Perfect Pitching Motion Breakdown

 

In working with young pitchers, it's important to make it clear that good pitching takes good practice. Pitching skills won't develop by just throwing the ball, but pitchers can learn by throwing at a target, facing a hitter and trying to use a consistent, correct delivery.

One way to do this is to break the pitching motion down to tangible steps. Here is a six-step breakdown of the perfect pitching motion to help your young hurlers improve their game and maximize their potential.

Gripping the Ball

Teach your players that holding the ball in their fingertips—as opposed to jamming it into the hand—will help them get good velocity and wrist snap for control.

Have your pitchers vary their grips on the seams to experiment with the fastball and change-ups. For example, gripping with the seams causes the pitch to sink; gripping the ball across the seams makes the pitch appear to rise.

Delivery

As with general throws from the field of play, the overhand delivery is the most effective throwing motion for young pitchers. The overhand technique ensures maximum control and puts less strain on young arms.

The Windup

The pitching motion begins with the windup. Keeping the front part of the ball side foot in contact with the plate side of the pitching rubber, the pitcher shifts the weight to the back leg and takes a backward step.

Pivot

The pivot is the most essential part of the pitching motion. During the pivot, the pitcher keeps the weight balanced and eyes towards the target.

The pitcher pivots on the ball of the front (ball side) foot to turn it parallel to the rubber. At this point, the pitcher shifts the weight forward onto the pivot foot and lifts the opposite leg into the air.

Stride

From the pivot and leg lift, the pitcher must drive the back foot off the rubber and stride toward the plate with the leg kick. The length of the stride depends on the height of the pitcher and what feels most comfortable.

Too long a stride makes the ball go high; too short a stride makes the ball go low. Have your pitchers experiment to find what works best .

During the striding motion, the stride or the glove side foot remains closed (the stride foot points towards third base for a right handed pitcher). The moment before the foot lands, it opens and points towards the plate. When the foot opens, the hips open, which brings the upper body through.

The toe and heel of the striding foot should land simultaneously (although the ball of the foot takes most of the shock), lands in the same spot with each pitch and land softly to avoid any jarring in the delivery.

The front knee bends so it can absorb the impact of landing with full weight on the front foot. Keeping the knee straight causes undue stress and strain on the front leg.

Follow-Through

A good follow-through is critical for speed, control, and proper fielding position. As the pitcher releases the ball, the wrist snaps after coming over the top. The arm snaps across the body, and, ideally, the pivot,(ball side) foot swings around to a position that squares the pitcher up to the plate. The pitcher's eyes must be on the target in preparation to field any balls hit back to the mound.

Advanced pitchers can be concerned with the location of their pitches (for example, outside corner). Young pitchers should simply focus on getting the ball across the plate, in the strike zone.

Here are some key points to emphasize with young pitchers:

1. Make sure the catcher is in the crouching position, providing a target (mitt) at all times.
2. Use the legs, not the arm, to shift the weight toward the plate.
3. Be relaxed and in control throughout the pitching motion.
4. Keep your eyes on the target throughout the pitching motion. Don't overthrow.
5. Follow through and be ready to field at the end of the motion.
6. Make the first pitch a strike every time to get ahead of the batter.

Coach Heas

MLB Divisional Champions & Wild Card Predictions

 

It’s time for Major League Baseball to start so here are my Divisional Champion predictions:

American League:

East - NY Yankees

Central – Detroit

West-LA Angels

Wild Cards-Texas & Toronto

National League:

East-Philadelphia

Central-Chicago

West-Arizona

Wild Cards-Miami & San Francisco

Who do you think will win the divisions and wild cards?

Children’s Athletic Training

Mar 31, 2011 | By Tamika Nelson

Athletic training for children has gained popularity since the since the 1980s. Between 30 and 45 million children between the ages of 6 and 18 are involved in athletics ranging from recreational school activities to Olympic preparation. Sports training in children has been controversial because of the difficulty in defining "enough" versus "too much" training. Child athletes need an optimal amount of training to succeed while avoiding injury, overtraining and burnout. By adhering to certain guidelines and recommendations, children can participate in sport in a healthy and beneficial way while minimizing or avoiding negative effects.

