What level of player are you? As you develop your skills during practice, you will become a better baseball player. Not only can you help your team win, but you can help them have fun, too. Since baseball has always been a team sport, featured below are a couple of the best tips for becoming a brilliant team player.
As a baseball coach, you need to keep players interested and motivated so they can win. Group outings will build team spirit. Above all else, remember that baseball is a game, and the world won’t end if your team doesn’t win every game.
Safety is an important consideration in any athletic activity. This goes double for baseball. Remember where the baseball is to keep injury away. Errant balls can cause lost teeth if you don’t pay attention. Also, a player sliding into a base can injure your legs.
10 Minutes
Always have solid and reliable practice schedules so your players are setting and meeting their goals. The right type of practice should have 10 minutes of warmup time and 20 minutes of hitting drills. Have the team run the bases for the next 5 minutes, followed by situational and team defense drills for another 10. Complete the practice with 10 minutes of position-specific defense followed by a cooling-down time. Get the team together for a brief meeting at the end, and you are finished.
Check the signs before you run around the bases. They are able to see the entire field. As you run the bases, keep your focus on the coaches and not the ball. Let the base coaches be your eyes. Listen to their commands. If you get the signal to go, run as fast as possible.
Keep an eye on the batter when you are in the outfield. A batter who stands on the right side of the plate will generally hit the ball toward left field. Right fielders will see action from left-handed batters. If you understand this, you can anticipate where the baseball will end up even before the ball is pitched.
Make sure to check out the grass and roughness of the field. Lines in the grass could cause the ball to change direction. When you know what to expect the ball to do as it rolls along the ground, you can anticipate where it will be when it stops.
Break in a new glove prior to the beginning of the season. A fresh glove will allow you to minimize errors on the field. Toss the ball in the new glove. There is leather oil that helps break in the glove a lot faster. Punch the weave with your fist. Gloves that are broken in work better.
Stadium Lights
Stadium lights can be a big distraction from seeing the ball. To prevent yourself from seeing spots, look for the baseball without staring at stadium lights or the sun. Practice checking for the ball using your peripheral vision, instead.
Do not reach across the body when catching a grounder. You must quickly move to the direction of the baseball in order to stay out in front. If not, then the ball can bounce off the sides of your body or glove if you’re not in the proper position.
A good play for a batter is to sometimes give himself up. Sacrifices are part of playing on a team. Sometimes it’s more important to move a runner over, and the safer play is a bunt or sacrifice fly from you. Bunting doesn’t offer the wow factor of a hit, but it will help you win the game.
If you just commit yourself to spending the time and effort to learn, you can eventually figure out all the intricate details of the game of baseball. Improve your game by applying what you’ve learned. You will have fun when playing baseball, no matter which position you’re at or what your expectations are.