Youth-Athlete's Sport Blog

Softball College Recruiting

SportNut — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 04:06:49 -1000

The softball recruiting process can be daunting with letters to coaches, trips to clinics, making your skills video, and playing in showcase tournaments all while keeping up with your studies. The process usually starts your sophomore year with identifying your academic area of study and potential colleges. The spring of your junior year and fall of your senior year you are trying to get maximum exposure to your interested college coaches. Finally coming to an agreement with a coach on your short list to play softball on his team the following year. Below are six articles that can help manage the successful college recruiting experience.

Are You Paying Attention to the Little Things?
I talked about the reality of college softball, the recruitment process, the academic requirements, what coaches are looking for, and so on. I also spent time explaining to the young athletes that were present that besides refining their softball skills and having the best marks possible in school, they have to pay attention to the little things.

A parent's role in college recruiting...
Finding colleges, let alone ones where you can play a sport, is a daunting challenge for high school students. The sheer number of colleges is enough to make most 17 year olds a little jittery. To be successful in recruiting, the athlete has to drive the recruiting process forward. But there are lots of moments in the process when a parent's guidance and assistance are invaluable.

Tips for Maximizing Your College Recruiting Visit to Campus
One of the best recruiting things you’ll ever do is visit college campuses. Visits show you what colleges are really like. They take you way beyond glossy websites and brochures and show you all the bumps, scrapes, and hidden delights colleges have to offer.

Building Relationships is the Key to College Athletic Recruiting Success
College recruiting is not an event; it is often a lengthy process. And finding the perfect college match is hard work and often involves developing relationships with 50+ coaches. But most important, becoming proactive leads to college recruiting success. Sitting back and waiting for the perfect offer is a recipe for disaster. Get exposure, get it early, and make yourself stand out from the rest.

What can you do, as a high school coach, to help your athletes?
As coaches and mentors of young men and women you will be looked to for guidance with what some consider the most important decision of a young person’s life. Guiding a high school student athlete through the recruiting process and ultimately helping them find the perfect fit for their college experience can be a difficult process. With the recruiting process changing on a yearly basis it’s understandable that some coaches feel unsure as to when their athletes should get started with their search for a college. It’s important that your student athletes and families understand that not all doors remain open forever, rosters are filled, scholarships are given out, and opportunities can be missed, regardless of the talent level their son or daughter possess.

Looking for High School Ball Players!
I believe the more college programs know about you and the things you can do as a player, the more it will help you in the overall college recruiting process. Our goal is to help high school players gain exposure to a huge number of college programs. I believe this can be done by writing a detailed athletic profile on student athletes. <Woods Recruiting is currently offering a free college recruiting service. This is not a recommendation, since I haven't used it, but information about a potential option to pursue.>

If you've enjoyed reading this feed then please visit Youth-Athlete blog.

Technorati Tags: college recruiting, college softball

Developing the Art of Bunting

SportNut — Wed, 20 May 2009 05:54:45 -1000

If you want to want to be a complete hitter then you need to master the art of bunting. Based on game situations and a team’s need to manufacture runs, every player can be called upon to bunt. Although many players struggle with laying down a good bunt, with a little practice and proper technique, everyone can learn to bunt the ball to move base runners. Effort during practice and desire to learn are all that it takes to be a good bunter.

Types of Bunts:
There are two types of bunts. One is when the player sacrifice bunts to move a teammate into scoring position by sacrificing their chance to get on base to make sure that they put the ball in play so a teammate can move one base closer to scoring. The other time player’s bunt is to bunt for a hit. Bunting for a hit is more difficult and requires the element of surprise and a batter with very good running speed.

Sacrifice Bunting Technique:
When sacrifice bunting the batter holds the bat in the hitting zone and “catches” the ball with the bat to deaden the ball so that the opposing fielders have farther to run and can only make the play at first base.

The keys to successful bunting are:

Move into the front of the batter’s box to give yourself the best angles to bunt the ball fair.
From your normal bating stance, pivot your body toward the pitcher so that your chest faces the pitcher. Slightly shift your weight forward to enable your front leg to easily lower your body to get a low pitch.
Slide your top hand up the barrel of the bat while moving your bat across the plate and to the top of the hitting zone with the barrel of the bat slightly higher than the handle and the bat is in front of the plate. This makes it is easier for the bat to hit the ball into the ground. (In order to increase the bunter’s bat control, I have my players move their bottom hand up from the knob about 3 or 4 inches). By holding that bat at the top of the strike zone, the bunter will only move the bat downward and drive the ball into the ground. If the pitch is above the bat then it is a ball and the bunter should pull the bat back toward their body to take the pitch.
Bend your knees to adjust to the height of the pitch. Don't just move the bat head to meet the ball. The barrel of the bat should always be kept higher than the grip even when bunting a pitch lower in the strike zone. If the pitch is low, bend your knees so your whole body goes down to get the bunt.
Have the bat make contact with the ball in front of you and the plate. Like moving forward in the batter’s box, contacting the ball in front of your body also gives you more of the playing field to bunt the ball. Your bottom hand steers the bunt by moving the bat handle to direct the bat angle.
Watch the ball make contact with the bat in front of you and the plate. As the ball hits the bat, give with the ball just like when you catch the ball in your glove. You should experience the sensation of "catching" the ball with your bat and guiding it to its destination.

Want to Develop Good Bunters?
In a typical batting practice, every player gets two pitches to bunt and ten pitches to swing. It doesn't matter if they successfully bunt the ball twice or not. On the third pitch the batter is swinging away.

In order to develop good bunters, a coach must make bunting an important part of batting practice. Keep the 12 pitches, but require the player to successfully bunt a ball toward first and another toward third before they can start swinging. If they foul the ball off, miss the ball, pop it up, or bunt to the wrong location then make them do it again. After they have successfully completed the two bunts then let them swing away until they have gotten their twelve pitches.

The first couple of times you put this rule into your batting practice, you might have players get their twelve pitches before completing two successful bunts. But if your consistent and have an assistant coach pull aside kids who need a little extra work, it won't be long before your players understand the importance on executing a successful bunt and have developed good bunting form and skills.

Photo Credit: Paul-W

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Technorati Tags: baseball bunting, how to bunt

Creating Your Batting Line Up

SportNut — Tue, 12 May 2009 04:43:01 -1000

A common question I receive from youth coaches is how to put together a batting order. After responding privately a few times, I think this is a big enough discussion for a post. About five or six years ago, I personally spent a lot of energy in putting together my batting lineups, changing them every game or two to "optimize our team’s run scoring potential." I remember being frustrated because every time I changed the order for a game I would have the wrong type of batter up in a key situation and if I had left the lineup like the last game I would be in a better situation. Eventually, I settled on a batting order where I group players by results and then make small changes every four or five games.

How Much Does Your Batting Order Matter?
Actually, the order that you bat your players has much less of an impact on the number of runs your team scores than many realize. In the book, Baseball Between The Numbers, the authors tested the batting order theory and came to the conclusion that for a professional major league team using the optimal batting order versus the worst batting order over a 160 game season would win only one more game. The main conclusion drawn was that who is in the lineup is much more important than where they bat.

Building Traditional Batting Order
A traditional batting order recommends that your list your players in descending order based on highest “on base percentage (OBP).” Therefore, your first batter has the highest OBP. The second batter has the second highest OBP. The third batter has the third highest OBP and so on down through the order.

The rational behind this lineup positioning is that you want the highest OBP batters to get the most at-bats. Over a season, the top of the order will get about 15% more at-bats than the middle of the lineup while the bottom of the order will get about 20% less at-bats than the middle. This style of batting lineup gives the players with the highest probability of reaching base safely the most at-bats in a particular game and more at-bats throughout the season, which gives your team more base runners and more chances to score.

Adjusting the Batting Order Based on Player Skills and Results
I follow the traditional batting order philosophy but I make a few changes based on player skills and results. Once I have built a batting order, I will usually only adjust it every four to five games, which is about every one and a half weeks for the high school season or before every tournament (but not during the tournament).

Here are the adjustments I make:

Top Two Batting Positions: List the players in descending order based on OBP. From the top half of the list, pick the fastest and smartest base runner for position one. Also from the top half of the list, pick the fastest runner with the lowest strikeout to at-bat ratio for position two. (Strikeout to at-bat ratio is the number of strikeouts divided by total number of at-bat including walks, hit-by-pitch, reach base on error, hits, ground outs, fly outs, ….). The reason for this choice is that I want the players who get the most at-bats to put pressure on the defense by getting on base regularly and intelligently using their speed to get around to home. In the second position, I want someone who will put the ball in play and force the defense to properly execute and be forced to make choices.

