| build a web site| fundraising| community| collect fees online| blogz |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Thursday, November 12 LONG TOSS PROGRAM
A high school pitcher's long toss program The following is a sample long toss throwing program for high school pitchers. It can be performed in the off-season and in-season, as a general maintenance throwing program. If you're going to use it in the off-season, to get your arm in shape, perform the routine about three times a week. It takes about 10 minutes to do.
Try to throw with a limited arc on the baseball, and use proper throwing mechanics by taking a small crow hop with each throw. It's OK if a player has to bounce the ball to his partner, particularly at the start of the throwing program, in the off-season. After a couple of weeks with this routine, you'll be amazed at the improvement, and you should find that you're able to get the ball to your partner without having to bounce it. Wednesday, September 2 What Scouts are looking for in a pitcher: Fastball Movement of pitch, velocity of pitch Breaking Ball Type of spin and break, depth of break (proximity to hitter), deception of release (how similar is release of breaking ball to player’s release of fastball?) Change Up Movement of pitch, velocity of pitch (difference from fastball), deception of release and delivery (how simliar is release of change up to a player's release of fastball?) Other Pitch Combination of Breaking Ball and Change Up considerations Control Ability to throw pitches for strikes Skill Delivery Balance, control of body, coordination of body, ability of upper and lower body to work together, alignment to to the plate, plane of shoulders, amount of effort exerted through motion, consistency of motion, repeatability of motion Arm Action Path of arm out of glove, path of arm through release, speed of arm through release, range of motion allowed and completed both out of glove and through release, amount of tension present during arm swing, consistency, amount of effort exerted through release Tuesday, November 4 PLAYER VERSATILITY
As players, we are constantly looking for ways to get better: make the varsity team, make all-conference, sign a scholarship, get drafted, or make the big leagues. We all go about that in different ways, of course, but the basic idea remains the same.
Whether it’s lifting weights, hitting in the cage, running sprints, towel drills, or cords and bands; the goal is improvement. Of course, enhancing your skills should be an everyday goal but what does it really mean to get better?
I’ll tell you what I think, getting better or improving should be a reflection of increasing your value to your team. Whether you’re trying to move from the bench to the field or from college to pro ball, the name of the game is value. If you continually drive up your personal value to whatever team you’re on, you’ll find yourself on the field more, getting recruited more and playing at a higher level.
How do you do that? Well, the physical workouts I mentioned above certainly won’t hurt; but what about versatility? I’m talking about expanding your baseball horizons by expanding your value to the team.
Let’s face it, you may not be the best shortstop on the team. Matter of fact, you may be the third best; but what if you were the best third basemen or centerfielder and never knew it? In another instance, your varsity baseball coach has 17 roster spots- give or take a few. Now, let’s say you don’t think you have a great shot of making the team as a catcher because there are two upperclassmen catchers in front of you. Rewind to the first day of tryouts and imagine if you had told your coach you could also play first base and even some right field. There’s not a coach in America that would cut a young man who could catch pens, backup three positions, and allow him to keep more pitchers on the roster! Now, rather than watching the varsity games from the stands, you get a whole season’s head start on your fellow underclassmen. You’ve now learned the ropes, gotten to know the coaches and honed your skills at practice.
Not to mention, anybody that knows high school and college baseball will tell you that anything can happen. Any injury here, an academic suspension there and you find yourself starting at first base or in right field by the time conference play cranks up. It’s not a difficult concept; you’re simply creating more opportunities for yourself. And in the long run, more opportunity translates to greater success.
I understand everyone wants to be THE shortstop, or THE catcher; and I’m not saying you can’t be. My point is, when the odds stack up against you (and they will eventually in your career) you’ll be very surprised how far, “Hey coach, I can play there” will take you. By declaring yourself a pitcher, catcher, shortstop, etc; you actually pigeonhole yourself and stifle your opportunity for advancement. You might think that the positions are worlds apart, I can assure you- they’re not!
I can remember my college coaches pulling me aside in the fall and saying, “Paul, how do you feel about leaving shortstop and moving to centerfield?” I said, “That’s cool, what do I have to do?” My infield coach looked right at me and said, “When they hit it, you just go get it- take everything you can.” And it really is that simple- obviously, there are intricacies to every position that you’ll pick up as you go along but it’s pretty elementary. If you’re a shortstop and they want to move you to third, just catch the ball and throw it to first- simple!
Monday, February 25 PITCHERS THROWING STRIKES
First pitch strikes are crucial to a pitcher’s success. With a 0-1 count the hitter must deal with a pitcher’s pitch. The pitcher can throw any pitch in his repertoire in any location he wants. A pitcher must develop at least two or preferably three pitches he can throw for a strike in any situation. The first time through the line-up a pitcher should be able to challenge most hitters with first pitch fastball. The hitter’s timing is normally not at peak performance on the first pitch he sees in the game. Batting Averages on Specific Counts 5 years of D1 statistics
COUNT BATTING AVERAGE Notice that the difference between 0-2 and 1-2 is an increase of almost 40 percentage points in batting average. However, .151 is still not very good. So with this in mind, the 0-2 pitch should be a set-up pitch, not a waste pitch. There is no sense in throwing a pitch 2 feet out of the strike zone just to change the count from 0-2 to 1-2. Make a pitcher’s pitch. Either the batter will swing at it and get himself out, or you have successfully set up your next pitch. It is always more fun to pitch ahead in the count. There is a bigger margin for error on first pitch fastball during the batter’s first at bat of the game. In other words, you usually do not have to be as fine. As the game progresses, command becomes increasingly important. Remember that the wrong pitch in the right location will usually end up in success Monday, February 25 The Most Common Pitfalls High School Baseball
Every parent of a high school player should read this... then every player should read it. Even if it does not apply to you or your player. Each of us knows someone that should read this. Maybe this will help get the message through . The Big Three
Things that do not go unnoticed
Monday, February 25 COLLEGE BASEBALL SCHOLARSHIPS NCAA Division I
NCAA Division II
NCAA Division III
Ivy League & Patriot League
NAIA
NJCAA Division I
NJCAA Division II
NJCAA Division III
Notes About NJCAA Scholarships:
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
Naperville Renegades Baseball View Our Guestbook | Sign Our Guestbook 1 visitors have signed our guestbook. |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||
|
|||||||||||
