Rating: Summary: Great Buy! Review: I've seen a number of instructional videos and this is excellent. There are about 30 drills with a diagram (great touch) to show placement of the players. The narrator explains each drill while a crew of Little Leaguers demonstrates the drill. I used most of the drills and they work pretty well.
Rating: Summary: Best coaches help I have found yet Review: If you are looking for a video to help you learn drill for your little leauge team then you need this one. I have bought a lot of videos and by far this is the simplest no nonsense instruction I have found. This video is worth twice the asking price. The drill are easy to learn and fun for the kids as well.
Rating: Summary: All Star Stuff Review: In a nut shell this is a terrific video. A lot of drills and explanations. Keeps your interest. Creative also. All Star quality!
Rating: Summary: Short, sweet, to the point Review: Marty Shupak gives a whole list of drills for a kids baseball team, appropriate for ages 8 to about 13, I'd say. Younger kids - let them grow up, and older kids - well, they're almost not kids anymore. From a round the bases timing drill, to hitting rag balls covered with masking tape, this video has given me ideas that I have actually used. I'll tell you which ones I used consistently for the team I coach: Throw the ball around the bases to the kids while they run - My kids actually ask me to do this for them. It works on their catching, coordination, and it tires them out. Time their throws around the bases - I use this a few times during the season to check on the quality of the team. Hit the rag ball - This is tough for me, as I am all alone with no assistant coaches or parents, but it helps the kids to work together and to concentrate on the ball. Even if one of these balls hits a kid, he's not going to get hurt. After I review the video, I'm sure I'll use more. Shupak is straight-forward, he's not a pro, he's a regular guy, and he acts like one. He seems to empathize with all of the other regualar guys out there who coach kids sports. If you don't have a video, this is a good place to start. Even if you have several, this is a good addition to your library.
Rating: Summary: Saw It, Then Bought It! Review: My local library had a copy of this video and I looked at it before I purchased it. After looking at it more then once, the positives far out weigh any negatives that I could detect. As far as substance, the video does not go into the technical aspects in depth about hitting or pitching. What it does give, is some very credible ideas to run baseball practices for youth league kids and/or Little Leaguers. Parent/coaches tend to always have the theory "to let the kids have fun" in baseball but once the season starts, this gets clouded and "fun" can become secondary to winning. I found "The 59 Minute Baseball Practice" put more fun into practices, games and the season in general. My favorite drills with the best response from my team were the rag ball toss drill, relay drill, continuation drill, lead drill, reaction drill, goalie drill, circle drill and of course the all time favorite, baseball/football. These, plus about 25 more drills helped make for a stimulating season and guess what? We were champs also. Maybe you can combine fun and winning. Anyway, this worked for our team but it doesn't necessarily mean it will work for yours, but it won't hurt.
Rating: Summary: Great buy for all coaches Review: My neighbor bought this video for his nine year old girl who is playing softball. After he saw this video, all he did was rave about how it was the best one he ever saw. I had to get myself a copy. When the video arrived, I popped it into the VCR and was very impressed with its content. I had to grab a paper and pencil, however, to keep track of all the drills and ideas that the video presented. Most of the drills were new to me, some I have seen, but most opened my eyes to a new type of practice. I used to stand out there and throw BP until my arm nearly fell off. Practices would go for as long as three hours and the kids that took BP would have no reason to stay. Now, my practices are no longer than an hour, but I'm getting three times the work done. Excellent work, very well thought out, and could be used at just about any level (under the collegiate level).
Rating: Summary: SIX STARS - This Is The One You Have Been Looking For... Review: My search finally ended. This is the perfect teaching tool for the Little League manager/coach. I have read many books and looked at many videos, and none come close to this one. I will never have another boring Little League practice. I have tried this out already and the kids and I are loving it. Buy this video and plan to sit down with your pause, rewind & play button to record these great drills on paper, so that you can use them in practice. I would recommend this, in particular, for the age group 8 - 12, and older. I realized how boring some of my practices have been in the last few years, so I began a search of material to change that. I have wasted money on some, but I must say I would have easily paid 4 times the cost of this video. For the Little Leaguers that are age 7 and under, I would recommend a more fundamental book or video that teaches the very basics. Get this video for ages 8+.
Rating: Summary: The Real Deal Review: Only positives can be said on this video. It was beyond my expectations for a few reasons. It was well organized and gave an excellent description of each drill. The video also puts up a picture of a baseball diamond and the positioning of each player during the drill. The narration explains the benefit of each drill. Some things I did not understand in Little League, like the first and third situation are explained and they make sense. The hitting drills are the best I've seen. The proof of the pudding was last Saturday at our practice when my team did not want to leave the field after some of the drills and games from the video were tried. And to top it off, another coach from the next field came over to ask about some of the things his team saw us doing. This is excellent for 8-12 year olds and I suspect most of the drills can be used for older kids with a few adjusments. This is a great tool combining fun with skills.
Rating: Summary: A Must For Youth Baseball Leagues Review: Parents & coaches looking for some high quality baseball drlls will enjoy this DVD. The pace is outstanding as the narrator gives clear explanation of each drill. Great insights such as running a practice when there is no field available really hits home with me and probably will with alot of other coaches. His solution, always have some soft covered or tennis balls for a practice in a parking lot if need be and he shows you which drills to do! Drills such as the "Lead Drill", "Relay Drill" and "Goalie Drill" make for great content for 10, 11 & 12 year olds. There are about 30 other great drills. I would have liked to see some more instruction, but this is good quality stuff that youth baseball coaches and youth leagues should make part of their curriculum. If leagues endorsed items like this, there would be a ton of imrovement with coaches running practices!
Rating: Summary: Be A Coaching Hero Review: Putting the drills into practice with my squad has made me look better then the coach I am. Forget over coaching hitting instruction , the "Continuation Drill" is the way to go for maximum hitting potential and fun. Forget tedious bunting explanations, show your team both the "Square" and "Pivot" bunt then reward them with extra batting practice swings if they bunt three balls between two cones and they will respond. Want your team to perfect relaying a ball from the outfield? Easy, practice the "Relay Drill" with the knocking down of plastic buckets being the target. All of the above plus about 30 more have done wonders for my team. Explanations are great for each drill. Invent your own drills also and you will be a hero.
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