Fall Baseball - A Great Time To Really Coach

Here's a few random thoughts on making Fall Ball a better experience!*You may want to read the note at the end of this article
I believe that your ability to communicate will always make your life and your team a better experience. Nothing new so far, right?
Fall baseball is the time when teaching and learning, hopefully in a fun environment, may fight the demons of your competitive side. We like to say that it is fall ball so we are not going to win at all costs, BUT it is hard not trotting out your stud pitchers at every opportunity... especially if you have history with some of your competition! The risk of looking like a weenie or your team getting crushed can be overwhelming!
Well coach, here's a few thoughts to keep you on the straight and narrow and possibly allow you to retain some of your dignity (and your won-loss record).
1st - You Need To Have The Reality-Check Preseason Meeting!You have dads in the stands (and players, dependant on age) who are just as competitive as you. Your goals for this fall season must be outlined in an initial meeting with parents and players (this is two separate meetings for some teams).
You must be abundantly clear regarding your thoughts on winning, which I would always encourage. Even the younger players know that winning is simply more fun. But it is the playing well and with marked improvement between the first game to the end of the season that are the real barometers of a fall seasons success!
IF THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE TO ANY PARENT...They just don't get it! Good advise may be to re-address and attempt to salvage the situation With no resolution, (see number 2 below). Some would be best-advised to consider a "better situation" elsewhere.
2nd - You Are The ManYou, coach, are the guy who is giving your time and doing your best to help an entire team of other people's kids to do their best. And trust me on this one, if the kids aren't having fun, you had better change your ways fast. or you are missing the reason you should be doing this in the first place! So, in general... keep it fun!
And to a player, what could be more fun than to finally have a coach who gave them a chance to earn the position they have dreamed about. Learn to pick your spots, be honest with the younger kids who you know may be in harm's way, and be aware of when you can and can't do this. If your heart is in the right place, you will know!
We talk about how kids simply don't play games anymore... by themselves, without adults. Well, one of the great things about the pick up games we used to play was that kids eventually got to play most or all the positions. Today, without fall ball, when and how are they going to learn these positions? We Play Baseball - We don't work baseball!
3rd - Players, Positions & Having Fun!If it isn't fun, why would any kid want to play this game at all? They are kids! No matter what the age and skill level, especially as they get older, they will have a lot of choices and options. Let's keep 'em in the game!
Face it. Most of the world doesn't think baseball with autumn in the air. It's football, back to school, new friends etc. So, any kid who is on a baseball field in September is telling you "I REALLY LIKE (or love) THIS GAME!" Don't you chase them away! No matter what their present skill level, those skills may change... and fast!
I cannot tell you how many kids I have had in the Fall who grow and get stronger by Spring. What a shame it would be if I was the one who discouraged a kid just as he grows physically able to do what he couldn't just a few short months ago!
So, again, play 'em where they think they can play, along with where you already know they can play. If they stink, don't worry, they will know it before you do.
Always remember: players only get better. Help them to make it happen!
Tough Tip - Consider not starting your own son in game 1 and maybe other games too.Many amateur coaches have their own son-- their "favorite player" on the team. If you simply keep your son on the bench for the first innings of your first game, it will display to all that you are indeed sticking to your guns about playing time, new position opportunities, etc.
Hint - Consider making your son your bench coach. It will show him that sitting is not punishment. (You can simply make this a pact between him and you alone.)
Sit him right next to you in the dugout and give him a real duty such as helping position your defenses or maybe giving you a few quick tips on upcoming batters he may know - get creative. Show him you trust and need him! - Build a memory along with a team.
You can even hold out starting another of your better players too. Refrain from also placing your frontline players in the positions they always seem to play in the first inning. Your less-skilled players will really play hard for you and may pay huge dividends come spring!
The fact is... you may not make all-stars out of all-stars. They will do much of that by themselves. But you sure can turn the lousy player into an average player, and you can turn the average player into a very good player. This even happens in pro ball, just check out Marcus Giles, a former 53rd round draft pick, who is now an all-star second baseman for the Atlanta Braves.
Finally, remember that almost every World Series winner has one guy who unexpectedly made a difference. Team guys who were not all-stars or superstars! Remember the names Bucky Dent, Craig Counsell, Gene Tenace, Aaron Boone, Mark Lemke, David Eckstein, and Jim Leyritz?
So, take the high road, even if and when others do not. It is their loss... and their players are who ultimately pay the price with a lack of improvement or leaving the game prematurely. It's not "daddyball," it's just smart fall ball!
Take some risks, show some courage, park your ego, then kick some butt on the scoreboard! You may end up getting more out of this experience than your players!
*Note: This article is aimed and read by many coaches and players of many age and skill levels. If your fall schedule is a win-at-all-cost league, some of this article is not for you. With that said, enter these leagues knowing that your players may be missing some very important instructional time for the long term, possibly even contributing to their premature departure from this greatest of games. After all, when do you allow a player to try a new position or switch hit or break out a new pitch... if not in the fall? Exceptions - If you are coaching a group of prospects looking to the coming year's pro draft and/or college ball, your goals are obviously different. Much of the above still applies, however you certainly will play these players at their positions of greatest potential.

