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Fortunately, I’ve had my share of championships and have enjoyed them tremendously. After one of them, my 10-11-12 year old team doused me with many different colors of an athletic beverage. One of my player’s mothers asked me if it feels terrible. I was sticky, slimy and multi-colored from head to toe, including my glasses. I looked at her in honest disbelief and replied that it doesn’t feel terrible at all and it feels great! Being a very competitive coach, what mattered to me was my kids were celebrating their championship victory and not hanging their heads.

OK, so we all enjoy winning and I’ll put myself at the top of the list. Now I want to switch gears for a moment and let’s forget about winning, home runs, shutouts and all the other things our outstanding players accomplish. I want to share with you a story about Nick, a 12 year old I coached back in 2002. I knew Nick off the baseball field and knew he was a great kid with great parents. That’s why I drafted him that year and in future years as well. We went to the batting cages about three weeks before our season began. I had never seen several of the kids swing a bat, including Nick. I had my clip board in hand to jot down notes as to what I need to work on with certain players. I watched Nick and after only one or two of his swings, I saw a glaring weakness. Nick had this long and looping swing and was over matched by every pitch. He was constantly late on every single pitch. I jotted this down. I mentioned this to Nick, a very intelligent kid. We went to the cages a couple of more times and he is still long and looping to the baseball. I am not getting through to Nick.

Our regular season begins and Nick is struggling big time. After about ten games Nick is hitless for the year. Hitless as in 0-20 for the year. I’m coaching third base and Nick is up. He has a count of 2-2. For about the hundredth time, I call out to Nick to be short to the ball. I then actually demonstrated it to him as if I were swinging the bat. Nick is a right-handed hitter and the pitcher throws him a fastball over the outside portion of the plate. With this lightning quick motion, Nick throws the head of the bat directly at the ball. It almost looked like a quick karate chop. He hits a seed into the right-center field gap and gets a stand up double. I can’t describe the great feeling I had. Remember, this is a great kid who had been severely struggling at the plate. Nick is standing on second base and looking toward home plate with his usual humble look on his face. I called out to Nick. Before he completely turned his head toward me, I could already see a very, very huge grin. When we are making eye contact, I wave my right fist in the air and shake it three or four times. Nick, who is usually refined and quiet, shakes his fist back at me so aggressively that I honestly thought he could have injured his right shoulder. Really, I give you my word.

Sure, I remember many details of important playoff victories and championship victories. Who got the big hits, who pitched great, who made game saving defensive plays, etc. But I remember Nick’s seed to right-center like it happened five minutes ago and not seven years ago. If you are into baseball coaching, maybe you have a player similar to Nick on your team. I promise you that helping that player will be at least as rewarding as any playoff or championship victory.

And believe me, I love to win as much as anyone you will ever meet!

About Author
Larry’s very user friendly eBooks cover 320 topics on playing excellent baseball. ANY baseball player, coach or parent who wants to help their child will be fully equipped! Some FREE baseball tips on hitting and FREE baseball pitching tips are available at Larry Baseball.com

Here is a list of 7 baseball coaching tips or beliefs that are overused and were either wrong from the start or have become totally obsolete.

Come on Johnny, keep your elbow up. The reference is to the height of the back elbow when hitting. You will very often hear this hollered to a young player by a coach, manager or one of his parents. Some young players raise their back elbow up by their back ear. This is not a comfortable position for most hitters. It’s much more efficient to have the back elbow just below shoulder height. If a hitter wants to make an adjustment up or down, only then should the back elbow be raised or lowered.

If you’re going to get beat, get beat on your best pitch. Let’s say that a pitcher’s best pitch is the fastball and the batter is a very good fastball hitter. Let’s say that the pitcher’s second best pitch is a good curve ball and it’s a known fact that this hitter has trouble with hitting curve balls. It would make no sense for that pitcher to get beat on his best pitch, the fast ball, with the game on the line. Forget this myth. Use the curve ball as your out pitch.

Don’t look at the ball, just run. All good base runners DO look at the ball. This is not to say that if you hit a grounder to the infield you should be looking at the grounder while running to first base. On the other hand, there are many, many times where you should be looking at the ball. Good base runners very seldom need a coach to guide them while running. They watch the ball, the fielder and watch the play unfold. The infamous quote of, don’t look at the ball, just run, should be changed to, don’t just run, look at the ball.