Middle of the Batting Order: I follow the traditional batting order where I rank the players by on-base-percentage and then fill-in their positions accordingly. Occasionally, your team will have a player with a very high OBP but a low batting average. This happens when a player is walked or hit-by-pitches significantly more than the average player. In this case, I will move them down and place them in the order based on their batting average.

Last Two Batters: For the last two batters, I vary from the traditional lineup. I actually put my lowest OBP hitter or slowest runner in the second to last position. If you are batting nine then they are put in the number eight position. Batting ten, then I will put them in the number nine spot. I got this idea from Baseball Between The Numbers. The justification for this order switch is: 1) very rarely is the last batter in a game the second to last hitter. Since the last two batters get the same number of at-bats per game, the desire to give your best hitters the most trips to the plate does not factor into this decision. 2) Since my best hitters are at the top of the order, I have a higher probability of having an average to above average runner on base when the lineup turns over. This increases the probability of giving the first two batters in the lineup a runner on base when they come to bat the second, third, and fourth time with the opportunity advance a base runner or score them with a big hit.

Summary
Here is a quick recap:

Position #1: the fastest/smartest base runner with above average OBP
Position #2: the fastest base runner with above average OBP and lowest strikeout to at-bat ratio
Middle of the order: ranked by OBP in descending order
Next to last batter: lowest OBP or slowest runner in the lineup (weakest hitter)
Last batter: next to lowest OBP with a little more running speed (second weakest hitter)

My final reminder is not to over think or make changes in your lineup too frequently. The run differential between the best and worst lineup that you put together is very very small. The biggest boast in your run production comes from who you have in the lineup much more than where they are positioned. Every player will have a bad game. What you want is to put the consistently best hitters at the beginning of the batting order so they will get the most at-bats over the entire season.

Leave me a comment on how you put together your lineup.

photo credit: palindrome6996

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Technorati Tags: baseball, batting order, baseball lineup, softball lineup, batting line up

Coach's Guide To Managing the Coach-Parent Relationship

SportNut — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 05:39:36 -1000

Bar none, the most emotionally draining element of coaching a youth sports team is interacting with the parents. Having coached youth teams for over twenty seasons and been an officer in multiple youth organizations, I can personally attest to the fact that parent-coach interaction is important to the team's success. The mismanagement of the parent-coach relationship by the coach, more then anything else, leads to their demise. By establishing expectations early in the season, having a conflict resolution mechanism, and managing the disagreement discussion, a coach can reduce the emotional impact to themselves and maintain their team's positive attitude.

Common Reasons For Coach-Parent Conflict
There are a multitude of reasons why a parent has a disagreement with a coach, but the most common are: playtime, skill development, coaching style, and competitive level of play. By far, playtime is the number one complaint as every parent wants to see their child play as much as possible. The second most common complaint is coaching style. Some coaches are intensely competitive while others are easy going and laid back. No matter how you manage the playtime and develop your coaching style, there will be at least one parent on your team that has an issue. It is inevitable.

The good first step to minimize these conflicts is to invest in yourself as a coach and develop the seven steps to successful coaching and learn how to coach self-confidence into your players. More than anything else, parents want the child to play their best with a lot of confidence in who they are and their ability. This is not saying that a parent needs to have their child be the best player on the team, just that they want the son or daughter to be playing at their best possible level.

Step 1: Establish the Team's Ground Rules
Set the player and parent expectations up front before the first practice, if possible, and definitely before the first game. Tell both the players and parents how playtime will be determined and how much emphasis will be placed on winning games. Let them know what is the expected player behavior and attitude in practice, on the bus to and from the game, and what pre and post game dress attire is required. Describe your goals for the team, your coaching style, and how your style will help the team attain the goals.

I cannot over emphasize this point: set expectation early and often. At the start of a season, parents and players have pre-conceived expectations. If you, as the coach, do not articulate what the expectations should be, the parents will use their uninformed expectations as the standard by which you are measure. These expectations are not aligned with yours, guaranteed.

Even when you set player and parent expectations up front, there inevitably will be times when conflict arises and it is important to have a conflict resolution policy in place.

Step 2: Establish the Ground Rules for Conflict Resolution
The open door policy and player managed are most common conflict resolution methods. The open door policy is where a coach makes themselves available for discussion with the player and parent. If you choose to implement this policy, tell the parents how and when they should approach you. I would recommend that you exclude the time immediately before and after a game as your mind, focus, and attitude will not be able to objectively deal with the disagreement and concern at hand. Another good policy is to have the parent request a time that you will be available. You probably already know what the concern will be but making the parent request a time in the future will give you an opportunity to gather your thoughts and, possible, seek input from the other coaches. The open door policy can be a effective method to keep the negative parent talk and discourse to a minimum by addressing any issues and concerns that arise in a timely fashion.

At the other end of conflict resolution is the player managed policy. This policy is favored by middle and high school and competitive tournament coaches where they state that parents should not talk to the coach about an issue, it is the player's responsibility to voice their grievance. Coaches use this method to keep the minor issues underground.

A third alternative is to use a combination of the policies above. For this method, the coach requests that the player approach them first to voice their concern before a parent approaches them. Coaches that successfully use this policy not only listen to the player's concern to understand the underlying issue, but also use the discussion with the player to determine what is the best communication method to reach the player. For example, is the player motivated by the coach getting in their face or by the coach explaining what they want and then showing them. Finally, when a parent approaches them after the player discussion, the coach must realize that the family considers this a major issue that needs to be resolved.

Step 3: Managing the Grievance Discussion
Managing the grievance discussion is very important. It is important to have the player involved, listening, and providing examples so that the true facts can be brought to the table instead of misrepresentations and innuendos. During this discussion, it is important for you to listen and understand the "real" issue, which may not be spoken. Be sure to share your side of the story with supporting date and, if required, agree to a corrective action plan by you, the player, or the parent.

Summary
Every coach, no matter how effective their communication style and desire to coach a team in a positive manner, will have player and parent conflicts. It just happens and it will probably happen every season you coach. If you are prepared for it, the whole process will go much smoother and any disagreements can be worked through in an effective manner. To keep any misunderstandings down to a minimum, set the expectations early in the season, let both the player and parent know how and when they can approach you to voice their concern, and then listen to them and agree to a resolution path. In the long run, calm heads and open communication will lead to a successful season for all involved.

Photo Credit: Paul-W

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Technorati Tags: coach parent relationship, parent conflict, conflict resolution, coaching development

Baseball College Recruiting

SportNut — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 05:16:20 -1000

Whether you are a player, parent, or coach, the process to continue playing baseball after high school getting yourself through the college recruiting process can be daunting. The majority of the work needs to occur during the spring of your junior year and fall of your senior year in high school, but up front planning during your sophomore year of identifying potential colleges and desired major can help get the college recruiting process off to a good start. Below are six articles that can help lay the groundwork for a successful college recruiting experience.

College Recruiting - What Parents Need to do
So Mom and Dad, you have visions of your youngster playing sports in college. You got them involved in youth sports when they were 5, 6, or 7 years of age. You noticed that they were a little bit or a lot better than their peers. You noticed that they always wanted to go to practice, had fun in games, in some cases, they hated to lose. At some point in time you started wondering if playing college sports could be a way to help pay for college. If you came to this conclusion your child’s junior year in high school, you already know how late you are in preparing them adequately. However, if you come to this conclusion when they are 6th or 7th graders, then you are wondering what you need to do to prepare your child for playing college sports. Depending on the sport, how does a parent find the best competition for their child so they can develop their athletic skills? How much money is all of this preparation going to cost? How competitive is it and how can I get a return on that investment?

Baseball College Recruiting: 10 Facts Baseball Players, Coaches, and Parents Need to Know
Although many of the colleges want you to believe you have to be the top of the top for baseball college recruiting, that isn't always so. In fact, many times colleges are assuming that they are not looking at the top 5% because those student athletes may already be spoken for.

Importance of the Intangibles in the Recruiting Process
College coaches continually look for the ideal athlete for each position on the baseball team. The vitally important physical elements such as height, weight, speed, quickness, leaping ability, change of direction, strength, and technical skills are among the characteristics evaluated by coaches before making that highly sought after scholarship offer.

