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I chose to write about this topic after speaking with a few baseball families about their child's progress with private baseball / softball instruction. One of the most consistent faults that I have seen with players over the years that take private baseball / softball instruction is that their attitude towards improvement isn't consistent with the approach that ultimately is required for a baseball / softball player to overcome their mechanical flaws. I have read all over the internet about the concept of young players and the lack of understanding or comprehending what they need to work on based on the fact that the learning curve is too narrow. I disagree with that notion because what about academics? Aren't these very same baseball / softball players/athletes going to school and are encouraged to complete 'homework' away from class? Why should private baseball / softball instruction be any different? What you should find with any private instructor is that they have the tools to show a player during their lesson what needs improvement and how to go about making those adjustments. However what the instructor should never be held accountable for is what the player/baseball family chooses to do in between lessons.

In my experience, the baseball / softball families that come into the lessons speaking about what they worked on since the previous lesson, usually shows in the performance of the player during the next lesson.

Lesson learned?: Baseball / softball families must set aside time for the proper amount of 'homework' to be focused on. Without the correct approach away from private lessons, do you honestly think that 30-60 minutes from your instructor is going to fix your son/daughter's flaws? Nobody, is that good.

Teaching players that getting better at a sport is no different than working to get better in school, boy scouts, skateboarding, etc. is the key to help the youth of baseball become the best they possibly can be. Isn't that all we want to see our kids learn? Private Baseball / Softball Instructors are there for guidance, so be sure to utilize their expertise.

Playball!

McGwire comes clean, admits steroids use

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I was never a huge fan of Mark McGwire but as a fan of baseball I think its always a great when a professional athlete comes clean of any wrongdoings that they have committed. Obviously the Steroid Era will always be asterisked, and rightfully so. However what seems to be an even greater sense of satisfaction for me as a fan and instructor is seeing the amount of stress and guilt taken off of the shoulders of these athletes.

Let's face it, professional athletes are role models. Not by choice, as we all certainly recall Charles Barkley's NIKE promotional commercials and stance on the subject. For for what is essentially an endgame for so many aspiring young athletes, professional sports will always be a focus for great discussion with performance enhancing drugs. As fans, we want to believe that our favorite athletes, whether breaking records or not, are as clean as you and I.

Unfortunately the bagilliions of dollars that professional sports franchises are making off of the athletes has put us in this position. For some of the sports that have a salary cap, bravo. Mark McGwire, finally, finally my hat goes off to you. Good luck with the Cardinals. I think you have plenty of knowledge to share with the St. Louis Cardinals organization.

Something occurred last evening that prompted me to write today's article. Several months ago I came across a wonderful article written by Ron Wolforth, one of the more heralded Baseball Instruction business owners who is based out of Texas. His article featured key factors to remember or consider when choosing the right instructor for you or your child.

I have never touted my private pitching instruction service on this website and never will as I believe this blog should be dedicated to useful baseball resources and more. However, after completing a private lesson with a high school sophomore who has been with me for well over 6 lessons, I was informed by the player's mother and grandmother that the other pitching instructor of the facility I teach in, felt compelled to tell them "You're wasting your time." First thing I thoughts was "Wow!" But then again remembering the head aches this pitching instructor has caused for the owners of this baseball training facility, nothing surprises me these days with this guy. Some people either don't know how to handle competition, or flat out don't understand what 'professionalism' is.

Professionalism amongst Instructors at a facility often times isn't emphasized enough. Particularly as a parent, if you have an instructor bad-mouthing other instructors in an attempt to take their business, then why should you consider someone like this for your child?

If you're looking for a great Las Vegas Baseball batting cage facility, I recommend The Dugout located on McLeod between Sunset and Patrick Lane. I happen to teach there independently and am in no way affiliated with The Dugout. The owners, Pam and Larry Smith are great people who I have great respect for.

If you're looking for an "in-house pitching instructor" for your kids at The Dugout, I highly recommend looking elsewhere. More importantly I always recommend to people who are interested in taking up lessons with me, to first watch a lesson, and decide after that. If you feel comfortable with how they teach, their pitching instruction knowledge, and what they are conveying their expertise, then most likely your gut feeling is leading you in the right direction.

Knowing that your child's pitching instructor doesn't look at you with a dollar sign in his/her eyes or assigns a dollar value will really go a long way. Does your instructor truly care about your child's well-being, his performance, etc? If you honestly feel that you've developed a great friendship/relationship with the instructor, then most likely you've found the right fit. Of course having a vast knowledge of pitching/hitting/catching/fielding is crucial. Don't get fooled by the age of an instructor as many times your child may not work well or get along with someone they just can't relate too. Obviously the more friendly the instructor, the better.

