Great Throw for Young Pitchers

When cultivating your skills as a pitcher, it's great to build a repertoire of simple pitches that promote skills and can lead to more advanced throws. The following are three basic throws that will help you find rhythm as a pitcher and promote good technique for future instruction.

Pitching is considered one of the most difficult activities in sport. There is a reason that a strong, shut-out capable pitcher makes big dollars, and that's because the talent and dedication that goes into being a strong pitcher is only matched by how dominant those skills are on the mound. Think about it this way, if a pitcher is truly capable, and given the right circumstances, they could in fact defeat another team on their own, entirely.

Before no-hitter dreams, however, the basics must be grasped. While the raw talent and drive to practice cannot be taught, a young pitcher can learn the tools to succeed. Such as, the basic pitches that can be molded into a particular style and open the way for the more advanced pitches. Able to be practiced in a wide field or at your local batting cages, these are some of the grip mechanics for our favorite basic pitches.

Fastball
The fastball is the bread and butter of a young pitcher. Master the most basic of throws in order to upgrade to the more technical or uncomfortable grips. A basic, 4 seam fastball begins with crossing your index and middle fingers perpendicular across the seams of the ball that form a horseshoe. Place your thumb beneath the ball on the leather in the middle of the second "horseshoe." Make sure that there is space between your hand and the ball, and keep your grip on the ball slightly loose. Friction holds a pitch's speed back and makes the ball leave your hand slower, keep loose to make sure that ball flies as fast as possible.

3 Finger Changeup
The change up is the classic off-speed pitch for throwing a batter off their game. A seasoned batter could read the changeup as a time to swing for the fences, but a young batter will bite at just about anything and a changeup is a great way to get them frustrated and swinging. Lay three fingers perpendicular on the stitches as you did with the fastball above. Touch your thumb to your pinky underneath the ball and hold the ball deep into your hand. The more contact with the ball, the slower the pitch. Throw with all the same fastball mechanics, the differences in grip and pressure on the ball with crank down the speed and catch the batter off guard.

Basic Curveball
The basic curveball is a stellar throw for getting a young pitcher comfortable with more advanced techniques. Line your top two fingers on the seams, and your thumb on the top/back seam. Then, remove your index finger so that you're gripping with your thumb and middle finger. Use your index finger to guide as you finish the throw; otherwise, simply rotate your thumb upward and snap your middle finger downward as you throw. The curve should be basic, but effective. Wean yourself off this pitch as you get into college ball though, a batter worth his salt can see the lifted finger on delivery a mile away.

Practice!
Throw at least twenty of these pitches a day. If you need space or training partners, head to you local fun center and hang around the batting cages. There's going to be a batter training there who will be willing to square off against a real pitcher. Also you could rent out a batting cage for pitch training, as well as batting. The right setting or opposition will make your practice that much more fruitful.

If you are looking for a Fun center with a batting cage near you in the Bakersfield, CA area, stop by Camelot Park today. You can also visit their website at http://camelotparkbakersfield.com.

Come to Camelot Park in Bakersfield, CA & see all of the rides & attractions. they have go karts, mini golf, batting cages, arcade games & much more!

Who Else Wants to Know Why Baseball Players Are So Superstitious?

Baseball is possibly one of the oldest sports in the US, and it's steeped in history. In fact the professional game can be traced back to the 1860's, and some of the grounds around today are just as old. No building whatever type it is cannot be as old as this and not have a certain "air of nostalgia" about it.

Of course, there are people who will argue the sport has changed. Recently there have been events that shook the world of baseball, and also upset fans. For instance The New York Yankees changed stadiums back in 2009. OK, it was only across the street, but many fans believed this would affect the way their beloved team would play, and how well they would do in the league.

This air of superstition doesn't just sit with the fans, professional baseball players are also well known for their little "foibles" when it comes to superstitions and perhaps that's what makes them so fascinating? I watch baseball regularly and I often find that I'm more interested in what's going on in the dugout, or what the players do just before they step up to the plate.

Commentators are often found talking about which player has come up with the latest superstition to help them achieve their goals in the game. It's not just individual players that follow in the foot-steps of superstition, teams and even clubs have had their rituals over the years.

One of the oldest superstitions around is the fact that players will never step on the chalk that makes up the foul line. No-one knows when this started or why, but there you have it, players simply will not step on the line.

Another odd one is shared with both players and fans, again no-one knows where this came from but if a home team is losing and the game is in its last innings, you can bet the whole team and the fans will be wearing their baseball hats in some weird and wonderful way. This is supposed to bring good luck to the team. The list is endless and players who are going through a "lucky streak" will often wear the same hats, use the same gloves and even wear the same shirts for each game, no matter how battered they are.

There have even been players who save the piece of gum they were chewing when they hit a home run. They'll bring out the same piece each time they step up to the plate and give it a good old chew. Not the most hygienic thing in the world to do, but if they think it works, that's fine by me.

The fact is that nobody really knows why baseball players are so superstitious. I've done tons of research on the internet to try and find out without any luck. Maybe they're keeping it a secret because it's bad luck for other people to know? Just a thought!

