BASEBALL SCOREKEEPING

BASEBALL SCOREKEEPING

I know the idea of keeping score in baseball can be intimidating.  When I ask a parent if they would be able to keep score, I see the hesitation and sometimes fear in their eyes.  It’s understandable. If you have never kept score, you have no idea what it entails, what to expect and you may feel too much responsibility.  But, if you are a baseball fan and/or parent, I really think you would get…

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CHOOSING A BASEBALL BAT

CHOOSING A BASEBALL BAT

What size bat should I buy?  Great question!  I get asked this question often and I by no means consider myself an expert.  I know the size bat Lefty uses but when it comes to this big purchase and choosing a baseball bat,  I think we could all use some help. I prefer not to spend a car payment on a bat for Lefty, but I also want him to have decent bat.  I also…

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VARSITY COACH GIVES ADVICE TO PARENTS – PART III

VARSITY COACH GIVES ADVICE TO PARENTS – PART III

HOW IT WORKS TheRustyArm:  How many kids usually try out each year? And for how many spots? Coach Dufek:  Typically we get anywhere from 25-30 freshman tryout each year. We will get anywhere from 5-10 upperclassman tryout.  This does not count the returning players from the previous season.  I usually keep anywhere from 16-18 players on each team.  We have three levels at which a player can compete at, Varsity, Junior Varsity and Freshman.  Our…

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VARSITY COACH GIVES ADVICE TO PARENTS – PART II

VARSITY COACH GIVES ADVICE TO PARENTS – PART II

My conversation with Coach Dufek continues. Getting a Spot on the Team TheRustyArm:  How many players do you normally carry on a team? What percentage of them are pitchers? Coach Dufek:  I will carry any where from 16-18 players on each team. Some years we have a couple more or less. I will carry as many quality pitchers as I can. Ideally I would like to have 6 to 7 pitchers on our team. Some…

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VARSITY COACH GIVES ADVICE TO PARENTS

VARSITY COACH GIVES ADVICE TO PARENTS

It’s been a (real) long time since I tried out for my high school baseball team. Makes me wonder what has and hasn’t changed about the steps players take to get there. And if my son, Lefty, wants to play high school ball like I did, is he on the right track for today’s game? Questions like these led me to talk with San Marcos High School’s varsity baseball coach, Jeff Dufek. I thought it…

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Cutoff Situations

One of the most time-consuming and possibly difficult thing to teach young ball players is Situational Cutoffs.  In younger leagues, there may not be too many balls hit to the outfield and teaching players to get the ball into second base is an accomplishment in itself.  How many times have you heard a coach or parent yelling to a young outfielder, “Throw the ball in!  Throw it to second!  PLEASE!  Throw it somewhere!” As the…

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LET THE FUN BEGIN!

Well, it has officially started.  The spring baseball season is underway.  The player evaluation day is over (5 1/2 hours).  My practice schedule set (Friday Nights and Saturday nights..ouch!).  My team name decided.  And finally, the draft is complete!  The per-season process is over and I am excited to meet my team and get to what I enjoy so much, teaching the game of baseball to enthusiastic young players.  First practice is coming up.  Let The Fun Begin! …

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KASKEY KIDS – BASEBALL GUYS

This past weekend Lefty’s team played in a two day tournament that was really exciting and pressure filled.  Lefty’s team made it to the championship game but ended up losing in extra innings on a game winning hit. At one point during extra innings, the opposing team had the winning run on third base.  There were two outs and the batter had two strikes on him.  The young batter had to step out of the…

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M.I.T. “Fix Up Our Fields” Fundraiser

Help San Marcos-based non-profit youth baseball organization M.I.T. “Fix Up Our Fields.”  Just mention M.I.T. when you dine in or take out from Flippin’ Pizza on Tues., Dec. 11 (5 to 8 p.m.) at 342 South Twin Oaks Valley Road, San Marcos, CA.  A portion of your bill will automatically go back to M.I.T. If you can’t make it to Flippin’, but still want to help M.I.T., you can donate directly to our cause using…

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Finding A Good Coach

When I was 12 years old, my dad took me to my first pitching lessons from a ex-professional ball player, Clyde Wright.  I thought it was the coolest thing in the world to be coached by an ex-pro.  It was a great experience that I remember very well to this day.  I learned many things including how to grip a two-seam and four-seam fastball.  At the end of each session, Coach Wright would give me…

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