ripkenbaseball.com

By Cal Ripken, Jr.
Editor’s note: Each month in this space, Cal will address issues of concern to parents of young athletes. We hope that coaches, many of whom are parents, will find the information enlightening when it comes to working with their own children and dealing with the parents of the players on their teams. If you have a question that you’d like to see answered, please send it to newsletter@ripkenbaseball.com.

As a parent I feel that it is important to make sure that my child gets to all scheduled practices and games on time as requested by the coach. I feel that it’s my responsibility to do that and to stay out of the way, allowing the coach to do his or her job. In return should coaches be expected to update parents about how the kids progressing on the field?
I think that if you have questions about how your child is progressing you should speak to the coach directly. From my experiences, you are the type of parent that coaches love. You understand the commitment to the team, make sure your child arrives to practices and games on time and never complain. I don’t want to say that the coach takes you or your child for granted, but he probably has to deal with some other issues involving other kids and parents and is just happy that you guys continue to show up and seem pleased. He has to deal with enough, and since you don’t have any issues, maybe he assumes that everything is fine.

So, if you really want to know how the coach feels your child is progressing, stop the coach after practice or make a phone call. Tell the coach that you think he or she is doing a great job, that your child loves playing and that you are happy with how your kid is treated. Then tell the coach that you are just curious as to how he or she thinks your child is progressing, if there are things that your child should be working on and so on. The coach will appreciate the feedback from you and most likely will be happy to speak about the progress that your child is making. He might even talk more than you care to listen!


At what point should sports become serious?
I always leave that up to the kids. If they love the sport so much that they want to play and practice year round and want to seek out the best competition they can find on a regular basis, support them. If they want to play a variety of sports, there are athletic benefits to doing that and you should support that decision, too. At some point, if they are forced to do something that they don’t want to do, they will lose interest and look to participate in some other activity.

It seems as though different baseball coaches have different opinions about baserunning, specifically on how to make turns and which foot to touch the bases with. What are your thoughts on this?
As far as I know, nothing has changed in the way baserunning fundamentals are taught. I’m pretty sure that if you really watch professional players carefully you will see them touching the base with either foot before moving on to the next base. The key, when preparing to run to the next base, is to make a turn that will allow you to touch the inside part of the base closest to the base that you will be going to without breaking stride. It doesn’t matter which foot you use.

The idea is to bow out gradually as you approach the base so that you can get your momentum going toward the next base before you actually touch the base that you are approaching first. Don’t think of a question mark, which is a more abrupt turn or a banana, but instead think of a sickle, which bows out gradually and then comes back around. When touching the base, again, you shouldn’t have to break stride or stutter step so that you can hit the bag with a particular foot. Maintain your stride, hit the bag on the inside and use the base to propel yourself, like a starting block would, toward the next base.

Many coaches teach kids to touch the inside corner of the base, but I shy away from that terminology. By trying to touch the corner you take the risk of missing the base altogether, tripping or twisting your ankle. The shortest route between points is a straight line, but in baseball you can’t just run to a base and make a hard left turn. You have to come to a complete stop to do that. Bowing out gradually allows you to maintain your speed and then, if the turn is executed properly, you are running in as straight a line as possible toward the ultimate destination.

What would you suggest if my son is a catcher who tends to reach out for balls in the dirt instead of jumping in front of them?
I would be careful with your terminology when it comes to blocking. While you don’t want to be lazy and reach for the ball – because that increases the chances that it will just skip by, you also aren’t really “jumping in front” of the ball, either. The idea is to drop to your knees immediately, shifting the weight to one side or the other, depending on where the ball is while covering what hockey goalies call “the five hole” or the area between your legs with the glove. If the ball is in the dirt to the right, the right shoulder should be curled in such a manner that no matter where the ball hits the catcher it should bounce right back in front of the plate. The opposite is true for balls in the dirt to the catcher’s left. Both shoulders are curled in slightly on balls that are bouncing in toward the center of the catcher’s body.

The best way to practice this is with baseballs and full gear. Throw the balls at the catcher in the dirt from a short enough distance that you can control where the ball bounces. Tell the catcher which side you are throwing to first so that he or she can develop a level of comfort going in that direction. Then throw balls to the other side, again telling the catcher where the ball will be going. Once the player seems comfortable blocking in either direction, mix up the locations of the throws without prior warning. Don’t forget to try to sneak some through the legs or the “five hole” to keep the catcher honest.

One word of warning: The catcher is going to get hit occasionally in areas that are not padded, so you have to be careful. If the player has a fear of getting hit or had a few balls hit painful spots, this drill can easily be performed with tennis balls, foam rubber balls or something similar. They key is to get equally comfortable moving in both directions and to develop proper blocking mechanics.