TRYOUTS:
Tryout Day is the first and only look the managers and coaches have of your potential
"Next Babe Ruth" before players are drafted on teams. I've looked at thousands
of kids struggle through a time when they need to be showing there stuff. Don't take this
to mean they must be stars. There will be some players trying out who will be very good.
All the managers can see that. Experienced managers and coaches are looking at the rest of
those trying out to fill the balance of their teams roster.
To survive tryouts and impress the managers and coaches consider the following:
- Make sure your tryout knows how to hit, throw and catch a baseball. Great opportunity
for quality time at home before tryout day comes.
- Dress for baseball. Getting dirty is the fun part of baseball. Just ask the kids this
after they had their first sliding practice.
- Managers and coaches want to see the player "Hustle". We always ask the
kids to run the bases. Speed on the basepaths during a close game is "a coaches
dream."
- Remember the time spent at tryouts is the only look the coaches and managers will get of
your child before they draft players for their team. I know it's tough to go out and
perform during tryouts...follow these suggestions and you will "Survive!"
OK you survived tryouts and your child has been drafted to play on a Major League team.
The phone call has come from the manager of a team in the Majors selecting your child
as a team member. Who's more excited, your child or dad? Let's start calling every family
member we have ever talked to to proclaim "We made it to the Majors". The more
family members who know the good news the more bodies available for all the fun Little
League tasks. "Field Prep Day" is only a week away and car pooling to practice
not long after that. Let's not forget "Snack Bar Duty" too and the Equipment
Store needs staffing. Family bonding at its best.
It's time to get down to business now. This is no longer T-ball or the minors. Your the
proud parent of a player in the Majors and you must be prepared for what's ahead.
Let the FUN begin!
PRACTICE
Before we start the actual baseball stuff, here are a couple of notes about
practice....
Since this is where all the instruction is going to occur, let's make sure we get all
of our players to practice on time. Carpool, vanpool, any kind of pool....
Once there, let the coaches do their thing. We always encouraged our parents to stay
and watch practice. As a matter of fact...volunteer to help out. There is always something
to do that can help the coaches out. It might be just filling up the water jug or hitting
fly balls to the outfielders. Believe it or not...your kids will enjoy your participating
too.
If the coach says practice is over in 2 hours....be there to pick your child up.
Chances are the coach has a life too.(Although I know personally a few coaches and
managers whose lives revolves around Little League)
As a parent of a Little Leaguer, you should familiarize yourself with this
information. As a Coach or Manager, I hope that what follows will assist you in
establishing a standard for your practices while keeping the preseason ritual fun.
Normally we run practice for about 2 hours. If you keep your practice organized with
specific drills in mind, and you keep the right blend of fun and instruction, you will
find 2-3 practices a week enough time to cover everything.
Follow the drills starting below, have patience, and you will be rewarded with a fine
bunch of ballplayers who just might surprise you and their fans with their abilities.
Remember to use praise as well as discipline. Something some coaches forget about.
Starting Practice.
- Always have each player run a lap to loosen the legs first.
- All players should stretch both legs & arms before throwing.
- All players should spend the first 10 minutes or so warming up just having a catch.
Start with half of the team on the 1st or 3rd baseline spread out between home plate and
the base. The other half of the team is opposite them about even with pitchers mound. Even
at this distance, don't forget to emphasize the basics of throwing. (Click here to
go to throwing basics)
- Once their arms get loose, those on the field can start to widen the distance until they
have reached the dirt part of the infield. That's about the maximum warm-up distance.
- There is no need to throw the ball 70 MPH at this time, just get loose. No sore arms
will occur during practice or later in the season if each practice begins with a warm-up.
Organize this also so that each time the players warm up in practice (or before a game)
the routine will be the same.
- After about 10 minutes, the players arms and legs should be loose, go right into the
practice routine.
- Each practice should teach the basics and keep reinforcing them. You remember how hard
it is at home to get our kids to listen and learn. Repetition of the basics builds strong
baseball fundimentals.
- Don't be afraid to get the parents involved, either. Almost anyone can hit fly balls to
the outfielders while the infielders get a workout.
Let's head right into our first fundimental.
