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Youth Junior Tennis
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The best hitters in the game use a variety of hitting drills to improve hand-eye coordination, bat speed, and power. These drills will have you or your players hitting the ball more consistently and with more power, with the ability to place shots more effectively. The result will be higher average and better run production in just a week or two of practice.
1. Ball on a Cone or Tee: Hand-eye coordination is the key to all good hitting, in any game and at every level. Improving your ability to match what your eyes are seeing with the trajectory of your swing creates the kind of contact that produces more line drives, and with time, more power. Hitting legend Ted Williams used to practice by using a cue stick to hit bottle caps. That's not a bad idea, but these drills will serve the purpose, too.
- Ball on a cone: Put a traffic cone on the floor 3 feet out from a mat. Kneel, or have your players kneel, on the mat. Put balls on the cone and have the players focus on hitting a line drive. Hit 15 to 25 balls in each session, more if time allows - the more the better. The drill emphasizes contact using just the arms and upper body, which is essential to hitting the ball consistently.
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T-Ball: Kids start in t-ball for a reason - they learn to make contact, plain and simple. Since solid contact is the key to all good things in hitting, contact drills never go out of style. Pro, college, and top amateur teams continue to use hitting tees to warm up and find the hitting touch, especially after layoffs. Start hitting practice with a round of tee drills to emphasize keeping an eye on the ball, with a bonus feature being an increase in confidence. When pitch speed is added, the improvement will be noticeable. When the game starts, sharper hitting will lead to more base runners and more RBI's. VARIATIONS: place the tee on the inside, middle, and outside parts of the plate to encourage hitters to go with the pitch, so they learn to drive balls to all fields. Most hitters try to pull everything, and this will help break that habit.
2. Wiffle Ball: This drill emphasizes bat speed and a compact, powerful swing. Using either a pitching machine or a live pitcher, stand 20 feet in front of the plate and use waffle balls for safety. Set the machine to about 40 mph, or gauge your pitch speed accordingly. Batters have to get the bat around in a hurry. The drill will expose swings that are too long - the kind of swings that keep pro players in the minors. On the positive side, it encourages increased bat speed to be able to get around on the pitches, and a shorter, more compact swing that is the foundation of power.
3. Wait and Explode: Many hitters develop the bad habit of starting their swing far too early. The results are all bad. For instance, the hitter will often stride into the pitch too early and then have to hold back the upper body waiting for the ball. Timing and hand-eye coordination is thrown off, plus if contact is made, it's only the upper body involved. The powerful motion of the legs is eliminated. Misses, weak grounders, and lazy fly balls are the result. Here's how this drill works. Have the batter stand in the box and coach them not to move at all until the ball leaves the pitcher's hand. Keep it up until the hitter learns to be patient, reserving their energy until they can complete the swing in one powerful motion. Hitters with good contact skills but poor power will start driving the ball much harder with this drill.
Another way to encourage a "wait and explode" approach is to use tennis balls and bounce balls up to the plate. The hitter must not move a muscle until the ball bounces, 6-8 feet in front of the plate. Patience is learned, and hand-eye coordination is also improved. A short, compact, energetic swing will result.
4. The Barrier Drill: This drill will teach good mechanics. Have the players stand one back length back from a barrier, such as a net or string, and take their cut. If they hit the barrier with the bat, they are taking too long a swing, unlocking their elbows before the shoulders are fully engaged. Point out what's happening and see if they can make the correction, which will produce a compact, powerful cut.
5. Reward or Run: There's nothing like the possibility of a little physical exercise to get players to concentrate. Using a pitching machine, or reliable batting practice pitcher, feed each batter 15 pitches. On strikes only (make swinging at a bad pitch an out, no matter if they hit it or not), count well-struck balls versus misses or weak hits. If the batter has 8 or more good cuts reward them in some way. If 8 or more bad swings happen, it's time to run! As the season continues, and the players improve, bump your better hitters up to 10 or 11 quality hits to avoid running. Tailor the drill to stretch each player to achieve their best.
Each of these drills is used by many professional, college, and top amateurs teams every year. Employ them on your team and start noticing immediate results in terms of contact and power. You'll enjoy better run production from the first time through the order!
Janet Hansen is a softball coach in NC and helps others understand how to choose the right softball bat for their needs, at her Softball Batting website, http://www.SoftballBatGuide.com. You can also learn batting tips and join in the discussion along the way!