TRENDS

Children are now frequent participants in endurance events that were once considered adult sports, such as marathons and half-marathons. More children are intensely training in one sport year-round with the goal of making varsity, elite or professional teams. This type of specialization is common in gymnastics, baseball, hockey and soccer, with some children playing on more than one team for the same sport. The number of multisport child athletes is also on the rise. Some athletes cross-train to improve their skills for their main sport while others are recruited by coaches from other sports who look for skilled athletes with good crossover potential.

BENEFITS

Athletic training in children leads to improvements in cardiovascular fitness, muscular strength, muscular endurance, power, balance and coordination. Regular exercise helps children to maintain a healthy weight and athletic children are less likely to suffer from childhood obesity. Athletic children also benefit psychologically from improved confidence and self-esteem.

MISCONCEPTIONS

It was previously thought that athletic training—specifically resistance training—would stunt a child’s growth. The belief was that growth plates at the ends of the bones would close early from physical stress. There is no evidence of this phenomenon in scientific research and it is now known that resistance training is both safe and beneficial for children. Precaution should be taken to ensure that the child is instructed and supervised by a qualified professional.

PROBLEMS

Overuse injuries, overtraining and burnout are the most common negative consequences of athletic training in children. Overuse injuries occur when one part of the body is repetitively used in training and eventually becomes injured from constant stress. For example, shoulder injuries are common overuse injuries in baseball pitchers. Overtraining occurs with excessive training and is characterized by physical and mental fatigue, decreased performance and unhealed injuries. Burnout is a potential result of overtraining and occurs when the child is no longer interested in sport because of the associated physical and psychological stress. Overtraining and burnout are usually caused by pressure from parents and coaches to succeed and can discourage a child from future sports participation.

PREVENTION/SOLUTION

Children who play a variety of sports have less injuries and lower burnout rates compared to children who specialize in one sport. The American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Sports Medicine and Fitness recommends that children who play one sport train no more than five days per week and have at least one day off from any organized physical activity. Children specializing in one sport should also have two to three months off from training and competition per year. During this time, they can cross train and work on strength and conditioning to keep their skills up while allowing injuries to heal and giving their mind a rest. Sports participation should be a positive experience for a child and the decision to train and compete should always be primarily theirs.

5 Myths Baseball Coaches Shouldn't Believe

I came across this article and thought it was interesting

Let me know what you think about these Myths.

In my 21 years coaching youth baseball, I’ve been called a good coach, a great coach, an overrated coach and a horrible coach. I guess it depends on which game or games people have seen me coach to determine which superlative to use.

I like to think that my best coaching moves come from my gut and not from the “book” of coaching. People have questioned some moves I have made and asked me why I did what I did. Many times I have to respond, “I just had a feeling it would work.”

I have also found that the best coaches in all sports deviate from the “book” over the course of their career. Some of these uncanny moves will work and some will not.

My thoughts are you cannot have all coaching moves pre-determined, because situations occur with different personnel at different times.

Let’s look at five situations and why I sometimes stray from conventional coaching decisions:

Tip No.1: Don’t Bunt With Two Strikes

This is a tough one when it fails. We have all seen it in youth baseball when the third baseman plays in close anticipating a bunt.

When the strike count gets to two, the coach will yell to the third baseman something like this: “Two strikes on the hitter. Move back so you are even with the base.”

When the fielder moves back, depending on the ability of the batter, I love to give him another chance to bunt, given that the defense and opposing coach are sure the batter will not bunt. I have been successful with this and at other times it has failed.

One warning, if you try this. When your batter does fail, you will hear from all the “General Managers” in the bleachers.

Tip No.2: Catch Everything With Two Hands

I know most coaches and parents will hold me to task on this one. When my players are moving laterally reaching for a fly ball, I just want them to catch the ball any way possible.

I don’t want my players thinking they have to catch everything with two hands if some catches are easier one-handed. If the shortstop is sprinting for a pop-up behind the third baseman, and has to reach for it, a one-handed catch works best.

When catching a pop-up hit right to a player, with little or no running, a two-handed catch works best. But too many coaches and parents overemphasize catching everything with two hands. Coaches need to have youth players practice catching balls with one and two hands.