The Bat Drill - Teach Players to Field the Ball in Front

Youth players, particularly younger ones or those new to the game, often make the mistake of letting ground balls get too close to their body before making a stop, resulting in less reaction time if the ball takes an odd spin. It is important to emphasize the proper method of fielding - get the glove on the ground, use both hands, make sure to field the ball in front of you. This drill ensures that players must field the ball before it gets to them.
Divide your squad into two teams of roughly equal ability. Place two bats on the ground - one at the shortstop position, the other at second base. Next, line one team up behind each bat, leaving about six feet between the first player in line and the bat itself (you can adjust this distance to make it less for younger teams or more for older players).
Hit a grounder to one station, and have the player charge up and field the ball. He must not allow the ball to hit the bat, nor may he step over the bat to field the ball. In other words, he is forced to reach and field the ball out in front. When he has thrown the ball back (preferably to another coach), have him rotate to the back of the line. Alternate hits between your two teams, or have another coach hit balls at the same time to keep both sides working.
Let the players go through the drill once or twice, then announce a competition. Each time a player misses a ball, fields one improperly, or makes a bad throw, their team gets a point. Go through everyone four or five times, slowly increasing the velocity of your batted balls and making the players move laterally more. When finished, declare the team with the least accumulated points to be the winner (much like golf, a low score is better).
As an added bonus, give out sticks of sugarless gum to your winners. When you do your next drill, you might be surprised at the intensity!

How to Wash a Baseball Cap by Hand

Steps
Fill a pan or bowl with hot tap water and just let the cap soak for a while to loosen the dirt.
Fill the sink with water as hot as tolerable and add enough dishwashing liquid or Woolite to make suds.
Scrub the cap with an old toothbrush. This might take a few minutes, but using a toothbrush isn't going to harm any logo or name that might be on the front of it.
Run water over the cap until all traces of soap are gone.
Dry the cap with a couple of white hand towels and pack the inside so as to shape it like it was being worn.
Set it on a bath towel in front of a floor fan. Then in a couple of hours, you'll have a baseball cap as good as new!

Tips
Washing caps in the dishwasher may cause them to shrink or change colors.

Warnings
Be careful the detergent doesn't contain bleach or whitening agents.
When drying the cap, to help prevent colors from bleeding try to use a white towel with white or light colored caps.

How to Wash a Baseball Cap

Steps
Place the hat in the mold
Insert into the dishwasher with nothing else in it, other than another hat
Place normal dishwashing soap in the dishwasher like you normaly would.
Run it for a "Normal" cycle.

Tips
Don't use too much soap, for if you do, the hat can retain some of it. The worst part about that is when you get stuck in the rain for some reason with the hat on, and then you look like you just stepped out of a washing machine on the wash cycle.

Warnings
Do not do this with a wool hat! Wash in sink with cool water and mild detergent such as Woolite.
Don't do this too much to a hat as you'll weaken it's stitching, making it just disintegrate.
Only use liquid detergent on this!
Remember not to put it on "heat dry", this can ruin your hat.

How to Break in a Baseball Cap

Don't you hate having your hat stick up in the front and bulge out? Hate looking like a train conductor? Then use this method to shrink your cap to the exact size of your head in a few hours. The secret behind this lies in the cap. The cap I am referring to is a New Era 59fifty. They are close to the standard fitted-hat that the players use (players use 49forty). The front section of the hat, like the rest of the hat is made of wool which shrinks if exposed to water. So...

Steps
Fill a bucket up with warm water or just get warm water running.
Soak your hat in the warm water until soaked.
Let your hat dry on your head and let it shrink. Make sure you have a towel around to wipe the water from your neck and face.

Tips
To make it dry faster, go outside (like to a baseball game).

Warnings
Be sure to wear the hat until it has dried completely. If you take it off and let it dry off your head, it will deform the hat's shape.