THROWING
Each Player whether he is 12 years old or it's his first time in the Majors in Little
League has to know the proper technique for throwing the baseball. This will keep to a
minimum things like sore arms, beaned parents in the stands, etc.
- Start with all players no matter what their ability paired off at about 15-20 feet
apart.
- The player throwing the ball should square his back foot like he is putting it against
the pitching rubber as a pitcher would when pitching from the stretch.
- The throwing arm should be fully extended behind the player.
- He should grip the baseball with the thumb down and the index and middle finger on top
forming a "V".
- The player should be able to look back and see the top two fingers forming the
"V" if the arm is fully extended.
- The throwing motion should be as over hand as possible. Never let the player tuck the
ball behind his ear before throwing.
- Coinciding with the throw the player should step directly at his target with his lead
leg. This is the left leg with right hand players and the reverse with lefties.
- The target should always be at the chest of the other player. This works whether the
distance is 6 feet or 60 feet. The ball can be handled by the receiving player much easier
if thrown at the chest.
- After the ball is thrown the follow through of the throwing arm is across the chest. I
exaggerate this by telling the player when his throwing motion is complete he should be
able to touch the ground out side of his left shoe(for right handed players) with the
inside of the index and middle fingers of the throwing hand.(This works especially well
with pitchers)
- Under no circumstances allow the players to throw any ball that requires the snapping of
the wrist.(curves, etc.) At their age the muscle development is not complete.
Now our ballplayers can throw with out endangering anyone nearby so
let's move on to:
BASE RUNNING
Running the bases is something we do at every practice. At the first few practices it
works as a conditioning drill as well.
Here are some Base Running basics that also work well as part of your daily practice
routine. We always end our practice with at least some base running drills.
1st Drill
- Ball is hit in the infield.
- Start this drill at home plate. All the players in a line going back from home plate but
facing first base . Only the front player in the batters box.
- One coach at home plate and the other down at first base to encourage the runners to run
hard.
- Runner should run at top speed completely through the base. Have one of the 11 or 12
year olds go first. They already know the drill.
- Any attempt to slide, jump or leap to the base actually slows the runner down.
- Don't be afraid to run this drill a couple of times during earlier practices. Especially
if a few of the guys don't hustle.
2nd Drill
- Ball hit goes through the infield.
- Prior to reaching 1st base, the runner should widen his path so that when he touches 1st
base he is headed straight to 2nd base.(Called "Rounding the Base" )
- As runner rounds 1st base he should be picking up the ball and the fielder. If fielder
misplays the ball runner looking will advance. Runner just happy with a single and
celebrating with base coach will not be ready to advance and will also have
"interesting" conversation with the manager upon his return to the dugout.
- Runner should take a wide enough turn so that if a play is made back to 1st base, he
would have to dive back.(See "Taking a lead." Drill
#3)
3rd Drill
- Taking a lead off of the base.(1st, 2nd or 3rd base).
- Once the pitch reaches home plate, the runner should lead off the base as if he were
going to steal.(Must be Aggressive) If there is a play back to that base the only way the
runner should get back is to dive back!
- Teach dive back by having runners first standing on 1st base and taking a lead. Draw a
line in the dirt where each runner must lead off to and then let the players adjust based
on their size, etc. The face should always be turned away from the throw. Throw from
catcher to 1st, runner would be looking towards right field. This way an errant throw
would not strike the runner in the face.
- As soon as the players have mastered this then incorporate it with rounding 1st base on
a hit through the infield.
I can't emphasize enough the value of aggressive base running. It has won alot of
Little League games for alot of managers. The up side of these drills is that each players
witnesses how the other players do it and learn by example and they also love to get their
clothes dirty. The down side.....Mom has to wash the dirty practice clothes.
So now we can run and throw....
FIELDING
To evaluate the fielding abilities in the early stages of practice, line up half of
your team behind the 2nd baseman and the rest behind the shortstop.
Each coach will then hit ground balls to the players from the opposite foul line. (The
coach on the 3rd base line hits to the players at 2nd base and the coach on the 1st base
line hits to shortstop.) It's a good idea to have a parent by each coach as catcher.
