I was recently invited to the Professional Baseball Instructional Showcase. This showcase is actually more of a camp that is put on by high school, college, and professional coaches, professional scouts and cross checkers, and coaches that have worked with U.S.A. 18-U Baseball.
My view looking in as a past player and current promoter of the game of baseball is that these players do not understand how fortunate they are to have the opportunity to work with baseball guys that have impressive credentials like these. Here are some examples. The staff included a scout from the Texas Rangers, a scout from the San Diego Padres, and a cross checker from the San Diego Padres. The staff also included a coach from Cleveland State Community College, Carson Newman College and a coach from Lee University (NAIA world series the last 2 years). Last but certainly not least, the players had the opportunity to work with a coach pitching coach in the Texas Rangers organization and a coach that helps choose players for the U.S.A 18-U team.
This is one of the most impressive camps I have ever had the pleasure of seeing. I have been to quite a few (10-15 in the last year alone). The knowledge of the staff was unbelievable. Something I have never seen before is these guys would meet with the group of players and parents for about 30 minutes to discuss different aspects of baseball and high school baseball recruiting. Usually during the "discussion time" the staff would tell stories of their recruiting days as coaches and discuss the do's and do not's of being recruited. They would also allow the players and parents to ask questions.
It truly was an incredible experience to see these guys promote the game baseball and help kids become better baseball players and better human beings. Most showcases are conducted to make the program money, but these guys actually care about the players. It included some of the best instruction I have ever witnessed.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Thursday, December 17, 2009
The Importance of Defense
A lot of players these days spend hours perfecting their swing and working on the offensive side of the baseball. It is vital never to forget the importance of defense. I can't express enough the importance, especially infielders, to take time to work on the defensive side of the ball.
A strong glove in the infield can earn a sub par hitter the ability to play at a high level. As a kid, Ozzie Smith caught ground balls with a paper bag. He is now in the Hall of Fame and one of the greatest short stops of all time. He understood the importance of baseball.
Below is a quick routine that a player can do alone by throwing a tennis ball against the wall and catching it bare handed. Or if you have a partner, have them hit ground balls to you.
25- Right at you (Routine)
25- Forehands
25- Backhands
25- Slow rollers
Remember to incorporate some throws in each section. For a middle infielders, work on throwing to second base for the double play. If you are a first baseman, make sure to turn double plays on sections 1-3, and throws to third (getting the force out at third on a crash bunt play) in section 4.
For discussion of similar topics visit: http://www.ballparkpreps.com/forum
A strong glove in the infield can earn a sub par hitter the ability to play at a high level. As a kid, Ozzie Smith caught ground balls with a paper bag. He is now in the Hall of Fame and one of the greatest short stops of all time. He understood the importance of baseball.
Below is a quick routine that a player can do alone by throwing a tennis ball against the wall and catching it bare handed. Or if you have a partner, have them hit ground balls to you.
25- Right at you (Routine)
25- Forehands
25- Backhands
25- Slow rollers
Remember to incorporate some throws in each section. For a middle infielders, work on throwing to second base for the double play. If you are a first baseman, make sure to turn double plays on sections 1-3, and throws to third (getting the force out at third on a crash bunt play) in section 4.
For discussion of similar topics visit: http://www.ballparkpreps.com/forum
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Basic Hitting Drills
Here are some basic drills that can improve your game that can be indoor or out, as long as you have a cage. If you don't have a cage indoors, use whiffle balls, they are safe and cheap.
1. Live Hitting - Have someone throw batting practice, but do not take more than 20 swings in a row. Too many swings can cause the hitter to get tired and lose concentration. Quality swings is key.
2. Front Toss - Have someone sit in chair and soft toss balls to you from behind an "L" screen. By doing this you can maximize the amount of strikes you get in a little amount of time.
3. Top Hand / Bottom Hand drill - Use a smaller bat and one hand. Drive through the ball that is front tossed to you. Use your top hand first and take cuts then repeat exercise with bottom hand.
4. High Tee - Take two tees, raise the one in the back higher than the tee in the front. Put baseballs on both tees, swing over top of the higher tee, and hit the ball on the front tee (great drill to help develop backspin).
5. Regular Tee - Place the tee in different locations of the strike zone. A great thing to do is place the tee in the zone where your swing could use improvement.
1. Live Hitting - Have someone throw batting practice, but do not take more than 20 swings in a row. Too many swings can cause the hitter to get tired and lose concentration. Quality swings is key.
2. Front Toss - Have someone sit in chair and soft toss balls to you from behind an "L" screen. By doing this you can maximize the amount of strikes you get in a little amount of time.
