Indoor baseball

A lot of parents and children head out to indoor baseball facilities (batting cages) this time of year.
I’ve been a baseball dad for more than 10 years and have done some coaching. My sons, 13 and 15, have had some excellent coaches and instructors. I've learned lots from them. Here are some tips:

1. If your child is 10 or under they should participate in some other indoor sport and should not be focusing exclusively on baseball all winter. Basketball, swimming, indoor soccer, gymnastics, etc. will help them with baseball. One drawback of baseball is it does not involve a lot of running and therefore does not build stamina by itself. Basketball, football, soccer and swimming all build stamina.

2. If your child is 13 or older they need to lift weights. Working on skills without building muscles will not get them into the varsity lineup. A lot of kids don’t like lifting weights, so this is a challenge for parents. Most YMCA’s offer a reasonable membership and have a fitness instructor that can get your child started on a routine. Most high schools teams have off-season weightlifting/conditioning programs that your child can join as soon as they start high school.

3. If you think your child is going to play beyond Little League, one-on-one hitting lessons are a good idea. A proper baseball swing is very complex. A child can do everything wrong and still hit the ball early in their Little League careers. This leads to bad habits. If you can’t afford lessons, there are some good videos that teach you how to teach hitting. One hint. You can’t teach hitting by having your child only swing at a pitching machine or a pitched ball from the mound. Soft toss and/or short toss have to be part of the routine along with other drills that don’t even involve a baseball.