What you’ll need:

Three pieces of 4 x 4 lumber: one long piece for the middle and two to serve as feet. There’s no ideal length for these pieces. I’ve used a 5-ft length in the middle with 18-in feet; I’ve also use a 2½ foot length for the middle. Either way, the beam should be about seven inches off the ground. This will be positioned behind the pitcher to help give him a feel for the “up, down, and out” range of motion while staying tall on the back leg, and to teach and reinforce balance.

The drill begins from a position similar to the stretch position, with both the glove hand and the throwing hand extended in line with its respective leg. This position is also called the balance position as the pitcher is required to get his balance with just the back foot on the beam and the front suspended in air. If no beam is used, the ball of the front foot should be touching the ground lightly so that the weight is on the back leg. This position obviously requires a slight bend at the knee of the front leg. The back leg is rigid and strong. The back foot is atop the beam and parallel with its length, just the way the back foot would be positioned against the pitching plate.

(Note: A good way for a pitcher to get the feel for the “pitch tall and fall” concept is for him stand on the beam, rigid like a tree and balanced upon the back foot, then dead fall into the coach’s hands so that the coach is supporting the pitcher’s weight at a slight angle forward from ninety degrees. The pitcher then executes the slide step to the ground to catch his own fall.

Now to the H-O-U-S-E portion of the drill.

H

The front leg is raised in a straight line to bring the knee up to and slightly rotated toward the belt buckle. The lower leg is relaxed and in a straight line to the ground. The arms and the legs work in concert, the glove hand and the throwing hand in line with the heart and a few inches from the upper torso (far enough that if they were brought straight down, the wrist of the glove hand would contact the raised front leg near mid-thigh). The back leg is straight and strong as is the back side of the upper torso. The eyes are on the target. Explain that the glove and throwing hand are to act as a counterweight to help create balance.

The emphasis at this point is a center of balance that can be maintained indefinitely helps center the body’s resources.

O

With the lower leg relaxed, the front leg descends in a straight line toward the ground with toes pointed slightly down and poised just above the ground before initiating the slide step. The glove arm and the throwing arm work in concert with the front and back leg, respectively. As the front leg descends, the hands break down and follow the legs. The throwing hand is positioned above the ball, and both hand and arm are fully extended in line with the back leg. The pitcher is reminded to break his hands over the pitching plate. The front leg’s “straight down” position can be compared to the upright stroke of a capital L.

The front leg acts as the pace car for the rest of the moving parts. By moving straight down a constant is provided. The height of the mound does not change as the game progresses, so the influence of gravity is minimized. Pitchers who start toward the plate with an up-out-down sequence are fighting gravity. The weight of the front leg becomes a variable that deviates as the pitcher tires and begins to compensate with, causing subconscious adjustments in arm range. Note that the arm starts coming forward as soon as the front foot touches the ground, regardless of its point of extension.

The straight-to-the-ground descent of the front leg allows the arm to be dropped full length to the pitcher’s side, providing the maximum distance to build arm speed toward the point of release. The glove hand and the throwing hand should break at a point just above or at the belt buckle.

U

The front leg performs the slide step full toward the target. This movement can be associated with the lower stroke of the capital L. (Of course, the young pitcher will probably note that the L is backwards.) The ball of the front foot contacts the ground with the front side more closed than open, meaning that the toes are pointed not directly toward the target, but at a 45-degree angle. At contact with the ground, the heel of the front foot should be in line with the heel of the back foot. This slide step provides the time (over distance) needed for the throwing arm to climb to the fully extended load position with the hand above the ball. At this point, the throwing hand is at its furthest from the body. The glove hand is extended toward the target with the thumb toward the ground and the web of the glove pointed either at the target or at the lead knee.

Key point: The back leg remains “tall” as the front leg slides toward the target. Encourage the pitcher to minimize the tendency to bend the back knee as the slide step is executed. Such a ” “drop and drive” style is less efficient and affects the pitcher’s ability to stay on top of the ball (pitch down hill) and repeat his mechanics. The length and pace of the slide step allows the throwing arm to obtain maximum extension from the body before starting forward. At this extension point, the hand is above the ball so that the palm is either to the ground or facing the center fielder.

S

This step incorporates a “rewind,” or a repeating of the front foot landing that reinitiates motion and arm load. As the pitcher allows his front leg to drop straight down and he performs the slide step to contact, the front foot is allowed to land and the motion temporarily halted to assure the proper placement of the ball of the foot and the angle. To reinitiate a load and throw the ball, the pitcher pushes off of contact (a matter of mere inches) to reload his weight to the throwing leg and regain momentum in the motion. The front foot is than permitted to land a second time and the pitch is released, hence the “rewind.” Note: The glove arm is used to pull down and in toward the heart to assist the up-and-over range of motion of the throwing arm.

