bunting to beginners.

Baseball Coaching Digest - What Baseball Coaches and Umpires Expect From Each Other
Baseball coaches and umpires often have a love/hate relationship. Coaches often make the job of an umpire more difficult. Umpires sometimes hurt the feelings of a coach with a crucial call. Coaches expect a high level of professionalism from the umpires in the crew working a game. Umpires expect a high level of professionalism from the coaches of both teams. Here I outline 5 things coaches expect of umpires and 5 things umpires expect of coaches:


Little League Digest - The KISS Rule of Teaching Youth Baseball Players a Proper Swing
Coaching baseball is not rocket science. I believe in the KISS rule of coaching young baseball batters. The KISS or "Keep it Super Simple" rule means that the coach will present the batting instruction in a way that it is easy for young baseball players to understand, visualize and perform. This article explains the 6 simple steps in teaching youth baseball batters using the "KISS" method.

Youth Baseball Digest - Good Pitcher Sometimes Can Not Throw a Strike - 10 Things to Check First

If you have a young baseball pitcher that at times looks like a Josh Beckett or Randy Smith and other times he struggles to throw two strikes in a row, what can cause of his control problems? There are 10 key elements of his delivery that should always be checked first. Those key elements are outlined in this article.

Coaching Baseball - The Importance of Teaching Batters to Hit the Ball Where it is Pitched

Great hitters at all levels share one common skill. They know when and how to attack every pitch location. Great hitters read and react to every possible pitch location. If you watched the 2008 Baseball College World Series, you quickly realized that great college hitters can catch up to any fastball regardless of the velocity. You saw batters over and over, on the ESPN TV Coverage of the CWS in Omaha, hit mid-90s to upper-90s fastballs with amazing power and bat speed. You also saw college baseball batters that apply and execute one of the most important and basic skills of hitting a baseball, the skill of "hitting the ball where it is pitched". The philosophy of most pitching staffs today is that the job of the pitcher is to allow the batter to get himself out. Pitching coaches teach and coach the pitcher to keep moving the ball in or out, up or down, and to never leave it over the plate. A batter often does not get the same pitch in an at-bat and may not see the same pitch in several at-bats.

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Where Does Power Come From For A Youth Baseball Hitter?

Where Does Power Come From For A Youth Baseball Hitter?
By Chip Lemin

Greetings to all coaches,

To help your players develop more power in their swings, you must instruct them to have balance throughout the entire swing. In the previous article,on 2-14-08, I discussed the stance of the hitter. This includes even weight distribution right from the trigger of the swing. In order to generate power, the swing must be compact and short. Yes players with long swings will generate power also, but they generally will not make as much consistent contact.

Many youth baseball players will have far too much hand and foot movement to achieve balance throughout the entire swing. These players could get away with these flaws when pitchers are just trying to throw strikes in younger leagues. As pitchers develop velocity and location these flaws will be exposed.Some young players will resist keeping their hands held up high. They resist keeping their shoulders stacked up over their feet. They may not have a wide enough base in their stance. These players like to stride out at the ball. A small controlled stride is acceptable. Many newer coaches are unaware that a long stride will hamper the player's power base.Many of the top youth baseball hitters will no stride at all. They may use some front foot movement as a timing trigger to begin to "load up' their swing.

I became a student of the baseball swing to learn all I could. When your gets professional instruction (which I encourage) pay close attention,and take notes.Many of the instructors are great sources of knowledge who are willing to help you too. After all, it is in their best interest for your players to improve. It is a reflection on his talent as an instructor.It may mean more business for him.It is the player's responsibility to work on their swing. You can give them the tools and information. You can attempt to inspire them to work harder. Don't feel any guilt about a player's swing if they are not putting in extra work to improve.

Players must look at the pitcher with both eyes. Too often the player's shoulder position will be turned so that both eyes are not on the ball. These batters may have hit the ball well at lower even with these flaws,it may take some strikeouts or weakly hit balls to get their attention. Just be a patient instructive leader. Focus on what the batter is doing right first, then move on to correcting mistakes. Most young players don't get proper extension and follow through on their swings.They may be trying too hard to pull all pitches. This is a common mistake. When players wrap the bat around on their follow through, and it ends up below the front shoulder, it is a sign that they are "pulling off "of the ball. The finish should be up high, with the bat and the hands up near or above the front shoulder.

