Dear Coach
I am coaching a 9 year old baseball team and have been discussing coaching techniques with my assistants. My assistants think we should make players run laps and do push up when they constantly make the same mistake. I am of the opinion that repetition and showing proper technique is the proper way to break habits and correct mistakes. What is your opinion and when should discipline such as laps and push ups be used on the baseball field? Should lack of effort or hustle result in laps and/or push ups and if not what is your recommendation?
Thank you
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Dear Mark
I coached nine-year-olds and laps or out to the fence and back does have its place but in my opinion that places only to get their attention not in any way shape or form for mistakes. Your coaches along with yourself need to teach technique and do the drills that allow the techniques to be used, and reinforce what's correct in what you're trying to teach and running laps and doing push-ups does not do that. Now the separate question is lack of hustle or lack of effort I found that setting against the fence is the worst punishment of all if you don't want to hustle you don't want to try then we don't need you bothering the other people make them sit up against the fence and just watch. So I can answer your question in three ways yes you can make them run to get their attention, but you don't make them run or do push-ups for mistakes in skill technique work, then isolate them if they don't want to pay attention or hustle they're just taking away from your time and the players that are trying to work and learn . You have to distinguish between discipline and punishment. Discipline is the ability to concentrate and do what you are asked to do at the time it needs to be done. Punishment is running, push-ups, isolation and they're meant to get a players attention and teach him the value of paying attention and learning discipline. As a coach you need to distinguish between the two of them with your players.
Best of luck.
Coach Arnald Swift
From Greg
Hi Coach,
Well, it’s been 3 years since I sent this email to you. You said to let you know how things are going. I took your advice and found an academy for my son to attend. It’s a four hour round trip to Springfield, MO to Midwest Baseball Academy. Kyle plays on the USSA 14U majors team. He just turned 14 a week ago. He’s 6’1” 182# and built like a brick school house. They put radar on him in August and he was throwing 87 mph. He carried a .470BA with 18HR.
After summer travel ball we asked the local high school coach if Kyle could practice with the high school team while they played fall ball. Needless to say Kyle was a little intimidated being in eighth grade and playing with juniors and seniors. Before their first game we told him not to be surprised if he didn’t get to play much, if at all. He started the first game at SS and had a fantastic performance. He batted third. His first AB, first pitch, 350’ HR. Second AB first pitch also 350’. He finished 4/5 with triple and single. The high school played 10 games in fall ball. He had 32AB, 8HR, 21 hits, 2 SO. He got to pitch in 5 games, 15 innings, 27 strikeouts.
For my wife and I here’s the best part. Kyle is a straight A student, is loved by all his teachers and class mates. He is a leader in class and sports. We spend so much time on the road together it gives plenty of time for “life’s lessons”. He’s very humble and is not always comfortable with the attention he seems to get from players, coaches, and even umpires.
I know this probably sounds like somebody’s bragging Christmas letter, but I try to listen to people like you when advice and cautions are shared.
Thanks again,
Kyle’s Dad
Greg Fincher
Mixing Sports August 31 2015, 0 Comments
Dear Coach
I have coached baseball for years and have told my kids that baseball and golf do not mix. A lot of golf can be a detriment to your baseball swing. Am I off base with my teaching.
Coach
I can't really agree with you to give the short answer. I see athletics as all independent. When I first started out baseball players did not lift weights, but now we know how to do it and the increased strength has not be gained at the loss of flexibility (that was the worry).
I don't believe one skill takes away from another. We have too many good and very good golfers with in baseball some of them almost PGA caliber.
I understand what you are asking but I think it fallen in the categories of "It sounds like a good idea" but in truth no factual basis.
Sorry to disagree but you and I are two coaches talking.
Coach Arnald Swift
Dear Coach
My 8 year old has a good swing but does not hit the ball in the game. We play in a coach pitch league so the pitches are normally very good. Can you give me some suggestion for us to work on.
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I do understand your problem with little kids. As a matter of fact I do have a couple of things that you can do that will really help.
