I’ve got three things for you in this Tip. A brainteaser question to test your knowledge of baseball, a great bit of advice from a very successful coach, and a chance to help lots of people in your corner of the baseball world.

1. Baseball Brainteaser

There are seven ways a baseball player can legally reach first base in a game without getting a hit. Taking a base-on-balls is one way. Name the other six. If you think you know, go to our Facebook page – facebook.com/TipsFromTheCoach – and put your answer under this question there. If you’re stumped, I’ll post the answer there next week

2. Great baseball advice

Brian O’Connor has been the Head Baseball Coach at the University of Virginia since 2004. To say he’s a successful coach is an understatement. Under his leadership, Virginia has been won two ACC Coastal Division crowns, two ACC Tournament titles, four NCAA Regional championships and two trips to the College World Series.

He’s been named National Coach of the year twice. To date, he has led the Cavaliers to a .746 winning percentage, winning more games from 2009 to 2013 than any other Division I program during that time.

I met Brian O’Connor a couple years back and asked him the best advice he could give young ballplayers. He said…

“Do something to stand out every day. Do this with your actions, not your words. And be a good teammate.”

Virginia is currently ranked #1 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writer’s Poll, and #3 in the USA Today Baseball Top 25 Coaches Poll.

3. Get a Clinic from The Coach, and it might even be free…

I would be delighted to conduct a Coaches Clinic for your league. It will be an enlightening and entertaining learning experience which you can provide your coaches to help all of your ballplayers in your league. This can even cost your league nothing out of pocket. Check out this page for details.

Coaches Clinics

Call me now to schedule this. 516-366-4272

There are tens of thousands of hitting coaches who make money by teaching young ballplayers how to hit a baseball. Some are great teachers who are constant learners and adjust their approach for each student to get the most of each. Unfortunately, most are not. Just listen, you can tell the difference.

But you don’t need anyone other than yourself to help your son become a better hitter. Or the ballplayers on the team you coach. Just follow these three simple steps.

1. Practice hitting a lot. All winter long. Preseason. During the season. And every way that you can. With a stickball bat. With an Insider Bat. Off a tee. Self hit. Front toss. Batting practice. And in scrimmages and games.
2. Hit the ball with as much power as you can gather and control. The advice to not swing hard (“Just make contact”) or hit grounders (“Down and hard”) is pretty much the same type of advice as telling a kid to “just pick an answer” and “don’t read all the choices, pick the first answer that could be right” when taking a test in school. Yep, all of these are bad advice.
3. Run as fast as you can to first base, or further if you can. There is no excuse for not putting in your best effort in running. Everyone can run. It shows that you know how to compete.

These tips apply to players that just want to have fun, as well as those that want to be as competitive and successful as possible.

Speaking of the Insider Bat, it might be the only hitting aid to help a batter learn the most efficient swing path before, during, and after contact. And you can get it here for the low price of $49.95. Even better, get our Hitters Edge Package, with the Insider Bat plus the Tips From The Coach Hitting video for just $59.95.

One last thing. Here is a great story written by a former college baseball player. It’s about how much he loves and misses the game now that his days on the field are over. Check it out…
The Things I Miss Most

Behind every success is a story.

Bobby Haney grew up in a small town on Long Island called Kings Park. Not a particular hotbed for baseball. Without a father or grandfather who played professional, college, or even high school baseball. But he had a dream of playing professional baseball. A dream of going to his backhand and making jump throws from shortstop to get runners out at first. Just like his lifelong hero Derek Jeter.

But Haney made his own path. As he grew up, he played ball all the time. Except when he had to sit at home his entire thirteenth summer because he had a serious operation that kept him in casts on both legs up to his knees. Instead of trick-or-treating on Halloween, he threw a ball into a PitchBack and fielded it for hours upon hours. And he was the starting shortstop on the last team that won a College World Series at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Nebraska. A baseball team from a school that at that time had never won a national championship in any sport.

Now Bobby Haney is living his dream. At 25 years old, he’s playing professional baseball in the San Francisco Giants organization. He was drafted by the team after his senior year at South Carolina in the 22nd round.

Coaches, parents, and ballplayers themselves can relate personally to “From Kings Park to Omaha.” It’s highly suggested reading for all.

If you order “From Kings Park to Omaha” from us by clicking this link, Bobby will personally autograph your copy, dedicating it to whomever you want. Support this great kid by buying his book and following his career.