Depending on the age of your child, keep in mind that part of your child learning to improve their flawed mechanics will rely heavily on the interpersonal skills of the instructor you choose to go with. Look for personality traits that you honestly feel will allow your child to grow their confidence with and socialize with. Kids are fragile when it comes to confidence and an ability to bring out the best in a player is a quality of all great coaching.

Lastly, hopefully you will sense the passion your instructor has for Private Instruction and for working with your child. You can usually find this evident in the interaction with the student. Is the instructor spending too much time sitting on a bucket during the lesson? If you come across an instructor who spends most of his time trying to teach from sitting down on a baseball bucket, then most likely they lack interpersonal skills and are just too lazy to engage in your child's attempt to learn.

Locally in Southern Nevada, I believe there to be several reputable instructors who, when the time comes that I retire from Private Lessons, that I'd gladly refer my current clients to. Over 7 years of conducting private pitching instruction in the Las Vegas Valley, there is no way I would risk losing a friendship with my clients by sending them to a bad resource.

Enjoy the holiday season and until my next post, Happy Holidays!!

I recently completed reviewing a couple of Baseball workout training DVDs and wanted to mention a few things.

First off, any training DVDs particular to a sport that costs more than $99 is most likely a waste of your money. Figure the markup is probably 2x what the actual value of the product is because of credentials. No matter what though, if you're creative in seeking out information regarding baseball workouts, you can find sufficient answers on the web without purchasing anything. Although I find it very funny that YOUTUBE cannot find ways to make money, the website is great for video content. Believe or not but there are people out there who will post information or access to the product you'd like to purchase. Just take the time to search for it. After all, the internet is at our fingertips.

Who knows, maybe one day you'll see workouts videos on VEGASBASEBALL.com someday.

I was reading a premier issue of a Fitness magazine at a local athletic club in Las Vegas and found a article that highlighted some key points about the mental aspect of athletics.

The main key points for gaining an edge on the mental side of sports are:

1) First, do not be afraid to fail.
Michael Jordan saw fear as an illusion, something that was not real. Instead of being a motivating factor, fear is a paralyzing emotion that stymies forward movement, a necessary element to achieving success. If you are not moving forward then indeed, you are moving backwards. With a fear of failure, it is difficult to try new things, to stretch beyond the comfortable and conceivable, and to confidently embrace the unknown.


One of the more inspirational Michael Jordan posters


2) Second, be like Nike and have a Just Do It! attitude.
In order to operate from a space of mindlessness, you have to develop the mental ability to move from teh analytical to the creative. Such movement requires less emphasis on the ability to reason through an experience, and more reliance on the ability to intuitively feel the experience. Like the musician that becomes the music, and the dancer the dance, you and your performance must become one. To reach an optimal state, you have to feel the performance rather than think it.

3) Third, develop the ability to focus.
When you place your focus on someone or something, you concentrate your mental energy - your thoughts and feelings - on a particular point of reference or desire. If you desire to develop your body through physical training, for example, focus your energy by ridding yourself of all distractions and concentrate on becoming the training itself. You will know when you are completely focused on your object of your desire. As in the training example above, when you are completely focused, even in the absence of physical training itself, you will have the ability to visualize or mentally see yourself engaged in the activity as though it were actually occurring in real time.

4) Lastly, engage in techniques to heighten your mental arousal or awakening.
According to Bruce Lee, "The possession of anything begins in the mind." An awakened mind is a clear mind with the ability to see solutions in the midst of circumstance and to be fully present or engaged in the moment. These mental characteristics lead to optimal performance. It was an awakened mind that allowed Tiger Woods to courageously change his swing for the second time in 2004 despite the ridicule he would receive as a result.


Ultimately, you can achieve anything that you set your mind to do and you can do it optimally. It is not a cliche. The difference between the greats and others is often times not physical ability or skill but rather, a well developed mental game. The grets have learned to rid themselves of fear, perform mindlessly as though they were the action itself, focus, and heighten their mental awareness. By practicing these techniques you too can achieve greatness and reach your highest self.

courtesy of THE MENTAL GAME: The secret to optimal performance By Dr. Sabra R. Smith

I'm not sure how many of you watch Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN but its always beautifully broadcasted by John Miller and Joe Morgan. Josh Beckett and the Boston Red Sox faced off against C.C. Sabathia and the New York Yankees at Fenway Park. This matchup was interesting to me because I believe these two pitchers to be great examples of consistent mechanics, deliveries, and approaches towards pitching. Although the game turned out in favor of the Yankees, I enjoyed watching how easy both Beckett and Sabathia deliver the baseball.

