"Squish the bug"

I need to warn you about an extremely common mistake that WAY too many youth baseball coaches are making. This one misguided "coaching cue" will not only sabotage the development of your player. It will also ruin your coaching rep and credibility. 

Know what it is?

"Squish the bug"

Don't feel bad if you've used this one before. It's been around since the 70's, and it's easy to see why so many Little League coaches adopted it. 

The goal with "squish the bug" is to try and help your hitter generate more power  by getting the lower body involved in the swing. 

Coaches (incorrectly) started teaching kids to rotate on the back foot during the swing. 

Similar to how you would squish a bug: 

It turns the back leg but not the hips. 

Weight stays on the back foot. 

Player spins off the ball.

The correct approach. 

Rotate the back hip around the front hip.

Weight transfers forward.

The back foot will roll up naturally.

How much you rotate depends on the location of the pitch and where you're trying to hit it. 

Below is what we call "line of hitting" or "ideal contact points"

Above is how you'll hit those specific pitches. 

 

Quick Tips: Catching and Throwing fundamentals

Here are 6 quick tips to help teach throwing and catching fundamentals to younger players:

1. Always warm-up properly before beginning any baseball drills. Players MUST warm-up to throw, not throw to warm-up. Taking the time to go through a comprehensive stretching program will protect the muscles of the player’s throwing arm.
    
2. Always use a “4-Seam Grip” across the stitches with fingers on top of the ball.
    
3. Infielders should use a “Short Arm Circle” – never dropping the arms below the waist and keeping the elbows down when throwing. This gives the player the chance to gain a little bit of arm velocity while still making a nice, rapid throw.
    
4. Always show your partner a “Target Box.” Arms at 90 degree angles with hands to each side of the head. This gives him a target to aim for during a throwing drill.
    
5. Keep your knees bent and your feet spread. Be ready for a poor throw by sliding your feet to the side, ensuring that you are always in front of the ball.
    
6. Always trap the ball in the glove with TWO HANDS. If the ball is above the waist, bring the thumbs together to trap it in the glove. If the ball is below the waist, bring the pinkies together.

The more often the correct technique is practiced, the sooner it will become a good habit.

Demand that your players use perfect technique during warm-ups and practice situations so those skills will carry seamlessly into game time situations.

Football: Baseball, angle and open field tackling.

Baseball season is ending and Football season and youth camps are approaching and here's a fun drill to start off with to get into the swing of things and to get practice on tackling and running the ball. 

Make a "baseball field" with cones 10 yards apart. RB starts at home plate, runs towards first base. Defender starts in middle (pitchers mound), attempts to tackle RB.

•RB can avoid the tackle but must stay in the "baseline". RB is safe if he gets to first base before being tackled. He may stay there or keep running to the next base. Defender continues attempting tackle. When lead runner stays at base, new RB starts at home and new defender in middle. RB tackled in between bases = one out and all other RB's go back to previous bases. 

Make it a game: divide into two teams. Three outs (tackles), runners go to tacklers and vice versa. Play 5-inning game, whoever scores more "runs" wins. 

Quick take: Development of youth pitching.

The development of youth pitching is one if not THE most difficult assignment at this level of coaching. You don't want your young pitchers to be throwing stuff that they physically aren't ready for yet. Stick to your four and two. Stay away from curves if you can and especially from your breaking ball that twists the arm. 

Each player developes differently from bothe a skill, and physical level. Understand your age group, and that your athletes bones are still growing, and with that will come limitations on movements that they should be repeating .

Specializing in a single sport: Don't do it!

Recently I have been discussing with several people about sports specialization vs being a multi-sport athlete. So, I have decided to share my thoughts on this with the rest of you. 

When I was younger, kids were told to be well balanced in what they did. We would play all sports. Some parents believe that specialization can help their children become stars, earning a college scholarship or even a pro career.

When an athlete decides to give their all in a single sport, it seems like it would be rewarding. By focusing your attention on just one sport, you can become somewhat of an expert in that sport. You'll have a lot of time to practice and focus on improving your skills in that sport. You will also have the time to attend camps and join club teams. 

But, (Yes, there's always a "but".) there are many benefits to be gained by being a multi-sport athlete. And I believe in student athletes playing multiple sports. 

When you participate in multiple sports, you absorb different types of skills and disciplines from each sport. 

Every time I'm talking to a student athlete about playing multiple sports the first thing to come out of their mouths is that they don't want to risk an injury. Understandable. But, (yes, another "but".) a student athlete puts themselves at a higher risk of injury when focusing on a single sport. There’s probably more hours of competition in that one sport than there are competing if they have two or three other sports. It’s the hours of competition that puts them most at risk for injuries. 

Although, I do understand that you or your child will eventually go to college to play a single sport, I encourage you or them to play multiple sports throughout middle school,  high school and even before that. 

Pictured: 42 of Urban Meyer's 47 Ohio State University football recruits were HS multi-sport athletes.

Quality At Bats. Baseball/Softball.

To get a quality at-bat you need to create your own hitting routine. 

1. Visualize. Visualize the ball hitting the bat perfectly.

2. Tap the plate a few times or point out to the OF and bring it in to your stance. 

3. Say something positive to yourself out loud. "See the ball, hit the ball." Pete Rose would say this to himself every at-bat.

4. Slow, deep breath, exhaling for about 5 seconds.  

It's important to use the same routine every at-bat. 

8 keys to a quality at bat.

1. Staying in control

2. Trusting your swing 

3. Knowing your strengths and weaknesses 

4. Knowing the strike zone 

5. Proper practice and preparation

6. Use of your hitting routine - whatever that may be

7.  Ability to avoid distractions 

8. Aggressive approach - think  HIT, HIT, HIT!

Also think of the strike zone as 7 balls wide and 11 balls high. That's the Ted Williams strike zone. You can also write this out on paper and keep a log of your at bats. And then mark where you prefer the ball to be at in certain situations such as 0 strikes, 1 strike, 2 strikes. 

Don't forget to use your 2 strike plan.  

   Choke up.

   Move up.

   Shorten up.