News and Announcements
I found a good video on You Tube that talks about the basics for rotational hitting. It’s predicated on keeping your weight back, exploding with your hips, and having your hands "inside" rather than "around" the ball. The goal is to have a nice, fast, compact swing where the lower body — hips and legs — is the major driving force to the ball. Think of it almost as if the arms and hands control the "placement" of the bat, while the legs and hips are what force the ball to "go." The trajectory of the swing ultimately depends on the type of batter. If you’re big and strong — and often slow — then the trajectory is often neutral (even) to upward. If executed correctly, that’s going to take the ball over the heads of the infielders. If you’re smaller and faster, than the trajectory can be more neutral to downward, so you can hit the ball as hard as possible (with your legs) while still having the ability to beat out ground balls. Check it out.
Also, tomorrow, Coach Derek Nicholson will be at our batting practice. Derek finished second to Albert Pujols in the AAA batting title, so he’s a very good source of tips and information. He was out a few weeks back and the boys really liked him.
See you all in the morning. — Coach Tom
949-466-6636 and his email address is
thesportinggood@gmail.com. Earl’s always willing to come out to one of our batting practices or loan bats for kids who are interested. It’s a really nice service.
WIth the come-from-behind win tonight, the Sun Devils have only lost one of their last four games and that was a well-played 6-3 loss to the Hurricanes last weekend. As Dave mentioned in a prior email, the team’s really beginning to come together, and one of the brightest spots is that everyone is making a contribution in some form. The best part of the Sun Devils, however, is that everyone is battling. Nobody is giving up. Nobody is simply setting for OK or second-best. They are each trying in their own way, and that’s a real pleasure to behold. Keep it up, the hard work and effort is already beginning to pay off, and the team will only grow stronger as the season progresses. Nice job, Devils.
Hi, Everyone,
One of the things that most kids in Little League seem to like is to have the scoreboard working, announcers and music, and all of the other "color" that surrounds the game. The new scoreboard at Premier, for instance, has the capability to create personalized messages that scroll across the top of the board as each batter comes up. it really adds to the fun of every game.
I just wanted to let everyone know that whenever we play at Live Oak or at Premier, these opportunities are available to us. It’s very, very easy to operate the scoreboard — which you can actually do with a remote very similar to a TV remote, while sitting in the bleachers. When there’s a strike, you press strike. When there’s a ball, you press ball. It’s really as easy as that.
That message board, announcing and playing music are equally as simple. I’m happy to show anybody how to do it.
So this is a simple appeal to all parents to add their service to Sun Devils games at Premier and Live Oak to help make them all the more enjoyable for the kids. I hate to see these tools go unused when they’re really so easy. It all adds to the fun, and that’s what it’s really about anyway.
If you’re interested, let me know and I’ll show you how to do it. Thanks.
You all know that I’m a true fan of "REAL" baseball.
Baseball’s a wonderful game because it’s got unspoken rules and laws all of its own. If you’re interested in learning more about the "secret" codes of how the game is played at the "next" level, then here are two really good books you might enjoy. Both are available for about $10 at Amazon.com or pretty much any Barnes & Noble or Borders.
The Code
The Unwritten Rules of Baseball