Begin by demonstrating the basic fielding position as listed below. This is all that
this drill should accomplish.
- Basic Fielding Position.
- Glove should be on the ground and glove and opposite hand should form a basket to
receive the ball. No ball has ever gone through the glove, only underneath it.
- The player can not just bend from the waist and expect to field a ground ball. Rear end
should not be up in the air. If knees are flexed properly, the butt will be down.
- Now for about 10-15 minutes hit continuous ground balls to each line. As each player
fields the ball he returns it to the catcher and goes to the end of the line. In the time
period indicated each player will field quite a number of ground balls.
- Now at the end of the time limit, switch the lines from 2nd to shortstop etc. This gives
each coach a chance to evaluate all the players and also allows each player some more
fielding chances.
- Any missed played balls must be retrieved by the player who missed it, by hustling after
it.
- When ever you are running the players through a drill like this remind them of other
practice techniques. For instance after the player fields the ball be sure his throwing
motion is correct or that he is throwing at the catchers chest.
NOTE ! This is a vigorous drill and may require that a break
occur between switching lines. Also add a competitive nature. If all players in one line
field without an error they can take a break,. On the other hand, one error and they start
all over again.
My belief is once the players learn the proper way to field the ball, repetition is
required. The more ground balls the player fields, the more routine the process becomes.
Routine plays that are not made have given coaches more fits than any other. Through
repetition, help all your players to make the routine plays and watch the level of play go
up.
It's your choice as to when to add fielding and throwing to 1st base. Doesn't make
sense to show the players how to turn a double play if they can't field a routine grounder
yet. Just be sure that when you do, cover all that the players have been taught up to that
point.
BUNTING
Out done only by the Home Run for excitement, "Bunting the Baseball" to me is
one of the most potent offensive weapons a team can possess. When all your players learn
how to lay down a good bunt, you as coach have an added dimension to your Little League
Team.
Bunting is something that can be fun to teach and if taught well will give you a
decided advantage from the start of the season to the end.
The first and most important rule is that all team members can be good bunters. This is
something that even the 9 year olds can do as well as their 12 year old counterparts and
makes them a contributing member of the team in a crucial situation.
So follow the list below for the bunting techniques you can use.
- Bunting the Baseball
- Take the normal batting stance. Even if it is a sacrifice bunt don't show it until the
pitcher has entered his wind up.
- The key to laying down a good sacrifice bunt is for the batter to square around before
the pitch is thrown. Rather than jumping to square around to bunt have the batter pivot on
his front foot. Also don't step on the plate!!!!!
- The knees should be bent or flexed.
- The top hand should slide down the barrel of the bat until it reaches about where the
label is. Control of the bat is crucial. Also keeping the fingers behind the bat prevents
them from being crushed by the pitched ball.
- The bat should be held out in front, level or almost level with the eyes. Remember that
the legs will be bent or flexed so this puts the eyes and the bat in the upper range of
the strike zone. This should prevent the batter from bunting a ball out of the upper range
of the strike zone.
- When the ball is bunted the bat should not move forward pushing the ball. If the player
just "catches" the ball on the bat the bunted ball will drop onto the playing
field and stop.
Great Bunting
Drill
When practice is dragging and you want to start a drill that's fun, a learning
experience and competitive try this bunting drill.
Select teams so that the talent is equally divided.
Place a trash can about 6 feet down each baseline, in fair territory, with the opening
facing homeplate.
Also mark of a semi-circle area from baseline to baseline with the center not more than
10 feet from homeplate. This semi-circle represents the maximum distance the bunted ball
should travel when bunted.
Any ball rolling outside of the circle or going into foul territory is an out.
Any ball hitting the trash can but not going in is 1 point. A bunted ball that goes in
the can and comes back out is worth 2 points. 3 points goes to the bunted ball that goes
in the can and stays.
Each team gets 3 outs.
The winning team gets to go up against the managers/coaches team.
This drill promotes direction of the ball when bunted, and also how hard the ball is
bunted.
Bunting form can also be worked on.
Coaches should be doing the delivery of the pitched ball.
Just as a side note....the manager/coaches team has never lost a bunting competition
yet!
