It’s Spring; always a great time of year for everybody! Our customers on the
East Coast and the Mid-West
are thrilled because the long
winter is finally coming to
an end. For the rest of us,
we get to be excited because
baseball season is starting.
While I always try to be positive,
especially with Spring Training
going strong and all the youth
leagues kicking off their seasons,
for this newsletter I’d like
to add a twist and focus on
10 things I hope NOT to hear
this season.
1. "Swing Level"
You’ll hear this at every
park you go to watch baseball
or softball: “Swing Level”.
However, it’s not possible to
swing level. Think about the
baseball swing for a moment.
Your hands are held high, close
to your head. The ball, if it’s
a strike, is thrown between
your knees and the letters.
So, how can a swing be level?
Well, it can’t be. A correct
baseball swing is elliptical;
it has a downward motion through
contact to create backspin on
the ball and a high follow through.
Great hitters may each have
different planes they swing
on, but none of them are ever
going to be “level”. Let’s stop
creating this incorrect mental
image for the kids.
2. "Just Throw Strikes"
“Ok Johnny, just throw strikes
now; all you have to do is throw
strikes.” Any kid who’s pitching
is doing his or her best to
throw strikes. Especially when
a kid is struggling to get the
ball over the dish, you can
bet anything they’re not trying
to “paint the black” or “blow
it past” the hitters. All they’re
trying to do is “throw strikes”.
Pitching is the greatest pressure
cooker in all of youth sports.
When a kid is on the bump, he’s
all alone and the entire team
is depending on them to throw
strikes. When a pitcher is struggling,
they may have a basic mechanical
flaw or they might be nervous.
Stating the obvious and telling
them that the sky is blue isn’t
going to help them throw strikes.
What it will do is make them
stop “pitching”, change their
mechanics even more, and try
to “aim” the ball.
3. "Practice Makes Perfect"
We’ve talked about this before,
but it’s worth emphasizing again.
Ask any kid what practice makes
and they’ll tell you: “Practice
Makes Perfect!” Of course, practice
doesn’t make perfect, it makes
PERMANENT! Repetition creates
muscle memory. If you practice
the wrong motion over and over
again, what kind of motion are
you creating? Breaking a bad
habit is very, very hard. It’s
crucial that parents and coaches
spot flaws quickly so that they
aren’t repeated. Of course,
that means that a parent or
coach needs to know the right
way to do things. Please, get
some instructional books and
tapes (LINK TO INSTRUCTION SECTION).
If you’re going to volunteer
to coach, make sure that you’re
not passing along the same bad
habits that you learned. It
takes about 1,500 repetitions
to turn a bad habit into a repeatable
good habit. It’s a lot easier
to just do it right in the first
place.
4. "Bad Game"
Sportsmanship is something
that every kid, parent and coach
should be always be aware of.
In our baseball league, we’ve
instituted a new Code of Conduct
that requires good sportsmanship
and enforces penalties, including
suspensions and expulsion, for
violations. After the game,
each kid should congratulate
each person on the other team.
Even in jest, nobody should
ever tell another kid: “Bad
Game”. As a coach or a parent,
if you hear it, please stop
it.
5. "Keep Your Back Elbow Up"
Keeping your back elbow up
is neither right nor is it wrong.
The batting stance is one of
the most over coached aspects
of hitting. Think about some
of the unique stances you’ve
seen. Jeff Bagwell, Bobby Tolen,
Joe Morgan, Eric Davis, Steve
Garvey, Frank Thomas, Don Mattingly
and every other player each
has their own unique stance.
What all great hitters do have
in common is not their stance
before the pitch comes, but
getting into the proper position
when the pitch is on the way.
That means having their hands
back, wrists cocked, balanced
and ready to swing down through
the ball. So, focus on getting
kids into this position and
stop picking on them for everything
before the pitch.
6. "Throw From Your Ear"
I really can’t believe that
anybody teaches throwing like
this – even for really young
kids; it’s just wrong and it
creates bad habits. Putting
the ball next to your ear and
throwing creates a pushing motion
and costs much of the power
a kid has. Get them to extend
their arms in both directions
– like a half jumping jack.
They should maintain flexibility
and bend in their arms. Then
just “high-five” to throw the
ball. If you’re teaching kids
to throw from their ears, get
some tapes.
7. "Arguing"
There is a great line at the
end of the movie A League of
Their Own when a player is arguing
with the umpire about a called
strike. The umpire says: “That
pitch may be a ball tomorrow
and it may have been a ball
yesterday, but today it’s a
strike!” Umpires do their best
and they make mistakes – lots
of them. We can’t control the
umpires and we need to accept
that they are human and that
they do their best. Of course,
if they make a mistake with
the rules, there is no harm
in pointing that out, but judgment
calls are a different matter.
Disputing them is a poor example
for the kids. Also, there is
no need for parents to heckle
the umpires from the stands.
Coaches need to proactively
make sure this isn’t happening
every time they hear it.
8. "Charge the Ball"
This is another baseball myth
– that a good fielder “charges
the ball”. What great fielders
actually do is “play the ball”
instead of having the “ball
play them”. This may seem like
a subtle distinction, but it’s
huge to a kid who is trying
to grasp the fundamentals of
fielding. Charging the ball
required them to run in at full
speed and get to the ball. In
contrast, playing the ball means
that you’re trying to get it
on the right hop to make the
play. The only time a fielder
really has to “charge” the ball
is on a dribbler or a bunt.
Almost every other grounder
will require reading the hop
and making the play.
9. "Turn Your Wrists"
I still hear parents and coaches
telling their kids to “roll
their writs” as they swing the
bat. The proper position for
the hands at contact is palm
up and palm down. During the
follow through, the wrists will
naturally turn, but it’s long
after the ball has been hit.
Just a last note on hitting:
kids will swing at bad pitches,
including pitches over their
head and in the dirt. There’s
a time to coach and a time to
be a cheerleader. During the
at bat, a kid knows he just
swung at a terrible pitch and
he doesn’t need to hear it from
the stands or from his coach.
After, you can work on the strike
zone and making sure that the
recognition is there.
10. "Keep Your Eye on the
Ball"
Of course, it’s crucial to
watch the ball, but we try to
teach kids to watch the ball
with their nose instead of their
eyes. For pitching, hitting,
throwing and playing sports
in general, keeping the head
from moving is a key to success.
A player can waggle his or her
head more or less freely and
still technically "see" the
ball. They just won't be able
to hit or catch it. In contrast,
coaching to watch with your
nose trains the head to stay
still, allowing the eyes to
focus. So instead, we say: “keep
your nose on the ball”.
That’s the list of the 10
things I hope not to hear this
season. I doubt I’ll make it
past the first week, but it
still sure promises to be a
great year so let’s PLAY BALL!
Ken Kaiserman is the President
of http://SportsKids.com - a
leading sports Internet site
for kids and their families.
In addition to coaching football,
basketball and baseball, Ken
serves on the local Little League
board of directors and a park
advisory committee. Ken and
his wife Sheri have been married
for since 1991. They have three
children: Benji, Bobby and Rebecca
(aka Rocky) who all love their
sports!
