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Post by IrishNY on May 18, 2009 22:53:41 GMT -5
Yep thanks Toph. We don't strike out a bunch of guys though. So when our defense isn't stout we really struggle. Usually our defense is top notch (0 errors on Saturday and just one walk in 7 innings), but really struggled today for whatever reason. I guess it is because they are 10 years old... Loved catching up on the updates and commentary between you & top....falling asleep here but will try to start updating on my team... In a nutshell, the season stared ugly, than started showing signs of progress...than rainouts & a few close games...tonight was a disaster 19-4 which puts us at 0-6 on the season...got some pitching tips from this thread that I'm excited about though
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Post by BTB07 on May 18, 2009 23:07:58 GMT -5
That is tough Irish. Like I always tell our guys who want to pitch too often or do something that is 'all out' but unnecessary for a win that it isn't about winning games when you are ten, but getting ya ready for High School, and being a real solid baseball player. Improvement is what is really necessary. I yell at them when they don't field a grounder right, whether they get an out or not. Results oriented is not the way to be in my opinion. Hopefully you guys play a little better, for their confidence, etc. Check out this little piece: DiFelice grips the ball across the seams, like a four-seam fastball, and tilts it so his middle finger rests along the red stitching. He squeezes the ball with his middle finger, raises his index finger and throws it as he would a fastball. The result is confounding: The ball spins like a fastball and moves like a slider, and the optical illusion it plays on hitters allows him to get away with throwing an 82-mph pitch the batter knows is coming. sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=jp-difelice051709&prov=yhoo&type=lgnsDon't know the exact skill level of your guys, but kids are enamored with pitching and playing well, and they will soak up just about anything you tell them. They don't always execute it...but they will get it man! Keep working with them!
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Post by IrishNY on May 19, 2009 22:04:51 GMT -5
Yea, it's been tough but I keep working with them. The dads that I have are real helpful and the kids have been playing well for the most part. Biggest problem is my two starters have struggled mightily and I only have one other pitcher. That and the rain has really curtailed our practice time.
You sound like you know piching really well. Can you tell me a website where I can get a few pictures of the proper grips on the pitches...that would be helpful as I need to give my kids a refresher
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Post by BTB07 on May 19, 2009 22:14:07 GMT -5
This website: www.thecompletepitcher.com/pitching_grips.htm looks about as good as any. In practice I have every kid in the bullpen and throw 25 pitches. They all have to be pitchers in order to keep the young arms healthy. Toph knows a pretty good deal about pitching as well.
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Post by IrishNY on May 19, 2009 22:54:54 GMT -5
BTB07,
That's great, Thanks a lot. I really appreciate it. We're having a pitching clinic for the boys this Saturday....
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Post by BTB07 on May 19, 2009 23:02:04 GMT -5
BTB07, That's great, Thanks a lot. I really appreciate it. We're having a pitching clinic for the boys this Saturday.... That is good stuff man. I thought one kid wasn't going to be a pitcher, but took him to the bullpen anyways, and now he is throwing the ball very well. Letting them do it often, and giving them confidence makes them that much better. Keep going Irish you guys will break through!
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Post by Deleted on May 19, 2009 23:03:11 GMT -5
Im umpiring an Alma little league game tommorow at 4pm. I get to umpire two major league teams tommorow. The major league teams consist of 6th, and 7th graders. Sometime before the end of the month im scheduled to umpire a pony league game.
Its a lot of fun.
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Post by Deleted on May 19, 2009 23:05:08 GMT -5
Their was a 5th grader who was moved up to the Major leagues a couple of day's ago. This young man had a ARM and, the kid could pitch. He is a pretty solid hitter as well.
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Post by BTB07 on May 20, 2009 11:05:26 GMT -5
I used to umpire a bit, and it is fun. I did my first game when I was 13 and the game I was umpiring was 9 year-olds. When someone has to drive the umpire to the game ya know they are a young umpire
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Post by Deleted on May 20, 2009 21:45:17 GMT -5
I just got back home from the game and, it was a BLAST! Seeing all them kids play made me wanna go out their and, play. I wonder if I still have my pitchers arm? I was a pretty good pitcher back in my highschool day's. I was a better hitter than pitcher though lol. I love watching the kids play though its pretty fun being involved with them.
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Post by BTB07 on May 20, 2009 22:47:16 GMT -5
Tonight we beat the team that previously beat us 11-3. That was the game where they scored 10 runs in the fifth inning.
We got great starting pitching and good relief. In 6 innings we walked 1 guy and gave up just 4 hits. One of them was a homer in the second inning that easily went 240 feet.
Ended up scoring a run on a hit and an error in the bottom of 6 to win it 7-6. A doozy of a game!
