Polishing Your Baseball Skills is written to assist aspiring teenage baseball players to master fundamentals necessary for playing on the large diamond. The skills and techniques that served a Little League-aged player well may no longer be sufficient. The base paths are longer and the throws more demanding. Besides, base runners can now take leads and attempt to steal bases. Also, pitchers are subject to the “balk” rule. Welcome to a new world of baseball.
The author, Les Young, played baseball throughout college and in semi-professional leagues. He coached young players for nearly two decades. He was a catcher during his youth, but following severe knee injury, at age 17, his dreams of catching in college quickly vanished. Fortunately, his coaches taught him to play infield and outfield, and by the time he was graduated from college he had played every position on the diamond. Moving to new positions did not come easily. It required competent coaches providing patient instruction in the fundaments of playing each position.
Polishing Your Baseball Skills is organized to provide sound advice to young players and novice coaches alike – lessons Young learned from a variety of wonderful coaches, a number of whom are inducted into Sports Halls of Fame. These lessons embrace both the technical aspects of playing baseball and mental attitudes toward the game itself and teamwork in general.
The author, Les Young, played baseball throughout college and in semi-professional leagues. He coached young players for nearly two decades. He was a catcher during his youth, but following severe knee injury, at age 17, his dreams of catching in college quickly vanished. Fortunately, his coaches taught him to play infield and outfield, and by the time he was graduated from college he had played every position on the diamond. Moving to new positions did not come easily. It required competent coaches providing patient instruction in the fundaments of playing each position.
Polishing Your Baseball Skills is organized to provide sound advice to young players and novice coaches alike – lessons Young learned from a variety of wonderful coaches, a number of whom are inducted into Sports Halls of Fame. These lessons embrace both the technical aspects of playing baseball and mental attitudes toward the game itself and teamwork in general.
