News and Announcements
By Adam Gawason
Head Coach, Salem Community College
This drill is designed to focus on the area that gives young pitchers the most trouble: Balance. It can be performed in front of a mirror for visual feedback, but is not necessary.
Next, once balance is gained, the pitcher pauses briefly, then slowly lowers the front leg straight "Down", stopping an inch from the ground.
Finally, after pausing briefly a second time, the pitcher's front foot glides parallel with the ground "Out" toward home plate. The pitcher lands on the ball of his foot as the full stride is achieved.
The drill creates an "L" motion with the front leg going straight up, straight down and straight out.
The pitcher's back leg remains firm, but not stiff, throughout the drill. It is vital that the back leg be able to control the pitcher's weight, providing the balance necessary to perform the drill.
Coach's Spotlight
By Troy Berry
Head Coach
University of Findlay
- In station one, you should use a swift stick (or if you do not have one you may saw off an appropriate length of a broom stick and create your own) and whiffle balls. This will work on hand eye coordination and getting your hands to the ball.
- In station two, you will use a regular bat and whiffle balls. You should focus on keeping your hands and weight back, then driving through the ball.
- In station three, you will use a regular bat and baseballs. You should focus on driving the ball to all sides of the field. (The tosser should use different trajectories to lead the hitter)
Directions for all stations
- The tosser should stand a safe distance away, kneeling on one knee, facing the hitter's chest.
- In each station, as the hitter gets into his stance, the tosser will show the hitter the ball. As the tosser goes back to toss ball, the hitter will move into the load position.
- The tosser then makes a firm toss toward hitter.
It is important for the tosser to make good firm tosses and be consistent with showing the ball before going back into tossing motion. Timing is the key for the tosser, and in turn it helps the hitter get into a good hitting rhythm.
Coach's Spotlight
Troy Berry enters his sixth season as the head baseball coach at The University of Findlay in Ohio. Overall, he has a 123-127 record as the head coach of the Oilers.
A few weeks ago, I was shuffling toward the garage with a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and the morning paper in the other. What began as a typical Saturday morning turned into one of those lessons that life seems to hand you from time to time. Let me tell you about it:
I turned the dial up into the phone portion of the band on my ham radio in order to listen to a Saturday morning swap net. Along the way, I came across an older sounding chap, with a tremendous signal and a golden voice. You know the kind; he sounded like he should be in the broadcasting business. He was telling whom-ever he was talking with something about 'a thousand marbles.' I was intrigued and stopped to listen to what he had to say
'Well, Tom, it sure sounds like you're busy with your job. I'm sure they pay you well but it's a shame you have to be away from home and your family so much. Hard to believe a young fellow should have to work sixty or seventy hours a week to make ends meet. It's too bad you missed your daughter's 'dance recital' he continued. ;'Let me tell you something that has helped me keep my own priorities.' And that's when he began to explain his theory of a 'thousand marbles.'
'You see, I sat down one day and did a little arithmetic. The average person lives about seventy-five years. I know, some live more and some live less, but on average, folks live about seventy-five years.
'Now then, I multiplied 75 times 52 and I came up with 3900, which is the number of Saturdays that the average person has in their entire lifetime. Now, stick with me, Tom, I'm getting to the important part.
It took me until I was fifty-five years old to think about all this in any detail', he went on, 'and by that time I had lived through over twenty-eight hundred Saturdays.' 'I got to thinking that if I lived to be seventy-five, I only had about a thousand of them left to enjoy. So I went to a toy store and bought every single marble they had. I ended up having to visit three toy stores to round up 1000 marbles I took them home and put them inside a large, clear plastic container right here in the shack next to my gear.'
'Every Saturday since then, I have taken one marble out and thrown it away. I found that by watching the marbles diminish, I focused more on the really important things in life.
There's nothing like watching your time here on this earth run out to help get your priorities straight.'
'Now let me tell you one last thing before I sign-off with you and take my lovely wife out for breakfast. This morning, I took the very last marble out of the container. I figure that if I make it until next Saturday then I have been given a little extra time. And the one thing we can all use is a little more time.'
'It was nice to meet you Tom, I hope you spend more time with your family, and I hope to meet you again here on the band. This is a 75 Year old Man, K9NZQ, clear and going QRT, good morning!'
You could have heard a pin drop on the band when this fellow signed off. I guess he gave us all a lot to think about. I had planned to work on the antenna that morning, and then I was going to meet up with a few hams to work on the next club newsletter.
Instead, I went upstairs and woke my wife up with a kiss. 'C'mon honey, I'm taking you and the kids to breakfast.' 'What brought this on?' she asked with a smile. 'Oh, nothing special, it's just been a long time since we spent a Saturday together with the kids. And hey, can we stop at a toy store while we're out? I need to buy some marbles.
Author unknown
