Indoor Throwing and Arm Strengthening
For teams that are practicing indoors, it is important to continue to strengthen the players’ arms. If there is not enough room to throw long or you are faced with a poorly lit facility, you may have to be inventive. You can still utilize this indoor time to gain arm strength. You want to have your players’ arms game ready by your first game.
The Hitting Position - The Hands
The hitting position is the moment your stride foot lands and you are about to swing the bat. This is one the most key positions in hitting. For major leaguers, regardless of how they set up in their stance, they are all within inches of the same position at stride landing. If the most successful hitters in the world do this, you have to say there is a reason for it. It puts their body in the best position to maximize both power and speed. For this blogpost, I will focus on the hands because young hitters tend to struggle with this the most.
Drills, Drills and More Drills
Drills are a great way to get the player to feel what you are trying to get them to feel. If done properly, they can benefit the players immensely. If done improperly, they are reinforcing bad habits.
“Practice doesn’t make perfect, practice makes permanent.”
Occupy Baseball, 99% vs. 1%
This time of year, many travel baseball teams here in the Midwest have secured inside training facilities on a weekly basis. Travel baseball is big business now. Players pay a pretty penny for coaches, training, leagues and tournaments. Training sessions for teams inside can last anywhere from an 1-2 hours. If your team is lucky enough (or has spent enough money), you will rent a field and some cages.
Fielding Footwork
While it’s safe to assume that the vast majority of major leaguers possess great arm strength, a closer look may reveal something you might not expect. Players seldom during a game “air it out.” Not every pitch or play requires a player to use 100% of his arm speed/strength. But when they have to, how do they do it?
What Really Loses The Game
Time and time again throughout the course of the season, games are lost more frequently by poor fielding. Think back to last year and remember how many times you won and lost and what the cause was. A missed ground ball, fly ball or bad throw turns into a run(s). An extra out may be all a team needs to push across the winning run or build a cushion to put the game out of reach.
Hand Path
The hand path is one of the most critical parts of the baseball swing, and the hardest to perfect. Being able to get your hands “On plane” with the pitch as quickly as possible is so difficult because during the swing it’s not just the hands that play a role, it’s also dependent on body rotation.
Offseason Home Workout
Strength, speed, explosiveness, agility and mobility are all traits coaches look for in players. Need some exercises to do at home to get yourself better for next season? Use these helpful videos with tips on getting the greatest benefit from them. Tweet us at @baseball_zone with any questions or suggestions!
Strength and Speed Stations
Prisoner Squats
Keep back straight and upright. Get as deep as possible on squat. Drive through your heels.
Forward Lunges
Big Step. Do not allow your rear knee touch the ground. Do not allow hands to touch legs. Explode back up to starting position in one motion.
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