Two Best Pitches For Little Leaguers

I went to watch one our students fall games, and was shocked to see curve ball after curve ball. I didn't see any change ups or placed fastballs. Most of the curve balls had poor form and bad mechanics. A bad recipe for arm injuries.
Please take our advice and don't let a kid throw curve balls until he's at least sixteen years old- their bodies are not ready for the strain. Instead of risking injury, its better for them to practice the four seam fastball and change up. If a student is able to place their fastball and change up all day long , he's gonna be a very effective pitcher and produce lots of outs.
Coaching at the high school level we make sure and work on placement of the fastball and change up. When our pitchers have got these two pitches down we will introduce the curve ball. Stay informed for future articles about pitching.

Andre Ethier Amazing Season

Andre Ethier has six walk off home runs this season, best in the bigs. Pretty amazing feat , to pretty amazing season by the dodgers.

Loading The Hip Pitching

Loading the hip is the step that determines whether you will be solely dependent on your arm strength for power, or whether you will fully involve your entire body.

Leading with your hamstring muscle and knee, lift your leg as you rotate your hips fully to the power side. (hip facing batter) The amount of load one can achieve at this point is different per player. The key is not to sacrifice balance or posture. Keep the power leg (leg on mound rubber)bent with the back straight and chin, shoulder and lead hip all pointing at the target.

Some important things to understand when lifting the leg. Think about leading with the knee and hamstring together, rather then lifting with the foot. Don't let foot swing out, as this will detract from balance and power. The thigh and shoe should be parallel to the batter.

Pitching is a very complex position, but with good practice and lots of drills one can have a positive experience.

Outfield gloves 2 best

Were gonna post two gloves that we think are the superior outfield gloves out there on the market. 1) Rawlings heart of the hide pro mesh glove 12inch retail $135
2) Wilson A1000 outfielder glove 12inch. retail $85

Today I'm listing 3 exercises to add to your baseball workout. Try these out they will change your game . First picture is sledgehammer and tire workout. This exercise works core , shoulders and forearms. I use this with my athletes and it makes allot of difference with their power. Second picture is your average pull up this exercise works your back and shoulders very important baseball muscles. Third is my favorite rice bucket exercise, fill a bucket with rice and try to reach the bottom of the bucket with your hands. This will increase your finger and hand strength. For more info on baseball workout exercises email jefe1212@yahoo.com

Sponsor update

Baseball Savings and Eastbay are probaly the best sites to pick up baseball merchandise cheap. We have added Under Armor , checkout their closeout section .
just click on any of these sponsors to shop and get some good deals

Hitting Lesson : Hands At Toe Touch

This is an answer to a question given to me by one of our students. What position should my hands be at toe touch?
 There are many debates about this but heres our philosiphy on that question.

  The back hand must be even or behind the elbow, this is going to create a good whipping action of the bat.
If we lead with this hand we will be pushing the bat thrue the zone . example: when we throw a ball we dont push , we lead the throw with our elbow. ( the phrase skipping a rock)

The front hand at toe touch , the front hand and elbow must be even or front hand inside elbow. By doing this we can prepare for the inside pitch and also adjust to the outside pitch. If my front hand is outside my elbow we will be cutting across and swinging in a small zone.

Im going to provide some pictures of players swinging. These pictures cover mlb thrue little league . Enjoy and get back to us with any questions about baseball.

Angels Bryan Fuentes comments about Fenway Park..

Angels reliever Bryan Fuentes says Fenway Park intimidates umpires to make calls. This comment is gonna cost him a fine. Do you agree or disagree with Bryan Fuentes, leave your opions and comments

Joe Mauer AL MVP

I'm gonna make my pick that Joe Mauer will be the AL MVP . Just look at his stats and the team that hes playing on. Their fighting to stay alive in the playoff picture. Leave us a comment on what you think..

Mizuno wave 9 spike baseball cleat

Another recommedation by Dry Heat Baseball . The mizuno wave cleat uses a new 9 spike design. The spikes are angled in such a way that they add more lateral stability. That adds speed

Derek Jeter

Like to acknowledge Derek Jeter's feat, of passing Lou Gehrig for most hits for the Yankees organization.. Pretty amazing feat for a good guy of the game.