WAR STORIES
As you read these fun and exciting stories, remember that one will be happening to you
this year too and we'd all like to share it.
Here's the latest "Warstory"
This may not be your typical war story you are accustomed to, because I am a Little
League Umpire and umpires have tons of stories to tell.
My first year as umpire had me calling games from minor league all the way up to senior
league. After having called behind the plate with a supervisor for 10 games, it was
decided that I could handle a game as umpire-in-chief by myself. On this particular night
my fellow umpires were as green as me.
In the first inning my first base umpire was talking to a runner on first base when the
pitcher attempted a pick off. The umpire without thinking yells "get back". We
were lucky because the runner did not make back in time and the play was not a close one.
I certainly had fun with him about that, and thought boy that was really stupid . I didn't
realize my turn was going to come up 3 innings later.
I was calling behind the plate when a batter swung and popped a ball straight up. It
was dark and a little foggy but I was sure that the ball had gone back behind the backstop
and was out of play, so I called "foul ball" and just about the time I finished
the ball landed smack dab on top of second base.
I learned a valuble lesson that night. Let it land before you call it.
E-mail to: Author unknown
Just gotta love baseball!
I couldn't help but laugh when I read your war story. My husband was coaching the worst
team in the league in the semi-finals of the city tournament. How we had advanced that far
we still do not know. Our most un-athletic batter was at the plate. We were in the bottom
of the 5th inning. Much like your sign, my husband was to remove his hat for the "hit
away". Because we were playing the first place team, emotions were running a bit
high.
Mike (my husband) gets so excited he takes off his hat, runs his fingers through his
hair and puts the hat back on. Now this batter may be un-athletic, but he is extremely
intelligent and a very good listener. He recognizes the sign and swings the bat with all
of his might. The kid hits a standup triple! Mike is going nuts. He can't believe the kid
missed his sign and then he is just as amazed that he got a hit!
When the young man reached third he was chastised for missing the sign and he said,
"but coach, you took your hat off!" Realizing his mistake, Mike apologized and
put his arms around the boys neck and looked his straight in the eye and said, "If
anything and I do mean anything gets beyond that catcher you are on your way home."
With two outs the next batter walked. Well, you can imagine what the other team tried. The
pitcher threw a pitch out, the ball blew by the catcher and we scored the winning run!
After all of their strategy those poor kids blew their well-planned play.
Needless to say we were shelled in the championship game, but we knew we were winners.
Those little boys now are high school varsity and some college ball players. We will never
forget that winning moment.
Just gotta love baseball!
Author: Susie Nichols (12+ years of Little League Baseball with 2 more to go!)
E-mail to: Susan Nichols
Go Madison!
I thought you might be interested in an all-star game played in the 1991 Bambino
Tournament for 11 & 12 year olds in Gadsden, Alabama. It was probably the most
exciting game I have ever coached.
Madison had historically not done very well in all-star tournaments. In fact, Madison
teams typically lost by the ten-run rule, and were the brunt of many jokes by the opposing
all-star teams through the years. I had recently moved my family from Palm Beach Gardens,
Florida to Madison, and this was the first year I had been "selected" to be
all-star coach. I was determined to try and make things different for Madison this time.
We lost a heart-breaking game to start-off the tournament, 3-2 in extra innings, to the
eventual state champions. The team had played well, but, alas, we had lost.
The next game was an unbelievable game. The game started at 6:00 pm on Friday night.
Going into the sixth inning, the score was 0-0. We had made many great defensive plays,
but offensively we had no runs on no hits. We were the visiting team, and we didn't score
in the top of the sixth (and final) inning. The opposing team got a man on second with no
outs and a 2-0 count on the batter, and then the rains came. The game had to be postponed
until 12:00 noon the next day. We went back to the motel, but things looked pretty bleak.
After dinner, the coaches and I mapped out our strategy. Our starting pitcher had
pitched a great game, but we decided to bring in a relief pitching who had more velocity
and could perhaps strike out a few batters. He could also pitch the next inning(s) if we
got out of the jam. We also decided to reinsert our starting lineup (we had made about
four substitutions during the game) to improve our defense. And finally, we decided to
intentionally walk the batter to set up a force play.
