The most valuable advice that a youth baseball coach can give a young hitter is to think about hitting the ball up the middle. If you think about hitting up the middle, you can adjust to hit the ball wherever it is pitched. If you go to the plate hoping to pull the ball, you will struggle hitting an outside pitch. Your front side will have opened up too soon and you will not be able to drive a pitch on the outside part of the plate. You have to have balance in everything that you do in baseball, especially in hitting. Your body is going to move, but you must keep your head still. The only way to do that is to have good balance. Youth baseball bats are no different than adults bats, they need balance.

Concentration at the plate is critical, and positive thinking helps. You have to walk up to the plate saying to yourself, “I’m going to hit the ball. A hitter needs rhythm. Try to watch the pitcher’s hand and keep your eye on the ball be aggressive at the plate, but also remain loose and relaxed. If you let your arms get too tight, you will lose the advantage of having good wrist action for your swing, as well as your power.

You should have a purpose to each swing in batting practice. In your first round of batting practice you might concentrate on hitting every pitch to the opposite field. In the next round, try to make sure that you are swinging down on the ball. Prepare yourself for game situations, or the practice will not be as helpful as it could be If you find yourself in a slump, try to concentrate on defense and possibly save the game with a good play. Slumping hitters should remember that it does not always take a home run to help the team.

Youth baseball players and coaches should look to improve the mental outlook of the whole team with positive comments to all players.Negative comments will not bring anything good to the team morale.Hitting is so much about confidence.Hitting a baseball is very difficult skill that sometimes gets overlooked by coaches,players,and parents.Sometimes we take for granted how skilled these youth baseball players are and want even more out of them.Let’s just have fun and enjoy this great game of youth baseball.

Many moons ago, in Major League Baseball, there were only two prizes awarded along with one grand prize.

The National League and the American League gave pennants to the teams with the most wins, and then those teams played each other in a series of seven games with one emerging as the World Champion.

Only if there was a tie between two teams as the season ended, was there a playoff game to determine the pennant winner.

Now, as you know, there are three times as many prizes, totaling nine, in all.

With three divisions in each league, there are six division champs, two wild card teams, and one World Champion left standing after all of the eliminations.

This system has utterly changed baseball, in some cases, for the worst.

No longer do most teams target a World Championship as their goal. If they can squeak into the post-season in their divisions or as wild card representatives, they’re happy and can proclaim to their fans that they’re winners.

They’ll probably fill the stands with paying customers and sell a lot of souvenirs boasting, “We’re the Western Division Champs,” but they could be chumps, with win-loss records that barely surpass .500.

I believe there are several teams that are secretly shooting ONLY for the first tier of the playoffs. The Los Angeles Dodgers is one of them.

Instead of anteing up the big bucks to secure top talent, they’re depending on a combination of frazzled veterans and fresh faces to get through each season. Only if they’re on top of the division as the final weeks of the season approach will they consider trading for an additional big gun in the form of a solid pitcher or hitter.

Why, you might ask, do I believe the Dodgers are content to just get into the first stage of postseason play?

Simply put, if they’re “competitive” and they seem to have a chance to go all the way, they’ll sell about four million tickets and a bunch of Dodger Dogs. In a word, they’ll be profitable, and they’ll be able to bring to the bottom line about $50 million bucks that they would otherwise risk.

I believe the Oakland A’s is another team with the very same philosophy, though they have a much better recent record of making it to the playoffs. If you doubt what I’m contending here take a look at the book, MONEYBALL, which explains the moves made by Billy Beane, the General Manager of the A’s, and his philosophy of how to get the most value from one’s payroll.

There are only two teams, I believe, that are always shooting for a World Championship: the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees.

Occasionally, other teams will spend big, but only for the short term. You can count among them the New York Mets and the Chicago White Sox.

Every now and then this strategy pays off, as it did for the White Sox in 2005, and for the Florida Marlins on a few occasions.

But as a general rule, you don’t walk off with the grand prize on a consistent basis without shooting for it, all the way.

The Red Sox can tell you that much.

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This is Bessie, the Boss. She likes to order people around. Hey. isn’t that your job? I mean, aren’t you the one with ‘COACH’ in big letters on your jacket? Golly, what can we do about her? What Bessie wants is to be in charge of things. You can’t let her do that. No player can serve two head coaches.