There is one thing that certainly won't spark any feelings of good luck, and this is something that happens regularly, especially to pitchers. Because they're throwing balls all the time, their elbows and shoulders become very sore. In fact it's not uncommon to see a pitcher with an ice-pack at some point in a game. This is why many of them have to undergo shoulder surgery. However, unlike the "old days" technology is such that many pitchers return to the game once they've recovered.

Jerry Costa has been a sports coach for over ten years who enjoys blogging regarding a variety of sports topics like having shoulder surgery and knee surgery after the play

Win Your Bet With a Soccer Guru

These days it is not a difficult task at all to win a bet if you are getting guidance from a soccer guru. This is because of the fact that a soccer betting guru will always give you genuine and profitable soccer betting advice that will lead your bet towards success. All over the world soccer is played with immense zeal and zest and people are crazy about it that is the reason why soccer is the most played game all across the globe and is providing chances to gain monetary benefits for people associated with the sport in any form no matter if they are players, organizers or bookies.

One can find hundreds and thousands of bookies all across the globe, but few are there who also teach or guide a person how to book. Previously it was difficult for individuals to get guidance in this regards, but today there are a lot of opportunities for everyone to learn how to book in a profitable way by winning a bet. Genuine soccer tips and betting tips are the necessary tools that are required for a successful betting. Soccer has most of his fans in Europe, Asia and Americas and that is the reason why one can find many online books in Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, United States, United Kingdom, Russia, Poland, Greece, Ukraine, Romania and Canada that claim to give solid betting advice to their customers for placing a successful soccer bet.

For placing a successful betting, two people are very important, one is the betting guru and the other is the soccer guru. A soccer guru is the person who is good at analyzing the game of soccer along with the changing trends and performances of the teams and players. This man is capable of guiding people by giving concrete betting advice while suggesting on which player or team an individual should make his betting. Apart from a soccer expert a betting experts is also the key man that give an expert advice and expert opinion to a client for winning a bet. A betting expert gives advices regarding the changing conditions and parameters of the teams, players and circumstances while a game is being played. A min to min advice is also very important as far successful betting is concerned. A betting professional is the most important person in the betting field as he is having the detailed knowledge and the inside information regarding the teams and the players. This is the reason that this person can give the most authentic, accurate and educated betting advice.

Today many online platforms are available giving quality advice along with many valuable value added services live giving live score updating and soccer information.

Aaron Bert is working for Tipster Connection that has been serving the entire sports and soccer betting needs since 2009 in Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, United States, United Kingdom, Russia, Poland, Greece, Ukraine, Romania and Canada, more topics on soccer tips and betting advice services.

Tribulations of a Soccer Fan In America

I've started playing soccer about ten years ago. It started when I was about 16 years ago and I've played it since then. When my friend brought me to train at an empty soccer field with him I didn't find how such a sport would be such a big deal, but as I started to play the game more and more I found out how much I really loved the game. I went out to play soccer almost every weekend with complete strangers and began loving the sport after every victory and sulking the defeats.

Conflicts With Non-American Soccer Fans

Some issues I have as an American soccer fan is that foreigners always give us a patronizing treatment for being less frivolous about the sport. People who live in countries where soccer is an big deal feel they need to point out to us Americans that we have terrible soccer leagues and our world cup team is not very formidable. These seemingly innocuous attacks still create a general feeling for insecurity for me as a fan considering I don't have enough other soccer fans to back me up. This resulted in me rooting for countries other than my own. I supported Spain and Japan last world cup, just to give you an idea of my patriotism. I still enjoy rooting for teams, it just hasn't really helped that American soccer teams are not really strong enough to win the world cup, except for the women's soccer team. It doesn't make me want to support any teams in the USA because the MLS is not a very good league to begin with.

Condescending View of Soccer From Americans

A lot of Americans do not enjoy watching or playing soccer. They enjoy other sports, primarily the big three which is football, basketball and baseball. They don't really follow any other sports outside of these three, which is a shame because soccer is such a big sport everywhere else except America and it's sad to see that Americans would rather be playing something else. Soccer is also looked upon as a women's sport in America, or as a sport that you simply outgrew as you moved from middle school to high school. It's such difference of perspective looking at soccer as an American, versus looking at soccer as a foreigner from a country that loves soccer. In America we don't respect soccer as much as we should, and that makes being a soccer fan a lot more difficult.

Not Enough Fans

There aren't many people to talk about soccer with in America. I love talking about soccer and about training and the teams I support. The problem is that you can't walk into a pub or a cafe and begin talking about these teams and affiliations because no one really knows what you are talking about. On the other end of the spectrum there are places you can go where you can simply walk in and talk about basketball, baseball, football. Sports bars are pretty designed around those types of sports, with of course, the exception of soccer.

The Future

I think soccer will slowly and gradually become bigger as time passes. It's a great sport and Americans are warming up to the idea that soccer can become a great deal in this nation. All it takes is a little perspective and initiative to get things rolling and I'm soccer America will embrace soccer just like the rest of the world.