Tip No.3: Don’t Make the First or Third Out at Third Base

Tim McCarver won’t invite me over to dinner on this one. I send my runner to third most of the time not worrying about how many outs we have.

I have my teams run the bases aggressively. We get thrown out at third and home more than other teams. But we also win more games than we lose.

In youth baseball, every game has its share of wild pitches and passed balls. From my many years coaching third base I know that we have a great chance getting the runner home on a wild pitch or passed ball.

I hate ending the inning with a player who doesn’t score from third base when some aggressive baserunning would have landed him on third and he would have scored.

Tip No.4: Bigger Baseball Gloves are Better

I was guilty of this when my oldest son played Little League. Every year I wanted to get him a bigger glove figuring the larger the glove, the better chance of the ball landing in the pocket. I was 100 percent wrong on this.

I remember going to Yankee Stadium with a close friend who had an “in” on everything and knew a lot of people. We had front row seats and before the game one of the Yankee infielders came over to say hello to my friend.

As they were talking, I could not keep my eyes off the player’s glove and was amazed at how small the glove was. It just about outlined his hand.

I then learned that “glove control” is key for fielders. So, smaller rather than bigger gloves are better, especially for infielders, except the first baseman.

Tip No.5: Bat Your Best Hitter Third or Fourth

Years ago I remember in a few All-Star games, Willie Mays batted leadoff. I know the theory is that you get a couple of batters on base and the big guns will drive them in. I don’t agree with this all the time.

I found that in youth baseball sometimes there is a large disparity with the talent of the players. Many times teams have one or two excellent players.

In youth baseball I prefer to bat my best hitter first or second. I cannot tell you how many times my team was down by a couple of runs in the last inning with the bottom of my batting order up.

If my best player batted third or fourth, I’d be doing everything I could to get him up but many times games ended up with my best hitter on deck. Now I like to bat my best player first or second. (I know you might think I’m sacrificing some runs but I love the idea of him getting an extra at bat a game.)

Like everything in coaching your talent at the moment will determine your move as the manager or coach. The term “thinking outside the box” has been overused in many instances.

But when coaching, you do want to think outside the box if it will give your players and team an advantage to succeed. Unpopular decisions may be the best decisions at the time you make them.

6 Tips for Coaching Your Own Child

 

Coaching a sports team can be difficult. When your own kids are playing on the squad…it can be even more challenging.

Here are six tips parents/coaches can use to keep things fun and constructive on and off the playing field.

1) Get their input...first. Ask your child to help you come up with a list of positive and negative items that may come up with you being the team’s coach. Listen to what you child has to say before making the final decision to come on board as coach. It's much better to get things clear early, rather than two months into a long, emotional season.

2) Take off your coach's hat at home. Don’t over-practice, or over-coach, with your child at home. Since you are the parent, and the coach, this could lead to your child feeling a bit overwhelmed and confused. Ultimately, this can lead to them wanting to quit the team. (And nobody wants that.)

3) Keep things fair and equal at all times. Be a parent at home, but be a coach at games and practices. The ability to make fair and honest decisions dealing with your children and other team members will strengthen the respect that your child will have for you. (As well as the rest of the team.)

4) Tell the truth. Be open and honest with other parents when dealing with team issues. (Even if they involve your kid.) There will always be disagreements between kids, or feelings of jealousy because you are the coach. Just remember to always handle those situations quickly, and with open communication.

5) Spread the praise around. Give your child praise, but avoid showing preferential treatment like giving extra playing time or special duties to your child. (Like picking the pizza joint for post-game dinners.) Conversely, avoid diminishing you child’s playing time or giving less one-on-one time in an effort to show that you are not playing favorites, as your child will begin to feel unfairly treated. It's a tough balance, but one that a coach/parent needs to be aware of. (This is especially true with pre-teen kids.)

6) Take a step back. If ever in doubt about how to treat a situation involving your son or daughter on the field, think of what you would do if you were dealing with a child other than your own. This could be an effective way to not only properly coach your own child, but might also help your relationship going forward.