Come on Jimmy, level swing. Many young players hear this hollered out so often that as soon as they start their swing, they try to make sure it’s level. This is one of the worst baseball coaching tips they will ever hear. The proper baseball swing is not level at all. If a hitter levels out his swing at the very beginning, he can be virtually guaranteed he will be late on every fastball because he is not being short to the ball. The swing starts out going downward with the back of the bottom hand facing the pitcher and not facing the sky. Only at the point where you are making contact should the swing be level, with one palm facing up and the other palm facing down. Being a fraction of a second late when swinging the bat is an eternity!

Catch the ball with two hands. This is often hollered out to a younger player who is catching a pop up or a fly ball. Baseball gloves have come a long way in the last few decades. They are much bigger and better. Putting your bare hand next to your glove hand when catching pop ups or fly balls has been proven to be more trouble than it’s worth. It can easily interfere with your catching the ball with these very good, modernized gloves.

Touch the bases with your right foot when running. The concern used to be that if a base runner touches a base with their left foot, they may trip over the base with their right foot. That is obsolete now. It makes no sense whatsoever to stutter step and lose precious time when running around the bases.

The perfect count to put on the hit and run is 2-0 or 3-1. This started several decades ago is very played out. To have a batter be forced to swing at a 2-0 pitch that would be a ball and make the count 3-0 is senseless. The same holds true on the 3-1 count. To have a batter be forced to swing at a 3-1 pitch that would be ball 4 is a scary baseball strategy.

In 95% or more of all cases, good baseball coaching tips of fifty years ago are still good today. There are a few things however, that have evolved and some that should never have been started in the first place. Don’t listen to these myths!

About Author
Larry’s very user friendly eBooks cover 320 topics on playing excellent baseball. ANY baseball player, coach or parent who wants to help their child will be fully equipped! Some FREE baseball tips on hitting and FREE baseball pitching tips are available at Larry Baseball.com

A base runner breaks for second base for a stolen base attempt. The batter swings at the pitch and quite often a baseball announcer will say that the batter swung to protect the runner. Was the runner in some type of danger and needed protection? No. The base runner is simply trying to steal a base.

Forget about protecting the runner and a much better option for the batter is to help the runner instead:

1. Square around as if to bunt even though you have no intention of bunting.

2. Place the bat at approximately the eye level of the catcher.

3. At the last second, pull the bat away and do not attempt the bunt.

4. This will slightly block the vision of the catcher when he tries to catch the ball and also will prevent him from aggressively jumping out of his stance and gaining momentum toward the base he’s throwing to.

Catchers don’t like this because they can’t make their normal throw that they practice all the time. It disrupts their timing as well as their footwork. Usually, there is a very good chance the catcher’s throw will not be a good one. It’s a very effective play and one of the smartest baseball coaching tips you will learn. Very few players know about it and that’s why you will not see it done very often. The better catchers work on their timing and their foot work all the time.

“Show me a catcher with a very good throwing arm and I’ll show you a catcher with very good foot work.” They definitely go hand in hand. By disrupting the catcher’s foot work, your base runner’s chances of a successful stolen base will increase tremendously!

Please note that this should be used at advanced levels of play ONLY. It should not be used by young players that are just starting out and learning how to play the game of baseball. There is a huge difference between baseball coaching tips for young players and baseball coaching tips for players at the high school level of play and beyond. Eight to ten year old players compared to players that are fifteen years old and up should be coached accordingly.

About Author
Larry’s very user friendly eBooks cover 320 topics on baseball. ANY baseball player, coach or parent who wants to help their child will be fully equipped! Some FREE baseball tips on hitting and FREE baseball pitching tips are available at Larry Baseball.com

Almost all baseball hitters at every level have a fear of the baseball to one extent or the other. True, the amount of fear does vary significantly. You may have possibly gotten hit by a pitch and it may have been a very painful experience and given you a very unpleasant lasting memory. Getting hit by a pitched ball can be outright disheartening and scary and you have every right in the world to be fearful. If this is the case, it’s going to take some time for you to have most of that fear fade away.

The best cure in the world is many, many at bats. The more at bats you have without going through this painful experience again is the best cure and you should be able to get your fear under much better control. Don’t ever be embarrassed about having a fear of the baseball. Many hitters have a fear and will not admit it. So trust me, you are not alone by any means.

Baseball Coaching Tips That Should Help:

1. Open up your stance and turn your head more toward the pitcher. It seems a little ironic to recommend turning more toward the pitcher if you already have a fear of the ball. But what happens is that you will see the ball much better. And just seeing the ball better will give you much more confidence that you can get out of the way of the pitch if you have to.

2. Make sure that both your front shoulder and front arm are not too high. Make sure they are low enough and do not come close to obstructing any of your view of the pitched ball.

