Hitting - 5 basic principles of the proper baseball swing
Stance: Posture (hips back, butt down. NOT “bending the knees”), comfort.
Loading: Stride, loading into the back hip and leg and sinking the hip, maintaining athletic posture, controlling the positive move of the front leg and keeping the weight on the arch side of the feet and maintaining a center-line. Proper hand and arm placement.
Rotation; Hitting with the Legs: Trigger - swing initiation, or “what moves first, back hip and core rotation (turning the belt buckle) and stationary axis (“metal rod”).
Stationary Front-Side: Building a “wall” with the front leg and hip.
Hands and Hand Path - The role of the hands in the baseball swing: Keeping the hands idle (in “load position”) all the way to contact, “palm up, palm down”, proper extension (top-hand punch, bottom-hand pull) and finish.
Infield - 5 basic principles of infield defense
Landscaping: Keeping your area smooth, creating “true hops”.
Set position: Three regular steps behind the “landscaped area”, rested position.
Ready position: Two “athletic” steps into a (glove side) palm up position with an athletic base and the “arm-side” foot slightly behind the glove-side foot. Corner infielders should be slightly lower to the ground than middle infielders.
Fielding position and “crouch”: From the ready position, dropping the glove (and chest) down to the ground getting the hands out in front of the glove-side eye. Flat back, hips back and knuckles down. Throwing arm will be out in front of the chest with fingers up. The throwing hand will clamp down on top of the ball during the act of fielding and the player will come up in to a crouched, or “athletic” position. Do NOT pull the ball into the belly button.
Cross-step and throw: Begin the throw to a base by bringing the arm-side foot forward, either in front of OR behind the glove-side foot, bringing the body to the ball (not the other way around) and into throwing position.
Outfield - 5 basic principles of outfield defense
Basic setup: Square to home plate, hips back and butt down, “spreading the floor apart” with the feet.
Movements and footwork on: Line drive to the left and right. Fly ball to the left and right. Fly ball over the head
Setting up for the catch and throw: Sprinting to a spot behind the fly ball (NO “floating”). Keeping the hips on a swivel. Stepping in to the catch.
Body position - Fly ball: Glove-side foot forward, arm-side foot back, glove above the glove-side shoulder.
Body position - Ground ball: Glove-side foot forward, arm-side foot back, glove down on the ground, outside the glove-side foot.
Pitching - 5 basic principles of pitching
Post Leg - Balance: Leg lift and posture.
Front-side alignment: Driving the front side of the body at the target and staying “closed” at foot strike.
“Reach and push” and glove to the ribs: Reaching with the front leg and driving off of the back leg keeping the head over the back leg as the pitcher begins to drive to the plate. Glove side in under the ribs.
Foot strike: Body position and alignment when the front foot lands.
Follow through: Getting the back hip through and back leg up and around. The arm goes LAST!
Catching - 5 basic principles of catching
Basic catching setup - footwork with bases empty and with runners on base
Proper receiving: Keeping the glove between the legs, “swaying”
Footwork and throw to second base: Jab step and transfer
Footwork and throw to third base: Drop step and transfer
Blocking: Glove down, surrounding the ball