3. Top Hand / Bottom Hand drill - Use a smaller bat and one hand. Drive through the ball that is front tossed to you. Use your top hand first and take cuts then repeat exercise with bottom hand.
4. High Tee - Take two tees, raise the one in the back higher than the tee in the front. Put baseballs on both tees, swing over top of the higher tee, and hit the ball on the front tee (great drill to help develop backspin).
5. Regular Tee - Place the tee in different locations of the strike zone. A great thing to do is place the tee in the zone where your swing could use improvement.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Dry Swings
Let's discuss a simple drill that can help vastly improve hitting. It is an underrated exercise that my coach(now a professional scout/crosschecker with the Padres) preached when I played college baseball. Dry Swings.
One of the most beneficial drills in hitting that is rarely used is "dry swings." When I see kids doing dry swings it is usually on deck and they are taking an entirely different swing than they take in a game. The best thing you could do for your swing, is to concentrate when taking dry swings to make them as game like as possible. Muscle memory will eventually take over and that good swing you are taking will bleed over into the game. A few checkpoints that can help.
1. relaxed athletic position
2. soft stride
3. balance at contact
4. extension after contact
Break your swing into these checkpoints. Like I said before, muscle memory will begin to take over and it will become second nature.
One of the most beneficial drills in hitting that is rarely used is "dry swings." When I see kids doing dry swings it is usually on deck and they are taking an entirely different swing than they take in a game. The best thing you could do for your swing, is to concentrate when taking dry swings to make them as game like as possible. Muscle memory will eventually take over and that good swing you are taking will bleed over into the game. A few checkpoints that can help.
1. relaxed athletic position
2. soft stride
3. balance at contact
4. extension after contact
Break your swing into these checkpoints. Like I said before, muscle memory will begin to take over and it will become second nature.
Friday, December 11, 2009
High School Baseball Div. 1 vs JUCO
High School Baseball
Both high school baseball players as well as their parents share the same mentality, thinking that reaching to play division 1 baseball (NCAA) is the main goal for any student. However the paradox is that the same players that think this end up being extremely unhappy about the choice they have made, Division 1 not being the best choice.
When Junior College might be the better choice:
1. You are not one of the top brains in high school. Most of 2.5-3.0 GPA high school students believe that to be the easiest way is to attend a junior college.
2. You might be a draft pick, not picked out of high school, wanting to get the benefits of two-year draft eligibility.
3. You’re one of the chosen players but you’re not good enough to sign a contract and still you would love to play professional baseball. Junior college way gives you the opportunity to either sign or be re-drafted when both seasons-freshman and senior seasons end.
4. You dream of conquering Arizona or Clemson State while you’re being offered from only lesser division 1 schools. If you go to a junior college and show them what your abilities are, you will get the opportunity at the college you really wanted to play at.
There is only one thing both players as well as their parents have to keep in mind: finishing 2 years in a junior college and then being transferred to a division 1 college will lead in one direction: receiving a degree that says “Clemson” or “Arizona State”, but says absolutely nothing about the junior college.
Let’s talk about money now. Almost every division 1 schools (who have 11.7 scholarships for baseball) have to share this money equally with 30-35 players, the player having left a large sum of money to pay. With lower tuition costs and more scholarships (24) many times a junior college can offer 2 free years.
You can save money this simple way: you attend a division 1 school 2 years for free and the next 2 at 50 %, which equals to four years at 75 % savings. All these lead you to a $20,000 save from that 25 % left of every year.
You can also choose a JUCO because of the additional playing opportunities, being able to play against those who are your own age.
Although Junior College sounds good for some of the young players it isn’t the right option for all of them. It’s almost impossible for a 3.5- 4.0 student, who could attend some of the best colleges as Notre Dame or Duke to even take a junior college in consideration since all these top academic schools don’t even consider JUCO transfers.
No matter what the choice is, it’s yours and has got to be the right one. Good luck!
Author: wbdoyle
Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_1113128_32.html
About the Author: Retired US Navy. Married 20+ years. Home Inchon, Korea. Work Seoul, Korea.
As much as I would really enjoy taking credit for this information I can't, however, I do have some input and additional information.
I want to bring up the idea of smaller NAIA schools as an option for high school baseball players.
There are roughly 1200 players in the major leagues and there are only 5400 players in the minor leagues. This means that about 18% of minor league players make it to the big leagues. That doesn't include college players. To make it simple, the odds are not good that any given player will play professional ball. So what can you get out of playing baseball? A free education. And if it isn't free then the school will pay for a portion of it with scholarships.