Importants of drills

Students learn 20% of what they hear.

Students learn 50% of what they see.

Students learn 70% of what they experience.

As coaches we want to talk less and show more and find a drill that helps a student feel and experience the action we want them to have.

As players we want to listen more, study good swings and remember the drills that helped us feel that correct movements.. Heard this some time ago.. very good advice..

Long toss

Make sure and keep up with a long toss , this off season. Even thoe we are not playing we must keep up with long toss. Long toss increases arm strength and velocity a must for baseball players. Get out there and start throwing the ball..

Mental Discipline Checklist

1. Evaluating and "fixing " previous play.
2. Anticipation
3. "Keying" up or down (whichever adjustment your arousal level requires)
4.Giving yourself instructions (visualizing what you want to do)
5. Narrowing attention to immediate (external) function (seeing the ball or target, etc)
6.Being "quiet" (relaxed) as you switch over to "automatic pilot" (muscle memory)
7. Doing it

Through the use of these strategies, a player can be greatly assisted in establishing control of his emotion and tension level.

Being A Teacher Not A Coach

One thing i have learned coaching high school baseball to inner city kids is humility. Coaching for a program that has low numbers and less talented kids has grown my coaching skills and communication skills tremendously. One thing i would like to stress to coaches is to leave your pride at the door. It took me a while to do this, its so easy to get caught up with wins and losses.
Wins and losses will take care of themselves.
For some coaches , not all, the fact that they have won gives them instant credibility, but there's more to it than that. They have to install in their athletes the value of being taught and the lessons that you learn from playing a sport at a highly competitive level. That's the key to affecting an athletes whole life . The competition and team work stay with you , a long time after your done competing. That's what I'm hopefully passing on to my players. Many coaches don't emphasize that enough. I have seen many of a player focus on making it to the college level, but most them do not make it. They then go on to college and get their degree and become doctors, policeman, fathers and husbands etc. Many have come back to acknowledge what they have learned from playing ball. That's what we want to emphasize because that's the real value in what we are doing. That why i like to consider me a teacher rather than a coach.
Coach Killeen
Camelback HS

Bob Didier friend of Dry Heat Baseball

Dry Heat Baseball would like to give a shout out to great buddy of ours Bob Didier. Bobby has had over 43 years of mlb experience. Bobby is now with the Diamondback organization as the minor league head coach for the Yakima Bears. Diamondbacks are a lucky organization to have him on their side. The Didier family, led by Mel didier, has had well over 50 years serving major league baseball. They also have their grandson Bo didier who's playing baseball at LSU. Good luck to the Didier boys well see you soon..

reddrox sports supplement drink

Today's product feature is REDDROX . REDDROX sports drink incorporates the south african " redbush" for maximum re hydration.

Lisa Marie founder of REDDROX , turned to the the ways of athletes in south africa when formulating this sports drink. Incorporating the plant's power with water to form reddrox.

This is a perfect product for that athlete that needs to perform at their peak levels. Check it out at www.reddrox.com

Sent jeff killeen's iPhone

student with a swing that took some time to change. we had to fix the front foot and stop the arms and shoulders from lifting up and down.. we now have a balanced compact swing with hands driving thrue the ball.

don mattingly 2009 v-grip beast

Try this new Mattingly V-Grip composite beast bat. The first and only bat to combine the latest barrel technology with performance enhancing V-grip technique. This bat will make you a better hitter.

Muscle Milk da bomb

Muscle milk , this stuffs the bomb. Easiest supplement shake Ive tried so far, not chalky and lumpy like most. Check it out great variety of flavors..

yoga for the athlete.

I have recently started most of my clients and athletes in a yoga routine. During baseball season i would prefer it, if they would perform their poses once a week to really build their flexibility and focus on their breathing skills. Most of my students really tend to embrace yoga and make it a part of their everyday life. The difference they have in their playing seasons is truly amazing , they rarely pull muscles and their increase in flexibility causes their stats to increase enormously.
Yoga for athletes has gone so well for us at Dry Heat Baseball that our classes fill up with our athletes and their parents. Most parents are their to lose weight and regain flexibility and relieve stress.. Yoga is truly an amazing lifestyle to pick up....