The key element here is to push off the ball of the foot so that the weight is transferred to the back foot and the front knee is bent slightly. The front foot thus contacts the ground at a natural rate of descent. This movement is designed to replicate the rocking motion associated with the power position.

E

This final part of the drill actually begins with the front foot contacting the ground the second time (as described in “S”). As the ball of the front foot contacts the ground it rotates the front side (the hips and the squaring of the shoulders) open toward the target to maximize the torque generated by the hip rotation. The throwing arm and hand travel through “big circle” so that the hand goes from on top of the ball at fullest extension to directly behind the ball at the cocked position and through to the release. The ball is released out in front of the pitcher’s eyes and chest.

Follow through: The throwing arm continues long through the release point as the pitcher gets up over the front leg, which is rigid in a straight line from the foot through the knee and to the hip, and the upper torso is extended out and over the leg and toward the target at a position almost parallel to the ground. This position is often referred to as a flat back. The release is extended in a loose arc through the opposite knee. The eyes and the head remain still and fixed on the target.

Pitchers of all ages and levels can benefit from this drill. It is easily grasped and promotes the feel for the primary concepts relative to the pitching mechanics. Once a natural rhythm is developed using the beam, the concepts are easily transferred to the mound, where the exact same steps can be practiced and reinforced.

This is a guest post authored by Kevin O’Connell. Kevin has coached baseball both at the scholastic level and the collegiate level, and has been involved as an instructor in clinics, baseball schools, and providing individual lessons. Currently a public high school administrator, Kevin has been involved in public education for more than 24 years. Kevin also has extensive experience in the collegiate recruiting process, including enrollment, scholarships, the Clearing House.

For coaches whose teams are made up of children age 10 and under, the HOUSE drill is an ideal way to help teach pitching mechanics.

Children of that age tend to take instruction literally, so that when they are introduced to the segmented, step-by-step nature of pitching drills, they follow the drills faithfully on the mound—which means they often pause between each step instead of putting the steps together in a continuous motion. To help young players see the connection between the steps and the actual motion, the HOUSE drill introduces an analogy between spelling a word and saying that word. Before the drill begins, the player is asked to consider the word house (chosen for its familiarity) and the sequence of its letters.

At the coach’s encouragement, the player confirms that the five singular sounds of each letter do not equate to the one sound they produce together. The player should further acknowledge that same letters in different order do not produce the word house.The concept of this analogy is then equated with the teaching of the mechanics. Just as each letter of the word house has its function within the word, so does each part of the pitcher’s mechanics. And just as the five letters must be in proper order to make the word house, each part of the pitching drill must be done in order to maximize its effectiveness.

Young players will get the message if you start the drill by saying “While practicing the drills that make up the pitching mechanics we are spelling. While actually pitching we are saying the word.”

Before getting into the drill itself, let’s look at the overriding concepts of pitching.

• Pitching velocity is a product of arm speed, which is a product of maximized range of motion. Increased body speed does not equate to increased arm speed.

• Balance is required to load the body’s weight to one point in preparation to deliver that weight behind the release. Once balance is established, the arm is allowed to do its work.

• Gravity and inertia: The thrown ball has a finite amount of energy, which dissipates due to the pull of gravity and other natural elements. Backspin and maximized rotation work to counter the effect of gravity and extend the ball’s energy (velocity).

• Backspin and maximized rotation are a product of wrist snap and action, both of which are supported by being on top of the ball at the extension point and transitioning to the hand directly behind the ball at the cocked-and-release point. The hand never gets underneath the ball.

• The arm action and release point are rarely directly overhand. Most pitchers employ a release point closer to the three-quarters slot. The key to the release is to maintain the elbow higher than the arm pit and keep the hand directly behind the ball at release.

Photo courtesy of StuSeeger, licensed CC BY 2.0

This is a guest post authored by Kevin O’Connell. Kevin has coached baseball both at the scholastic level and the collegiate level, and has been involved as an instructor in clinics, baseball schools, and providing individual lessons. Currently a public high school administrator, Kevin has been involved in public education for more than 24 years. Kevin also has extensive experience in the collegiate recruiting process, including enrollment, scholarships, the Clearing House.

This is a guest post authored by Kevin O’Connell. Kevin has coached baseball both at the scholastic level and the collegiate level, and has been involved as an instructor in clinics, baseball schools, and providing individual lessons. Currently a public high school administrator, Kevin has been involved in public education for more than 24 years. Kevin also has extensive experience in the collegiate recruiting process, including enrollment, scholarships, the Clearing House.