How to Break in a New Baseball Glove

Steps
Purchase a new glove. Choose a glove that you can fit your hand all the way into and that won't slip off your hand. If you play a certain position, get that type of glove.
Purchase baseball glove conditioning oil. This oil will soften, enrich, and preserve your leather glove. It will also get that sweaty hand smell out.
Get a baseball or softball, depending on your needs for the glove.
Put the ball in the glove, tie it with string, and leave it out in direct sunlight for most of the day. This will get the leather hot and easy to shape.
After you take the glove out of the sun, untie it, take the ball out, and shape the glove by pressing in the pocket and opening and closing it. Throw the ball into the center of the glove's pocket as hard as possible. Repeat this step several times.
Close the glove around the ball tightly and wrap it with the string again and store it overnight or over a weekend in a dry, dark corner away from small children.
After the set time is up, retrieve the glove and remove the string and ball.
Another way of breaking in your glove is by putting it under your mattress while it is tied up with the ball inside. You can put it under the mattress, sleep on it, and take it out in the morning.

Tips
Try the inverted glove trick for extra break-in. This can also be used for a makeshift opposite hand glove for skill building.
There are now foams available in sporting goods stores. Apply the foam and lather into the glove. Place glove in a 300-degree oven for four minutes. Work glove repeatedly every which way while still warm for 10 minutes. Repeat this process four to five times. After taking the glove out of the oven for the last time, insert a baseball or softball into the glove's sweetspot - or where you'll most likely be wanting to catch the ball. Allow the glove to cool around the ball. This method is akin to breaking in a new glove for six months.
Store underneath mattress overnight and sleep on it.
Avoid plastic gloves at all costs.
Rather than buy foam from a sporting goods store, cough up a dollar and use regular shaving cream (not gel). Used it all the time to condition gloves. Cheaper and works better.
Beat the glove every which way. Be careful not to injure your hand.
Throw the ball into the glove repeatedly and as hard as possible.
Breaking in your new glove may take some time, so be patient with the process.

Warnings
Don't bust up your fingers when beating the glove.
Don't buy gloves that don't fit perfectly at the store. It's like a shoe; buy one that fits when it's new.
Don't do any of this with any glove you spend more than $100 on, you'll want to actually break in this glove the old way, as your parents won't want to spend $100 on a new glove every season because they get worn out too fast.
Don't let anyone else use your glove.

Things You'll Need
New glove
Baseball or Softball
Baseball glove conditioning oil (found at sporting goods store) or shaving foam
String or rubber bands
Time
Sunlight
Dry, dark place
Mattress to put the glove under

How to Block a Baseball

Steps
Get your body in front of the ball in the dirt and drop to your knees.
Put your glove between your legs with throwing hand behind it.
Bend forward slightly, with your head down and your chin tucked in the top of your chest.
Keep your chest at a ninety degree angle with the ball so that it has a true bounce.
After the ball bounces off of you, throw off your mask and locate the baseball.
Retrieve the baseball and check on any base runners.

Tips
Try to make yourself as big as possible.
If the dirt-ball is outside you must slide over to where it is and turn your body in-ward.

Warnings
Never turn your back to the baseball.
Never turn your head when blocking a ball. The face mask will provide ample protection

How to Throw a Faster Fastball

With a good fastball, you can strike any slugger out!So, you're a baseball pitcher. You try your best all the time to launch an awesome fast ball right over the plate, and strike at least one guy out... But you can't. Why? Maybe it's because your arms aren't strong enough. Maybe it's because you are aiming way off. Whatever the reason, these instructions WILL help you to throw faster, straighter, fast balls.

Steps
Stretch every day, especially before throwing.
Play long toss. Over a period of weeks, work your way back until you can't throw the ball any further. For younger kids work back to about 100 feet. Older kids in high school and college should try to work back to about 250-300 feet. NOTE this is over a period of weeks and NOT right away. Try to long toss about 4 or 5 times a week, and play catch everyday.
Proper mechanics allow for you to throw harder than just throwing the ball.Mechanics are by far the hardest part of pitching. There are many techniques that work to get everything out of what you throw, but there are even more techniques that limit you. Proper or accepted technique includes the following. Staying back on your back foot and getting your glove arm even or raised above your shoulder line. Your arms should break simutaneously with your legs. Remember-Power comes from the ground up. But, pushing off with the leg before turning your hips decreases control of your body and removes your anchor, so you can no longer get full power from your core, or the area that includes your thighs up to your lower chest. The core is the strongest part of your body. This results in less control of your pitching. Your hips should begin to rotate just before you push off the rubber with your back foot. This will keep your head steady. While your hips rotate, your throwing elbow should be at a 90-110 degree angle, and your shoulder's should be in a straight line with your elbow. After turning, you must follow through with your entire body facing the catcher.
Important things to remember about your feet while pitching are... 1. When at the set position, your "non-throwing" foot should be 1-2 inches in front of your throwing foot(this will help your rotation of your hips). 2. After the break, your foot should be pointed perpendicular to home until right before you land. When your hips turn, your foot turns with them, resulting in your toe pointing towards home plate(through a 90 degree turn).