Looking for High School Ball Players!
I believe the more college programs know about you and the things you can do as a player, the more it will help you in the overall college recruiting process. Our goal is to help high school players gain exposure to a huge number of college programs. I believe this can be done by writing a detailed athletic profile on student athletes. <Woods Recruiting is currently offering a free college recruiting service. This is not a recommendation since I haven't used it, but information about a potential option to pursue.

College Baseball: How to Hit Playing Ball in College out of the Park
So, you want to play baseball in college but not sure about applications, scholarship and the recruiting process? Here are the top ten Frequently Asked Questions (and yes, some answers to them) to help you hit your chances of playing baseball in college.

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Technorati Tags: college recruiting, college baseball

10 Benefits and Tips to Using a Pitching Machine for Batting Practice

SportNut — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 04:14:53 -1000

Using pitching machines for batting practice sometimes get a bad rap because they are used to throw the ball down the middle of the plate or they cannot throw at game speed. While this may be true, it is not the pitching machines fault - it is just a tool. In this post I recommend ten benefits and tips to more effectively use a pitching machine during your batting practice.

Develop Hitting Mechanics
To develop skilled batters, a coach needs to use the proper tool from his toolbox to develop his player's skill. Developing the proper fundamental hitting mechanics is best done with a tee drills or soft toss drills with a high number of swing repetitions regularly during practice to develop batter muscle memory. Once the hitting mechanics are solid then a coach can introduce the mental selective hitting approach and fine tuning with a pitching machine.

10 Benefits and Tips to Using a Pitching Machine

Develop hitting mechanics at game speed: Facing game speed pitching, many batters with good soft toss hitting mechanics will revert back to poor mechanics. This is particularly true when a fixing a flaw in their swing or a large increase in pitching velocity. At game speed, the batter does not have time to think through their swing mechanics. It is all reliant on muscle memory and confidence. By providing your players a chance to practice batting at game speed, they can develop game speed hitting mechanics and confidence.
Developing the batter's timing: Pitching machines are very useful in developing a batter's timing. Pitching machines can be set to consistently throw pitches around a specific velocity. If you expect the pitcher in the next game to throw 50mph then set the pitching machine to throw at 50mph +/- 5 mph. From my coaching experience, I have found that setting the machine at 10 to 20% above the expected pitching velocity to work the best. When players are batting in a game situation, especially their first at-bat, they are typically a little tense which slows down their reaction time. Adjusting the machine's pitching velocity in practice can compensate for the slight uneasiness batter have during their first plate appearance.
Practice hitting mechanics based on pitch location: Good pitchers will hit their locations, particularly the low outside and/or inside corners. Set the pitching machine to throw to the low outside corner for 20 pitches. After a couple of days of hitting pitches thrown low and outside, the batters will get pretty good hitting that pitch to the opposite field.
Practice hitting mechanics based on type of pitch: As pitchers mature from about 12 years through 18 years, they start to develop more than just a fastball and change-up and are able to throw them consistently for strikes in specific locations. Batters in this age need to learn how to hit the more advanced pitches. If you have a two-wheel pitching machine then have the pitching machine throw 20 pitches of a specific type of pitch. The next day, pick another type of pitch and work on that.
Practice focusing on the release point: The release point is where the location that the pitcher lets go of the ball. When a batter steps into the box they should be generally looking at the chest of the pitcher. As the pitcher's arm goes behind their back, the batter's eyes should move to intently focus on the location where the pitcher will release the ball. Pitching machines naturally train batters to do this because batter focuses on when the ball is leaving the machine. To simulate right handed pitchers, set the pitching machine on the right side of the rubber. For left handed pitchers, set the machine on the left side of the rubber.
Target reaction time, not pitching distance: The reaction time is the time from when the pitching machine releases the ball till when it crosses the plate. If the pitching machine cannot throw fast enough or a windy day is making the pitches inconsistent, move the pitching machine closer to the batter and adjust the speed. Batter timing is based on the reaction time from the pitcher's release till the ball crosses the plate. To calculate the desired pitch speed from the actual pitching machine speed, you can use this formula:
desired speed = machine speed + machine speed * (mound distance - machine distance) / machine distance
React to the ball instead of the pitcher's motion: A good pitcher will hide the ball for most of the wind up and/or have a deceptive motion to throw the batter's timing off. With the batter watching the the pitching machine release point, you are training the hitters to block out the pitcher's motion, focus on the release point, and react to the pitched ball.
More quality pitches per minute: A good coach can pitch about 50% strikes from distance at game speed for a handful of batters or about 80% strikes at a slower speed from a shorter distance to a dozen batters. A pitching machine should throw over 95% strikes at game speed to all batters. The more strikes thrown during batting practice, the more swings a batter can get in a shorter period of time. If the machine is not throwing 95% strikes then you might need to replace the wheels or move the machine closer to the plate.
Make the pitch change location: Well used dimple pitching machine balls grip the pitching machine's wheel differently than brand new dimple balls that can change the pitch location by as much as six inches to one foot. Mixing balls makes the pitch location less predictable that requires batters to adjust to the pitch location and timing.
Supplement with live batting practice: A great way to keep your pitcher's fresh during a long break between games or just to change up practice a little is to have your pitchers throw live batting practice. It keeps both the pitchers and batters fresh. A coach just needs to plan to use multiple pitchers and allocate more time for batting practice because the number of good and bad pitches thrown.

Pitching machines are very good at throwing a fastball down the middle, but they can also be use to practice hitting specific types of pitches or pitch location. They teach the batters to react to the ball and focus on the release point plus a whole lot more.

Tryout some of these tips in your next practice and leave me a comment. Alternatively, if you believe I missed a way to use a pitching machine to improve batting practice, drop me a note below.

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Technorati Tags: pitching machine, batting practice, hitting mechanics

Building Your Core for Increased Bat Speed

SportNut — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 04:17:24 -1000

Your core is the part of your body that connects your legs and feet to your arms and hands. In proper hitting mechanics, the bat speed generation phase occurs when you body moves from the loaded position through the swing and bat-ball contact. This requires that the power from the initial forward movement started by legs to transfer through the core and hip rotation to the hands on the bat. Not only does the batter want an efficient power transfer through the core, but also wants the core to add additional power to increase the bat swing speed. So, what type of core training is needed to increase your bat speed?

Traditional Core Training
If you Google core training or core exercises, you will find lots of information pertaining to "Six Pac Abs" and developing a "ripped abdominal." The problem is that washboard stomach muscles will not increase your bat speed. These programs develop muscle bulk, not rotational power. Their exercises and training work on building the slow twitch muscle endurance through maximum weight lifting. A baseball swing is a short duration forceful muscle contraction that utilizes the fast twitch muscle groups. Getting ripped is great for the beach, but it is not going to help increase your bat velocity through the strike zone.

Sport Specific Core Training
To develop an explosive powerful swing, an athlete needs to train using quick and powerful rotational exercises. In the post, Increasing Your Bat Speed, I provided one example of overload and underload sport specific resistance training.

Another example is the rotational medicine ball throw. To do this, you will need a 3kg to 5kg[1] medicine ball and a concrete wall. An athlete should line up with their shoulder line pointing to the wall, just like a batter facing a pitcher. Start as a right handed batter with the medicine ball on their right hip about 5 to 7 feet from the wall. The athlete quickly and powerfully rotates their core and throws the medicine ball against the wall and catches the ball when it returns. Reloads and quickly rotates and throws the ball again. They should do the rotate, throw, and catch 10 times. Take a short one minute break. Turn around to be a left handed batter, placing the ball on their left hip, rotate and throw 10 times. Take a short one minute break. Turn to be a right handed batter for 10 throws. Take another short one minute break and become a left handed batter for 10 throws.

It is important to do this exercise from both the right and left side to keep your muscle development in balance. When one side of your body is developed more than the other, it can lead to injuries and loss of your range of motion.

Additional Recommended Resources
Below are two very good resources and free newsletters that I have found and subscribe to for player development, additional training exercises, and sport specific drills.

	Baseball	Softball

Trainer	Dan Huff Dan is a NSCA certified strength and conditioning specialist, the author of three baseball specific strength and conditioning manuals, and is currently the strength and conditioning coach for NCAA Division 1 athletic department.	Marc Dagenais Marc is a certified coach, has coached at the university level, and worked with the Canadian Women's Softball National Team. He currently an elite amateur softball coach and provides training to amateur and professional athletes.
Free Newsletter	Dan's free newsletter provides easy to implement, sometimes challenging to do, baseball specific exercises.	Marc's free newsletter provides core training exercises and softball drills and tip.
Website	Baseball Strength	Softball Performance

Summary
Developing your core strength increases your bat speed by developing explosive rotational power and increases the efficiency of the transfer of force from the initial forward movement in your legs, through the abdominal section, and into the hands. The medicine ball drill, done three to four times per week for a couple of weeks, will provide noticeably more "pop" in your swing within a month.