The next day, the game started at noon. They didn't even let us take warmups to speed
things along. We had to have exactly the same defensive lineup to restart the game as we
had when the rains came. So, we let the starting pitcher throw one intentional ball, and
then we changed pitchers and reinserted the starting defensive lineup. You could tell the
opposing team was quite confused by the proceedings, especially because our players
hustled on and off the field. Anyway, the new pitcher threw one more intentional ball to
walk the batter. The next batter hit the first pitch, a ground ball to the shortstop.
Normally, the ground ball would result in a force out at third base. But the runner, who
must have been coached during the night that he didn't have to run to third because he
wasn't forced, went a little way off second and stopped. The runner from first base saw
the runner at second, so he stopped midway between first and second base. Our third
baseman caught the throw from the shortstop, tagged third base, and then threw to second
base to get a force out there. The excitement that went through our team when we completed
the double play was unbelievable. We retired the next batter, and went into the seventh
(extra) inning with big mo on our side.
We proceeded to score six runs including a bases-loaded triple. The boys were on cloud
nine. The opposing team scored a single run in the bottom of the seventh, and we claimed a
6-1 victory. The kids ran to the mound and yelled 1-2-3 Madison 1 at the top of their
voices (after politely shaking the opposing players' hands). Some people (me) have called
this game the greatest game in Madison history, but my family just laughs at me. But I
guarantee that the players will always remember that game.
Author: Cliff Smith
E-mail to: Cliff Smith
The Mosquito Incident
Anyone traveling to or living in Florida can attest to the size and quantity of the
mosquito's there. Our all-star team had won the District title for the first time and we
were immediately put in the loser's bracket after our first game at the next level. Most
of the games were played at night and we were at the mercy of the "Florida Rain
Gods". With our next game in doubt because of the flooded field, we were moved to an
alternate sight. The field had drained but the bugs remained.
Knowing that a loss would eliminate us from the playoffs, Jim our manager and I let the
kids know it was do or die. The game was nip and tuck and as the 5th inning came around
Jim and I discussed strategy before our turn at bat. The top of the order was up and we
knew we had to generate some runs. The kids were dragging because of the humid
conditions(so were the coaches and parents), but we managed to get our 3rd batter on
first, bringing up Josh the clean-up hitter(and Jim the managers son). Josh is a big guy
and that's why he bats clean-up. Of course he could hit the ball too. I'm in the third
base coaches box giving signals. Our procedure is to have each hitter look for a sign
before stepping into the batters box. I have always made the signs I give very basic. The
bunt sign for the night was if I touched my beard.(B, Beard, Bunt...get it!) Well as Josh
strode up to the plate, a mosquito landed on my right cheek and removed a gallon of blood.
My natural response was to reach up and swat it away. As I look down the third base line
towards home plate, Josh is already in the batters box.(He would never miss a sign) As the
pitcher delivers the pitch, much to my surprise(and to everyone elses shock), Josh squares
around to bunt. He drops down a beautiful bunt fielded by the third baseman. Now remember
I said Josh was big, not fast, and he lumbers with all his might towards first base.
I can see he is going to be out at first and I'm already thinking up excuses to tell
Jim(the manager and Josh's father), when the third baseman's throw sails over the head of
the first baseman. The runner on first has already rounded second and is on his way to
third with me frantically waving my arms sending him home.(the winning run, of course) He
scores and Josh ends up on third and everyone in the stands(now recovered from shock)
think I'm the smartest third base coach in all of baseball.
The play ends and I ask Josh, in a whisper so his dad doesn't hear me, just what the
heck he was doing....bunting on his own. His reply...."But coach, when I looked down
for the sign you touched your beard."(Remember the mosquito) I make Josh promise not
to tell his dad(Jim the manager) what really happened. As the inning ends I see Josh in
the dugout whispering to his dad(Jim the manager) and I take the long way back to the
dugout.
Needless to say we win the game by that run, Jim(the manager and Josh's dad) can't
believe what happened and all the parents still think I'm the best third base coach in all
of baseball.
