Another Three Dog Night
These three practices back to back should be difficult but tonight it was very fun. We focused on aggressive offense and aggressive defense to stop the aggressive offense. It was very fun and everyone was focused and learning. A great night on a beautiful evening.
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Game Schedules Done!
Finally all the game schedules are done. I will only have to plug in practice schedules tomorrow and then complete our concessions schedules and I can get back on with my life!
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Major’s Schedule Today
Major’s schedule was tonight. 14 teams, 13 games, all with individual requirements! The fun continues! Tomorrow night, Pitcher/Catcher practice and then an all-nighter to complete the minor’s, rookies, and t-ball schedules!
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Southeast Regional Shows How New Pitching Rules Affect the Game
Citrus Park Victorious!
A team from Citrus Park Little League in Tampa, Florida just defeated a team from Mobile, Alabama to advance to the Little League World Series . The league has only five majors teams in it to pick from. What did they have that Mobile didn’t have? Pitching! Pitching! Pitching!
Mobile was averaging 1 home run every 5.5 at bats during the regionals! The total home runs tonight? -0-. Neither Little League had EVER sent a team to the World Series.
Pitching Rules Have Changed the Dynamic
I have written about this before, the new pitching rules have completely changed the dynamic of the Little League World Series. Pitch count limits and mandatory rests mean that every team will need to rely on their 4th, 5th, and 6th pitchers. Gone are the days of pitching 2 pitchers until their arms fall off. Gone are the days of 15 strike out games.
Want to get your league to the World Series? Start working pitchers now!
Weekly Practice Schedule
When should you be working pitchers? During the regular season w/ a minimum schedule of:
-Every Practice at least 3 pitchers from each team should be working
-At least once a week every team should hold special pitcher/catcher practices
-Pitchers should have individual coaches that work with them once a week as well
These are minimums! Of course, you should watch their arms as well!
When game are on you should stick to this schedule for a pitcher and work it into the schedule above:
Day 1-Game Day Pitching Ice Arm immediately
Day 2-Day off after game day
Day 3-Soft throwing next day ending w/ long toss
Day 4-Pitch again, or hard throwing if not pitching
This is a good 4 day rotation, but remember, alway adjust depending on whether you pitched a game or simply practiced.
Watch the arms!
Sore arms are normal. The key is determining whether it is just normal muscle soreness or joint/tendonitus soreness.
My Limited Knowledge
The Washington Redskins trainer used to visit us each year at my prior league. He would point out that the reason arms are sore after throwing is that tiny tendons in the muscle are being broken when you throw and that creates soreness. The best way to cure this is run after every practice. This delivers oxygen to the muscle and speeds the healing process. Also, icing immediately to stop the micro swelling is very important.
If the soreness is in the muscle meat part of the arm that is normally not an issue. It needs a little rest and it will be fine. ANY soreness in the elbow or shoulder should be IMMEDIATELY looked at. If you take the point of your finger and apply a little pressure to the joint of the elbow you should get a flinch from the player. BAD SIGN! Stop immediately and see a doctor! If you raise the arm and apply a little pressure on the shoulder or have the player resist your pressure after he makes a fist similar to boxing, and you get a flinch, BAD SIGN! Stop immediately and see a doctor!
The main thing to take away from this year’s world series is Develop Your Pitchers!
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- How pitching changes little leaguers’ shoulders
Top Ten Reasons to Practice Pitching
Image via Wikipedia 10. 90% of the game is pitching, the other half is hitting
9. Pitchers have to have their own practices
8. Pitchers must work at home as well as on the field
7. Pitching requires perfect mechanics
6. Developing new pitches takes thousands of reps
5. Being the pitcher is more fun
4. Pitchers get all the chicks
3. Pitchers get all the dudes
2. Pitchers control the game
1. Good pitching always stops good hitting
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Final Walk-Through Tomorrow
Image via Wikipedia
We’ve worked them until their tongues hung out. We have had shed blood and sweat every night and practice clothes are dirty and stinky. We have swung until we have blisters , beaten our "tee" to death, and bunted so many times we can do it with our eyes closed.
Tomorrow is our final walk-through before our all-star quest begins. It will be light. I will remind my girls that sleepovers are strictly forbidden, bed times are to be enforced, and they are allowed to stay in the A/C, on the computer, and in front of the TV all day long no matter what their parents say.
Everyone will have trouble sleeping because of the anticipation. But we are as ready as we will ever be. They simply need to believe in themselves and we will be fine.
Do you believe in yourself?
An Air of Confidence
Image via Wikipedia
As we practiced for our tournament of champions tonight our team had that swagger back. A parent in the stands remarked, "they look good tonight, they are playing with a lot of confidence ". How crucial is that in our sport? Essential! It doesn’t guarantee victory, but it assures a chance at it. If you lack confidence in softball , you might as well stay home, you are done.
We practice twice tomorrow. I wonder if they can maintain this passion? I think they will, they are really starting to gel. A third of the team is sleeping over one of the girls houses, this is great. They all showed up tonight after a long game last night with smiles on their faces, smiles go a long way! Hopefully we will do the same.
Thank You Little League Moms!
There are not enough kudos to send out to the Little League Mom. She sometimes works all day, runs home and gets dinner on the table, gets the kids to their games an hour early for batting practice and cheers as if she isn’t tired all night long.
