Nexus Athletics
Baseball

Practices - Friday @ 6:45 PM on Spears Baseball Field Number 2.

Game Schedule - Click here for the schedule.

Weather Hotline - To check whether a practice or game is cancelled due to weather (or any other reason), call 336-387-9635.

Contact Coach Britt - If you need to reach me, use either route, below:

• (Three 36) Eight 9 One - Triple Zero 7
• robin <at> gobritts <dot> com

Pants - Your child doesn't have to have any particular kind of pants or shorts.  Many players, however, get a standard (inexpensive) pair of grey youth baseball pants like these.

Practice at Home!  Your child's skill improvement will be much faster if s/he practices at home.  "Practice makes permanent," though, so be sure your child is practicing the right way.  Below are some tips for batting and throwing.


Throwing -

1. Eyes on target - keep the eyes on the target through all of the remaining steps.
2. Power T - make a T with the body.  The glove hand and your front foot should point towards the target.  The ball should be behind the body, level with or just below the back shoulder.  
3. Step - step the front foot toward the target
4. Throw "Yes!" - throw with the back hand keeping it above the shoulder as it comes past the head, while pulling the glove hand back into the side in a "Yes!" motion.
5. Follow through - the back foot should come up off the ground and, after releasing the ball, the throwing hand should continue moving to the outside of the front knee.

Here's a video that shows most of these steps. 

Batting -
1. Align Knuckles - line up the "door knocker" knuckles on both hands.  These are the knuckles that you would use to knock on a door - the middle knuckles that bend.  This may feel odd at first, but it avoids having to rotate the hands during the swing.

2. Stand on the line - stand on an imaginary line (or draw one in the sand) that points directly towards the pitcher.  Standing on the line, you should be able to touch the middle of the plate with the tip of the bat.  Feet should be about shoulder width apart and knees should be slightly bent.  The body should be comfortable and loose - not tense or awkward feeling.

3. Load

• Hands up - Keep hands up and back - aligned with the back shoulder.
• Shift weight to your back foot - As the pitcher starts to wind up, shift your weight to your back foot.

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4. Stride - Shift weight to your front foot.  You can do this with just a shift or take a small step (just a couple of inches).

5. Swing - 

• Watch - watch the ball all the way from the pitcher's hand to the bat. 
• Rotate hips - Rotate your hips towards the pitch and swing with the arms.  
• Back laces forward - Rotate your back foot on your toe so your shoelaces are facing the pitcher.
• Follow through - Swing through the ball and wrap the bat around your back.

Here's a video that covers most of these parts of the swing.