3. With younger players especially, coaches or parents should pitch to them with a tennis or plastic ball and occasionally throw the ball right at them. Watch and enjoy as their confidence grows when they come to realize they can safely get out of the way of the ball. This is one of the best baseball coaching drills that can be used to help a player, especially if it’s a younger player.

4. And remember the safest way to get out of the way from an inside pitch. Tuck your chin in against your chest, bend at the waist and make a quarter turn toward the catcher. Think of it as if you are going to have a nose to nose argument with the catcher. This will protect your head and face, chest, stomach and groin area. You are much better off getting hit in the upper, middle or lower part of the back or the rear end than getting hit in the front of your body.

About Author
Larry’s very user friendly eBooks cover 320 topics on playing excellent baseball. ANY baseball player, coach or parent who wants to help their child will be fully equipped! Some FREE baseball tips on hitting and FREE baseball pitching tips are available at Larry Baseball.com

I can’t think of any baseball tips on hitting that are more important. Getting hit by a pitch can be a very serious matter and at times can be downright disheartening. Unfortunately, many baseball players at all levels of play have not learned the proper way to get out of the way from an inside pitch. Even in the professional ranks, quite often it is not executed properly. I find it bothersome that anyone involved in baseball coaching would not teach this method before worrying about batting averages, hitting line drives and home runs. There is no excuse for this.

The Very Simple And Proper Way To Protect Yourself:

1. You take your stride and see that the baseball is coming in your direction.

2. You should fairly easily be able to turn your body a quarter of a turn back toward the catcher.

3. Tuck your chin in toward your chest so your head is lowered and less exposed. It’s the fastest, easiest and most effective way to protect your head, face, chest, stomach and groin area.

4. The worse scenario would then be getting hit by the baseball in the upper back, mid or lower back, rear end or the back of your legs.

5. It is absolutely necessary for you to protect your head and the entire front of your body!

6. To keep it simple, tuck your head in and duck, putting your chin against your chest and bend and turn toward the catcher.

When a player gets severely injured when hit by a pitch, it is a sad time for all who are involved, especially if it is a younger player. The entire ballpark gets very quiet. Suddenly, it doesn’t matter what team you are on, what the score is or who you are rooting for. Managers, coaches, umpires, players, and spectators, including relatives of the injured player, are all devastated. If at all possible, we must try our best to avoid this situation.

Please learn this technique so we can all enjoy the baseball game itself. If you are involved in baseball coaching, please put this on the very top of your list. Let’s worry about baseball tips on hitting for higher batting averages and hitting home runs later on.

About Author
Larry’s very user friendly eBooks cover 320 topics on playing excellent baseball. ANY baseball player, coach or parent who wants to help their child will be fully equipped! Some FREE baseball tips on hitting and FREE baseball pitching tips are available at Larry Baseball.com

One opportunity to make money and work from home is to offer business coaching. If you have played any type of sports in the past you probably had a coach. You see them in every sport including soccer, football, basketball, swimming, and so on.

As a high number of people come online looking for ways to make money themselves business coaching is becoming an in demand profession. However you can also make money coaching people on virtually anything that a person would need training on.

Business coaches are as much teachers as they are anything else. Most Internet marketers need somebody to help them figure out how to become successful. Not everyone can learn from reading an ebook or watching an online video.

Many people need personal attention and they are willing to pay for that if they feel they can reap the benefit from it. If you have a talent for working with people you can make a lot of money working from home offering business coaching.

Today most people who come online are not big business owners. Most of them are just people who are trying to make extra money. Niche marketing is a great example of this where people are trying to take an interest they have and make a business out of it.

However they are not sure how to get started so they’re looking for someone to help them. The business coach takes somebody by the hand and leads them through the maze known as the World Wide Web.

Some people are not even sure how they want to get started and a business coach might help them target a specific niche. At that point then the coach will help them develop their own strategies for promoting the products on the Internet.

If you have any background in Internet advertising you probably know more than the people you would be coaching. You need to be somewhat versed in pay per click advertising, article marketing, and other forms of free and paid advertising.

One other important part of coaching people on the Internet business is list building. Your customers will be forever indebted to you if you can help them build a profitable email list they can access for future income.

These are some ideas on how to work from home offering business coaching. It can be an exciting and extremely lucrative profession. You can Google search business coaches to get ideas of how people are doing it before you start your own business.

About Author
Did you find this article helpful?If you did then take a look at these step-by-step video tutorials immediately: http://www.MaverickMoneyPlus.com

In kids soccer drills, it’s a known fact that the coach’s faults bring the teams to a point, from where it’s near impossible to get back on to the winning track. Yes, it is true. Most of you might wonder as to what can be so big that puts the team on a loosing streak. Then let me tell you, there can be numerous causes.

