Coach Pitch Baseball in Crandall

[2K2 LS1]

Never knew baseball in general was so big in Crandall(small town east of Dallas), until this year. I always thought football was king in Texas small towns. Apparently little league baseball is just as big! lol

Also never realized how much money you can spend on kids sporting equipment. We are just getting started in this and have already invested a pretty penny in a sport we hope our son picks up and does good in.

Of course we wanted him to fit in with all the other kids, so it was all Nike gear; glove, cleats, bag, etc. And then a Demarini bat, practice T, practice balls, had to finally get me a new glove(first since I was a kid).

Been working with him on the days that he is not practicing with the team. My question is to you former baseball players: how do you get a beginner to track the ball in the air and actually position himself to catch the ball? He has lots of close catches but probably only a 25-30% catch rate right now. I was not a baseball player, only played in the occasional neighborhood game; therefore this is a learning curve for both of us. I have been copying the coaches practice sequences and have got him snagging grounders, and he has a decent arm on him, but still working on accuracy.

The real dilemma is this: My son is a lefty and not only do the coaches show every technique for righty's, but they aren't really trying to accommodate for the 2 lefty on the team. So when he goes to grab a ball and throw to the base or home, he ends up spinning to throw like a righty and then realizes have way through that movement that he has to throw left and this is slows him down spinning back that way and then releasing. Also when he is going to bat they automatically put him in to bat righty like all the other kids and show him that swing technique but he seems to be able to bat just as well lefty. How can I as a righty work on these techniques with him being a lefty? And how do I break him of turning to throw righty, and then back to lefty and then throwing the ball? I don't want him to get discouraged, and as any dad want him to succeed in any sport he chooses to play. Hard enough the coaches' sons are already a couple years ahead, but the fact I didn't play baseball as a youth I am having to learn and teach him at the same time.

Any input from guys like Denny, or others that have kids in baseball or have gone through baseball is much appreciated.

[SMKR]

how do you get a beginner to track the ball in the air and actually position himself to catch the ball?

What I taught the team I coached was to use the 'picture frame' method with your hands. Put your glove hand up and your other hand up, form the frame of a picture frame, and keep the ball in that frame until it gets to your glove. That cured 90% of our dropped fly balls

[Chili]

Kids baseball is becoming bigger and bigger on a national level. My brother has 3 boys in baseball in Cali. One plays in high school, one in little league (My brother manages the team) and one in Travel Baseball (12 yo) that my brother coaches on. They have tournaments year round, every other weekend during winter, every weekend the rest of the year. Their batting coach was a professional player with 6 years in the big leagues (plus years in the minor leagues).

[bcoop]

Kids baseball has always been big in Texas. What has exploded is club/select ball. Wait until the local, regional, and state tourneys start if y'all get that far. You haven't seen anything yet.

As for expense, tell me about it. My son has $1300 worth of bats. And that's just bats. $100 glove, my bag, his bag, cleats, helmet, etc. I think we spent around $2000 last spring. Granted it was his first season and we had nothing.


I can give as many tips or pointers as possible later. I'm at the ballpark right now.

[Nash B.]

My question is to you former baseball players: how do you get a beginner to track the ball in the air and actually position himself to catch the ball? He has lots of close catches but probably only a 25-30% catch rate right now.

Keep hitting (ideally) or throwing (it still has roughly the same trajectory, but reading it off the bat is more beneficial) him fly balls. The more he sees, the more he'll learn to anticipate where they're going. It should start as something he thinks about, then turn into something he instinctively knows. Telling him won't do nearly as much good as showing him; showing him won't do nearly as much good as letting him loose to try for himself.

The real dilemma is this: My son is a lefty and not only do the coaches show every technique for righty's, but they aren't really trying to accommodate for the 2 lefty on the team. So when he goes to grab a ball and throw to the base or home, he ends up spinning to throw like a righty and then realizes have way through that movement that he has to throw left and this is slows him down spinning back that way and then releasing. Also when he is going to bat they automatically put him in to bat righty like all the other kids and show him that swing technique but he seems to be able to bat just as well lefty. How can I as a righty work on these techniques with him being a lefty? And how do I break him of turning to throw righty, and then back to lefty and then throwing the ball? I don't want him to get discouraged, and as any dad want him to succeed in any sport he chooses to play.

I dunno, I always thought it would be easier to learn from a lefty (I'm a righty) since I could watch exactly what they did and mirror it.

[bcoop]

As far as batting righty when he's a lefty - thats not a bad thing. Kenny can switch hit like a mofo. He's a natural righty. When our kids got too "in to the habit" and it was just going through the motions, we forced them to bat opposite their natural position, and most did better. It's not a natural swing to them, so they are forced to pay more attention to the ball and their swing because it's not as comfortable for them. I wouldn't worry too much about the batting position.