Try this drill out for a couple of weeks and leave a comment below letting me know how your new found bat speed in working for you in your game.

Photo Credit: Roger Smith

[1] The proper medicine ball weight needs to be evaluated based on the athlete's current age and core strength. A key requirement is that the athlete is able to quickly and explosively rotate while maintaining proper rotation mechanics when throwing the medicine ball against the ball. As a general guideline, athlete's under the age of 14 years should use a 3kg to 4kg ball, athlete between 14 to 18 years use a 4kg to 5kg ball, and college athlete's can use 5kg and above. If in doubt about which weight to use, choose the lighter weight to enable the explosive rotation. Too heavy of a weight will slow the rotation down and develop slower core muscle memory.

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Technorati Tags: bat speed, hitting mechanics, core training, baseball, softball

Reasons for Playing in Wood Bat Tournaments

SportNut — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 04:16:08 -1000

Wood bat tournaments and leagues are gaining in popularity both at the youth as well as the adult level. There are many reasons for the resurgence so let me give you seven of them.

Reasons:

Develop better hitting mechanics: Wood bats have a smaller "sweet spot" than aluminum bats and composite bats, which require the batter to develops better hitting mechanics. Balls hit on either the handle or end of the barrel with composite or metal bats become cheap hits over the infielder's heads. With wood bats, these hits become weak infield ground out or pop ups and will typically break a wood bat and produce a "buzzing sensation" on the hitter's hands that remind him where they bat-ball collision occurred.
Dad, I broke a bat just like ...: My son was 13 when he broke his first wood bat and he thought that was the coolest thing. He was beaming from ear-to-ear and felt just like his favorite professional player. It did not matter that he hit the ball of the end of the bat, which caused the break. This is a very common response the first time a young player breaks a wood bat. Most young players do not believe they are strong enough to swing a bat at the speed required to create the violent bat-ball collision required for the bat to break. It is the player's right of passage into manhood baseball.
Solid hit with wood travels just as far as metal or composite bat hit: Having attended over 50 wood bat tournaments in the last couple of years, I have seen multiple high school players hit 300+ foot home runs with ash, composite wood, bamboo, birch, and maple wood bats. These home run hits are from bats manufactured by Rawlings, Louisville, Worth, Akadema, and Demarini. The material and the manufacture are not the reason for the long hits. The distance the ball travels is based on where the bat-ball collision occurs on the bat, the ability of the player to apply force to the bat handle to generate bat speed, and the pitcher's throwing speed.
Similar bat weight for both metal and wood: There is a well published myth that a wood bat weights as much as it length. Therefore, a bat that is 33 inches in length will weight 33 ounces (ie., drop 0). This is true of some wood bats, but most wood bats have a -2 to -6 drop just like the big barrel aluminum and composite bats.
Like the "crack" over the "ping" sound: This is probably the most common reason I hear why parents and players say they like wood bat leagues and tournaments. When I proposed taking a U13 tournament team almost exclusively into wood bat tournaments in the fall, this was the most common reason the parents supported the idea. Every fall since then when I propose entering youth wood tournaments this is usually one of the first comments I hear. You watch professional baseball and the bat cracks when there is a solid hit. When you watch college baseball, the big hit makes a ping. It is just not the same.
Advances in wood bat technology: Wood bats are available in all shape and sizes, end loaded and handle loaded, thick handles and thin handles, different tapers, ... New types of woods are being used to construct bats from the traditional ash lumber to the more dense and harder birch and now maple bats. Recently, light weight and durable bamboo bats[1] are becoming readily available. Wood bat technology has widened the "sweet spot" and changed the distribution of weight to make the swing feel similar to metal bats the players used in Little League.
Players just "like it": The NCAA published statistics claim that a high school baseball player has less than one half of one percent (< 0.5%) chance of playing professional baseball at any level. That is a pretty slim chance should a young adult choose to pursue this type of career. Youth wood bat tournaments are likely the closest a teenager will every get to playing professional baseball. They just like the experience and it gives them a chance to dream.

Summary
Whether you are a coach, parent, or player, wood bat tournaments are a special and exciting experience. Most adult leagues have used wood bats for years. It has just been in the past ten years that youth wood bat tournaments started regaining their popularity. I have listed my seven reasons for playing in wood bat tournaments. Write a comment below to add to the list.

Click here for a listing of wood bat tournaments in your area.

[1] If you are considering purchasing or using a bamboo bat, please check your league or tournament rules since many organizations consider bamboo made bats illegal.

Photo Credit: r.i.c.h.

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Technorati Tags: wood bat tournaments, youth wood bat, adult wood bat, wood bat leagues

Baseball and Softball Bat Performance

SportNut — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 05:47:52 -1000

What is the performance of a baseball bat or softball bat and how is it measured? Bat performance standards are set and regulated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), Little League, USSSA, and Amateur Softball Association (ASA) in the United States and many countries around the world. Bat performance measurements for non-wooden bats are used to bring the game back into balance between offense and defense and to maintain the sport's safety due to high batted-ball speed as new metal bat technology evolves. The study of bat performance gets interesting when you realize that their is not a common test or testing methodology between all these organizations, such that batted-ball speed (BBS), bat performance factor (BPF), bat exit speed ratio (BESR), and bat-ball coefficient-of-restitution (BBCOR) are different measurements trying to accomplish the same goal.

NCAA and NFHS Bat Performance Measurements
In 1999, the NCAA developed a bat performance regulation based on the BESR of the reference 34" long wood bat with an assumed pitched ball speed of 70 mph and a bat swing speed of 66 mph. It was quickly realized that BESR, which measures bat-bat collision efficiency, also needed the accompany bat swing speed measurement, called the moment-of-inertia (or MOI), to estimate the ball speed coming off a bat. The targeted maximum batted-ball speed using the reference bat is 97 mph. Please note that this is not the maximum batted-ball speed possible, but a target, since both wood and aluminum bats can produce higher speeds if the pitcher is throwing faster or the swing is faster than the reference measurement. This target is set as a reference point so that wood and aluminum bats will produce the same ball speed under the same conditions within a few mph. A fact that has be validated in several field studies.

In 2000, the NCAA and NFHS decided to establish the maximum collision efficiency (BESR), maximum barrel size, and bat drop[1] (for the same batter, a heavier bat has a slower swing speed) to keep the estimated batted-ball speed of an aluminum bat around the same speed of the reference wood bat. To be NCAA and NFHS certified, the bat must have a BESR of 0.728 or less, maximum barrel diameter of 2 5/8" and cannot have a drop greater than -3.

In the fall of 2008, the NCAA announced that they will change their bat performance measurement to use BBCOR, which is the ratio of bat-ball speed before and after the collision and measures the elasticity of the bat-ball collision. The date for mandatory BBCOR certification for bats is the 2011 season and there will be no grandfather clause for bats certified under BESR. This change will not affect the current testing methodology but will eliminate the small discrepancy between bat lengths and more directly align the measurement of bat performance with the ball's exit speed. In order to achieve certification, the BBCOR will need to be 0.50 or less with a maximum length-to-weight difference (drop) of -3 and a bat diameter less than 2 5/8 inches.

Note: I have not seen it yet, but I would expect the NFHS to follow this mandate for high school baseball.

ASA Bat Performance Measurements
Also in 2000, the ASA established a bat performance regulation by directly measuring the batted-ball speed (BBS) of a slow pitch metal bat called the "ball-in, ball-out" measurement. The ASA reference measurement is based on a ball being pitched at 10 mph and a bat swing speed of 60 mph hitting the bat at the maximum batted-ball speed performance point, called center-of-percussion (COP). From this, the ASA determined that the maximum ball speed of a hit ball should be 85 mph or lower for the bat to become certified.

In 2004, after a field study conducted at the National Tournament in Montgomery, AL, the ASA adjusted their reference metric to more closely resemble the pitched ball and bat swinging speed of the game. While maintaining their current measurement method, the ball pitched speed was increased to 25 mph and the bat swinging speed was increased to 85 mph. Additionally, the field study showed that the maximum batted-ball speed performance point (formerly labeled COP) actually varied from bat model to bat model and bat maker to bat maker. This required that the bat being certified initially undergo testing to determine the maximum performance location first and then the pitched ball is to be targeted at that location. Based on these updated assumptions, the ASA determine that for a bat to be certified the maximum batted-ball speed should be 98 mph or less. Even though the numerical value of BBS with the 2004 standard is higher than the 2000 standard, it is actually a much stricter standard.