Prepare For Your Kids To Learn Golf
Golf clubs for kids come in a variety of sizes and packages. To accurately measure for kids golf clubs, have them wear a pair of tennis shoes and measure from the floor to the top of their head. This is the standard on which most manufacturers base their sizing for youth golf clubs.
Choose junior golf clubs based on height and ability. Poor fitting, heavy junior golf club sets can lead to swing problems that may be difficult to correct. Proper fitting clubs allow a child to swing freely and naturally. Kid's golf clubs should have heads which are much larger and lighter and composite shaft as opposed to a heavy steel shaft – this makes the junior golf club sets lighter and will provide more power for greater distance.
When choosing junior golf clubs start with the basics – 9 iron, driver and a putter. As they develop their swing add a few more clubs. They could include a 5 iron and a 7 iron. Junior golf club sets usually come complete with all the clubs, a bag (carry or stand bag) and some even include golf club head-covers. When choosing youth golf clubs look for good quality construction, kid's golf clubs need to be strong enough to sustain a heavy hit. Partial sets are available but consider a full set for kids who are really keen.
Two very important words are part of the U.S. Kids Golf mission to help kids have fun learning to play golf. The words are fun and play.
Our research into the development of young golfers has shown that when golf is no longer fun for kids, they lose interest. According to studies from the Positive Coaching Alliance, we—parents and coaches—tend to become too technical, too early with our kids. And the trouble with golf is that it's highly technical.
When kids 11 to 13 were surveyed and asked, "Why did you quit golf?" they were almost unanimous in their response: "It wasn't fun anymore." So how do we make it fun for kids—and keep it fun?
As a baseball coach, I had some kids on my team who were striking out too much, and I noticed they weren't keeping their eye on the ball. They'd come back to the dugout frustrated because they tried so hard and had not succeeded. But instead of being frustrated with them, I looked for something—anything—that they did to improve. If they fouled out, it was an improvement over missing the ball every time. If a batter just touches the ball, it's an improvement. So I said, "Great! You watched the ball. You fouled it off." Until that became a good thing. I watched the kids' level of encouragement rise. As coaches and parents, you're in the midst of something very important. You can encourage your kids every time you're out there to play and to have fun and encourage them for the improvement they show—even when the shots don't go where they want them to.
Over the long term what's really going to make our kids great is their joy for the game and the fun they have playing it. And that's why U.S. Kids Golf exists. That's why we make clubs that are easier to swing. That's why we encourage parents to caddie for their kids. That's why we want learning the game to be a fun experience. We want kids to be excited about golf. We want the game to be full of special moments for them and memories of fun with their families, their coaches and their friends.
About the Author
Does anyone think the LTA should be disbanded?
Is it time the LTA was disbanded and we could have real lovers of tennis deciding teams and coaching practise.
The sort of money that goes into the coffers to the LTA could help in deprived areas to bring the general publics youth into regular tennis game
The only ones playing and practising down here in Bournemouth are spoilt rich kids bought in by their (Ladies That Lunch)mothers and dropped off to be rid of them.The coaching system is all designed to bring in pots of money from these groups and the council kids are ignored and if they play its once in Summer with Kwik Save balls and junior rackets unsuited for purpose on council courts.
The LTA sit in their glass houses drinking wine and employing jobsworths and are frittering away our best chances of success.
If the goverment took over the finances as in France and it was organised with a passion for all to succeed then that would be our profit
There should be a passion to help kids from the streets
No I disagree but I understand your frustration.
I play in Bournemouth too and see the same scene but from a different perspective. Very young children, not all privileged playing tennis unlike when I was young. This must be good and is credit to the LTA and the local clubs especially West Hants. Sure it could be better but let's not throw the baby out with the bath-water!
If you travel around the country you would not see so much tennis but at least it is much better than it used to be. And what you do see are lots of courts which we must preserve and improve.
The level of tennis most people play is not good so that needs working on. The answer is not to disband the one route to solving it ie the LTA!
What s happening
Antioch Youth Football and Cheer — Youth football and cheer sign-ups 7 p.m.-9 p.m. Wednesdays through July 28. For ages 5-14. 3001 Delta Fair Blvd., Antioch. $45. 925-473-5150.
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