Power is not always generated just by size. It is a function of bat speed.The quicker the bat head can get into the hitting zone the better. The batter's hands must lead into the zone, and the hips and torso will follow. The player must focus on extension through the entire hitting zone. This will help the player to finish the swing with a nice high follow through. Then the hips and torso will come along also. Professional instruction with a qualified instructor is worth every cent. I believe the coaching staff will get just as much help from it as the players. There will be more articles on hitting for youth baseball players coming up soon. Thanks Coach Chip

Chip Lemin has been a promoter of youth baseball since they started using aluminum bats. That's a long time. I have witnessed many good people get into coaching without solid coaching skills and it is not fun for them or the kids.Today's newer coaches are also being shortchanged on sportsmanship, like there is none. Visit my site to sign up for a insightful, informational, free coaching e-course at http://www.baseballecourse.com

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

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Three Great Training Packages From Jugs Baseball Equipment

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Youth Baseball Digest - 11 Simple Batting Terms Every Tee Ball and Little League Coach Should Know

ZipnHit-Pro.com
By Nick Dixon

1. Grip - The first thing every young player must be taught is how to properly grip the bat. The bat is gripped with the "knocking knuckles" on the top and bottom hands aligned perfectly in a straight line with each other. The purpose of this grip is to place the bat handle in the fingers away from the palms of the hands. This grip allows the hands to be move quicker and to have maximum control of the bat. Tension is a batters worst enemy when it comes having a quality swing. Gripping the bat improperly often causes tension throughout the body. A relaxed grip on the bat allows the batter to react with better bat speed and hand quickness. Feeling relaxed at the plate is a key to a batters confidence.

2. Stance - A batters stance is how a batter initially stands in the batter's box to look out at the pitcher. A batter's stance is the position of the hands and feet prior to the start of the swing. The feet should be shoulder width apart with toes pointing toward the plate. The feet should be square to the plate. Square to the plate means that they are an equal distance from the plate. The stance also refers to the position of the hands and the angle of the bat. The hands should be no more that several inches from the shoulder. The stance should comfortable and should allow the batter to look at the pitcher with ease.

3. Stride - The term refers to the batters weight shift or step prior to the swing. The stride should be short and only about three to four inches if the front foot moves. Many batters simply pick the front foot up and replace it without moving it forward. If a step is taken, it should be a little step forward with the toes pointing toward the pitcher. It is important to teach young players that they must stride to get ready to hit. They do not stride to hit, but rather, they should stride to get ready to hit. The batters stride foot should be set before the pitchers front foot lands.

4. Hip Turn - Hip turn refers to the process of a batter generating power by driving the hips through a power rotation. Only pitches over the middle and inside 3rds of the plate allow a batter to get full hip turn. The closer the pitch is to the batter, the more hip turn is needed to properly hit the ball. Pitches on the outer part of the plate require little hip turn to hit. The hitter will rotate his hips open farther on an inside pitch than an outside pitch. The batter should rotate the hips on a level plane. Player should not lean forward over the plate or lean back away from the plate. The batter's back foot must pivot in order to have good hip rotation.

5. Balance - A batter must have good balance to be successful. Balance refers to proper weight distribution prior, during the swing, and at the finish of the swing. Good balance allows the hitter to have more control at the plate. Good balance begins with even weight distribution with a proper stance. The batters ability to control the body during the stride is the key to good balance.

6. Bat Speed - The speed of the bat during a swing. The bat the batter used must be the correct length and weight for a batter to generate optimum bat speed.

7. Squash the Bug - This term refers to the pivot the back foot during the baseball swing. This foot action allows the hips to open up or turn.

8. Shoe Laces to Pitcher - The best back foot action is not a squashing action with downward pressure. The best motion is to turn the back foot with the shoelaces toward the pitcher. This turn should be performed with a "light-weight" pivoting motion with little downward pressure. The batter pushes off from the ball of his rear foot to shift weight to the front side. Putting downward pressure on the ball of the back foot as it pivots and the hips rotate tends to constrict the quickness and power swing.

9. Trigger - Load - Both have the same meaning. Batters must learn to trigger or load to get ready to hit. The loading or triggering process is a batter's final movement of the body and hands to the optimum bat launching position to get ready for the swing. Different batters use different movement as a triggering mechanism. Many batters turn the front knee and should slightly inward. Other batters simply take the hands slightly up and back to what they call their launch position. The loading or triggering action should be a very slight movement.

10. A, B, C Baseball Swing - The "A, B, to C baseball swing" means a baseball swing that is not fundamentally correct. The term describes a swing that is not compact and not direct to the ball. The batter sweeps the bat in a slow long arch.

11. A to C Swing - Used to refer to a sort compact swing that take the bat from the "A" launch position directed to the "C" or contact position. The perfect baseball swing is a short compact "A to C" Swing.

For more articles on coaching baseball visit the Youth Baseball Digest, Little League Digest and the Baseball Coaching Digest.

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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.

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