Practice perfect baseball

256 Pages·2010·3.737 MB·English

by  Bob Bennett, American Baseball Coaches Association

Practice
Perfect
Baseball
AmericAn BAseBAll
coAches AssociAtion

Bob Bennett, Editor
Human Kinetics
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
American Baseball Coaches Association.
Practice perfect baseball / American Baseball Coaches Association, Bob
Bennett, editor.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-7360-8713-1 (soft cover)
ISBN-10: 0-7360-8713-3 (soft cover)
1. Baseball--Coaching. I. Bennett, Bob, 1933- II. Title.
GV875.5.A46 2010
796.357077--dc22
2009037684
ISBN-10: 0-7360-8713-3 (print)
ISBN-13: 978-0-7360-8713-1 (print)
Copyright © 2010 by the American Baseball Coaches Association
All rights reserved. Except for use in a review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in any
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Human Kinetics; Photographers (interior): chapter 7 Tim Jamieson; chapter 13 Sean McNally;
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E4959
Practice
Perfect
Baseball
contents
Preface  vii    Key to Diagrams  ix
Chapter 1 Establishing a Practice Work Ethic . . 1
Ed Cheff
Chapter 2 Planning Productive Practices . . . . . 9
Keith Madison
Chapter 3 Assessing Team Strengths . . . . . . . . 21
Terry Rooney
Chapter 4 Developing and Motivating
the Total Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Mark Johnson
Chapter 5 Building a Pitching Staff . . . . . . . . . 53
Dave Serrano
Chapter 6 Maximizing Batting Practice . . . . . . 69
Gary Ward
Chapter 7 Perfecting Positional Play . . . . . . . . 85
Tim Jamieson
Chapter 8 Fine-Tuning Team Fielding . . . . . . . 107
Steve Jaksa
iv
Chapter 9 Preparing for Every Game
Situation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .137
Dave Perno
Chapter 10 Focusing on the Forthcoming
Opponent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Dan Hartleb
Chapter 11 Taking Practice Indoors . . . . . . . . .161
Bob Warn
Chapter 12 Using Equipment and
Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .183
Gary Pullins
Chapter 13 Incorporating Competitive Drills
and Games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .193
Sean McNally
Chapter 14 Evaluating Practice Sessions . . . . . 209
Pete Dunn and Bob Bennett
Index  231    About the American Baseball Coaches Association   236
About the Editor  237    About the Contributors  238
v

preface
Practice is one of the most important things coaches and players do. Practice
Perfect Baseball was written with that in mind. No matter the level of competi-
tion, both coaches and players will find the information in this book useful for
developing sound practice habits. Each chapter has been carefully written to
be applicable to players and coaches at all levels. Inexperienced coaches will
profit greatly from those who have already traveled the path they are pursu-
ing. Veteran coaches will have their practice methods affirmed or uncover new
ways to improve practice procedures.
A lot has been written about position play, pitching, and all aspects of hitting
and fielding, but not much has been written on practice and practice schedules.
This book fills that void. Some of the most successful and respected coaches in
the United States have come together to produce a book that deals with every
aspect of practice.
Every coach and player will benefit from the expertise of these authors. By
following the advice of these expert coaches, the reader will walk away with a
better understanding of all aspects of practice. Because baseball has so many
facets, both offensively and defensively, practice organization is sometimes dif-
ficult. Practice Perfect Baseball teaches coaches how to organize practice, get the
most out of players, best use the allotted time, and assess talent and evaluate
practices and games. The scope is broad, spanning how to organize an indoor
practice to how to get the most out of each individual practice session.
Each author was selected based on his expertise on the specific topic of his
chapter. The knowledge and passion of each author leaps from the pages, and
the information in each chapter has stood the test of time.
Any coach or player looking to develop and execute a single practice session,
a series of practices, or a season of practices will be able to find the answers in
Practice Perfect Baseball.
vii

key to diagrams
P Pitcher
C Catcher
CO Coach
1B 1st base player
2B 2nd base player
3B 3rd base player
SS Shortstop
LF Left fielder
CF Center fielder
RF Right fielder
OF Outfielder
IF Infielder
B Batter
R Runner
X Any player, if position isn’t applicable
Path of player
Path of ball
Batting tee
Batting tee or hitting sock screen
M Pitching machine
E4959/ABCA/Key/360963/TwoJay!/R3-alw
ix