Keep Them Ready!

How's your Arm?  

Don’t forget baseball season is never too far away.  Some of you may be playing other sports this winter and that's good. It's good to be well rounded when you're young and play as many sports as you have an interest in. However, let's not forget one thing this winter – YOUR ARM!

Beginning right now, even if it is only one time per week, you should play catch.  Start short and then slowly lengthen your throws so you are playing at a long distance. The distance will be determined by the level that you are playing. The longer distance you can achieve, the stronger your arm will get. This program will also eliminate arm soreness and stiffness that sometimes occurs early in the pre-season. If you're playing winter baseball you should be playing long toss exclusively.

Hitting, fielding and other on-the-field activities are also good to get going so you're ready for tryouts and the pre-season. But there is no substitute for getting your arm in shape. You must play catch and long toss. This spring we will introduce the whole throwing program to our coaches so that we can make this program a part of our overall teaching philosophy.

THROWING & CATCHING IS THE NAME OF THE GAME.

  Your child’s confidence in playing baseball will grow as they develop these basic skills. We want our kids to have fun and build confidence in themselves as they learn the game. Don’t wait until February 1, 2003 to work with your kids. NOW is the time to develop and maintain your players skills. If you work with your kids know, if only for an hour a week, they will have a more enjoyable experience during the season.

There is no secret formula! It is repetition of proper form...and practice, practice, practice. It will cost you NO money, requires NO fancy equipment and all you need to do is put in the time and effort to "play catch."

Unfortunately, all too often practice becomes an arduous time-consuming task; viewed by the kids and parents as ALL WORK and NO PLAY! But it's no big secret that your child’s appreciation of baseball, as well as their ability to enjoy playing the game, seems to grow proportionately with their ability to compete. 

PLAYING CATCH!

This is the single most important activity you, as a parent, can do to enhance you child’s baseball abilities. Playing catch properly teaches and reinforces two of the most important aspects of the game: catching the ball & throwing the ball.

CATCHING:

Always have your player move toward the ball and try to catch it in the center of the body with two hands. There are many players who still possess a real fear of the baseball. Try using a plastic or tennis ball for the younger kids so they wont be afraid of the ball if they miss. Going to the ball and becoming confident in their ability to catch the ball is the only way to overcome this fear. The obvious benefit of catching with 2 hands is the prevention of the ball popping out of the glove. Another important benefit of catching with 2 hands is the quick transition of the ball from the glove to the throwing hand. Another key element in playing catch is "Fingers Up, Fingers Down," depending on whether the ball is above or below the belly button. Discourage "slapping" at the low ball with the fingers up. Throw them line drives, ground balls, pop ups, short hops, etc. Have them get low on ground balls. Get that head down. Look for the button on top of their hats as they field grounders. (You should be able to see it when they are doing it properly.)

Be sure to always have players stretch their arms. DON'T let them pick up a ball until their arm is warm. When throwing the ball, get those front (glove) shoulders pointing straight at the target. Step toward the target when throwing the ball, and follow through. Get those arms bent at the elbow, up above the shoulder, when throwing the ball ("Down, Back & Up"). (Coaching Cue: Thumb to the Thigh, Knuckles to the Sky.) Elbow comes through first followed by hand and ball, fingers on top of the ball. Follow through on your throws by bringing the Throwing Side Hip around on your follow through. In throwing, work on keeping the throwing elbow UP. Don't sling it, push it or side-arm it. Throwing "over the top" increases strength, velocity and accuracy. It also protects the arm from injury.

You can play catch almost all year round. Try to encourage the kids to keep their gloves close by in the off season. Playing catch develops throwing techniques, receiving techniques and footwork more than any single thing you do. HAVE FUN AND GOOD LUCK!!!