In 2008, the ASA updated their testing procedure to account for the fact that composite bats reach their peak performance after they are broken in by hundreds of bat-ball collisions and the composite fibers and resins loosen up to provide a larger trampoline effect. Starting with the 2009 composite bat models, the ASA will simulate up to 1000 swings before a composite bat will be tested against the ASA 2004 certification tests. Composite bat models certified under the old testing procedure will be grandfathered and can be used until they are no longer safe for use. This testing procedure change will not affect 2009 metal bats since their performance decreases with use.

USSSA and Little League Bat Performance Measurements
During the early 1990s, Little League reached an agreement with bat manufactures to limit the performance on non-wood bats to the expected performance level of the best wood bats at that time. They created a metric called the bat performance factor (BPF) which must be less than 1.15 in order for a bat to be certified for Little League play. The BPF metric is equal to the ratio of the "bounciness" of a baseball off a bat (called bat-ball coefficient of restitution or BBCOR) to a baseball off a hard wall (called bat-wall coefficient of restitution or BWCOR). The BPF metric does not include any assumptions pertaining to bat speed so it is more effective at testing shorter youth bats since the effective bat speed can vary by bat length and the location of the bats center of mass (ie., end loaded or handle loaded). The USSSA uses the same bat performance metric but allows for a slightly higher BPF = 1.20 or less.

For the 2009 season, Little League has made two changes: 1) all bat must have a BPF label printed on them, and 2) all "big barrel" used in junior league (age 13 years and older) can have a maximum barrel diameter of 2 3/4". Most bat manufactures have been complying with these rules for years so little change is expected.

Summary
Over the past 10 years, the governing bodies of baseball and softball have been regulating the performance of non-wood bats (usually made of aluminum) to perform statistically the same, in terms of how fast the ball exits the bat, as the best wood bats. The organizations have chosen the best wood bats to encourage and allow the use of wood bats within their organization's teams. Although their testing methodology and batted-ball performance metric may differ, they all include some type of measurement of how "springy" a bat-ball collision is based on a preset bat-ball speed collision. Their two-fold object is to maintain the defense and offense balance and the safety of the game players.

Here is a recap of the current testing methodology.

Regulate Batted-Ball Speed Directly: ASA is based on slow-pitch reference point of a pitch traveling at 25 mph and the bat swing speed of 85 mph after determining the maximum performance location on the bat barrel. For a ball to be certified, the BBS must be 98 mph or less. Due to the testing methodology of measuring the "ball-in, ball-out" speed with a stationary bat, the "whip action" from the flexible bat handle bats, the testing of shorter youth style bats, and the higher pitching velocity normal in the fastpitch variant of softball can produce results that are either higher or lower by a few mph.

Regulate Batted-Ball Speed Indirectly: NCAA and NFHS BESR, maximum barrel size of 2 5/8" and drop standard of minus 3 limit the collision efficiency and bat swing speed. They will certify a -3 bat that has a BESR equal to or less than 0.728. For the 2011 season, the BESR certification will no longer be allowed and the new BBCOR certification will be required.

Regulate the Collision Efficiency Indirectly: USSSA softball and Little League regulate the BPF, which is a metric of the efficiency that a bat can make the ball bounce versus a ball bouncing off a wall. Due to the testing methodology of "ball-in, bat-out" with a stationary bat used by Little League, the measured results have greater variability than the "ball-in, ball-out" testing methodology used by ASA. This is due to the low bat elasticity and the ball-bat collision producing up and down vibrations that dissipate energy.

Over the past ten years, organizations have changed their bat performance metric and assumed bat-ball collision speeds to more realistically represent game situations. It can be anticipated that during the next ten years more changes will occur as organization continue to work to maintain the offense-defense balance and the safety of the game.

Photo Credit: Billie / PartsnPieces

Notes:

[1] Bat drop is the difference between the bat length and the bat weight. For example, a bat with a minus 3 drop (-3) could be 33" long and weigh 31 oz.

Resources:

Professor Alan M. Nathan - Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign - Physics of Baseball

Professor Daniel A. Russell - Department of Applied Physics, Kettering University - Physics and Acoustics of Baseball and Softball Bats

Baseball Research Center - the bat and ball testing facility at University of Massachusetts/Lowell that certifies NCAA baseball bats for the NCAA

Sports Sciences Laboratory - the bat and ball testing facility at Washington State University that certifies softball bats for the Amateur Softball Association (ASA)

ASTM International - organization that standardizes bat performance testing

The Evolution of the Baseball Bat by former MLB pitcher Bernie Mussill

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Technorati Tags: baseball bat, softball bat, bat performance, besr, bbs, bpf, bbcor

Bat Rule Changes for 2009 Season

SportNut — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 05:09:48 -1000

Considering purchasing a new bat for the 2009 season? The 2008 off-season brought about many new bat rules, but surprisingly, Little League and USSSA did not adjust their bat performance factor (BPF) requirement down to 1.0. Here is a summary of the changes:

Little League:

All bats certified for LL must have a label stating BPF = 1.15 or less. This is only a bat labeling change. The testing procedure and certification level remain unchanged. In fact, many bat manufactures have been putting this label on the bat for a few years.
Junior League bats maximum diameter is now 2 5/8" (instead of 2 3/4"). This rule change aligns Jr. League with all the other non-wooden bat rules. Wood bat still are allowed to have 2 3/4" inch diameters.

ASA:

ASA (Amateur Softball Association) changed their testing procedures so that composite bats are broken in to an equivalent of 1000 bat-ball collisions before certification testing. Bats certified under the 2008 and prior certification process can be used until they are considered no longer safe for use. Metal bat certification remains unchanged.

NCAA (and probably NFHS):

NCAA announced that starting in the 2011 season, all bats must have a BBCOR (bat-ball coefficient-of-restitution) = 0.5 or less. No exceptions. This is an interesting change since the current bat speed exit ratio's (BESR) consists of two major influencing components: BBCOR and MOI (moment of inertia). BBCOR measures the "springiness" of the bat and MOI is how fast you can swing the bat and is dependent on the bat weight and the location of the bat's center of mass. This change removes the player's strength assumption from the equation.
NFHS (National Federation of State High School Associations) has followed the NCAA in the past for bat certification. I have not seen an announcement saying they will change to BBCOR certification, but I think it is a pretty good bet they will.

Question of the Day:
Does Little League's bat performance factor (BPF) = 1.15 mean that metal or composite bats can have a higher batted-ball speed (i.e., "hotter") than wood bats?

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Technorati Tags: baseball bat, softball bat, bat equipment

Increasing Your Throwing Velocity with Weighted Softballs

SportNut — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 05:20:07 -1000

Softball players want to develop their throwing arm strength need to consider using weighted softballs as a training aid. Underloading and overloading training techniques have been shown in several scientific studies to increase your throwing velocity by 4 to 6 mph when used consistently during a 10 week training period. Weighted balls, when used correctly, can develop a player's arm without incurring either short term or long term damage and, in fact, it has worked better than the traditional "long toss" method previously used. Here is how I worked this technique into softball practices.

Overload and Underload Explosiveness Training
Overload and underload training, also called explosive resistance game training, is to develop maximal strength and then convert those gains into explosive power and increased game speed. This is accomplished through using sport specific movements with the muscles under heavier and/or lighter loads. Previous examples of explosiveness training are provided in Increasing Your Bat Speed and Throwing Weighted Baseball to Increase Throwing Velocity.

Specifically for softball, the heavy ball and light ball develop throwing velocity in two different ways. The overweight ball develops arm strength while the underweight ball develops arm speed. To effectively and safely increase throwing velocity, intensity is increase by using +/- 20% regulation ball weight, duration is increased gradually by increasing the number of throws and the distance, and the frequency is increased by the number of days of throwing workouts.

Is Using Underweight and Overweight Softballs Safe
In the last few years, several baseball studies have concluded that not only is throwing underweight and overweight balls safe, but that when used correctly they do actually increase a players throwing velocity. One example study published in the April 2000 issue of American Journal of Sports Medicine[1] had this to say:

The purpose of this review is to determine how throwing overweight and underweight baseballs affects baseball throwing velocity and accuracy. Two studies examined how a warm-up with overweight baseballs affected throwing velocity and accuracy of 5oz regulation baseballs. ... Data from these training studies strongly support the practice of training with overweight and underweight baseballs to increase throwing velocity of regulation baseballs. Since no injuries were reported throughout the training studies, throwing overweight and underweight baseballs may not be more stressful to the throwing arm compared to throwing regulation baseballs.

