lung buster
Senior Member
My sons team finished 15-0. Tournaments start this week. Its been an exciting season and I'm kinda glad its about to wrap up.
lung buster
Senior Member
My 7 year old just finished the Marietta College baseball camp and he was probably the youngest their and I'll have to say it was a great experience for hiim.
They kept him in groups of less then ten and worked on alot of fundamentals. I would recommend this camp to anyone wanting thier kid to advance their skills at an early level.. Coach Brewer is very involved...
They kept him in groups of less then ten and worked on alot of fundamentals. I would recommend this camp to anyone wanting thier kid to advance their skills at an early level.. Coach Brewer is very involved...
I went there several times way back when. Truly a top notch camp and one I can credit for making me a better ball player.
Played two games last night. I was 3-4 total with a home run, double, 5 RBIs and a walk. Swinging a pretty hot stick this year. Feels great to still be able to produce! The Misfits are now 3-1 and in first place!!!
lung buster
Senior Member
My kids seasons are finally complete. My sons team finished 17-0 and won their league and tournament championships! Andrew drove in the winning run Saturday and that freaking place went wild. We played like crap and had never led until that point. It was by far the best little league game that I have ever been part of! They were down 5 runs when we went to bat. We won 12 to 11. Earlier that am my daughters team won their T-ball tournament. They had beat 2 all boys teams. I am one proud papa for sure. This year has been a blast!
Kody and Klay are in their playoffs now. They beat a higher seeded team Saturday up in Chester, WVa 8-6. KOdy has progressively gotten better behind the plate and he did a great job blocking and digging balls and keeping guys from taking cheap bases. He played the final two innings at third. The last play of the game was a hard grounder to his left. He slid left, scooped it up, and threw it to Klay at 2nd for the force out.
Klay played 2nd most of the game and made a sweet over the shoulder cattch out in shallow RF. He also played SS for a few innings and hosed two guys at 1st and tagged a kid out on a steal attempt at 2nd. (from a different catcher, not Kody, he was at third at the time).
Kody was 1-3 at the plate and drove in a run and Klay was 2-3 with 2 runs scored. I'm pretty proud of how they've played and most of all, how they've improved.
We play at home tomorrow in round two against a close rival.
Klay played 2nd most of the game and made a sweet over the shoulder cattch out in shallow RF. He also played SS for a few innings and hosed two guys at 1st and tagged a kid out on a steal attempt at 2nd. (from a different catcher, not Kody, he was at third at the time).
Kody was 1-3 at the plate and drove in a run and Klay was 2-3 with 2 runs scored. I'm pretty proud of how they've played and most of all, how they've improved.
We play at home tomorrow in round two against a close rival.
lung buster
Senior Member
That has got to make a Dad (coach) feel great. Do you have any good recomendations on a good batting TEE Mike?
Nothing really in particular. Any old school tee is good. My high schoolers do a TON of tee work in the gym before we can get outside. Heck, we do it before I even let them set foot in the cage. One thing to keep an eye on with young kids is that they don't drop the barrel below their hands through the zone. The barrel should stay above the hands through contact. That is where a tee is very useful. If they drop the barrel they will destroy the tee. Have them focus on barel above the hands and driving thorugh the top half of the ball. When they get real good, they should drive top inside half of the ball. That keeps them from extending too soon and helps them drive gaps. It's called "staying inside the ball". That's just a few pointers which you may have already known. Hope that helps.
No, I played some baseball but not past the high school level of "Frontier" if you ever heard of that cause I know Jesse has, and we never used a tee. Marietta Baseball Camp of Champs got me to thinking about using a tee alot more. I know your a high school coach and really look forward to picking your brain thru out my boys baseball years... Hope I dont turn out to be a real pain in your ass. Any tips you got I can sure use and would greatly appreciate.
Well... we lost a heartbreaker 6-5 in 8 innings. It's a team effort, but I was proud of how my boys contributed. Klay leads off and Kody bats second (no, I don't make the lineup... lol). They both were 3-4 and provided most of the offense. Our big guns, our 3 and 4 hitter, were non existent and we struggled to score when we did.
We had our chance in the top of the 8th. The number 10 hitter struck out. Klay came up and lined one off the pitcher's shin (steak dinner). Kody then hit a hard grounder up the middle. Rinners on 1st and 2nd and one out. Our nunmber three hitter struck out and our 4 hitter popped out to theird. Bummer...
In the end it came down to defense. We didn't make the plays when we needed too. But, they are 9 and 10 year olds, so that will happen. The winning run scored on an overthrow at thirdbase (kinda like how South Carolina beat Virginia the other night if you saw that).