Whether you’re coaching your first baseball team or have several years under your belt, we can all learn to improve our skills. The following topics are tips for coaching little league baseball, intended to provide a structure and an understanding for the coaching process.

While these tips will not detail everything, I am confident that there is enough information to point a coach in the direction of further research if necessary.

Teach the Basics

Baseball has three basic physical skills: catching the ball, throwing the ball, and hitting the ball. The capabilities that provide for these skills may seem genetically gifted to some youngsters, but the techniques must be taught and practiced. As a coach you are accountable for understanding these techniques, analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of your players, and providing for improved proficiency.

Structure Practices to be Drill Oriented

Drills are simply physical routines that break down the range of any baseball skill to its varied components. Through drills, the young player receives the opportunity to isolate and reinforce these pieces, and then progressively combines them to gain proficiency throughout the full range of motion. There are drills to practice every skill in the game. Coaches with extensive experience and an advanced grasp of the game’s concepts can design their own drills to serve the needs of their players. For those who are less advanced, there are commercial videos and DVDs that are available for reasonable cost.

All practices should be drill oriented. This is not only the best strategy for allowing the players to come to the skills through their individual learning styles, but everyone is active at all times, which minimizes boredom, distraction, and behavioral issues.

Keep Practice Length Around One Hour

Practice usually begins to break down and lose intensity as the players tire and their attention span wanes. A well designed, drill oriented practice is fast paced and effective. As long as the drills spiral from the general to the more specific, and move logically from one skill set to the next, the players will continue to develop those skills. Keep in mind, most athletic movement requires muscle memory, and this takes place over time. Each successive practice should incorporate some repetition of drills, with the time dedicated to each becoming more brief as the players increase their proficiency.

Practice must also allow time for the introduction, demonstration, practice, and reinforcement of team plays such as bunt defenses, pick-off plays, and general ball movement on the field. Individual positional play also needs time, as does batting practice. A productive practice design that works through stations, is position specific, and is routine in structure can meet these needs in a one hour time span.

Organize Batting Practice Into Groups

Taking batting practice with individual players is a waste of time and one of the reasons why younger players find baseball boring. There is logical rationale for employing this structure, for example to simulate live play, but it is not the best structure for batting practice.

Organize live batting practice into groups. Most little league teams consist of an average of twelve players. Divide the team into four groups and employ a rotation. As one group bats, the group to follow chases down the foul balls and takes phantom swings, or hits off batting tees or via soft-toss. The other two groups are deployed strategically throughout the field to retrieve batted balls. The players in the field are encouraged to address each batted ball as an opportunity to practice their skills.

As per the group hitting, each batter should receive 5-7 pitches, and all three hitters bat twice each in rotation. The hitting group then changes place with one of the fielding groups, which assumes the foul ball duty. The foul ball group takes batting practice. And so on proceeds the rotation. If time allows, the rotation can repeat itself, with each batter hitting one time more.

Have at Least as Many Practice Days as Game Days

The players do not get better playing games alone. Granted there is much to be said for the game experience; however, with practice game situations can be controlled and repeated, identified weaknesses can be addressed, and plays that broke down can be re-taught and reinforced. Baseball is a game of repetition, and the games themselves often do not provide the necessary degree of opportunity for each player. Ideally, practices should at the very least be scheduled a day or two prior to a game and then a day or two after.

Talking is Not Teaching

Young players do not learn by verbal explanation alone. Telling is not showing. To encourage learning, a coach must create a physical learning environment. Simulate game situations and walk the players physically through the desired mechanics of the play. As the players demonstrate increased understanding of the strategy, its concept and physical movement, continue to modify the environment until it replicates game speed. In this way, when the strategy actually comes into play in a game situation, the necessary points of reference have already been established and the verbal cues will have cognitive connections.

Keep Winning and Losing in Perspective

All competitive games are played with a score in mind, and no one sets out to lose. However, keep winning and losing in perspective. The inescapable truth of the matter is that the odds against any little league ball player achieving professional status are astronomical. In fact, most step away from the game prior to high school. Encourage those moments that feed into positive self-esteem or that provide for personal growth. Condition yourself as a coach to find learning and teaching moments that advance your players appreciation of the game and proficiency in the game. Nothing a coach does or says should ever demean a player or reduce a player in his own eyes or the eyes of his teammates.

There cannot be any little league players without little league coaches. At the same time, it is not enjoyable or positive to either if the experience is poor. To this end, I offer the tips above to serve as beginnings of a plan and a structure. Though as a whole it is but a sketch, the kernels scattered throughout can lead you to a field of know-how.

Hopefully you find these tips useful for coaching. For those who’ve been coaching for awhile, what else would you suggest to new youth baseball coaches? Let us know in the comments!

Photo courtesy of StuSeeger, licensed CC BY 2.0