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Post by Deleted on May 20, 2009 22:49:05 GMT -5
Tonight we beat the team that previously beat us 11-3. That was the game where they scored 10 runs in the fifth inning. We got great starting pitching and good relief. In 6 innings we walked 1 guy and gave up just 4 hits. One of them was a homer in the second inning that easily went 240 feet. Ended up scoring a run on a hit and an error in the bottom of 6 to win it 7-6. A doozy of a game! Nice. Winning is great and, seeing the Kids after a victory is something to be proud of. Whats your teams overal record thus far BTB?
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Post by BTB07 on May 20, 2009 22:51:11 GMT -5
With our win tonight we move to 15-4 and 5-4 in our very difficult division. We are a community team (means all the kids go to the same school district). The teams we are competing against openly recruit the entire city of Columbus and the surrounding area.
They were extremely happy after the win, which was great!
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Post by Deleted on May 20, 2009 22:52:52 GMT -5
15-4 and, 5-4 in a difficult division is a very good record in my oppinion. Damn nice season man, keep up the great coaching.
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Post by Deleted on May 20, 2009 22:55:52 GMT -5
The Major League teams in the Alma little league are named after actual MLB teams.
I umpired the Detroit Tigers and, the Angels today. The Angels have been the most dominate major league team in the Alma little league. The other league their is would be the minor league. The minor league is consisted of 4th and 5th graders. Some of the teams names are the Mud dogs and, Lugnuts.
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Post by BTB07 on May 21, 2009 7:17:09 GMT -5
15-4 and, 5-4 in a difficult division is a very good record in my oppinion. Damn nice season man, keep up the great coaching. Yeah it is pretty good. We have pitched 102 innings with 33 walks and 60 ER (3.50 ERA). The stat we need to improve on is 45 errors in 102 defensive innings.
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Post by BTB07 on May 22, 2009 15:44:18 GMT -5
Man no games tomorrow...not sure what to do with myself. I guess I will go golfing with my old man.
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Post by tophb21 on May 22, 2009 16:29:56 GMT -5
Man no games tomorrow...not sure what to do with myself. I guess I will go golfing with my old man. Always take a round of free golf from the Old Man! Congrats on the win. Keep up the good work.
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Post by tophb21 on May 22, 2009 16:32:17 GMT -5
BTB07, That's great, Thanks a lot. I really appreciate it. We're having a pitching clinic for the boys this Saturday.... Good luck with the clinic. Stress proper mechanics, which will lead to good release points and location. Stick with the 2 seam and 4 seam fastballs along with the change up. At that age, hitting your spots and changing speeds will get even the best hitters out on a regular basis.
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Post by BTB07 on May 22, 2009 17:40:32 GMT -5
Heck yeah man! I told him if he bought the golf I would buy the drinks...which means I will probably pay more than he will. ;D
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Post by BTB07 on May 22, 2009 17:42:17 GMT -5
BTB07, That's great, Thanks a lot. I really appreciate it. We're having a pitching clinic for the boys this Saturday.... Good luck with the clinic. Stress proper mechanics, which will lead to good release points and location. Stick with the 2 seam and 4 seam fastballs along with the change up. At that age, hitting your spots and changing speeds will get even the best hitters out on a regular basis. No doubt about it. One kid the other night hit a HR off one of our better pitchers (a fastball was left well up...). He came up again and we walked him, the old unintentional, intentional walk. Then my brother came in (all 55 pounds of him) and threw the ball about 15 MPH softer than our previous pitcher. He threw three cutters in a row (all for strikes) and got the kid to hit a little cue ball back to him. Changing speeds and locating against any age group is effective, especially when they are younger.
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Post by IrishNY on May 22, 2009 20:28:30 GMT -5
Good luck with the clinic. Stress proper mechanics, which will lead to good release points and location. Stick with the 2 seam and 4 seam fastballs along with the change up. At that age, hitting your spots and changing speeds will get even the best hitters out on a regular basis. No doubt about it. One kid the other night hit a HR off one of our better pitchers (a fastball was left well up...). He came up again and we walked him, the old unintentional, intentional walk. Then my brother came in (all 55 pounds of him) and threw the ball about 15 MPH softer than our previous pitcher. He threw three cutters in a row (all for strikes) and got the kid to hit a little cue ball back to him. Changing speeds and locating against any age group is effective, especially when they are younger. Thanks Top & BTB, really looking forward to the clinic and a fun practice tomorrow...one of our biggest problems has been lack of practice time...It's been ridiculous between the rain here and our schedule...anyway, our league is bringing up some kids who are high school age to help our kids...just trying to help each kid make progress and enjoy a great game BTW, I reviewed the complete pitcher website with my son so he can get his confidenece back...he's a left and he's pitched one innning, gave up 4 runs only one earned but I haven't had the right chance to get him in... Have a great weekend guys...