I felt awful for the kids when the winning run scored for the other team. Klay came off the field crying all the way from his secondbase position saying, "I don't want this to be the last game." That's my boy...
I told him he had plenty of baseball left in his career, but I appreciated how hard he played and how much he cared. Sometimes losing is a good life lesson. Here's a kid that is ready to get back on the horse and play again.
Kody is beginning to realize how importnat every play can be. He was at third late in the game and he dropped a pop up that would have minimized a big inning they had. He was crushed and you could just tell that he knew he should've had it and how important it was. Great lessons...
I loved seeing how they, and the rest of the team, grew as players this season. They started off really slow, but they got hot at the right time and made some serious noise in the playoffs. Now we wait for fall ball to start.
They do flag football and fall baseball starting in August. I'm glad they stay involved and are having fun, win or lose.
Not a pain at all.... I love talking baseball. I just wish my own kids would listen! Lol
Below are a few videos. The first is a a video that gives some starting points for you. There is a big debate right now from hitting instructors between what is called linear hitting vs. rotational hitting. Personally, from my own experience, I like rotational. However, every kid is different and what works for one may not work for another. So I have taught both methods to different kids. This video talks about rotational hitting. You can get on youtube and find lots of videos. Someone like Albert Pujols is rotational. Soemone like Ichiro or Tony Gwynn is more linear. Take a look at some of the videos that are on there. Some things you will find in common, no matter the hitting style, are:
1. The weight shift - most hitters either end up up on the back toes or at worst on the ball of the back foot like they are squishing a bug.
2. The back elbow - it will always end up by the ribs when swinging through the zone. I prefer a relaxed back elbow, not the elbow sticking way up high in the back. That just means extra movement and more flaws.
3. The barrel of the bat never falls BELOW the hands until your making contact, if then. On pitches below the waist, naturally the barrel has to be a little below the hands. The main point is we don't want the first movement from the original stance to be the barrel dropping real low. That is a common mistake in your kids, perhaps because the bat is too heavy. In linear hitting it stays pretty high above the hands until contact. In rotational it stays even with the hands longer (level swing). Again, pick your poison.
4. The finish - the follow through will end around the front shoulder.
These are just some things to look for. Again, every hitter is unique. But, thorught the contact zone almost everyone is the same. Check out a few videos on linear and rotational hitting and you will understand.
The second video I posted explains satying inside the ball. I REALLY preach this. It helps players avoid getting jammed and hitting those choppers down to third base. It truly increases the ability to get the fat part of the bat on the ball. I am constantly on my players to "stay inside on top" of the ball. It makes you a line drive machine.
The last video really explains it.
[video=youtube;OjlrLwq7qM0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjlrLwq7qM0&feature=related[/video]
[video=youtube;Ki15iI_q4dQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ki15iI_q4dQ[/video]
[video=youtube;92V3oH63zbQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92V3oH63zbQ&feature=fvwrel[/video]
Last edited:
aholdren, I hope all that helps. Any questions, just ask. I'll try to answer the best I can in writing. It's kinda tough to explain without demonstrating.
Thanks for the videos, it gives us some things to work on. I had a cousin that played football for your highschool in the mid 80's.
Really? Who's that? My older brothers graduated in 81 and 87 so we know quite a few people.
Great info Mike! I can't wait to coach one of these days. I'm living proof of the age old mantra: "Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach." I was/am better than average, but I was nothing special. However, I had years of great instruction (including four years at Marietta's camp) and the vast majority of that instruction stuck with me. I can still spit out virtually everything I ever learned at the pitchers and catchers camps at Marietta. It will be such a joy for me to hang up the spikes and start coaching. I'm jealous of all the coaches around here!
And yes, it has to be the bat!!! I'm 10 for 14 with two homers, two doubles, three walks, three K's, and 9 RBI's. That bat has all kinds of pop! The weird thing is my defense. I am probably a better defensive catcher now, than I was 10 years ago. And that's saying something considering I earned my scholarship offers on my defense, not my bat and arm. I definitely swing a hotter stick now than back then. The game has slowed down it seems and it has allowed me to play at a high level given the environment. It's just old man ball in po-dunk BFE, but I'm holding my own!!!
And yes, it has to be the bat!!! I'm 10 for 14 with two homers, two doubles, three walks, three K's, and 9 RBI's. That bat has all kinds of pop! The weird thing is my defense. I am probably a better defensive catcher now, than I was 10 years ago. And that's saying something considering I earned my scholarship offers on my defense, not my bat and arm. I definitely swing a hotter stick now than back then. The game has slowed down it seems and it has allowed me to play at a high level given the environment. It's just old man ball in po-dunk BFE, but I'm holding my own!!!