Example: You have just told all of the outfielders to shag fly balls and you are working with the infielders. You have asked Winnie, a sub infielder, to join the outfielders because she has had problems with pop-ups. You look out in the field and Bessie is all over Winnie, telling her that she doesn’t belong out there. Winnie is feeling hurt and it won’t be long before she’s at your side.

Your feelings: Anger - - “Who does she think she is? She’s not going to get away with that around here. At least, not as long as I’m the coach.” (Reaction to a power tactic)

What you would like to do: Confront her. “O.K., Bessie. Cut out that bossy stuff and take care of your own business. I’ll give the orders around here.” Bessie will probably argue, “But, Coach, Winnie was out of place and I was just telling her what she was supposed to be doing.” If you argue or throw in some threats, Bessie will back off with a sullen, defiant look in her eyes. You will hear more from her — you can bet your next paycheck on that.

What you can do: “Bessie. It’s O.K. I told Winnie to shag flies. She needs the practice. While you’re here, why don’t you hit some grounders so I can get out there and show Lester how to get rid of the ball quicker on his throws to third.” You have done two things, 1) you have re-emphasized your authority with Bessie without getting into a power struggle and 2) you have given Bessie a good, constructive outlet for her need to be in charge.

What Bessie may do and what you will do in response:

Bessie: “But, Coach, Winnie doesn’t belong in the outfield.”

You: “I sent Winnie out there because she needs practice on fly balls.”

Bessie: “But, Coach, Winnie is an infielder.”

You: “Winnie needs practice on fly balls.”

Bessie: “But, Coach, …”

You: “Winnie needs practice on fly balls.”

(This technique is called “The Broken Record.” Calmly repeat the message and by the third repetition, your complainer will back off. You will change your tone of voice slightly with each statement but don’t show any anger or impatience.)

Bessie’s Goal: Power — This is a different kind of power from the one that Stan is after — Stan wants to do whatever he wants to do — Bessie wants to take over some of your management power.

The next time you go to a youth baseball practice or any type of youth practice, take notice of what most parents do. They pull up in their vehicle, drop off the player and leave. At the most they may notify the coach that they are leaving. This is not to say anything negative about the parents, this is what most coaches will encounter.

Thank goodness they have people like yourself, will come to practice and stay to help. That makes you a very good candidate to become an excellent baseball coach. Because you have read this article, and made it this far shows me that you have what it takes to be a fantastic coach.

You really only need the desire to help young players learn the game of baseball. In today’s culture there are many-distractions. Kids are really in need of good positive coaches. It is very rewarding to coach youth baseball when you are aware of what you are up against. You need to know of negative parents, selfish players, and of the tools to deal with them effectively. Being a coach is more than just been an instructor at, you have to be a public relations person to a degree.

Our young players need you today more than ever. You can make a real positive impact as a baseball coach. There is plenty of excellent information available to help you succeed. In my opinion the human element, such as parents, other coaches, umpires, etc. is what makes coaching youth baseball too challenging for most people.

Today’s coaching philosophy is to be loud and obnoxious. I feel that being a calm, positive, confident coach is the best way. Lead by example, for instance, do not harass the umpires or show them up. Refrain from yelling out anything negative at your players on the field after a mistake. The player already knows a mistake has been made. Your responsibility as a complete coach is to get them prepared for the next possible play , that what is already over.

Travel baseball or select all-star type teams will have serious sometimes overbearing coaches. Most of these coaches are very fair, good people. It only takes a few coaches to give youth baseball a black eye. That is why we need people like yourself to help bring solid baseball instruction, along with good leadership qualities, sorely lacking in youth baseball today.

Most coaching material on the Internet doesn’t give you the important info out how to deal with parents, for example. Much of the coaching material on the Internet will not help you learn how to be a calm, confident, positive leader. There is more to coaching youth baseball that yelling out to your hitters to keep your elbow up, which is wrong anyway.

If you have a desire to help our young players learn this great game of baseball, please go for it. The game of youth baseball needs you. Please sign up below for my free seven part E- course on coaching baseball. It will help educate you on the inter- human relationships you will likely encounter. It also has some great coaching information. I hope to see you on the diamond soon.

Thanks for your time, Coach Chip