Heel Plant Tips for Softball

RightView Pro is a video analysis software company that specializes in baseball and softball hitting and pitching instruction. RVP is the only video analysis software company that is licensed by Major League Baseball, National Pro Fastpitch and Olympic Softball Players.

How Baseball Began…

Baseball Basics: Origins Of Baseball

Baseball wasn’t invented by one person. The old myth was that Abner Doubleday invented it in Cooperstown. Never happened. Baseball evolved from a variety of other bat and ball and base sports including cricket and rounder’s. But it wasn’t invented at any one point.

What are the origins of baseball?

Baseball traces its roots to a variety of bat-and-ball games, including rounders and cricket. It wasn’t until the 1840’s in America that a man named Alexander Cartwright actually put the rules to paper. Even though baseball existed prior to that point, he is often considered to be the father of baseball.

When was baseball invented?

Baseball really wasn’t invented. It is considered an American game, but it evolved from games in Europe. There wasn’t a birth, and there wasn’t a grand creation to the game.

When did professional baseball start?

Professional Baseball began in the late 1800s. The National League is the oldest existing league. It began in the 1870s, followed by the American League in the early 1900s.

When did Major League Baseball start?

Major League Baseball began in 1903 when the American and National leagues agreed to begin holding the World Series.

Who were some of the original Major League Baseball clubs?

Some of the original Major League clubs were Boston, New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Louisville, and many others.

Who were the 1919 ‘Chicago Black Sox’ and why are they so important in baseball history?

The Chicago Black Sox of 1919 are the most infamous team in baseball history. They threw the World Series to the Cincinnati team. As a result, many of the players on that team were banned for life from baseball. It is now one of the cardinal rules of baseball, and became so at that time, that any player caught gambling on the game would be banned from baseball. It is why Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson, two tremendous ball players, are not in the Hall of Fame. The Sox scandal also led to the creation of a powerful commissioner form of government in baseball, and the first commissioner was Kennesaw Mountain Landis.

What were the ‘Negro Leagues’ in professional baseball?

Major leagues did not integrate until 1947 when Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier. Prior to that point, and even after that point ,black players often played in segregated leagues, in the Negro Leagues. There were many leagues that bore that title “Negro Leagues”. But it was a popular form of baseball.

Hitting With the Proper Swing Path

Question:

I have a 9 year old with a wild upper cut swing. Most of the time he swings under the ball. Any drills that can correct him of this habit?

Answer:

You need to start your swing in a strong position of power, with your top hand on the bat at shoulder level, and your hands over or behind your back foot, weight back on your back foot. This is critical. Hands up, weight back.

Take a short stride with your stride foot toes pointing to home plate, with your weight still back. When the hands come forward, they need to come down at about a 45 degree angle to meet the ball in the contact zone. The bat head needs to stay above the hands. Your back foot needs to rotate up to the toe, to open the hips.  The key is repetition. Muscle memory.

Instructions for the Walk Up Drill

This drill is designed to get the hands of the hitter working and to get into a strong position of power.

• Two steps behind the tee.
• Step first with the lead foot.
• Plant the lead foot in what would be your standard position in the box.
• When the stride foot lands, you should be in a good position of power.
• Now hit through the ball with a good finish.

Switch Hitting – Yes or No?

Question:

When should a player start switch-hitting? What do you consider a good age to begin? How proficient should the hitter be from his strong side before he begins learning to switch-hit? Do you consider learning to switch-hit to be a big advantage for being recruited by college/pros? Just off the top of my head, it seems that many of the top hitters in the Majors are not switch hitters.

Answer:

My son and I started to work on switch hitting when he was about 10 years old, but he didn’t start switch hitting in games until he was 13. I wanted him to get a real feel for balance through his swing and develop more strength before I put him in a game situation. When he started switch hitting in games, he hit only left handed for the entire year (he’s a natural right handed hitter). This was the year he was going to go to the big field and I thought he might struggle somewhat switch hitting, but most kids struggle when moving up to the regulation size field anyway so I didn’t worry about it. He ended up having some success and has improved to the point to where he is a better hitter from the left side.