Uniform coordination, coaching assistance, team mom, party organizer, domestic planner, they are often the unseen heroes, and sometimes on the front line. They tirelessly work concessions, console strike out victims, provide first aid for skinned knees and bruises, and offer encouragement in the face of discouragement.
A true Little League mom knows the difference between and injury and a little pain from getting beaned. "Get down there", "Get over it", is often heard from the stands, but the same voice consoles truly upset Little Leaguers.
I know at my house my Little League mom has 4 uniforms, 3 coaching shirts, and 3 practice shirts to keep track of. She has to make sure umpiring clothes and jock straps are laundered and ready to provide protection! Socks, belts, pants, underarmour, cleats, bat bags, hats, everything ready to go. Dinner ready at 5, coach in and out in five minutes at 5:15. It is a mad rush at our house every night. Snack bar duty, snack night for the kids, birthday parties to plan, attend and buy for, school events to keep track of, grades to keep up with, homework to manage, showers and in bed late every night, and up early the next morning to do it all over again!
Wow, I had a glimpse at her job today as I helped w/ everything I usually don’t attend too. An SHE CAN HAVE IT! I have no idea how she does it, I am only thankful she is so good at it!
Thank you to My Little League Wife and All of the Little League Moms and Wives around the world! You are the true driving force behind our success.
Anyone know a great Little League Mom? Give her props here!
Get Throws Down at the Knees
Image via Wikipedia
Get Your Throws Down
When attempting to retire a runner heading to a base, it is very important to get the through down in the "tag range". This is and ofter overlooked minor subtlety of the game. How often have you seen a ball thrown up high where the receiving fielder has to reach up to catch the ball, then come down to make the tag. On a close play this is often the difference between an out and a run.
A way to practice this drill is to simply throw to the bases. (BORING!). Of course, we have to add a twist to make it fun for the kids! Here is what we did tonight:
Drill Set-Up
- 3B strattling the bag slightly offset to receive the throw from home plate .
- SS on second slightly offset to receive the throw from 3B.
- 2B backing up second
- 1B on the bag strattling to mimic a "pickoff tag"
- Catcher in standard catching position
Drill in Action
Here is the path to throw:
- I throw to the catcher (could have been practicing a pitcher too now that I think about it).
- Catcher fires to 3B trying to throw at knees, 3B makes "V Tag"
- 3B throws to SS at the knees covering 2nd (I know this is backwards, but I don’t care we are rotating anyway) SS makes "V Tag" 2B backs up
- SS throws to 1B at the knees who makes a "V-Tag"
- 1B throws to catcher at the knees who makes "2-Hand Tag"
- Catcher throws to SS’s knees covering 2nd who makes a "V-Tag"
- SS flips back to 2B backing up
- 2B makes a throw home trying to "take my head off" mimicking a throw that can be cut off or let through. (Always keep your throws down!)
- Everyone moves up a base sliding at home, 3B, 2B and running though 1B
This started out shaky, but by the time we were done, the throws were great and the outs were plenty!
Do you have a drill you use to practice throwing to the bases? I would love to hear about it.
Must Push Girls To Be Agressive Attacking Fly Balls
Rein in the Boys
I spend my entire practice with the minor boys baseball team trying to rein them in! One of the funniest things I have ever seen happen was when our 8U travel ball coach turned around to ask the parents a question. He had a few to answer also, and slowly the boys crept away from him. Not intentionally, they just started a little wrestling, then a little chasing, then like a swarm of bees they slowly led their way away to a full out run all around the field! One of the mothers said, "this can’t end good".
That all happened in a matter of seconds, boys are just rambunctious. Girls on the other hand, start off timid. They seem to have to fully understand what they are expected to do before they will go "all out" doing it. I don’t have any idea why this is, it is simply my observation.
Teaching Girls Aggression
That said, we spend a fair amount of time trying to teach our girls to be aggressive! One of the areas this comes into play is catching fly balls in the outfield. Any semi-talented girl can catch a ball hit right at her, but how many times have you watched them let a ball you know they have the talent to catch just drop in front of them? Frustrating!
Aggressive Outfield Drill
Today we attempted to overcome this. The method I chose was to line them up in the outfield and hit balls that they could catch if the ran in, quickly attacking the ball. If they hesitated at all, they had no chance. At the same time I wanted them to practice our fire play, a throw to second, a throw to third, and a throw home. All we needed for this drill was some motivation!
Keeping with the concept of keeping everything fun and competitive at the same time, I told them they had to run 10 laps at the end of practice, but that they could take 1 lap off for every time they turned a double play. I told them a double play was a clean catch of the fly ball and a fire to whichever base we were throwing to at that time.
The Motivation
At first they didn’t catch anything. Then, as often happens, someone made a shoestring catch and motivated everyone else. Suddenly they were all attacking the ball and making catches. In fact, we had to reset at five more laps. It was very encouraging.
Finally, when they all were at their last station in left field, I told them if they caught 10 in a row I would run a lap! Talk about getting their attention! They got up to 7 one time, but I wouldn’t have let them get to 10 no matter what. I did have the bat in my hand after all!
Anyway, they were very aggressive and confident by the time practice was over. Hopefully it will transfer to our game tomorrow.
Have a great way to get your girls to play more aggressive? Please share it with us!
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