You will have to work very watchfully and advantageously in designing soccer drills for kids. Make it a point to know and value psychology of the kids. Communicate with them in a way that suits their age level. But unfortunately, many coaches are unprepared to adjust to it. They simply close their eyes to the dissimilarity between teaching adult players and kids.

So this is it; let me share some blunders that coaches make which reduce their teams to rubble.

1. A lot of them consider their jobs as casual work. They are not punctual, fail to organize the drills, and don’t think it’s important to plan the sessions. These qualities are not just unacceptable and also upset the kids. Kids tend to be very serious about soccer and you should too. Youth soccer drills should be pre-planned. Arrange for various equipments needed to perform the drills before-hand.

Be on time. Make it a point to reach the field earlier than the kids. In reality, be present there to welcome the kids. What you get here is the additional time to run through the drills or plan out things.

2. When the coaches are instructing before the kids soccer drills, it is normal for them to take a long time. Can you believe how boring that can be? Understand that kids come to play soccer, not to hear your long lectures. Keep your instructions brief and to the point. Use these sessions in a way that the kids get inspired to play and enjoy the game.

Also, do not interrupt the kids when they are playing. If there is something that you need to tell the kids, wait for the session to end. Also, you should be outside the field when the kids are enjoying the game.

3. Some coaches use foul language with the young players. In soccer drills for youth, both the behaviors are unacceptable. It is never a good idea to show your emotions on the field. It is fine for the kids to make errors. Remember, they are just kids. You should not take it seriously and get offensive with the players.

When this happens, you are making the kids loose interest and also making things difficult for yourself. Soccer is about mind games. Make the kids realize this and you would have motivated them.

Just don’t let these problems of kids soccer drills affect you and you are a winner. If you would like to know more about what the positive and negative traits of a coach are, join our youth soccer coaching community. You will be surprised by how big an improvement you can make by your decision.

About Author
Andre Botelho is a recognized authority in Kids Soccer Drills and has already helped thousands of youth coaches to dramatically improve their coaching skills. To explode your players’ skills and make training fun, download your free Youth Soccer Drills ebook at: Youth Soccer Drills.

How would you react to the fact that one thing that young players find truly hard is to use a straight leg to kick the ball? In coaching soccer drills, it’d not just the players but also the coaches who have a problem here. The player keeps overall balance and the leg to be used to kick the ball is bent at the knee. Both posture and strength to kick the ball comes out from below the knee.

This is the starting point for almost all styles of kicks in soccer practice. The speeding up of the foot from below the knee generates a great impact on the ball. This gives players the power to execute a variety of kicks. Yet, it is the kind of contact of the ball with the foot that decides what type of kick would originate.

For example; it could be chipped very high, driven low, swerved left, or swung right.

In soccer, the three critical passes are the instep drive, a side foot pass, and the outside of the foot pass. We’ll now chat about them further.

The side foot pass: This is the easiest and the most widely used pass in teaching soccer. Normally, it is used to make short distance passes. Although this pass is slightly slow and almost predictable, it’s very simple to teach the kids and perform accurately. The contact with the ball is made on the inside of the ankle and the foot with the foot turned outwards.

When you are in the midst of coaching soccer drills, teach the players to be at ease with respect to their body. When it comes to different kicking actions, this rule is the truly indispensable. Players should strengthen the ankle and the foot only at the time of making contact with the ball.

After the players are confident in it’s execution, their action should appear comfortable, smooth, and natural.

Outside of the foot pass: Al though a little tricky to learn, this pass needs to be taught to the kids correctly as it’s quick, unpredictable, and accurate. A contact is made with the ball between the laces and outside edge of the foot with the foot extended and turned inward. The pass is then transformed into a quick throw for short distances by using the foot.

In coaching drills, it’s imperative that the players maintain a comfortable posture.

The Instep Drive: Both the versions of instep drive i.e. the low driven version and the lofted version are brought into play to pass the ball over longer distances. There is also an option to adapt this style to make a “chip pass” or an “in swinging pass”. Because the approach of the instep drive is angled to some extent, the non kicking foot is positioned about 12 inches toward the side of and behind the ball.

The contact with the ball is made between the laces and the inside of the foot and it should be stiff and extended.

So, go ahead and teach your players these basic kicking techniques with variations to make the ball do slightly different things.

To know more about coaching soccer drills, subscribe to our youth soccer coaching community that offers effective and practical knowledge to help you excel in your career as a soccer coach.

About Author
Andre Botelho is a recognized authority in Coaching soccer drills and has already helped thousands of youth coaches to dramatically improve their coaching skills.

