The heel to heel flaw at first base

Here is a little tip for base runners who want a little more balance, quickness, and power when taking their lead off first base.

A safety tip for batting practice

I heard this batting practice idea from the current head coach at Villanova University (Joe Godri) and I think it is a great one for a number of reasons.  It involves moving the shag bucket(s) to a safer location during batting practice.  In the following picture, the red line and star indicate where most teams […]

Spray charts for pitchers

At the high school level and above, charting hitters in the form of “spray charts” is pretty common.  A spray chart is typically created for every hitter an opposing team has.  Each at-bat is recorded and if they put the ball into play, the chart indicates where they hit it and what the result was.  The […]

Batting cage ribbons

As I type this, another snow storm has entered the Philadelphia area.  High school and college coaches are no doubt pulling their hair out over the weather so far this spring.  For today, if they are able to practice at all, it looks like another indoor batting cage day for hitters.  Not ideal but it […]

Feet position in the stretch

Every single Little League game I go to I see at least one pitcher (often every one of them) make a very basic mistake with their feet when they pitch from the stretch.  It involves where the feet end up when they come set after getting the sign from the catcher.  It’s a very easy […]

Drill it out

I heard about this coaching technique at a winter clinic.  The speaker (John Cohen – Mississippi State Univ.) referred to it as “drilling it out of a player.”  Coach long enough and you will undoubtedly have a player that is difficult to talk to.  You give a suggestion that might help with the kid’s swing […]

Stride foot direction

There is a great saying in baseball that goes, “baseball is played from the ground up.”  What that means is that most everything in the game starts with good footwork.  Want to improve your throws?  Set your feet better.  Want to throw more strikes?  Improve your footwork on the mound.   In today’s video tip, […]

Keep your glove under the ball

Today’s video tip involves one of those little mistakes that young infielders often make before they field the ball.  It may not seem like much but every little detail can help a fielder do his job more effectively.  I first show the bad habit and then demonstrate how and why fielders should always keep their […]

Pennsylvania baseball

If any of you have thoughts about moving to Pennsylvania to play baseball, here are a couple photos taken at a local high school practice over the weekend (3-16-2013).  With weather like this, it would stand to reason that baseball players would not be bred in Pennsylvania to the extent that places like Texas, Florida, […]

Glove work on a backhand

Today’s tip is for infielders who want to develop better hands on the backhand play.  It’s a basic tip that I see kids of all levels mess up regularly.  Get the glove work down and backhands will become easier.

When baseball is your identity

For many young kids who play the game from an early age, their lives look like the following graphic.  We’ll call this kid Player A. Even though setbacks occur for them in the game (0 for 4, 3k’s, 2 errors, .240 batting average, cut from the team, etc.) other parts of their life help to […]

Catchers, please stay still

At the major league level, it has become quite the fad to have catchers move to their location late into the pitcher’s delivery.  I can’t stand it.  I hated it as a pitcher and I hate it as a coach.  Although there may be more reason to do this at the higher levels, I still […]

Footwork when covering second base

A reader contacted me and asked about a video I made a while back about middle infield footwork around the bag on steal attempts to second base.  I looked everywhere on my site and could not find it.  Apparently, I put it on my YouTube Channel but not the website.  Here it is.  Sorry if […]

Code words for second base

One of the challenges for base stealers and third base coaches is the fact that middle infielders can hear.   When a base stealer is at second base and wants/needs to steal third base, often he will need the third base coach to give him information on what the middle infielders (especially the shortstop who […]

Goalie Drill for Infielders

Today’s video tip is a good drill for younger players in need of a little competition during practice.  It also has many benefits on the fundamentals side as well for infielders looking to improve their reactions, glove work, and first step quickness.  It’s a good drill to wrap up a practice with and great for […]

I didn’t make the team. Now what?

As I mentioned in a post a few days ago, this week is tryout week for most high schools in Pennsylvania.  For players and parents, the week is filled with gossip and debate as to who is showing well and who might make the JV and varsity rosters.  Of course, it all culminates in the […]

The showcase dance

My name is Coach McCreary and I enjoy watching Dancing With the Stars.  There.  I said it.  Criticize me if you must.  It probably stems from ballroom dance lessons my wife and I took about 10 years ago prior to our wedding.  I reluctantly agreed but actually had a lot of fun doing it.  I […]

Tryout week

For most high schools where I am located (Pennsylvania), this past Monday was the first official day of practice.  That usually means tryouts – by far the worst part of the season as far as I was concerned.  I thought I’d provide a link to all the posts I’ve done concerning tryout for the players, […]

Seminar – Hitting: Bottom up mechanics

This is the last of seven videos from a coaching clinic I participated in at North Penn High School in Lansdale, PA. The clinics were presented to mostly Little League coaches.  The purpose was to pass on a basic foundation of the game to all the coaches.   Today’s seminar is one that I gave […]

Seminar – Hitting: Hands, feet, and stance

This is the sixth of seven videos from a coaching clinic I participated in at North Penn High School in Lansdale, PA. The clinics were presented to mostly Little League coaches.  The purpose was to pass on a basic foundation of the game to all the coaches.  I am posting all of the seminars – […]

Seminar – It all starts with defense (Part 2)

This is the fifth of seven videos from a coaching clinic I participated in at North Penn High School in Lansdale, PA. The clinics were presented to mostly Little League coaches.  The purpose was to pass on a basic foundation of the game to all the coaches.  I am posting all of the seminars – […]