Coach Heas

How to Prevent Rotator Cuff Injuries

The rotator cuff is made up of a group of tendons that surround the top, rear and front of the shoulder. The tendons are all separately connected to short muscles that stem from the shoulder blades. The tendons and muscles help move and stabil6ize the shoulder joints and adjust the position of the humeral head (the upper end of the bone of the upper arm) and the scapula (shoulder blade) during shoulder movement. When these muscles contract, they pull on the rotator cuff tendon, which causes the shoulder to rotate inward, downward and upward.

Injuries to muscle-tendon units are called strains and are classified by different levels, depending on the severity of the damage. The least damaging involves the fibers of the muscles and tendons being stretched out, without any tears. A little more serious injury is when the muscle or tendon has a slight tear. The most severe injury is when there is a complete tear in the muscle or tendon.

Damage to these muscles and tendons can occur from small injuries, like falling, to overuse of the muscle, such as lifting. Damage can also be from gradual degeneration of the muscle and tendon that occurs with aging.

Rotator cuff injuries are most common in men over the age of 65. However, many adolescents are at risk if they're involved in overhead movement sports, such as basketball, baseball, tennis, volleyball and swimming.

It's important to do proper exercises to avoid a rotator cuff injury. Warming up the body before doing a vigorous activity is necessary. Without proper conditioning, the shoulder can become inflamed pretty quickly. Stretching your shoulders and arms should be your per-lifting training plan.

To strengthen your rotator cuff, it's best to use lower resistance with more repetitions. Low resistance exercises gradually strengthen these small muscles without the risk of injury. The rotator cuff muscles are relatively small, keep the movement slow and controlled.

It's important to do strengthening exercises to promote a balanced strength in the shoulder, such as arm raises to the side, external rotation, and "hug a tree" stretches. If you've had a previous injury, taking breaks throughout the day to do arm and shoulder stretches will help in preventing any future injuries. Resting your shoulders before a workout can also alleviate some stress in the rotator cuff. Frequent massages and cold and hot compresses can also aid in reducing inflammation.

Here is an exercise program I found in Little League Magazine years ago that my kids have followed. This exercise has been instrumental in their athletic development.

Shoulder/Arm Strengthening Exercises

Shrugs

Using dumbbells in each hand, raise both shoulders up without bending the elbows. This exercise will

strengthen the trapezius muscles of the shoulder complex.

Side Shoulder Raise

Using dumbbells in each hand, raise both arms out to the side until parallel to the floor (no higher than

the shoulders). Hold for 1-2 seconds and slowly return back to your side. This shoulder exercise should

be done simultaneously. This exercise will strengthen the deltoids on the out-side of the shoulder.

Front Shoulder Raise

Using dumbbells in each hand, raise both arms up in front parallel to the floor (no higher than the

shoulder). Hold for 1-2 seconds and slowly return back to your side. This exercise can be done with

both arms simultaneously or alternating one arm at a time. This exercise strengthens the anterior or

front deltoid muscles.

Flys

Using a bench and dumbbells (make sure a spotter is used for safety), lay on your back with both arms

out to the side. Begin by bringing both arms up and together until they meet. An optional finish to this

exercise is to end with a punching action. This will work the serratus anterior muscle (helps keep the

shoulder in place). Slowly lower the arms back down until they are parallel to the floor (do not go

beyond this). This exercise works the chest muscles (pectoralis major). The push up can be used as a

substitute for this exercise (ending with a punching motion).

Rear Flys

Using a bench and dumbbells, lay on your stomach. Using dumbbells, start with both arms hanging down.

Begin the exercise by lifting both arms together out to the side. Stop when your arms are parallel to the

floor. This exercise will strengthen the rear Deltoids as well as the upper middle back muscles known as

the rhomboids.

Empty Can

Using a light dumbbell, beginning with arms at your side, turn the dumbbell inward as if to empty out a

can of pop (keep arm straight). The correct placement of the arm is very important in order to protect

and isolate the supraspinatus muscle (an external rotator of the shoulder). Lift the arm up at a diagonal

(if you were standing on second base, the direction you want to lift your right arm is towards third base

left arm towards first base), just below the height of the shoulder. Hold this for 1-5 seconds. Then slowly

lower the arm to the side.

Note: always consult a physician before beginning any exercise program.

I highly recommend Shaklee’s Sports Nutrition Products.

Never Let Up!  Coach Heas