First and foremost you need to find yourself a protective screen for in the cage and place it in front of home plate. Then get you a 5 gallon bucket and turn it upside down and set behind the screen set up about 10
feet away from the batter. Now what you need to do is reach around the outer edge and underhand toss the ball to your batter. This is called front toss in it works with little kids better than soft toss from the side. You
will notice very quickly that for some strange reason, it must be the physics, that little kids can hit a ball thrown underhand. Then after you've done at for a couple of rounds give each kid like five swings have them
hurry in and out so they keep moving like you said the attention span is a big deal. Then in the third or fourth round flip it over hand from the same position so that you're down to there level and not standing above
them. You will be surprised how much better they hit I wouldn't even worry about the pitching machine until the game. What you're trying to develop his hand eye coordination.
Dear Coach
My 10 year old grandson has been playing baseball since he was five, with one year off last year.
Since t-ball he has had a fear of the ball. He has stepped back from catching, stepped out of the batter's box because of his fear of being hit How do we coach him to help him get over this fear?
Thank you
Granddad
Below is a stock answer for concentration and pitch recognition along with being confident at the plate.
Try it and I believe that the boy will start to hit and catch better.
For catching take way his glove and play catch with a foam ball or plastic ball then get a baseball and do the drill I talk about below. We have to get over any fear and use to the ball. Believe it or not when they first
start the glove just gets in the way so eliminate it most of the time.
As simple as this sound get a piece of plywood, prop it up at and angle, have him or us throw the ball up the board and then field it as it rolls back down.
The for fly balls or high throws, throw the ball onto a roof and catch it as it comes off, it is fun and teaches throwing and eye hand coordination. Use a rubber ball or tennis ball gives a safer aspect to it if you so
desire.
Coach Arnald Swift
Coach,
My son is a freshman in High School and played competitive baseball from March-October of last year. He will be playing JV basketball until JV Baseball starts in February. He needed the break; however, should he
be throwing before baseball practice starts in February? He’s a middle infielder and not an everyday pitcher.
Thanks,
Derek
Derek
This is a baseball and basket ball coaches answer, as I was both for a long time.
YES, only criteria is that he does not take time or effort away from his basketball ball team.
But yes he should start throwing, it is no different from running extra, weights, diet all the other things he may do out side of basketball.
I think he should play light catch from 30-40 foot for 5 days, move out to 50ft for 5 days, and so on with about 75 throws each day not don't worry about speed work on accuracy.
Then if time allow for him to get to the 110-120 ft mark then he should throw the last 10 throws of a session game speed. BUT be sure (if you are listening to me) that he has to work up to the 110 ft distance and
speed.
Let me know how it all works out.
Coach Arnald Swift
Coach
I have a left handed 6 year old. The coaches are having him bat right and throw right. They think he does better as a righty but I was wondering if this is a mistake because he is a lefty and sometimes it takes lefty's a little longer to figure stuff out. Should I encourage lefty or let it be righty?
Thank you, Ami
Dear Ami
Amy this is a simple answer if he's left-handed that he should do things left-handed in your coaches should be helpin him be a lefty in baseball being left-handed really can be an advantage. The question really don't make any sense. If he's truly a left-hander, eats, rights, points, all the normal things in life that he left-handed then you'll create big problems if you try to convert him to right-hander. I think there must be more to this story because I've never heard of a coach trying to turn a left-hander into a right-hander. Normally what happens is when they take a right-handed batter and try to teach him to let bat left-handed because of the advantage.
Therefore my advice is leaving left-handed and don't ever bring it up again tell your coaches that he's left-handed that's the way it is, unless there's more to this question that I see.
Coach Arnald Swift
Coach
I coach a 5th grade team and a 7th grade team. My assistant coach on the 7th grade team has instructed the boys to “see the throw” before yelling “cut or no cut”. This really has confused the boys on what they should do. Should we do this at these age levels?
Jeff
I think that is normal for the throw from the outfield. The words and coaching may be a little different but what I believe is he is asking the control guy to do is wait until he see the throw to tell if it is on line, has a chance to make the put out and at what base. The control player can't not say cut, hold, cut to ? until he sees the throw.
