Teaching Youth Baseball - Teaching youth baseball is a rewarding experience for both parents and coaches alike. While parents have an obvious investment in the teaching of the fundamentals of the sport of baseball to their children, coaches, make a significant investment of their own in time, effort and emotion. From a personal perspective, one of the greatest rewards is indeveloping relationships with and positively affecting the lives of individual youth baseball players. The lessons of sports such as in baseball are positive and well documented. For coaches, there are also the internal rewards they get from seeing each player develop and from watching a youth baseball team improve as a group and learn to play together under their coaching tutelage.
Teaching youth baseball is a rewarding
experience for both parents and coaches alike. While parents have an
obvious investment in the teaching of the fundamentals of the sport
of baseball to their children, coaches, make a significant investment
of their own in time, effort and emotion. From a personal
perspective, one of the greatest rewards is indeveloping
relationships with and positively affecting the lives of individual
youth baseball players. The lessons of sports such as in baseball
are positive and well documented. For coaches, there are also the
internal rewards they get from seeing each player develop and from
watching a youth baseball team improve as a group and learn to play
together under their coaching tutelage.
Astute coaches improve the performance
of the team as a whole by employing youth baseball drills to improve
the individual performances of team players and there interactions
together. There are three main categories in which youth baseball
drills will have an immense effect on the performance levels of
players.
Youth Batting Drills – one
of the most important of the youth baseball drills. The vast
majority of youth baseball players have the most fun when they hit.
The better they are able to hit, the more fun that they will have,
and the greater their interest in the sport of baseball. Coaches
and parents who teach baseball drills in batting must stress the
importance of a well-balanced stance that is comfortable for the
individual player, picking the ball up as it leaves the pitcher’s
hand, and keeping the body weight back until the pitch is delivered.
Youth Fielding Drills – an
integral part of teaching the defensive position. Of course, there
are sets of baseball fielding drills that are unique to each of the
nine fielding positions in the game of baseball. However, there are
baseball drills common to all fielding positions. One of the key
youth baseball drills in catching ground balls is to keep the
fingers of the fielding glove on the ground for ground balls, and
raising the glove to catch the ball on the bounce, instead of
lowering the glove. Another one of the instructional keys to
fielding is to catch the thrown or batted ball with the wrist in an
upward position for balls at or above the waist, and to turn the
wrist upside down to catch balls below the waist
. There are
many ways to take a single drill and apply it so the whole team can
practice at once.
Youth Throwing Drills – the
most basic of all youth baseball drills, and many instructors feel
that it is the most important fundamental of all. It is vital for
parents to make sure that their children develop proper throwing
techniques from the time they can throw a baseball, around the age
of eight or so. The importance of throwing a baseball with proper
grip can not be overestimated. Youth throwing drills must emphasize
four important elements: Throw the ball by gripping it with the
index finger and middle finger on the ball; point your shoulder
opposite from your throwing hand in the direction of your target;
step in the direction of your target when you release the ball; and
follow through after you release the ball with your back leg so that
both legs are parallel upon the completion of the throw.
You can find many youth baseball drills
on the Internet covering hitting, fielding and throwing. Some
drills are free and some require subscription or for you to order a
DVD. Free baseball drills allow you greater flexibility in trying a
variety and see what works best for you as the coach and your youth
baseball team. Always remember that drills should be age
appropriate. The right fielding drill for a 14 year-old boy will not
suit and 8-year old and vice versa.
There are many baseball coaching
resources and communities like Weplay available to help with any
questions you might have. Don’t underestimate the passion of the
community around you. We are all here to help the kids.
By Trevor Sumner
who works forWeplay.com,
ayouth
baseballcommunity
dedicated to providing parents, coaches and athletes the tools and
information they need to celebrate the love of the game. Weplay
has one of the most comprehensive baseball drill libraries in
its activebaseball
community.
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