This study and others below lead me to develop a warm-up routine that used both underweight and overweight softballs as part of the team's regular warm-up. The recommended ideal weight for explosiveness conditioning and performance enhancement is to use underload and overload softballs that are +/- 20% the weight of a regulation softball. Regulation softball weights 6.8 oz. This restricts the weighted softball's from 5 oz to 8 oz, which being conservative when dealing with a player's health is well within most parents and coaches comfort level.

Warm-Up Softball Drill
After the players have initially warmed up their throwing arms at the beginning of practice, they move into the weighted ball drill. The players line up on the third baseline with their partners in the base path between first and second (60 feet apart) and do the following with good throwing mechanics and a crow hop, if necessary.

Ten throws with the heavy softball (8oz) at 75% of maximum effort
Ten throws with the light softball (5oz) at 100% maximum effort
Ten throws with a regulation softball (6.8oz)
Repeat steps 1 to 3 three more times (total of 4 repetitions)
After completing the 4 repetitions, take a quick break or a light jog to give the players a moment to refresh their throwing arm.

After a three practices, instead of increasing the ball weight, the team would increase the number of throws per ball from 10 to 20 to 30. After the team reaches 30 throws, then we would increase the distance the players throw from 60 feet to 75 feet and then to about 90 feet (a little more than the distance from home to second). With each increase in distance, we would restart back at 10 throws per stage. If you practice two or three times per week, the players throwing velocity will be noticeable faster after one month (or about 10 practices). At these distances, players can maintain good throwing mechanics and still receive the velocity benefits.

Summary
Underweight and overweight baseballs are typically not sold at the standard retail sporting outlets but can be purchased at several online stores like WeightedBalls.com. My experience with WeightedBalls.com has always been positive: getting the order correct and delivered in a timely fashion.

By using underweight and overweight softballs in the manner this post described, the players are able to increase there throwing velocity. Safety is a key concern of any parent and coach. By keeping the variation of the ball weight within +/- 20% of a regulation softball and gradually building up frequency and duration, athletes can be closely monitor for proper throwing form and development.

Photo Credit: StuSeeger

Sources:
[1] Effects of Throwing Overweight and Underweight Baseballs on Throwing Velocity and Accuracy, American Journal of Sports Medicine, Volume 29, Number 4, April 2000 , pp. 259-272(14) by Escamilla, Fleisig, Barrentine, Andrews, Speer

[2] Effects of Under- and Overweighted Implement Training on Pitching Velocity, The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research: Vol. 8, No. 4, November 1994, pp. 247–250 by DeRenne, Hetzler, Ho

[3] Effects of General, Special, and Specific Resistance Training on Throwing Velocity in Baseball, The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research: Vol. 15, No. 1, 2001, pp. 148–156 by DeRenne, Ho, Murphy

[4] Power Baseball by Dr. Coop DeRenne and Dr. Tom House, 1993

[5] The Winning Pitcher by Dr. Tom House, 1988

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Technorati Tags: softball, explosive training, softball drills, preseason training, softball conditioning

Basketball Drill: Baseline Shooting Drill

SportNut — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 05:08:11 -1000

This is a shooting drill, like the rebounding box-out drill, where the players are trained to follow their shot for the rebound. When a player shoots it is common for the shot to either go too far and hit the back of the rim or come up short and hit the front of the rim. When the shot is too short, the rebound comes back in the direction of the shooter. If the shooter follows their shot, they can be in position to recover the rebound. The baseline shooting drill re-enforces the "follow your shot" behavior.

Objective:
This drill emphasizes three fundamental skills in basketball: 1) following your shot, 2) pass to where your teammate will be, not where they are, and 3) outlet pass to start a fastbreak. This drill also incorporates good speed dribbling and jump stops. It is a continuous motion drill where the players are moving between positions between 3/4 and full speed except after taking the shot (the shooter to outlet is the rest movement).

Basketball is a game of transitions where the players are in continuous motion. In football, between plays and when the team transitions from offense to defense there is a break in the game allowing the players to catch their breath. In basketball, there is no stoppage of play during the offense to defense transition. Players must be conditioned for this behavior. Fast break drills help develop player condition, likewise incorporating continuous motion into the shooting drills help develop the player's conditioning as well as the mind set that once the rebound is secured the team is hustling to play offense.

See flash video at 'Basketball Drill: Baseline Shooting Drill

Player Positioning:
This is a continuous motion drill that uses two basketballs and five players. Three players (O1, O2 and O3) start at the baseline opposite the shooting position ready to move in the outlet position. One player (O4) has a basketball on the opposite side from the shooter at half court. The fifth player (O5) is at the half court line on the shooting side preparing to run to the sideline to receive the pass and shoot.

If your team has eight players then add two coaches and break into two groups of five at two different baskets. If your team has twelve players then break into two teams of six and have the extra player in the line at the baseline opposite the shooter (behind O3).

Drill:
This drill has three simultaneous elements occurring at one time. Like the V-Cut shooting drill, each element is practicing and developing a specific basketball skill. From a coaching perspective, run the drill four complete times (ie., everyone shoots four shots) and then mirror the drill to the other side and run through it four times. During each cycle, focus your attention on one location or element so that you can offer corrective feedback as necessary.

The elements of the drill are:

Running to the sideline and shooting: The player (initially O5) runs from the half court line toward the baseline to receive a good bounce pass from the player who jump stops near the upper portion of the key's circle. In preparation to receive the pass, the shooter pivots on his inside foot (foot closest to the basket) toward the basket. He catches the ball in an athletic triple threat position and elevates for the shot. Unlike the V-Cut shooting drill, where we had a defender closing out of the shooter, this drill does not incorporate this element, but the shooter should still receive the pass in a good shooting position and immediately elevate. The shooters first motion should not be to bend their knees down first and then elevate as this takes too much time and allow the defense to adjust to the new ball location.
Speed dribbling to the top of the key and passing: The player with the ball at half court (initially O4), speed dribbles to the top of the key, jump stops, and makes a good bounce pass to where the shooter will be. Learning your teammates ability and anticipating their actions is an important element in developing basketball teamwork. The passer needs to know his teammate, read where they are on the floor and the speed at which they are moving, and anticipate their shooting location. After making a good bounce pass, they run back to the half court line in preparation to become the shooter.
Positioning for the outlet pass to fast break transition: The player at the front of the outlet line (initially O1) moves from the baseline toward the outlet position after they know that the rebounder will secure the basketball. They do not have to wait for the rebounder to have the ball, just that they know their teammate will get the rebound. As they move into the outlet position near the free throw line extended, they should be slide stepping sideways with their chest facing the rebounder in preparation for the pass. After receiving the pass, they turn up court and speed dribble toward half court as if they just received an outlet pass and are transitioning into a fast break. Coach's note: it takes a little while for a player to judge when their teammate is in position to secure the rebound. At the beginning of the season or with younger teams, we will place a coach next to this position to provide guidance on when they should start to move into the outlet position. The importance of developing this skill is that it can provide the outlet player one or two extra steps over the transition defense and can be the difference between getting or not getting a fastbreak lay up at the other end of the court.
Follow the shot, rebound the basketball, and make a good outlet pass: After shooting, the player quickly follows his shot, secures the rebound, and makes a good outlet pass to their teammate moving into the outlet position. A good outlet pass is one or two steps in front of the outlet receiver. This enables the outlet to start moving toward your offensive basket as they receive the pass. After making the pass, they move into the rest position at the back of the line opposite the shooting position.