These are two of the best pitchers in baseball right now. Both have excellent balance throughout their delivery, command of their pitch and aren't afraid to challenge any hitter in baseball. Hopefully your Pitching Instructors reference pitchers like these guys when specifying mechanical efficiency.

For any of you parents out there, I highly suggest sitting down on Sunday evenings at 8pm EST to watch the ESPN telecast of Sunday Night Baseball because they discuss mechanics; pitching, hitting, fielding, etc. at length during the game.

'til next time, pitch with confidence...

BASEBALLINFO.com recently launched an iPhone/iPod Touch app called MyScout that actually tracks information for the individual player. I had to write this article while the 2009 Little Leagure World Series is being televised on ESPN and eventually will be on ABC come championship time. The application focuses on 4 main categories for tracking a players abilities. What is even more unique is that they've integrated the Professional Scout Rating system into their readings. Now the Scout rating system can be classified into an 80-20 scale or an 8-2 scale, depending on what resource you find or use. Either way, its pretty cool how you can see how your player ranks on the rating system.

Talk about customizable settings, you can customize your field size, player size, actual pitcher release points, R/L batter, Player name, Team name, etc.

I've come across many baseball apps on my iPhone but I find it hard to believe that I would spend anything beyond $1.99 on an app. The MyScout app is just $0.99 what a deal! Try it watching a game on TV which is tough considering you have to be precise on release points, etc. but its pretty accurate at a live game. It takes some practice for the Pitching, but honestly its practical for us Baseball people. I used it at a baseball facility watching a couple of pitchers and I was getting consistent readings.

Anyways, you'll see the link in my right column or you can visit their webpage, complete with a link to the iTunes Store. Hope you all like it as much as I do.

http://www.baseballinfo.com/myscout/

With All-Stars in full effect, be careful of how you approach Private Instruction

Don't forget that when an athlete is selected to an All-Star team that there is a reason that player has been selected. Usually the player deserves the selection with skill, sportsmanship and overall value to the team. Whether you are a coach/parent/player, be careful not to ask of the 'impossible' from an instructor. If the instructor has regularly worked with an athlete, there usually aren't any concerns. Be careful not to bring an instructor out to work with kids who don't regularly consult their expertise. Its one thing to consult a Private Instructor during the regular season but when you bring an instructor to work with players that are essentially viewing the instructor as a stranger, you could be doing more harm than good. Regardless of how great of instructor you have, there is an overlooked aspect here; and that is with all of the excitement of All-Stars, bringing out an instructor to work with new kids before games over such a short period of time does not allow for very important factors. These factors range from lack of chemistry between Instructor/Player, not enough exposure to pitching principles, and the too little too late idea. Sometimes coaches will bring out a private instructor hoping for unrealistic results.

Private Instructors take great pride in what they do. Make sure that if you are considering consulting their services that as a parent/player/coach you have a very real understanding of the right expectations to have. If you do not, you could be doing more harm than good an no Instructor wants to be placed in a situation where they cannot help players succeed.

Good luck All-Star teams!! Play ball!

Forcing baseball players out of their comfort zone will improve their skills

Anyone that is reading this article today most likely has watched the Little League World Series on ABC at least once in their lifetime. I remember watching a game a few years back and Harold Reynolds, of then ESPN, was talking about a play in which the RF of the defensive team missed an over the shoulder fly ball. Reynolds simply stated that as parents/coaches that we must encourage our baseball athletes to pursue other sports as well because the learned skills from other sports will lend themselves quite nicely to baseball. When Reynolds referenced the particular play with the RF, he stated that the play is as simple as an over the shoulder catch in a football game.
In an age where playing 'club ball' is of utmost importance to parents and coaches, I feel that the importance of the other athletic skills that can only be learned by playing other sports is often overlooked. Simple skills such as improved footwork for infielders comes with footwork drills only found in football or soccer. Over the shoulder catches are only taught in football but baseball players have to make those plays ever so often too. Part of improving our sport and today's competition is allowing our players to either player additional sports OR, get our youth baseball athletes into advanced training exercises. Whether it is agility, speed, re-direction, or resistance training for example, lets allow our sports' athletes to become the very best they can.
Youth sports athletes need to be challenged, lets never forget that. Throughout their adolescent years, their physical and motor skill development must not be overlooked. Find opportunities for your son/daugther and watch them grow.

Until next time, good luck!