So the works "see the throw" is telling him to wait and look at the throw and make the decision of where to go with the throw.
It strikes me as decent point, with different words.
Coach Arnald Swift.
Good morning Coach,
I was selected to manage a tournament/travel team of 12 year old players who are now training for our Big week long tourney and experience at Cooperstown in July. Starting this Sat nite for the next 10 weeks I landed an indoor facility for which we can have indoor workouts for 90 minutes each week....I was hoping that you could provide me with some guidance in regards to how to best utilize the 90 minutes each week or provide a possible "game plan" as to what drills, how many kids in a group and how many stations I should setup.
Your expert knowledge is greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Coach Steve
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Dear Steve
I understand your question very much. The answer is really too long to go through here but you already have the concept of what we need to do is set up stations for hitting (soft toss, front toss, tee work, live plastic ball, live or machine pitch hitting. Hopefully you can created of hitting drills have the first half hour to 45 minutes be the hitting. Then we need to move on to fielding drills (take away the gloves and do soft grounders, put a net at first base put everybody at shortstop take grounders to have them throw into the net like it was the first baseman, spread out all over the field have them take grounders from each other and/or their coaches, learn to throw through the target and not to it- this throwing to a target in set up short hopping everybody you have to learn to throw through it). Then about 15 minutes spent some time on middle work how to approach the batter's box (think about your last bat think about the battered front of you think about the situation all those kinds of things before you reenter the batter's box, if your picture how you going to take to this guy that you faced take a look at how he stands, take a look at his first couple swings, make sure you know the situation with your batter and people on base. Did physically work on situations with runners on base when you do this you can accomplish two things in a time coaching the defense against runners and then coaching the runners to be aware of the situation. This is a big deal to have runners understand- runner on third what I do, runners at first and second what do I do runners at second only what do I do, -- they have to make a decision when the balls hit in the air, when the balls it on the ground, the line drives, past balls, anything else you can think of.
This will get them ready to go to Cooperstown, which by the way is a good experience I had the privilege of umpiring their and found it quite satisfying.
Best of luck and let me know how that all works out.
Coach Arnald Swift
Good morning Coach,
I was selected to manage a tournament/travel team of 12 year old players who are now training for our Big week long tourney and experience at Cooperstown in July 2015. Starting this Sat nite for the next 10 weeks I landed an indoor facility for which we can have indoor workouts for 90 minutes each week....I was hoping that you could provide me with some guidance in regards to how to best utilize the 90 minutes each week or provide a possible "game plan" as to what drills, how many kids in a group and how many stations I should setup.
You expert knowledge is greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Coach Steve
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Dear Steve
I understand your question very much. The answer is really too long to go through here but you already have the concept of what we need to do is set up stations for hitting (soft toss, front toss, tee work, live plastic ball, live or machine pitch hitting. Hopefully you can created of hitting drills have the first half hour to 45 minutes be the hitting. Then we need to move on to fielding drills (take away the gloves and do soft grounders, put a net at first base put everybody at shortstop take grounders to have them throw into the net like it was the first baseman, spread out all over the field have them take grounders from each other and/or their coaches, learn to throw through the target and not to it- this throwing to a target in set up short hopping everybody you have to learn to throw through it). Then about 15 minutes spent some time on middle work how to approach the batter's box (think about your last bat think about the battered front of you think about the situation all those kinds of things before you reenter the batter's box, if your picture how you going to take to this guy that you faced take a look at how he stands, take a look at his first couple swings, make sure you know the situation with your batter and people on base. Did physically work on situations with runners on base when you do this you can accomplish two things in a time coaching the defense against runners and then coaching the runners to be aware of the situation. This is a big deal to have runners understand- runner on third what I do, runners at first and second what do I do runners at second only what do I do, -- they have to make a decision when the balls hit in the air, when the balls it on the ground, the line drives, past balls, anything else you can think of.
This will get them ready to go to Cooperstown, which by the way is a good experience I had the privilege of umpiring there and found it quite satisfying.
Best of luck and let me know how that all works out.
Coach Arnald Swift
