Things A Hitting Coach Needs To Know

A good batting average in the major leagues is 300 or above. What does it mean to hit 300? To hit 300, a hitter gets a hit 3 out of every 10 at bats. That also means a 300 hitter makes 7 outs for every 10 at bats. In other words, a 300 hitter fails more than twice the amount he is successful.

In what other sport can we consider 30 percent successful? If a quarterback completes 30 percent of his passes, he will not be starting. A basketball player shooting 30 percent from the foul line may not make it in the NBA. A goalie who stops only 30 percent of the goals will be looking for a new position. A coach who wins only 30 percent of his games will be fired. However, in hitting, 30 percent, or.300, is considered successful.

Successful hitting coaches need to understand that every hitter will fail more than they succeed, and they need to consistently relay this message to their players. Once a player realizes this reality, hitting will become much easier for them.

Good hitting coaches make sure that their players do not become agitated from making outs. Often times, we see players have a bad at bat, a strikeout with the bases loaded or a pop up in the infield, followed with a few errors in the field because they were still upset about their poor performance at the plate. As a coach, you cannot let your hitters compound one mistake with another. After a bad at bat, calmly sit down and analyze the previous at bat with your players. What did the pitcher throw in certain counts? Do your players feel weak today in a certain location? What is the plan next time? Coaches who ask these questions are now taking a proactive approach towards helping their players become successful the next time around.

Instead of analyzing hits and batting average, focus on Quality at Bats instead. A quality at bat could be ground ball to the right side that moves a runner over, a sacrifice bunt, a walk, a hard hit line drive to the shortstop, or even a strikeout in which the hitter fouled off numerous pitches just to stay alive. Focusing on quality at bat instead of batting average conveys a more positive message - that is, just because an out was made does not necessarily it was an unsuccessful at bat.



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How To Master The Mental Game Of Baseball

There are many philosophies on the mental game of baseball and there are some really good baseball videos and baseball books about the subject. However, some these mental baseball videos and books leave it up to the reader/viewer to implement the concepts discussed.

What you want to look for is a mental baseball ebook or baseball video that provides a step by step program on the "how to'" of the mental game. The material should be appropriate for your level of play, been field tested and come highly recommended from respected names in baseball.

The mental baseball video that I recommend is The Cognitive Advantage Program (CAP) by Rick Harig. It focuses on the process required to maximize mental toughness. That process is the same mental toughness program that has been used by elite military commando groups that have a zero tolerance for failure under the most extreme conditions and stresses.

The CAP process narrows in on building up your mental attitude in 5 areas: ability to play in the moment, your focus, your confidence, your competitiveness and your overall mental toughness.

Baseball Instruction Videos

Baseball is America's pasttime and it takes a lot of practice and guidance to become a good baseball player. That is why it make sense to purchase baseball instructional videos or baseball ebooks to help those who want to maximize their time in becoming a better baseball player.

Baseball hitting videos and baseball pitching instruction videos can be inexpensive and available online. There are many baseball related sites to go to but bestbaseballebooks.com provides potential customers with an unbiased opinion of the best baseball instruction video and baseball instruction ebooks available today. The site provides detailed information on the author, an overview of the baseball instructional video and an in-depth analysis of what the baseball ebook or baseball video contains.

Another great website for learning the game of baseball is the How to Score Baseball ebook. It contains everything you need to know to learn how to keep score at a base ball game.