If you want your son to switch hit, you should have a reason for having him do so. Does he have some speed? If he has some speed, or potential to have speed, then there are some advantages to hitting from the left side. If he is going to be a power hitter with little speed, than I would say let him stay on one side. Most switch hitters are natural right handed hitters, there is a different advantage for left handed hitters. Most pitchers are right handed, hitting from the left side hitters will not have to deal with the offspeed pitch breaking away from them. Another big advantage to switch hitting is that players won’t be platooned if they are proficient from both sides of the plate.

If my son would have been a natural left handed hitter, I don’t believe I would have taught him to switch hit. But don’t hold me to that because I have a 2 year old and he hits off the tee lefty, I think because he watches his brother hit from the left side so much.

Coach John Flading

A great day at the field for Coach John Flading, the CEO of SwingAway.

How and When to Play Pepper

Question:

I recently read in Mike Schmidt’s book that his favorite drill for hitters is “pepper”. What are your thoughts on playing “pepper” as a way to develop the hands, bat control, etc.?

Answer:

Pepper will develop bat control if played the correct way. Use no more than three fielders and one hitter at a time. Have the hitter hit one hoppers to each fielder, do not allow them to use more than one ball. If the hitter hits the ball past the fielder the hitter must go get the ball. This is an incentive for the hitter to have good bat control. Of course if the fielder makes the error he must retrieve the ball.

As they become proficient at the short pepper move two of the fielders back to about twenty yards and have one of the fielders throw to the hitter at the regular short distance, the hitter must now hit long pepper to each of the fielders. This helps them to develop bat control along with the proper bat angle. We have our hitters play pepper on a daily basis.

Coach Problems

Question:

Lately, my 13 year old hates to do her drills. I think she is getting negatively influenced from her travel ball coach, who told her that drills aren’t necessary and he won’t let her use a wood bat in batting practice. Basically his practices consist of standing around, with no repetition or work ethic.  Should I let the situation alone?  Should I let her struggle? I know if she doesn’t do ger drills, her mechanics will go down hill. But I also know it not good to force her. How would you address the situation?

Answer:

You have fun into one of the most difficult situations that a parent can face, but it can be fixed. Mechanics, not having success, or not performing to one’s capabillity all can be fixed with hard work and desire, however desire has to come from the inside. Your job as a parent is to encourage him in anything that he can have fun with. It’s possible that he may simply be going through a phase right now that will wear off with time. You shouldn’t force him to do drill work, however you might try to do some drills that he has fun doing. If your son is tired of doing drills, you might want to try playing pepper, or any other fun activity that involves hitting. This will bring back the fun into baseball, which will increase his desire for success, which in turn will lead him into doing his regular drill work. Good luck with the training.

Baserunning Tools

Baserunning is one of the most overlooked areas in the game. Players religiously work on their hitting and defense but more often than not once they get on the bases this seems to be an area often neglected. It is the responsibility of the coach not only to teach the fundamentals of baserunning but to also make certain the player concentrates once he gets on base.

Unlike hitting and defense which are both subject to slumps, bad calls, and pressure situations, baserunning is unique in that it is an area in which a player can exercise total command. He has control over his jumps, his reads, the decisions that he makes, and how hard he runs.

Although you always want to have the mindset of being aggressive on the bases, you want this aggressiveness to be under control. You can relate this to hitting. As a hitter I have taught you to be selectively aggressive. As a baserunner, you want to be aggressive under control.

In hitting, you want to think, “swing” at every pitch until you recognize that it is not your pitch. In baserunning, you want to think, “take advantage of every mistake the fielders make and be ready to capitalize on it.” You need to know when to be aggressive, when to force plays, and when to play it safe.
This requires the discipline of both players and coaches. The coach must always remind a player of the following:

• When he is making mistakes
• When he has a good read
• When he has a bad read

There are two appropriate times for a coach to teach the whole team::

• When a mistake has been made
• When somebody capitalizes on a defensive mistake

Each player should run as hard as he is capable of in every situation. By running hard you put yourself in the situation to take advantage of a defensive lapse or a mistake. Players should always be anticipating the defense making a mistake. You can take extra bases without possessing great speed. Good baserunners take extra bases on the defense. The baserunner:

• Should never drop his head until the play is finished.
• Should always be aware of where the ball is.
• Should know the situation of the game – the outs, the score, field conditions, any defensive weaknesses such as a weak throwing arm in the outfield.
• Should anticipate these situations before they happen and always be ready to take advantage.