NAIA schools are often smaller schools that have strong academic programs. A lot of the schools are liberal arts based or they have a direct affiliation with a christian denomination. The great thing about these schools is that the student to teacher ratio is great. The school I attended was 6:1 student to teacher ratio. This allows the student to be able to concentrate and have a more developed relationship with the professor. The ingredients calls for a higher GPA.
The point is that few people play D1 baseball and even fewer people play in the minor and major leagues. With that said, get out of baseball what you can. Have fun and don't be rule out NAIA schools.
Both high school baseball players as well as their parents share the same mentality, thinking that reaching to play division 1 baseball (NCAA) is the main goal for any student. However the paradox is that the same players that think this end up being extremely unhappy about the choice they have made, Division 1 not being the best choice.
When Junior College might be the better choice:
1. You are not one of the top brains in high school. Most of 2.5-3.0 GPA high school students believe that to be the easiest way is to attend a junior college.
2. You might be a draft pick, not picked out of high school, wanting to get the benefits of two-year draft eligibility.
3. You’re one of the chosen players but you’re not good enough to sign a contract and still you would love to play professional baseball. Junior college way gives you the opportunity to either sign or be re-drafted when both seasons-freshman and senior seasons end.
4. You dream of conquering Arizona or Clemson State while you’re being offered from only lesser division 1 schools. If you go to a junior college and show them what your abilities are, you will get the opportunity at the college you really wanted to play at.
There is only one thing both players as well as their parents have to keep in mind: finishing 2 years in a junior college and then being transferred to a division 1 college will lead in one direction: receiving a degree that says “Clemson” or “Arizona State”, but says absolutely nothing about the junior college.
Let’s talk about money now. Almost every division 1 schools (who have 11.7 scholarships for baseball) have to share this money equally with 30-35 players, the player having left a large sum of money to pay. With lower tuition costs and more scholarships (24) many times a junior college can offer 2 free years.
You can save money this simple way: you attend a division 1 school 2 years for free and the next 2 at 50 %, which equals to four years at 75 % savings. All these lead you to a $20,000 save from that 25 % left of every year.
You can also choose a JUCO because of the additional playing opportunities, being able to play against those who are your own age.
Although Junior College sounds good for some of the young players it isn’t the right option for all of them. It’s almost impossible for a 3.5- 4.0 student, who could attend some of the best colleges as Notre Dame or Duke to even take a junior college in consideration since all these top academic schools don’t even consider JUCO transfers.
No matter what the choice is, it’s yours and has got to be the right one. Good luck!
Author: wbdoyle
Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_1113128_32.html
About the Author: Retired US Navy. Married 20+ years. Home Inchon, Korea. Work Seoul, Korea.
As much as I would really enjoy taking credit for this information I can't, however, I do have some input and additional information.
I want to bring up the idea of smaller NAIA schools as an option for high school baseball players.
There are roughly 1200 players in the major leagues and there are only 5400 players in the minor leagues. This means that about 18% of minor league players make it to the big leagues. That doesn't include college players. To make it simple, the odds are not good that any given player will play professional ball. So what can you get out of playing baseball? A free education. And if it isn't free then the school will pay for a portion of it with scholarships.
NAIA schools are often smaller schools that have strong academic programs. A lot of the schools are liberal arts based or they have a direct affiliation with a christian denomination. The great thing about these schools is that the student to teacher ratio is great. The school I attended was 6:1 student to teacher ratio. This allows the student to be able to concentrate and have a more developed relationship with the professor. The ingredients calls for a higher GPA.
The point is that few people play D1 baseball and even fewer people play in the minor and major leagues. With that said, get out of baseball what you can. Have fun and don't be rule out NAIA schools.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Here's What You Can Do With Ballpark Preps
Ballpark Preps is basically a platform the players can use to market themselves as a high school player and potential recruit. It is set up similar to that of a showcase only everything is online for the college coaches to see and any school in the country can get on our website for free and look at any player in our database. The idea is to gain high school baseball players the exposure needed to get to the next level.
1. Profile Picture - The photo in the left upper corner of the page is the profile picture. This is important because a lot of coaches like to see a player's body frame during the recruiting process. Without a photo up it is hard for coaches to see what they are getting.
2. About Me - This is a section that allows the player to type a little bit about their self as a player. Some players have even typed in their schedule for college coaches to see. This is a great way to let coaches know where you will be playing.
3. Player Stats - This section is located directly beneath the profile picture. It includes information such as: height, weight, and which way you throw and bat.
4. Videos - A place for the user to post videos of themselves hitting, fielding, running, bunting, pitching, or whatever else a player can do in the game of baseball. This allows the coaches to see what the kids can do. This also allows the coaches to break down the video to see the strengths and weaknesses in technique.
