Phase (1) of the Windup includes all of your body positioning before the movement begins: Hand positioning - If you are holding the ball in your glove with your throwing hand, please make sure that the palm of your hand is facing downward  into your glove with a relaxed wrist position. Hopefully none of you are holding the ball with your palm facing upward, but I have seen it taught and executed before. Grip - All coaches talk about having a relaxed grip and allowing the ball to rest within your finger tips. BUT BE CAREFUL when explaining "finger tips." What was not a concern for me because of my short finger size/length turned into a huge issue for a high school player of mine and a minor leaguer under the guidance of a close friend. Because these two individuals had such long fingers, they did not have the ball resting against the pads of their upper hand/lower fingers. The ball was resting completely in their finger tips and both velocity and control were being compromised. You'd be amazed at the instant increase in both velocity and control that was gained simply by sliding the ball back into the hand, while still keeping ...

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How often does a player have a great game or two, then a bad game and all of a sudden it's time to change the player's swing? It happens all the time! Baseball is a game of failure. It happens to the best of us just about 7 out of every 10 times we step to the plate. Deal with it! Both players and coaches need to understand that just because a player has a bad game it's not necessarily the swing. The pitcher could have had his best stuff of the year, a hitter could have guessed wrong and missed a pitch or two they normally hit or any number of other things ... OTHER THAN THE SWING! If it worked two days ago there is no reason it won't work again. Find something that feels good, performs well and trust it on both the good days and the bad.

You've done your homework and chosen a good showcase to attend.  The price is reasonable, the coaches you want to demonstrate your talents for are attending, and the people running the showcase are qualified and will provide you with a well done evaluation.  Now comes the big day.

A simple tip for getting a bunt down the line(s) is to PRESET your angle. Avoid keeping the bat square and trying to manipulate the barrel direction as the pitch is coming at you. If you're going to bunt down third, adjust your angle as you get ready and visa versa for a bunt down first. If you get really good, try bunting the ball towards the end of the bat (to deaden it) along with a PRESET angle and leg out a base hit! They all count in the books, whether a single off the wall (Barry Bonds) or a bunt down the line. Remember "Perfect or Foul," meaning give yourself a chance for a hit or keep it foul to get another pitch. Either way, NOT BACK TO THE PITCHER!

If you are interested in playing college baseball, you will need to do more than just play for your high school team.  It is difficult for college coaches to attend high school baseball games because your season is their season.  There are many quality showcases offered today that you can attend to display your skills.  Unfortunately, there are also some that are not so good.  How do you know the difference?   First, establish a relationship with a college coach in your area.  He will know which showcases are well run and which ones are not.  Find out if the coaches from the colleges you are interested in attending are coming to the showcase.  Remember, the showcase advertisers might use the words "we've INVITED such and such schools".  That is different than the words "such and such schools ARE attending."  Next, find out how many players will be attending.  When college coaches are attending a showcase and watching two hundred batters, you may become just another number.  Smaller showcases might give you more opportunities to demonstrate your ability.  However, a small showcase may also not be as well attended by the college coaches.  Ask the sponsor of the showcase how many of the previous attendees have received college scholarships, and ...

It is your responsibility to see that you complete the academic requirements so that when you graduate you are eligible as a freshman to compete in NCAA athletics.  As a high school sophomore you want to get on your computer and go to ncaaclearinghouse.net.  At this site you can find which courses at your high school have been NCAA approved.  Then plan your schedule to include the necessary courses by graduation. Did you know that a course that will satisfy a graduation requirement at your high school, and that would be accepted by colleges for admission, might NOT be accepted by the NCAA for eligibility?  Only by checking their website will you be sure. There are many "funkie" aspects to the NCAA eligibility requirements.  For example, if you take an advanced placement course in eight grade that will count as a credit towards English in high school, that's great for your graduation requirements.  However, the NCAA does not accept ANY courses taken prior to ninth grade.  An athlete at the high school where I taught missed his chance to play Division I football at a prestigeous university because this error was not discovered until after he graduated. Since the NCAA uses a sliding scale to determine ...

Both practice and preparation are the keys to fielding a ball cleanly off the wall, hitting your cutoff man quickly and accurately and throwing out the tying run at the plate in the bottom of the ninth. So let's start with preparation ... There is no better time to learn how a ball will bounce off of an outfield wall than during BP. Not only should you play a round or two of BP live (off of the wall), but you should take the time to throw a few of your own off of the top, middle and bottom of the wall. I can't tell you how many times I've seen an outfielder misplay and/or overrun a ball that hits the wall which turns into extra bases and extra runs. Learn as much as you can as soon as you can!  What is the correct way to field a ball off the wall? After you have picked a spot the ball will fall due to your preparation, approach the ball with your shoulders aligned to the infield (not with your back/numbers to the infield) and legs beneath you. Do NOT pick up a stationary ball with your glove, but rather stab it ...

A few general rules of thumb to go by when turning a double play in the middle with a "FLIP" ... 1) The flip should only be used when a ball is hit either straight at you or to the second base side (SS - Left : 2B - Right)  2) Funneling a flip can often costs you time, but may be needed to compensate a bad / in between hop. Try to use it sparingly, but do not jeopardize making a play to just to avoid it. 3) One of the biggest mistakes young middle infielders make is NOT to get their glove out of the way when making a flip. If a fielder tries to flip a ball with both hands, the player attempting to receive the flip has a very difficult time seeing it. Especially if it's coming in hot or in close proximity. Take your glove to your hip and let your fellow MIF see the ball. 4) Flip "Up Hill." There is nothing worse for a middle infielder than receiving a flip at the knees or ankles. Remember, you've got to get one before you can get two, so make the first one count. Hit your teammate in the chest! 5) Following ...

Whether you're playing on a hard surface with metal cleats, an adolescent who's body is growing extremely fast or simply cursed with flat feet (arches), when your feet hurt your game hurts. First, if you're playing on fields that are rock solid (FL, TX, etc) try to avoid metal and use molded plastic spikes. You may think you're digging in, but you're simply asking for a beating. Nike has been making them for years and others have since attempted to compete. Check them out at BaseballExpress.com. Molded plastic cleats were a savior for me in withstanding the grind of a spring training in FL. However, avoid plastic cleats in a wet/rainy environment. They tend to become slippery, especially on wet grass. Now if your feet continue to hurt, you're a young player that is still growing or you may just have flat feet (arches) TRY THIS ... Take a regular bat (preferably with a small barrel) and lay it on the ground. Then stand over it and role each foot individually across the barrel. Chances are it's going to hurt a little and you may even feel several small balls / knots that you never knew you had. Try doing this 2-3 times daily and ...