[projectPONY]

My little boy started this season also. He's never played before and we really pushed the soccer thing since that is all his mom and I ever played but he showed no interest. it wasnt until he flat out started saying that he didn't like soccer that we asked what HE wanted to play. He said baseball and I was quickly annoyed with the idea. Mainly because its a very slow game and he lacks in the patience dept. He jumped right into a team that's been together for 3 years and most of the other kids can really catch and snatch grounded and know what to do. It really bothers me that he's the one that's behind so I've been tossing the ball with him every chance I get. Unfortunately his lack patience overwhelm us both and we quit.

I'm in the same boat as you and pretty much mimicking the coached drills. Wish I had some advise but I'm learning as I go also. G/L

[bonfire]

you have plenty of time. just keep doing the drills and he'll get it. Oldest boy struggled the most. 3rd boy is a machine from keeping up with big brothers his whole life. 4 yrs old and throws harder than the 7 yr old. lefty too. nicknamed 'retirement program'.

Think baseball is the hardest to teach to the little guys. lots of standing around leads to lots of distraction. once they get to player pitch, getting hit by a few balls while at the plate will weed out several kids too.

[Nash B.]

getting hit by a few balls while at the plate will weed out several kids too.

My first year (kid pitch, I never played coach pitch), I was scared of getting hit. I got hit in the ear/side of the head a few years before I started playing baseball by some guys warming up at a softball tournament. It hurt, and I didn't want to get hit again. I always had happy feet in the batter's box, until we were playing a team with a kid that threw hard (for 10 year olds). An inside pitch bumped me on the arm, barely even felt it. My next at bat I had the game-winning hit, and from there I began my steady ascent from #10 batter to the top of the lineup.

And now you know...the rest of the story.

[davbrucas]

My 9yr old has played select ball since he was 6...he was always too big and hit the ball too hard for kids his own age in Little League. I started working with him using a tennis ball for grounders and pop flies. He wasnt as scared of getting hit with the tennis ball as he was the baseball. With a little time and effort, your boy will be catching the tennis ball almost every time. At this level, it is all about confidence building. Try not to overwhelm him or he may regress and want to quit. In no time he will be making those catches routinely.

I am amazed every day that I watch my kid play. He has come so far...he is a young 9 and plays tourneys with 10U Elite kids. He is pitching in the upper 50s and at almost 5'2 135lbs, he must look like a grown man on the mound throwing to some of these kids that are very small.

Here is a link with some detailed info...

http://www.baseball-excellence.com/sbaseballforums/printthread.cfm?forum=1&topic=737

[0 GT 2]

For tracking fly balls the trick is running normal and then putting the glove out at the end to catch the ball. You want to stay on the toes and run as lightly as possible.

Sig check!

[Raskal]

I grew up as the left handed kid.. At least most of my little league coaches at least told me to reverse what I saw the other kids doing. Some motions like getting into a windup didn't mirror real well and took some time getting down fluidly.

[thesource]

Youth sports in general is really big in Texas. Right now both my boys are in little league but played CYO prior to this season (team disbanded this season). I thought LL was going to be way more intense but so far, all the boys who migrated over to LL from CYO have far better skills and a better grasp of the game in general. Our LL coaches kind of shy away from turning doubles half the time. On the CYO team, they expected them to atleast try to get a double if they could. We tried to get the entire team to go into LL as a complete team but couldn't because they actually draft players each year to create teams.

[Denny]

I dunno, I always thought it would be easier to learn from a lefty (I'm a righty) since I could watch exactly what they did and mirror it.

That was the same for me since I'm a lefty. I was just cursed with 1st and outfield because of it. No hotspots for me.

Brad, don't rely on just the coach to get him going. Any real growth will come from work outside of regular practice. First, find out if he really likes it, then get yourself schooled up on the fundamentals and help him along. mirror some of the coach's pointers. When he gets older, look into some extra private lessons. Also, keep him in the cages whenever possible. Trey's coach has a batting cage in his back yard that is open to the team whenever they want. Before that, it was Ellen's Fairway in Cedar Hill.

BTW, Ellen's has 2 for 1 batting cage token purchases on Wednesday. You can go down and buy a bunch and use them whenever you want. We were buying a bunch and only doing a half hour to 45 minutes, then used the rest the next few weeks, buying on every Wednesday.

I also throw to him because he needs to see it coming from someone and get some different movement on it. A bucket of balls goes a long way (ask my shoulder).

Get yourself a glove and ANY form of catch can do nothing but help. Some of the best conversations between my father and I have been in the front yard over a game of catch.

Watch baseball on TV. Going to the games are OK, but with TV, you can hear experienced commentators explaining strategies, rules and scenarios. Listen to them and dumb it down to your son's understanding. This can help with situational awareness.

[Nash B.]

That was the same for me since I'm a lefty. I was just cursed with 1st and outfield because of it. No hotspots for me.

Well, you could've pitched, but you probably threw like a girl.