Each player must take pride in his game if he plans to improve as a baserunner. He should have the attitude that he is going to take advantage of every mistake the defense makes.
Many games can be won and lost in this overlooked area and you can add many games to your team’s win column with intelligent baserunning.

It is the coach’s responsibility to meet with his club before each game to go over the playing environment. These conditions will change during the course of the game. Coaches need to constantly be reminding players of the changing conditions.

• Wind
• Sun
• Fence
• Ground
• Layout of the field

Pre-Game and Dugout

Always watch your opponent take outfield & infield practice. Observe:

• Strength of the outfielders arms
• How well they charge the ball
• How quickly they get rid of the ball

If an outfielder lays back on a ball in practice, he might do the same thing in the game. If he does lay back on the ball, take an extra base on him. This way you are letting the other team know that you will take advantage of every mistake they make, and every weakness they have.
When reading the throw from an outfielder, get in the habit of reading the first 30 feet of the throw to determine the height of the throw. Many times if the throw misses the cutoff man you can take an extra base. Every extra base you take is one base closer to scoring a run, and every time you take an extra base on a team because of their lack of intensity or a fundamental mistake they will be demoralized.

When watching infield practice note certain habits of the infielders:

• How do the middle infielders turn the double play?
• How well does the catcher throw?
• Does the first baseman move well?
• Who has the strong and weak arms in the infield?
• How accurate are their relay throws?

Coaches, make sure you have your team watch infield practice everyday. Your players should have a good idea of what you expect out of them, they should know when you like to hit and run, bunt, steal, etc. Meet with your club and let them know what you except concerning baserunning and how all of you need to work together in order to be successful.

During the game

As you walk to home plate for your at bat:

• Check the defense, how are they playing you?
• Is the first or third baseman in or back?
• Does the pitcher have any patterns?
• When does he like to throw his off speed pitches?
• Does he like to throw to first base?
• How quick is he to first and to home?
• What type outfielder is he?
• Find a key off the pitcher so you can get the best jump possible

When the first runner of the game gets on base:

• Force a throw from the pitcher
• Watch the move
• Everyone on the bench should be yelling, “back”

Coaches, keep everyone aware of what is happening on the field, good and bad. Do not take for granted that the players know anything about running the bases, cover everything.

3 Keys to Success

Once you do have your hitting fundamentally correct, to set yourself above your competition, not merely resting on your laurels and thinking that your current success will be enough, you need to concentrate on the other factors, here are three of the most important below:

Work ethic

What is your work ethic like? Are you the first to come and the last to leave? If you are not doing more than your coach asks, it’s not enough.

Ability to make adjustments

Don’t wait 2 weeks to make an adjustment. Adjustments should be made game to game – at bat to at bat-pitch to pitch. I used Jordan’s at bats as an example. Learn to make the adjustments necessary to get you past your present difficulties. Believe me, the difficulties will come. The sooner you make the adjustment the shorter the duration and severity of the difficulty.

Not being afraid to fail

Sorry but I have to jump to another sport to illustrate this point. Tiger Woods will possibly go down in history as the greatest golfer ever. What did he do after he had so much success including winning the Masters at his young age, something no one had ever done before? He changed his swing. His critics thought he was crazy. Having had so much success, why would he change? We frequently hear the saying, “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.” I disagree. Just because it’s not broken, doesn’t mean you can’t make it better. Tiger obviously agrees. He wasn’t afraid to change – to make himself better. He wasn’t afraid to fail. The results speak for themselves. You will only improve when change takes place. You’ve heard me say this before, you either will get better or worse, you won’t stay the same.

Next Page »