Tips
Running is also good if your arm hurts because lactic acid builds up which isn't good and running rids your arm of it, which is good.
Again, it's easy to find good sites on pitchers' conditioning. Here are some I found.
When playing Long Toss, make sure you throw the ball straight. Don't lob the ball so it just reaches your friend, you want to throw the ball through your friend, even if this means having the ball bounce a couple times to reach them. A straight throw with bounces is ALWAYS better than a lob(rainbow) that doesn't bounce.
If your arm starts hurting then stretch it out and continue throwing with a weighted ball

Warnings
Kids shouldn't be lifting weights until high school or so and can do alternate work outs.

How to Pitch a Baseball

Steps
Setup: Wind-up position...Place both feet together standing straight on top of the mound with your toes dangling off the front, and face directly towards your catcher, your toes pointed towards him with your heels on the rubber. Hold your glove in front of your chest, with your elbows resting on both sides of your torso. Stretch position...Place your feet so they face third. The stretch is a faster way to pitch and you can maintain more balance, resulting in more control. Your right foot should be placed against the rubber, with your other foot 1-2 inches in front. This will enable you to get a full rotation with your hips, which will make you throw harder.
Grip the ball for whatever pitch you want. Keep the ball inside your glove while doing this, and don't begin your motion until you have a comfortable grip.
Motion: Make a small step with your left foot to the left. Shift your weight to your left foot, allowing you to lift your right foot and place it beside the rubber (or pivot your right foot into this position, whichever is more comfortable), so that the right side of your right foot is pressing against the mound.
Lift your left leg to the point where your thigh becomes parallel with the ground or higher. Your body should have begun to move with your right foot in the previous step, and at the end of this step your body should be facing third base instead of home plate.
Do two things simultaneously:
Break your arms in a downward semi-circular motion. Your front arm should stay closed and your front elbow should be at a comfortable angle(45-90 degrees). Your throwing hand should face palm-sided towards second base. Ensure that your body stays facing third base through this step.
Lower your leg as close to the ground without touching it, and then stride outwards. To lower your leg, bend your right knee until your left leg is close to the ground WITHOUT TOUCHING THE GROUND! Don't stride outwards until you have lowered your left leg fully or you will lose substantial power. Your front leg should have a curved "down and out" sweep towards home.
Land your front foot at a closed angle. In other words, if landing your foot pointing at the plate is a 90 degree angle, land your foot pointing at a 75 degree angle. This will get your body into a power position. Your power position is the position where your legs are fully extended with your hips and arms still closed, ready to hurl your arm towards the plate.
Out of your power position, push off with your back foot, and pull forward with your front foot by pivoting from that 75 degree angle into a 90 degree angle. Ensure that you make this pivot BEFORE you swing open your upper body and pull your left arm towards first base. Pivoting early allows you to generate power with your hips, and create more of a whip action for your right arm. The most common mistake pitchers make is to open their arms before their hips, which removes the power generated from their legs, causing pitchers to have less velocity, and increase the stress applied to their arms. Your throwing elbow should be aligned with your shoulder's(horizontally of course) through this step.
Extend your pitching arm as far as you can, and let the ball glide off your wrist. Do not snap your wrist as this can cause injury. Your wrist should not guide the ball, but rather the ball guide your wrist.
Follow through. Extended your arm as far you can and allow your back leg to lift up from the forward momentum, and place it on the mound to get in a fielding position.

