pitching

January 24, 2010

15 Top Tips on Golf Swing Techniques

You can find swing tips online or you can buy one of the many swing lessons e-books. Many of these tips on swing techniques go into a lot of detail; at times, too much detail. What most of us with a swing fault need are just a few basic swing tips; whether it is to or learn more about iron shots.

5 Tips on How to Achieve More Distance

To be able to shoot lower scores, one of the best ways is to gain more golf distance off the tee. When you have a shorter distance to the green you have more chance to score par or better. Of course, you need accuracy as well as distance; otherwise you will be in a worse situation. Here are 5 quick and easy tips to help you drive long off the tee:

(1) Don’t hit the ball with all your power - use a steady rhythm and work on increasing your swing speed; (2) Tee the ball up higher and position it off your leading foot’s instep so that you hit the ball on the upswing; (3) Turn your shoulders a full 90 degrees for maximum distance; (4) Cock your wrists early on the backswing and un-cock them as late as possible on the downswing; (5) Use the right shaft flex for your swing speed - use a flexible shaft if you have a lower swing speed.

5 Tips on How to Master Irons

How to master golf irons is a subject that is often ignored. You will find many resources available to help you improve your driving or but not much importance is placed on iron play. With these 5 tips you will learn to dominate your irons:

(1) To know your average distance with each iron in your bag, practice on the driving range; (2) Bu using the right iron for the distance you want to hit it, you will be able to use a full swing which is easier to control; (3) Make sure you take into account the wind distance and strength as well as other factors like the slope you are playing from and the height to the green; (4) Playing out off the rough is different from playing off the fairway - you will need to adjust your ball position, stance, iron loft, and your attack angle; (5) Learn how to use course management to your advantage - sometimes going for the pin is not the best option.

5 Tips on How to Improve Your Short Game

One of the most important areas of the game is the golf short game. If you are able to hit long and accurate drives, that is great, but if you can’t chip or pitch the ball on the green, all that effort will be wasted. The short game of is where you really need to put more practice time into, so check out the 5 tips below:

(1) Use a slightly open stance and place your feet closer together; (2) Choose one club (7, 8, or 9 iron) and practice your chipping from different distances with it; (3) From under 50 yards, use a bump and run and get the ball rolling as soon as possible; (4) When playing over a hazard, use a more lofted club with a swing; (5) The length of your backswing will determine the distance the ball will travel.

The above 15 tips on swing techniques cover 3 areas of the game that are important but there are other areas that you have to master. They are learning how to cure a slice or hook (if you have these swing faults,) bunker or , , and . As is an all round game, you have to be proficient in every aspect of the game to succeed. You can’t just concentrate on how to be a long drive champion; you have to practice with every club in your bag.

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August 18, 2009

Coaches Need to Stress Mechanics During Workouts

In , the starting pitcher may stand in one spot for the vast duration of an inning, but he’s the one guy on the team who does the most physical work in a game. requires an incredible amount of attention, precision, and stamina. It is both a mentally and physically exhausting job, yet wholly rewarding when the job is done right. No less than any other team member, the pitcher has to train hard, although his training will require quite a different approach than that of many other players of other . What comprises effective drills for baseball pitchers?

Is weight training a vital part of baseball pitcher’s workouts? A pitcher needs to have a strong arm to achieve better velocity, doesn’t he? Actually, weight training is a bad idea for a pitcher. First of all, it is not the arm that controls pitch speed, but the body. Neither does this mean that a pitcher should do a full body strength training workout. At the heart of speed is good mechanics, period. All weight training does is provide the pitcher with further opportunity for injury.

Do other types of exercise make for good workouts? While full body strength training is not recommended, full body explosive exercises are. These may include sprinting and aerobic training. One reason behind this is that while good mechanics improve pitch velocity, exhibiting speed, in turn, improves the acquisition of good mechanics. Besides, is not slow and deliberate, like weight training - is fast and explosive, like the aforementioned sprinting and aerobic exercises.

The best workouts are those that most closely resemble genuine game intensity and play. Therefore, workouts should stick to explosive exercises as previously mentioned. Practices should also be extremely intense. The pitcher should throw from a mound and not the flat turf. Drills and concentrating on the long toss should be traded in for practicing mechanics for baseball pitchers. Pitches should not only mimic game intensity, but also quantity. That is, the pitcher should try to throw in practice as many pitches as he would in a game. Throwing fewer pitches, again, actually creates greater risk of injury.

Really, these approaches to pitchers’ workouts only make sense. Just as standing still at the foul line and taking shot after shot doesn’t really prepare a basketball player for a real game, neither is a pitcher prepared for a real game simply by tossing the ball back and forth. The key is in doing exercises.

 

Searching on The Los Angeles Times and by searching in Yahoo could possibly yield related data.       

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August 16, 2009

Pitching Mechanics Outrank Strength For Speed and Control

Football is a contact sport, so it makes sense for players to want to bulk up with plenty of muscle and weight to hustle down the field and make tackles. , on the other hand, is not a contact sport. While physical skills are certainly beneficial in the game, brute strength isn’t one of them - most especially if you’re a pitcher (who people don’t expect to be the world’s best hitter or runner). Why, then, do too many pitchers train for strength when they should be working on their baseball pitching techniques?

Which physical skill is more important: strength or speed? When it comes to a , speed wins. No, strength training is not required to gain speed, either. First, the mind has to understand mechanics, then the body has to practice them - so that executing proper position and form is as natural as slipping a hand into a batting glove. Since the body and not the arm controls speed, once one learns the proper body mechanics, everything else falls right into place.

What are some things to think about that will encourage a pitcher to gain velocity through good pitching mechanics instead of attempting to increase strength? Don’t do weight training, throw weighted balls, or focus on the long toss. Remember, this will only make the arm stronger, not increase speed. In fact, these are sure ways to simply increase chance of injury, so it is doubly important to avoid them. Neither are drills or other excessively repetitive exercises helpful.

Should the pitcher, then, instead do the complete opposite and simply practice by playing “catch” or doing anything less than game intensity ? No.  Just because the pitcher should be concentrating on training his whole body to use proper mechanics - instead of focusing on his arm through tunnel vision - doesn’t mean his practice on the whole should be any less intense.

Keep the body under control by eliminating unnecessary and speed-decreasing movements. Don’t rotate your trunk or hips. Don’t step to the side before lifting your leg or lift your leg too high. Implement a longer stride, however, to put you closer to the plate and add to your overall control. While position is important, don’t obsess over “staying tall”, as this can actually shorten your stride. Don’t forget: In , speed outranks strength, and speed is gained not through strength and baseball pitching drills, but through mechanics. With good mechanics, a pitcher will simultaneously acquire both faster speed and better control.

 

A search using eHow.com or by searching Google Blogsearch could possibly produce more information.       

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