5. Academic Stats - This section is located directly beneath the Player Stats section. A player can list academic stats such as grade point average, class, SAT, and ACT scores.
6. Playing Stats - A players stats are located below the Videos section. This section allows a player to post their hitting and pitching stats from previous or the current season. There is a place for a seasonal breakdown and a place for the cumulative total. This allows the player to market their performance.
7. Contact Information - This section allows the player to post their contact information so that coaches can be in touch with them. Phone, address, etc.
8. Photos - This section allows a player to post game and practice photos for coaches to see.
9. Journals - This section allows the player to blog about anything they would like. From showcase experiences to game thoughts; players can write anything they would like.
10. Recommendations - The recommendations tool allows a player to type in a coaches email. Our website will send the coach an email so that the coach can type the player a recommendation. Past summer league coaches or high school coaches are great for the recommendation section. College coaches like to read about what high school coaches have to say about their players.
There is also a subsection called View More Information located in the Player Stats, Academic Stats, and Contact Information sections. This section includes additional information for coaches to see such as a catcher's pop time, 60 yard dash time, what schools the player has applied to, schools of interest, awards, etc.
1. Profile Picture - The photo in the left upper corner of the page is the profile picture. This is important because a lot of coaches like to see a player's body frame during the recruiting process. Without a photo up it is hard for coaches to see what they are getting.
2. About Me - This is a section that allows the player to type a little bit about their self as a player. Some players have even typed in their schedule for college coaches to see. This is a great way to let coaches know where you will be playing.
3. Player Stats - This section is located directly beneath the profile picture. It includes information such as: height, weight, and which way you throw and bat.
4. Videos - A place for the user to post videos of themselves hitting, fielding, running, bunting, pitching, or whatever else a player can do in the game of baseball. This allows the coaches to see what the kids can do. This also allows the coaches to break down the video to see the strengths and weaknesses in technique.
5. Academic Stats - This section is located directly beneath the Player Stats section. A player can list academic stats such as grade point average, class, SAT, and ACT scores.
6. Playing Stats - A players stats are located below the Videos section. This section allows a player to post their hitting and pitching stats from previous or the current season. There is a place for a seasonal breakdown and a place for the cumulative total. This allows the player to market their performance.
7. Contact Information - This section allows the player to post their contact information so that coaches can be in touch with them. Phone, address, etc.
8. Photos - This section allows a player to post game and practice photos for coaches to see.
9. Journals - This section allows the player to blog about anything they would like. From showcase experiences to game thoughts; players can write anything they would like.
10. Recommendations - The recommendations tool allows a player to type in a coaches email. Our website will send the coach an email so that the coach can type the player a recommendation. Past summer league coaches or high school coaches are great for the recommendation section. College coaches like to read about what high school coaches have to say about their players.
There is also a subsection called View More Information located in the Player Stats, Academic Stats, and Contact Information sections. This section includes additional information for coaches to see such as a catcher's pop time, 60 yard dash time, what schools the player has applied to, schools of interest, awards, etc.
Easy Ways to Get Recruited to Play College Baseball
-Start Early. The sooner you start getting your name out. The longer college coaches will have to hear your name.
-Choose the showcases you go to wisely. Make sure you call and find out how many college coaches and scouts will be attending the showcases you plan to attend. Get your money's worth.
-Attend Camps and Showcases put on by our School of Interest. If the college you would like to attend puts on a showcase. Make sure you are there and make sure they know who you are and that you are interested.
-Never take for granted the ability to play hard. Coaches notice during the recruiting process. Often times, coaches will take a hard worker over a player with raw talent.
-Do your best in school. Coaches will often choose a player with a better GPA because they want to coach baseball not babysit players. Players that can receive academic scholarships are very appealing to coaches.
-Use positive body language when in front of college coaches. Coaches do not like to see players who act as if they would rather be doing anything than playing baseball.
-Choose the showcases you go to wisely. Make sure you call and find out how many college coaches and scouts will be attending the showcases you plan to attend. Get your money's worth.
-Attend Camps and Showcases put on by our School of Interest. If the college you would like to attend puts on a showcase. Make sure you are there and make sure they know who you are and that you are interested.
-Never take for granted the ability to play hard. Coaches notice during the recruiting process. Often times, coaches will take a hard worker over a player with raw talent.
-Do your best in school. Coaches will often choose a player with a better GPA because they want to coach baseball not babysit players. Players that can receive academic scholarships are very appealing to coaches.
-Use positive body language when in front of college coaches. Coaches do not like to see players who act as if they would rather be doing anything than playing baseball.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
