Coaches Corner

Coaches corner - Pitching Vol. 1

Youth Baseball Pitching Injuries

Baseball is one of the safest sports available for today's youth. However, many of the serious injuries suffered by adult baseball pitchers may have begun to develop at the youth level. One of the missions of the USA Baseball Medical & Safety Advisory Committee is to provide scientifically based information to its youth baseball members to reduce the risk of injury and maximize the younger player's ability to perform and advance to higher levels.

Read more: Coaches corner - Pitching Vol. 1

Coaches Corner - Hitting Vol. 1

As pitchers get better and throw harder, the reaction time a hitter has to make his decision and swing gets shorter and shorter. One of the building blocks we teach here at All Star helps eliminate extra movement in the swing. The secret is to separate the "trigger" from the swing.

In every athletic motion there are two parts. First, there is a small action getting the body in position. This preparation phase, or trigger, is typically small, slow, and in the opposite direction of the main action. The second part is the main action.

Read more: Coaches Corner - Hitting Vol. 1

Coaches Corner - Pitching Vol.2

The main job for a pitcher is simple: to deliver pitches that are hard to hit. The art of pitching gets infinitely more complicated from there. Pitchers and coaches can easily over-complicate young pitchers by adding breaking balls and two or three different types of change-ups. While every different type of pitch has their advantages that make them essential to polished pitchers, it is easy to overlook the value of changing speeds. Change-ups and slow curves are the obvious pitches that come to mind, but you can also change speeds with your fastball by changing the location.

Read more: Coaches Corner - Pitching Vol.2