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Baseball Training TipsFor these baseball training tips I have compiled this article of questions & answers from many of the emails I’ve received… For questions regarding major topics that could not be answered quickly, you will see articles in the near future that focus on a single topic and tackle it in-depth. Of course, not all questions – despite their importance – need long, draw out answers. The goal of this particular article was to get as many questions answered as possible before moving on to the in-depth articles… I do not like to spend time discussing things that are easily answered. Below are my candid thoughts on questions… How do I get rid of/prevent shin splints? Stand on one leg, barefoot for 60 seconds – 2-3 times a day. Seriously. How do I become a better fielder? Take ground balls…and lots of them. Sure there are drills you can do such as gluing a batting glove on the back of a ping pong paddle (handle sawed off) & taking soft grounders with bare hands, but 90% of a fielders skills is taking ground ball after ground ball. It’s the tried and true method of every great defender. The great thing about fielding is basically anyone can become an very good fielder. So skip all the gadgets and just take ground ball and ground ball. It’s the only way to be a great defender. As a coach, how do I deal with unhappy parents? There’s only one way I’ve EVER seen this work. Have a pre-season meeting with your expectations of them & their child. In addition, explain what they should expect of you. Have it all in writing and have them sign it, agreeing they will not complain about playing time, etc. with consequences (whatever you feel comfortable with) if they do. If they complain, whip out the paper they signed & enforce the agreement. How do I swing down on the ball? You don’t, it’s impossible. Stop trying to do it or listen to anyone who's giving so-called baseball training tips and says that’s how the swing is executed. Anyone who has watched even a few minutes of high speed film knows that the path that is taken to the ball on a high level swing is flat to slightly upwards. Get over the swing down crap. Check out baseball hitting for details on the Major League swing - Can you tell me how to rehab from my ____ injury? No, I can’t and it would be unethical for me to do so. Work with your doctor and Physical Therapist and do everything they tell you to. Is Kettlebell training good for baseball and is it better than lifting weight? Ok, first off it’s KettleBELL, not KettleBALL. Now that’s out of the way, I can get to your answer. Kettlebell training is one tool and should be treated as such. Does it have benefit? Yes. Is it all you should do? Not even close. KB training IS resistance training. T also has a very small learning curve and becomes more of a skill rather than a stimulus, which is exactly what you don’t want. Use it along with medicine balls, free weights, bodyweight, etc Do you believe in hitting a tire to increase strength? No, I never understood this. It is awkward and places major stress on the shoulders and wrists. Hit waterlogged baseballs instead. Is Pilates good for baseball? As much as I hate to say this, its not the worst thing you can do and many athletes would benefit from it because they simply don’t stretch enough or work on static movements such as planks, side planks, etc. Bottom line, it can be helpful if you aren’t doing what you are supposed to do, but if your program is well thought out and executed, you won’t need it. Do crunches work for baseball? No. Get off your back and on to your feet like a real athlete. How do you teach young kids the correct mechanics? Slow the game down for them. Keep it simple as possible. This might seem like basic info, and it is, but I’m constantly surprised how often coaches and parents want to give their 7 year old advanced baseball training tips and techniques when he is still learning how to grip the bat properly. And it’s not just young kids, mechanic breakdown and slowing everything down should be done for all ages. I remember in High School when our coach made us spend hours breaking down the throwing motion. It was horrible at the time and extremely boring. Of course, as a high school kid I knew everything and thought it was a waste of time. Turns out it laid the groundwork for the season and we had very little throwing errors and the year before we were plagued by them. Take away message: focus on the basics and remember you are never too old or advanced to revisit them frequently. Do you do Plyometrics with your players? First of all, REAL plyometrics aren’t what are being sold as plyometrics. It’s not jumping around like a fool over a line 50 times or any of that nonsense. Real-deal plyo’s are done for 1-3 reps at the most and strategically placed in a program. This is just another example of an otherwise good training tool getting in the hands of those who have absolutely no clue about training in an effort to sell you some “cutting-edge” baseball training tips. I do agree, the whole idea around plyometrics – secret baseball training tips used by the Eastern Block countries to dominate the Olympics (remember, they were also all on steroids too before everyone else was) – is an easy sell. But, its also a load of BS. Only the advanced ones, typically professional level. Unless you have a few years of weight training utilizing the basic movements such as squats, deadlifts, clean, etc, don’t even think about plyometrics – unless, of course, you want to get hurt and burnt out. Bottom line, I personally don’t ever use plyo’s with athletes under 18 and only with advanced athletes that are ready for them. Used incorrectly, they can cause a world of harm. What do you think about playing year round? I think it’s the worst trend I see in youth baseball by far. It’s borderline abuse the amount of games some kids play and the length of time throughout the year they play for. Listen, I’m all about improving, but let’s get realistic. Playing close to year round will lead to injury, burn out and many other undesirable outcomes. Yes, let your kid play and let him travel and play if he has that luxury (and it is a luxury), but don’t burn him out, or allow him to burn himself out. Sure, a kid may want to play all year, but it doesn’t mean he should. Dealing with idiot coaches This one is tough. Unfortunately, there are a lot of idiots who coach for the wrong reasons, mainly to stroke their own ego and relive their glory days. I’d actually love to hear how people have dealt with this successfully because I’ve never seen it end well if the coach isn’t willing to take a good look at himself. In some cases the coach realizes he is being unfair, but that’s few and far between. Should we train differently for softball than baseball? Besides specific skill work, no. Baseball and softball are VERY similar, even the swings. Some people may argue, but compare high-speed game footage and you will see. The strength & conditioning work and baseball training tips I use for my baseball players is the exact same stuff I use with softball players. ‘Nuff said. I’m a volunteer Little League coach, what’s the best way to do the Batting Order? There are a few schools of thought here. Unquestionably the most popular is the following
This is done 99 times out of 100. Back to the top of these baseball training tips |
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