Key fundamentals:

Follow the shot: When a player lands after shooting, their first act is not to be a spectator watching the ball in flight hoping it will go swish through the net, but to determine the most direct path to the rim that will give him the good angle to rebound the basketball. In the final minutes of a game, player's legs can get tired which can reduce the elevation in their jump shot. Since a big component of shooting distance is comes from the legs, as the legs get tired their shots distance gets decreases. Because of this, many late game shots will be short, hit the front of the rim, and bounce directly back toward the shooter. By having players practice following their shots they will be able to secure many of these late game rebounds.
Receiving the pass and shooting: All players when receiving a pass should be in the triple threat position with their knees bent and ready to do one of the following: 1) shoot, 2) pass, or 3) drive. To shoot a player must receive the pass in an athletic position with their knees bent at a 60 to 70 degree angle. From this position, the player squares up to the basket with their foot on the shooting arm side slightly in front of the other foot, and immediately jumps upward. If the player receives the pass standing up, there first movement is down to coil and then up to shoot. This down first, up second motion takes too long and will lead to blocked shots as the defense recovers.
Bounce pass to the shooter: A good bounce pass takes practice and is distant dependent. A bounce pass should hit the floor 2/3rds of the way to the receiver and the pop-up to the receiver's waist. This drill allows the shooter to shoot in the general area of the sideline / baseline corner (as oppose to a specific spot). The passer is required to read the speed and direction that the shooter travels down the sideline and adjust the distance and location to where the ball bounces. In a game situation, a passer needs to read his teammates movement and anticipate the location where the shooter will go for their open shot.

Advanced Options:

Drive right or left: Another variation we use is instead of the shooter taking a jump shot from the corner, we have them fake the shot and drive baseline or back toward the middle of the key for a lay up or short jump shot.
Back up dribble: When the outlet player speed dribbles to the half court line have the player take a few back up dribbles before turning around. In a game when a player is double teamed, an option is to take a couple back up dribbles and then drive around one of the double team defenders.

Try this basketball shooting drill in your practice and leave me a comment on how it turned out.

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Technorati Tags: basketball, shooting drills, basketball drills

Express Shape-Up Workout: Get Game Fit in 21 Days

SportNut — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 05:57:47 -1000

So you took the off the winter season and now need to get back into game shape quickly. Marc Dagenais, a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS), used his experience coaching Olympic and college athletes to put together 21-Day Express Shape-Up Workout eBook.

Editorial Review
Marc's most popular program is the 21-Day Express Shape-Up Workout program. He created this program for athletes that want to quickly get back into shape for tryouts and the spring season. From his coaching experience with both men and women's team, he developed a program that improves you athleticism, throwing distance, running speed, and hitting power.

Marc's program develops the muscles to throw harder, swing the bat faster and harder, explode out of the batter's box or off the base, improves game stamina, and reaction time.

Although the shape-up workout program genre is softball, this program works equally well for baseball players. From a muscle and athletic development, the same exercise and workout routines improve baseball players just as well. In fact, many of the exercises and drills Marc used with his baseball and men's teams.

This brand new, cutting-edge, express workout program was designed with the following things in mind: you don't have much time, you want something super effective, you want results fast, and you want something simple and easy to follow. - Marc Dagenais

Click here to learn more about the 21-Day Express Shape-Up Workout eBook.

About Marc Dagenais
Although Marc was an accomplished baseball player in his youth, in 1989 at age 13 he decided to coach his younger sister's softball team. During his teens, he took all the coaching courses available, became a skilled coach, and experienced tremendous success winning many tournaments and championships in addition to receiving numerous "Coach of the Year" awards. At 19 years old, he also became the youngest softball coach in Canada to receive a full level III coaching certification.

In early 1999, Marc became a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and moved to Vancouver, BC, to become an assistant softball coach at Simon Fraser University (SFU). During his three years at SFU (2000-2002), they never finished lower than 3rd at the NAIA National Championship in addition to playing several top D-1 schools like Arizona (facing Jennie Finch), Arizona State, Washington, Nebraska, Oregon and Long Beach.

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Technorati Tags: express workout, express fitness, 30 minute workout

Throwing Weighted Baseballs to Increase Throwing Velocity

SportNut — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 05:41:46 -1000

Many baseball players, especially pitchers and catchers, who want to develop their throwing arm strength will consider using weighted baseballs as a training aid. Conversely, as a parent or coach, you want to make sure that the health of your player's arm is not jeopardized and damaged. Youth coaches can use weighted baseball to develop every player on the teams arm without incurring either short term or long term damage and, in fact, it has worked better than the traditional "long toss" method previously used. Here is what I did and how this technique is worked it into practice.

Traditional "Long Toss" Experience
Before using weighted baseballs for overload and underload training, I would have the players warm-up and then take one step backwards after every throw until the baseball bounced one time before it reached their partner. This is the traditional long toss method. The problem I found was that invariably players would warm-up with their friends and not players of equal arm strength. So as they continued to take steps backward, the player with the weaker arm would overthrow with bad mechanics to keep himself from being embarrassed by having the ball bounce twice before it reach his partner. This was causing the player with a weaker arm to reinforce and develop bad throwing mechanics. Additionally, after a couple days of practice, usually just as the season started, these players would develop sore elbows and shoulders.

I setout on a quest to find a better way and discovered the benefits of using underweight and overweight baseball.

Is Using Underweight and Overweight Baseballs Safe
In the last few years, several studies have concluded that not only is throwing underweight and overweight baseballs safe, but that when used correctly they do actually increase a players throwing velocity. One example study published in the April 2000 issue of American Journal of Sports Medicine[1] had this to say:

The purpose of this review is to determine how throwing overweight and underweight baseballs affects baseball throwing velocity and accuracy. Two studies examined how a warm-up with overweight baseballs affected throwing velocity and accuracy of 5oz regulation baseballs. ... Data from these training studies strongly support the practice of training with overweight and underweight baseballs to increase throwing velocity of regulation baseballs. Since no injuries were reported throughout the training studies, throwing overweight and underweight baseballs may not be more stressful to the throwing arm compared to throwing regulation baseballs.

This study and others below lead me to develop a warm-up routine that used both underweight and overweight baseballs as part of the team's regular warm-up. The recommended ideal weight for conditioning and performance enhancing is to use underload and overload baseballs that are +/- 20% the weight of baseball. A regulation baseball weights 5 oz. This restricts the weighted baseball's from 4 oz to 6 oz, which being conservative when dealing with a player's health is well within most coaches comfort level.

Warm-Up Baseball Drill
After the players have initially warmed up their throwing arms at the beginning of practice, they move into the weighted ball drill. The players line up on the third baseline with their partners near the base path between first and second (about 70 feet apart) and do the following with good throwing mechanics and a crow hop, if necessary.

Ten throws with the heavy baseball (6oz) at 75% of maximum effort
Ten throws with the light baseball (4oz) at 100% maximum effort
Ten throws with a regulation baseball (5oz)
Repeat steps 1 to 3 three more times (total of 4 repetitions)
After completing the 4 repetitions, take a quick break or a light jog to give the players a moment to refresh their throwing arm.

After a three practices, instead of increasing the ball weight, the team would increase the number of throws per ball from 10 to 20 up to 30. After the team reaches 30 throws, then we would increase the distance the players throw from 70 feet to 90 feet and then to about 110 feet (a little less than the distance from home to second). With each increase in distance, we would restart back at 10 throws per stage. If you practice two or three times per week, the players throwing velocity will be noticeable faster after one month (or about 10 practices).

Younger teams that play on the smaller 60 foot base path fields should reduce the throwing distances to 50 feet, 70 feet, and 90 feet while keeping the number of repetitions the same. This will allow the younger players to maintain good throwing mechanics and still receive the velocity benefits.

For off-season training, the intensity of this drill can be increased since the players will not also be throwing during regular infield and outfield practice. For off-season training the number of throws can be increased in increments of 10 up to 50 heavy ball, regulation ball, and light ball throws. Additionally, you may consider increasing the distance to around 130 feet (distance between home and second) as long as the players can maintain proper throwing mechanics.

How Does This Work
The heavy ball and light ball develop throwing velocity in two different ways. The overweight ball develops arm strength while the underweight ball develops arm speed.

Whether it is weight training or strength and conditioning, a player's strength and endurance cannot be increased unless the muscles are stressed beyond their normal workload. To increase the workload, increase the frequency, duration, and intensity of the exercise program. To effectively and safely increase throwing velocity, intensity is increase by using +/- 20% regulation ball weight, duration is increased gradually by increasing the number of throws and the distance, and the frequency is increased by the number of days of throwing workouts.

By using underweight and overweight baseballs in the manner this post described, the players are able to increase there throwing velocity. Safety is a key concern of any coach. By keeping the variation of the ball weight within +/- 20% of a regulation baseball and gradually building up frequency and duration, a coach can closely monitor players for proper throwing form and development.

