This could be a whole series. I volunteer every now and then to keep score and watch little league all star games.
Some thoughts after one I just watched. One pitcher walked the first two batters. He was excited. You just can’t start that way — work with your pitchers — find a way to simulate a real game — stress them — so they are calm when they are on the mound for the real thing. Another coach had a few runners thrown out at home. He sent them, the defense made a good play. It’s always easy to blame the coach on those when the kid gets out, but I gotta say err on the side of caution in the all stars. The players are good, the teams are good and what worked in a regular season may not work in the all stars. And losing outs on the base paths is just so painful.
I watched batters on both teams not really load before the swing. More I watch and think about youth baseball the more I think the load is the best way to get hitters to take it out of the infield. The specialists all say load is for timing and not for power, but I can’t help but think it helps put the player in a position to generate power. So think about load before swing and make it a habit and give it a try.
Was a great night and a great game — stay tuned for more thoughts on all star games!
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