Let’s say that at least 50% of soccer coaching drills must concentrate on improving player’s trapping skills. You’ll easily reject it as a silly assumption. But make no mistake here. It’s trapping other than passing and dribbling which enhances your team’s ability to become a champion as per an investigation.

When a player catches the ball and is able to maintain its possession with him, it’s trapping. These are soccer exercises that permit the use of chest, thighs and feet while doing so.

Players must be familiar with the job of trapping the ball. Failing to do so would mean that they can never be in command of the game since this is imperative. Some of the following techniques help in enhancing the trapping skills of the players.

Involve the Feet: Primarily, the coach must teach the players to use their feet in tackling the ball. Especially with younger players in kids soccer drills, it is important to make them use the inside of their foot. It is emphasized for the reason that inside area of the foot is big enough to catch hold of the ball.

Older and well-established players in soccer coaching drills should be trained to use their full foot, just the top, or instep. Guide the players to use their shin or ankle as the best bet to hold the ball if the ball is leaping too much.

Thigh Movement: Using your thigh to control rapid and bouncy ball is an excellent approach. Guide the players to come in front of the ball, take one thigh up to capture the ball and other thigh to stay grounded. Practice the skill of retaining the ball with you after it meets your thigh by learning to bring down your knee so the will plunge and settle close to you.

This exercise of dropping the knee needs to be done repetitively so that the players master the art of first stopping the ball using the knee and then drop it so that the ball trickles down the feet.

Use the Chest: Similar to the role of a thigh, the chest also plays an important part in trapping the ball that is high up in the air. Train the players to confront the ball head on by taking their chest out in full force in order to control the ball. The ball will therefore loose its pace immediately and drop down right away to the feet.

Nevertheless, soccer training drills should be careful not to expose young players too much to this skill. While using their chest to tackle the ball, it is common for them to use their hands. It could be troublesome because the kids might get accustomed to using their hands to catch the ball.

Now is the time to carry out the soccer coaching drills. Encourage the players to practice these to a great extent. By subscribing to our youth soccer coaching community, keep yourself updated on the latest in the field.

About Author
Andre Botelho is known online as “The Expert Youth Soccer Coach” and his free soccer coaching drills ebooks have been downloaded more than 100,000 times. Download your free soccer drills ebook at: Youth Soccer Training Drills.

Honestly speaking, standard soccer coaching drills that do not include free drills will not be sufficient to envisage something useful coming up from the enthusiastic team members. As a coach, you must sure that they are adequately included in the practice sessions.

Body control: The most important skill in soccer is taking control of your body. When the player is in command of his body in the middle of the field while handling the ball, he is an advantage over the opponent as well as the situation. So then, how will you make certain that every participant is trained on this? Include this motivating game in your soccer drills for the trainees to play. What is required is that the players use any of their articles or accessories to make a tail and be a part of this amusing game. Each player’s job is to now save their tail but grab the other’s. Please see that the ball has no role to play in this activity for some time. Once the players understand the importance of the exercise, you can make them do it with the ball. These soccer coaching drills have the benefit of making your players experts in retaining the ball with improved control over their body.

Keeping the ball in the air: As you will see, this drill will help the boys master many skills at the same time. Make the players stand in a circle and you yourself stand the middle of the circle. Pass the ball from one player to another or to and fro between you and the players. The idea is that the ball should not fall down and remain in air for as long as possible. Be very alert about the fact that players don’t use their hands in this activity. Involve only your head, feet or knees. Initially, you can make them do this exercise in a bigger group but with time, this can be done in smaller groups as well. There are several positive returns from these soccer exercises such as the ability to focus, coordinate, and kick the ball.

React and act: One of several soccer training drills that helps the players respond to situations quickly and with forceful energy. Make the players stand with their backs in a circle. Pick any player and make him stand in the center of the circle. Tell this player to shout each player’s name arbitrarily and kick the ball at him. The player will then turn, reach for the ball and command the ball to the best of his abilities.

In conclusion, these soccer coaching drills help your players not just learn new skills but also master themselves in controlling their body and mind. Soccer desires abundant use of mind and body. Therefore, you should use the above drills as much as possible to make your players good at both. You can become skilled with such useful knowledge that is available within our youth soccer coaching community. This will add to your coaching skills and at the same time help you train the boys better.

About Author
Andre Botelho is the author of “The Expert Youth Soccer Coaching Guide” and he’s a recognized expert in the subject of soccer coaching drills. Learn how make training fun in less than 29 days! Download your free soccer drills guide at: http://www.soccerdrillstips.com – Coaching Youth Soccer Drills.