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Post by BTB07 on May 22, 2009 20:35:40 GMT -5
I was a soft tossing lefty myself Irish. Make sure he gets work on his move to first. I worked on that for about 20 minutes a day from the age of 8-17. My move was devestating. Until I was 12 years-old I would walk the big hitters and try to pick them off.
Keep working I am sure that you guys will some practice in, and they will start to play even better!
I know a little about pitching, but am always willing to learn more. Make sure the high schoolers work with them. Kids seem to gravitate towards people they can see as being a player.
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Post by tophb21 on May 22, 2009 21:14:59 GMT -5
Like, BTB, I was a soft tossing lefty as well. Only thing I will add is to shy away from teaching the kids any breaking pitches. Proper over the top mechanics and release points and grips of the 2 and 4 seam fastball is plenty.
If they can locate those pitches, they will keep any hitter off balance. Changing location and speeds are the key.
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Post by BTB07 on May 22, 2009 21:39:42 GMT -5
Yep you want the kids throwing over the top, and you don't want their wrists or elbows to have any type of twisting action. If your kids have pain in the elbow or shoulder then make sure that it is a sore muscle and nothing more before they throw anymore. I always tell our kids that it is not worth it to win a game when we are 10 to have them seriously hurt. I know that I always took a piece of string and put it on the floor at a 45 degree angle. I would then practice stepping on the line and just to the right of the line (past 45 degrees). Have him work on keeping his shoulder square. To get away with an even better move...have the kid walk off the mound after the throw so the umpire can't examine the landing spot of the foot. Just a few tricks to get ya by
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Post by IrishNY on May 22, 2009 22:16:40 GMT -5
I was a soft tossing lefty myself Irish. Make sure he gets work on his move to first. I worked on that for about 20 minutes a day from the age of 8-17. My move was devestating. Until I was 12 years-old I would walk the big hitters and try to pick them off. Keep working I am sure that you guys will some practice in, and they will start to play even better! I know a little about pitching, but am always willing to learn more. Make sure the high schoolers work with them. Kids seem to gravitate towards people they can see as being a player. That's cool Lefty...we'll work on his move. He's been playing a fantastic 1B had 5 putouts in one game, handled the glove nicely...stretched perfectly twice to help nail the guys...piching & hitting needs work but the crew tomorrow should really help, a group called Bronx Highlanders...they help a lot of kids make their high school or college team especially Fordham University...they head over a few times a year and the boys are captivated.
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Post by IrishNY on May 22, 2009 22:23:55 GMT -5
BTB07, That's great, Thanks a lot. I really appreciate it. We're having a pitching clinic for the boys this Saturday.... Good luck with the clinic. Stress proper mechanics, which will lead to good release points and location. Stick with the 2 seam and 4 seam fastballs along with the change up. At that age, hitting your spots and changing speeds will get even the best hitters out on a regular basis. Much appreciated...proper mechanics are critical...my guys have fantastic mechanics but they just haven't spotted their two or four seamers very well...my "ace" gets so anxious that he starts digging a hole on the mound...first time he did it I called time walked out there smiling and asked if needed a shovel, kid started cracking up and than proceeded to throw strikes after that
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Post by tophb21 on May 22, 2009 22:28:30 GMT -5
Good luck with the clinic. Stress proper mechanics, which will lead to good release points and location. Stick with the 2 seam and 4 seam fastballs along with the change up. At that age, hitting your spots and changing speeds will get even the best hitters out on a regular basis. Much appreciated...proper mechanics are critical...my guys have fantastic mechanics but they just haven't spotted their two or four seamers very well...my "ace" gets so anxious that he starts digging a hole on the mound...first time he did it I called time walked out there smiling and asked if needed a shovel, kid started cracking up and than proceeded to throw strikes after that That's some funny stuff right there!! ;D
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Post by IrishNY on May 22, 2009 22:29:42 GMT -5
Like, BTB, I was a soft tossing lefty as well. Only thing I will add is to shy away from teaching the kids any breaking pitches. Proper over the top mechanics and release points and grips of the 2 and 4 seam fastball is plenty. If they can locate those pitches, they will keep any hitter off balance. Changing location and speeds are the key. Another lefty...very cool. No breaking pitches at all...an ump stopped a game in our league recently and asked why the pitcher just threw a curve and than admonished the other coach and parents in a real nice way...telling everyone ...he's too young to do that, gonna hurt his arm ;D
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Post by BTB07 on May 22, 2009 22:39:44 GMT -5
I teach our kids to throw a cut-fastball. It forces the seams down but the arm action is the same as a fastball. No harm to the arm...and another weapon for them.
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