Tips
Always keep your head focused on your target.
Throw the ball, don't aim. If you concentrate too much about throwing strikes, it can easily get in the way of your muscle memory, which could make you throw more balls than strikes.
You should use the same pitching motion for every pitch. This will make your consistent, and capable of having better control of your pitches.
Relax. The more you believe in your mechanics, the better you can perform.
Many pitchers make a small ditch in front of the rubber before they pitch. This allows them to have a comfortable hole to place their foot against the rubber during step 3.
Your stride towards home plate is a crucial element that must be mastered in order to succeed. It should not be too short, but not too far either. Experiment with your stride by extending as far you can, and then seeing if you can hoist your body from that position. The limit at which you can do this should be the point where you stride.
Some pitchers like to do a quick hop after their back leg follows through to get into a fielders position, by pushing off with their front foot (like mike Mussina). Experiment with which works best for you.
Another popular error is to dip your elbow when you pitch. Make sure that you go from "picking the ball of the table" straight to bringing your arm parallel to the ground at shoulder height, with the rest of your arm from the elbow down at either a 90 ("over-the-top"), 45 (three-quarters), or 0 (sidearm) degree angle with your arm. If you dip your elbow, you will not get any whipping action from your hips, and will lose nearly all your power.
There are many different pitching motions (including submarine and sidearm), as well as different pitches to throw. Work with a pitching coach to learn which are best for your skill level.
To be most effective, try and maintain a consistent throwing angle for all of your pitches. Some pitchers throw more overhand throwing a curve ball or dip to sidearm while throwing a slider. While this may give you better control or command or your pitch, it can easily tip off the batter to what pitch you are throwing. Having a consistent arm angle keeps the batter guessing.
During the game, pitchers in-between innings often wrap up their arms to keep their arm warm and capable of enduring the force of each pitch.
To alleviate soreness, pitchers do two things. After the game, wrap ice around your arm and chest furthermore, for the next two days after a game, run for 30 minutes. This will get your blood circulating and help push out the lactic acid that built up in your arm, causing soreness.

Warnings
When throwing these pitches, make sure you are under correct supervision. If you throw a pitch improperly, or throw continuously with a major flaw, it could result in a career ending injury.
When warming up to pitch, whether early in a season or during a game, do so by gradually increase your arm velocity. DO NOT begin your bullpen session throwing your hardest, since your arm has to warm up before being able to endure the force once you are throwing your hardest.
Do not overthrow. When your arm begins to feel tired do not try to pitch through it. A tired arm can become a hurt arm very quickly.

Things You'll Need
A Baseball
A Glove
A Mound/rubber
A Target/home plate
A Partner to catch your pitches (at a distance of 60 ft 6 inches at the Major League level or 46 Feet for Little League)
A back stop for any wild pitches that the catcher can't get to
Patience and determination

How to Add Power to Your Baseball Swing

Steps
Take a small step directly toward the pitcher when you start to swing. Try to keep weight forward to hit more consistant line drives and more homeruns. Also keep length for even more power. Make sure your front foot is closed off when you step. The toes on the front foot should be pointing across the front of your body. If not you are going to spin instead of creating torque as your upper body rotates. Torque creates power.
When you hit the ball regardless of whether it is an inside or outside pitch your hands remain close to your body.The top hand of the bat should have the palm facing up when you make contact. If the top hand palm rolls over on contact you will hit a ground ball every time.
It is important to keep your hands around the height of your chest. If your hands or elbow is too high, you will cut down on the ball and it into the ground. Your elbow should be around a 45 degree angle which allows you to power the bat quickly through the zone.
The follow through is important. Your hands, not the bat,should finish no higher than your shoulder. If your hands finish higher than your shoulder then you are deflecting the ball and not driving through it. Also, try to reach full extension on every swing. Usually done after hitting the ball, but very important.
Watch "Sports Center" in the morning and look at all the monster home runs that were hit the day before. Regardless of how high or how far they were hit , every player finishes his swing with his hands even or lower than his shoulder.

Tips:
Weight training, plyometrics, sprints, are things that can be done in season and off season to enhance strength and power. Stay away from distance running if you want to be explosive.
Practice off a batting tee. In this country players use the tee until they are 7 years old and then start using it again after they are 17. The beginners and professionals use the tee all the time. Scholastic players need to use the tee to develop, maintain,and perfect technique.
You can also keep hands just ontop of the knob as it gives you a little more power.
Using the lower half of the body is a good way to easily produce extra power.
Lead your swing by throwing your hips into the swing, then your hands with follow. That is the new way players are being taught. It is much more powerful. If you think about it, your entire lower body thrusting your entire trunk and arms will generate more power than your jacked up arms alone. Hips will generate more bat speed. Your hips should end up pretty much parallel to the pitcher for maximum bat speed and follow through for power hitting.
If you strike out dont start throwing everything in the dugout, trust me it wont help at all
Swing down on the ball as much as possible, swiming down on the ball will make your bat connect with the middle of the ball resulting in much more power

Warnings
Spend ten minutes doing a dynmamic warmup before swinging 100%. Ask any coach or physical education teacher. You will avoid injury and enhance performance.
Always wear a helmet for safety. You are going to wear one in a game anyway, so you may as well practice with it.
For God's sake, don't do steroids or drugs. You'll be found out and the side effects are huge and you will get in a lot of trouble and sometimes even baned from the game.
Don't use a heavy bat, Ted Willams proved that you don't need a heavy bat to hit the cover off of the ball, use what is just right for you
Don't practice your swing too much or you will get blisters