Catching a routine fly ball looks simple — until it isn’t. Young players often struggle with glove position, footwork, and timing. But with a few fundamentals, any ballplayer can turn awkward fly balls into routine outs. Let’s break it down. Fingertips Up One of the most common mistakes young players make is catching the ball…
Pop flies can be tricky for baserunners. Whether you’re on first, second, or third, your decisions depend on the number of outs, the depth of the ball, and the fielder’s actions. Here’s how to make smart, aggressive—but safe—choices when the ball goes up. With Less Than Two Outs: Go Halfway (on Routine and Deep Fly…
When I first started coaching softball, slap hitting wasn’t even on my radar. I suppose I understood the concept, but it wasn’t something I felt I needed to spend a lot of time racking my brain about. After all, it only really applies to a small segment of softball players, and it’s rarely ever executed…
I’ll be honest. Until I started coaching at the higher levels, I never really paid much attention to the bat I used for defensive work. I’d grab the first bat off the rack, toss the ball into the air, and hit it where it needed to go. By the end of the season, I felt…
Once a player hits the field at 9 years old in youth baseball, the game starting looking very different from the early tee-ball or coach-pitch days. For most leagues, it’s the first time they’re facing kid pitch, stepping up to the plate against real pitchers who are also learning the ropes (and those kids are…
Arguably, 12U is the most exciting age level for youth baseball. This is the level when players go to Cooperstown, represent their towns in All Stars, play in the Little League World Series, head to Aberdeen for the Cal Ripken Experience, and travel ballet gets a lot more serious. I loved coaching at this level…
Baseball at the 10U level is where, in my opinion, things start to get fun. The kids start to understand the game a bit better, often surprising you with plays and hits you didn’t think were possible. Everyone is getting stronger and faster, and starting to practice on their own, making things more competitive. And…
I think we can all agree that there’s something timeless about the crack of a wood bat, and even in 2025, hitters are still chasing that perfect blend of sound, feel, and (hopefully) performance. I actually just got back from coaching a wood bat tournament, and seeing the different quality of these bats, I thought…
Call me old school, but I keep my teams’ balls in buckets. And, occasionally, one of my softball players will reach in grab a ball, not realizing it’s too big (I coach 10U) until I say something. It doesn’t happen often, but it happens enough that a post highlighting the different softball sizes is probably…
I’ve seen so many sad faces on parents when their kid rolls into a Cal Ripken or Little League dugout with a new $300-plus bat, only to find out they can’t use it. And when I say sad, I mostly mean angry, but I’m just the messenger. When it comes to Cal Ripken, Little League,…