Author: John Travis
E-mail to: John Travis
Here's a couple of stories submitted by Austin's dad Keith
I have to start off this story with an explanation: when Austin's coach put the team
together last year, he assigned Austin to left field. Now, traditionally, in Little
League, it is the lesser (bad word, only one I could think of) players that get booted to
the outfield. In Redmond, a lot of balls are hit to OF, so it is an important position.
Bear in mind, Austin was the 7th best hitter in the league, so he wasn't just put out to
pasture.
Anyway, in a game late in the year, they were up against a team that had one out, and a
runner on second. The batter hit a deep fly to left field. Austin heard their coach
yelling to the runner on second to start running, that Austin wouldn't catch up to the
ball. Bound and determined, Austin turned and ran back as fast and as hard as he could,
and made a wonderful catch (not quite the category of Willie Mays, but getting there). The
runner was able to get back to second before Austin could turn and get the ball in, but he
still enjoys telling that story and saying that no coach should ever doubt his fielding
ability.
One of the areas in which I'm most proud of Austin is in his hitting. He works very
hard on it, and reads a lot that veteran players have written on the subject. As I think
is mentioned on his page, he was drafted up to the Coast level (the one just below
Majors), and playing in his first year of organized baseball, he was facing some pretty
good, experienced players.
In the third game of the season, he came up to bat. Like most players, he likes to do
some 'gardening' in the batters box, smoothing down the dirt and digging a good foothold.
He came up to bat with his hand up to call time out, and started his ritual. Looking down
at what he was doing, he did not notice that the umpire had not given him his timeout. He
also did not notice that the pitcher had gone into his windeup.
He got his foothold, started into his stance, and looked up when the pitch was about
half-way to the plate. Most players would have watched the pitch, but Austin saw the ball
and swung without thinking. And hit it! It ended up going for a flyout, but it was the
quickest recovery I've ever seen by a batter. And Austin, for the rest of the season,
never entered the batters box until he looked at the ump, asked for a timeout, and made
sure the ump gave it to him.
This is my horror story. I was umpiring behind the plate in a game late in the season.
The batting team had less than two outs and a runner on first. The batter had a clean hit
to center field. It was deep enough that the runner on first was sent home by the coach.
The centerfielder got the ball, relayed to shortstop, who through to the catcher.
Now, here's the situation. The catcher was standing about a foot to the third base side
of the plate, just in foul territory (he was well coached, he was waiting for the ball,
but not blocking the plate without the ball). There was a small ditch just inside of the
batters box where players had dug in. The catcher took the throw and put one foot in the
basepath to make the tag. As the runner came in, he hit the catchers foot and the ditch at
the same time, and fell face forward into the dirt, lying face down over home plate. I
called the runner out.
Little League rules state that a runner coming into a base, when a fielder is waiting
with the ball to make the tag, must slide or otherwise make an effort to avoid a collision
with that fielder. The runner did neither. The catcher also made the tag before the runner
reached the plate. So, in my judgement, the runner was out on either of two counts.
Now I have a runner lying face down in the dirt, crying but not moving at all, with one
arm at a funny angle behind him. At that point my only concern is for the safety of that
child, especially since he is exhibiting signs of a possible neck injury.
Before I know it, that kid's coaches are all at the plate arguing my call with me. I
told them to be quiet, that I was trying to see if their player was injured. The manager
of the team the grabs the kid's shoulder and pulls him over and says "Look, he's
fine", and continues to argue. If he had had a neck injury, that coach could have
done a great deal of damage to his health.
Trying to supress my anger, I explained that the catcher made the tag on the runners
thigh (on the side away from the coach), and that the runner was out. I then walked off
toward second base to get away from the situation. The manager followed me out to continue
arguing, until the basepath umpire came in and said that he saw the tag, too.
To this day that whole affair still bothers me. The coaches made three cardinal sins,
anyone of which could have (and probably should have) resulted in their ejection (arguing
a call, as opposed to requesting a clarification; leaving the coaching area to go to the
plate before time had been called; and walking onto the playing field). The one satisfying
result is that I filed a report with the Little League Board, and none of those coaches
will be allowed to coach this year. I certainly would not have wanted my son on their
team.
E-mail to: Austin and Keith
Click on the mailbox icon to E-mail your "War Story" jtravis@ibm.net