[4] Power Baseball by Dr. Coop DeRenne and Dr. Tom House, 1993

[5] The Winning Pitcher by Dr. Tom House, 1988

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Technorati Tags: baseball pitching, baseball drills, coaching baseball, baseball instruction

Basketball Drill: V-cut Shooting Drill

SportNut — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 05:31:59 -1000

Against man and zone defenses, a very common offensive move without the basketball is a V-cut that is used to either setup the man defender for a screen or to turn the zone defender's head. Several years ago, I was coaching a 5th grade basketball team and we were struggling with having our shooters come off screens and quickly shoot the jump shot before the defense would recover. We developed this basketball shooting drill to teach the players to come out of a V-cut ready to receive a pass in a coiled (or triple threat) position and quickly elevate, instead of receiving the pass, then coil, and finally elevate. The latter was too many movements that took too long and allowed the defense to recover before the shot was taken.

Objective:
The fundamental objective of this drill is to teach shooter's to come off a V-cut (or screen), receive a pass in a triple threat position (a coiled athletic position), pivot toward the basket, and shoot in one fluid motion with a defender closing out on them. This drill also incorporates outlet passing, speed dribbling, jump stops, and passing to where the shooter will be (not where they are at). It is a continuous motion drill where the players should be moving between positions between 3/4 and full speed except after taking the shot (the shooter to outlet is the rest movement).

See flash video at 'Basketball Drill: V-cut Shooting Drill

Player Positioning:
This is a continuous motion drill that uses two basketballs and five players. The two players (O1 and O2) that have the basketball stand just outside the 3-point line around the free throw line extended. The shooter (O3) starts outside the 3-point line on the opposite side from the players with the basketballs around the top of the key extended. One player (O4) is under the basket and one player (O5) is in the outlet position.

If your team has eight players then add two coaches and break into two groups of five at two different baskets. If your team has twelve players, then break into two teams of six and have the extra player at the outlet position (behind O5).

Drill:
This drill has four simultaneous elements occurring at one time. Each element is practicing and developing a specific basketball skill. From a coaching perspective, run the drill four complete times (ie., everyone shoots four shots) and then mirror the drill to the other side and run through it four times. During each cycle, focus your attention on one location or element so that you can verify and correct that element. Do not follow a player all the way through the cycle because it is too easy to loose track of which players you watch during the specific element. After each complete cycle through the drill, change your attention to another element of the drill. This way, the players can get multiple repetitions and you can offer constructive praise or criticism on each element.

V-cut to shooting: The wing player opposite the ball (O3) runs directly toward the basket. When they are within a step or two of the key, they plant their outside foot, pivot, and run to the area above the free throw line. Let the players pick the exact spot to receive the pass on the floor, but it should be somewhere between the elbows, at or above the free throw line, and not more than one or two steps behind the 3-point arc. When they receive the bounce pass in an athletic position from the opposite wing, they front pivot using there inside foot (foot closet to the hoop) to face the basket and shoot a jump shot. After shooting them move to the outlet position (O5).
Rebounder to defensive close out: The player that starts under the basket (O4) will wait for the shooter (O3) to complete their V-cut pivot and start to move to receive the pass before closing out on the shooter above the free throw line. This player's objective is not to block the shot but create commotion within the shooter's peripheral vision by approaching the shooter and timing their jump to block the shot but keeping their hands below the top of their head. After closing out, they bypass the shooter and run out to near half court, V-cut and come back to the shooting position. The distance this player runs before V-cutting back to the shooting position will need to be adjusted by player age and speed so that they do not stop once they reach the initial shooters position but go directly into the next V-cut. The purpose of the out and back is to get this player an extra basketball movement before receiving the pass to shot, just like in a game when the team runs through several options in the motion offense before someone takes a shot.
Outlet to speed dribble: The player at the 3-point arc near the baseline is the outlet player (O5) in this drill. They receive a good outlet from the rebounder (initially O4), turn up the court and dribble at full speed to half court, turn around, dribble back to the 3-point line, jump stop, and make the pass to the shooter coming off the V-cut. This is just like an outlet for a fast break where the fast break defense has covered the pass to the middle and the offensive outlet needs to speed dribble to start the fast break.
Passer to rebounder: The passer (initially O1) should jump stop, anticipate the location of where the shooter is planning on taking the shot, and make a strong bounce pass to that location. After passing, they rebound the shot, front pivot toward the wing, and make a good outlet pass. If the shooter has not completed their V-cut, have the passer fake a pass or fake a shot before completing the pass. In a game, many times a fake pass or fake shot can change the location of the defense's focus toward the passer faking the shot or toward the backboard for a rebound. This can provide the extra split second that the player coming off the screen (V-cut) needs to pivot and shoot before the defense can refocus on the ball.

This is a continuous motion basketball shooting drill. Once the player receives the outlet pass (initial O5 position), they should be continously moving at 3/4 to full speed until the shoot the jump shot. In order for this to happen, the coach may need to adjust how far the outlet speed dribbles before turning around or the defender closing out on the shooter travels to make the initial V-cut before returning back to the 3-point line. Why? This provides a conditioning element to the drill as well as making the shooter a little tired before the shot.

Key Fundamentals:

V-cut: A V-cut is used by a player to set up their defender for a screen. As the player moves toward the basket (initially like O3), they should plant their left foot and turn their upper body toward the passer while putting the right foot down. Their next step should be with the left foot crossing in front of their body toward to location on the floor they plan to receive the pass. If they plant the wrong foot then either they will back pivot which creates a gap between in front of the screen for the defender to slide through or they will front pivot into the screen causing a collision that will waste time and allow the defense to react. The V-cutter needs to plant their foot closest to the sideline, rotate their upper body while maintaining their balance, and then take an acceleration step with the plant foot toward the shooting location.
Receiving the pass and shooting: This is the key element that created the drill. As player's age, the speed of the game gets quicker and the defense recovers faster. At the older levels, a player must receive a pass and immediately elevate to get the shot off before the defense reacts. To do this, a player must receive the pass in an athletic position with their knees bent at a 60 to 70 degree angle. From this position, the player front pivots to square up to the basket with their foot on the shooting arm side slightly in front of the other foot, and immediately move upward. If the player receives the pass standing up, there first movement is down to coil and then up to shoot. This takes too long.
Bounce pass to the shooter: A good bounce pass takes practice and is distant dependent. A bounce pass should hit the floor 2/3rds of the way to the receiver and the pop-up to the receiver at waist height. Since we allow the shooter to shot in a bounded area (as oppose to a specific spot), this requires the passer to read the angle the shooter takes out of the V-cut and adjust the distance to where the ball bounces. In a game, a player coming off a screen will move to an open area, not an exact spot that may be covered.
Rebounding and passing to the outlet: When a player rebounds the ball, they want to front pivot (keep their foot closest to the outlet sideline planted) and make the outlet pass. The reason for this is when you have boxed out for a rebound, the defender is behind you and the player wants to move away from the defense to get a clear outlet passing lane.

Advanced Options:
As players learn this drill, we introduce a couple of variations to keep their interest and focus.

V-cut to shooting using a back pivot: Earlier it was recommended the player receive the pass and front pivot toward the basket before taking the shot. Another option is to have them receive the pass with their outside leg (leg closet to half court) in front and do a back pivot to square up to the basket and shoot. In a game, if a player receives a pass near an offensive screen, the player wants to back pivot to move their body directly behind the screen and then shoot over the screen. This will provide additional shooting space should the defender go under the screen. If the player front pivots then they will move directly into the screener’s defender or their defender when he re-emerges from coming under the screen.
Back up dribble: When the outlet player speed dribbles to the half court line have the player take a few back up dribbles before turning around. In a game when a player is double teamed, an option is to take a couple back up dribbles and then drive around one of the double team defenders.
Drive right or left: Another variation we use is instead of the shooter taking a jump shot, we have them fake the shot as the defender closes out and then drive right or left around them for a lay up or short jump shot.
Attempt to block the shot: Toward the end of the season or just before playoffs start when the players have a good working knowledge of this drill, the team usually starts requesting with great enthusiasm to have the closeout defender be able to block the shot. If you choose to enable this then you need to allow the shooter to fake the shot first so the defender can go by or drive to the basket. Also, the coach should have a couple of extra balls in their hand because a blocked shot can go flying across the gym. If this happens, the coach can just pass the ball to the rebounder under the basket and allow the drill to keep going and not disrupt the drill's timing. I have required older teams with good speed and agility to have the rebounder touch the baseline before they can close out so that the shot blocker cannot move to close out until the shooter has completed the V-cut. This enhancement is a lot of fun for the players, just be careful not to allow it to throw off the timing of the drill.

Try this basketball shooting drill in your practice and leave me a comment on how it turned out.

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