OPPORTUNITY Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday's success or put its failures behind and start over again. That's the way life is, with a new game every day, and that's the way baseball is. Critic A critic is a man who knows the way but can't drive the car. - Mark Twain - STUDENT OF THE WEEK January 12-16, 2009 Top 15 Reasons to Coach Youth Baseball 1. You get to spend most of your summer with other peoples' kids instead of your own. 2. You get to rake fields and set up bases just like a real groundscrew member. 3. You get the credit whenever a kid isn't playing well. 4. You get to put off your vacation until right before school starts. 5. You get a great farmer's tan. 6. You get to be the last one home after a game. 7. You get thick skin by being second-guessed about 2500 times or so by parents. 8. You get to spend a lot of evenings on the phone instead of with your wife. 9. You gain deeper insight into the game by hearing such novel bits of wisdom as "straighten it out" and "throw a strike" from the stands. 10. You have lots of meaningful conversations with parents, like about how great their kids can pitch. 11. You get to spend your own money on extra balls and equipment. 12. You get to go to the field early. 13. You get to pick up kids without rides. 14. You develop humility when the kids get credit for wins and you get blamed for losses. 15. You get the honor of coaching a bunch of kids that think they're doing you a favor by showing up. 16. ? ? ?. BEGINNERS CURVEBALL Here's how it works: Grip a baseball leaving the index finger off — like you were pointing at something. (Your index finger will be used to aim the baseball at your target.) Next, place your middle finger along the bottom seam of the baseball and place your thumb on the back seam (as shown in the middle picture above). When this pitch is thrown, your thumb should rotate upward, and your middle finger should snap downward while your index finger points in the direction of your target. This, of course, is the reason this pitch is great for beginners: the ball goes where your index finger points. The beginners curveball helps to align your hand and ball to the target. John Smoltz PAGES Home Change Up Jr. League 2009 Cincinnati Reds 2010 Team Dance Riverwalk, Health, & Nature Garden and surrounding area

KNUCKLE CURVE Thrown the same way as my beginners curveball only you'll tuck your finger back into the seam of the ball. Your knuckle will now point to your target instead of your index finger (in the beginners curve). The difficulty with this pitch isn't from the pitch itself. In fact, most pitchers feel this grip gives them the most rotation — and most movement — of any breaking pitch. However, many pitchers who are learning this pitch for the first time, aren't comfortable with the "tucking" part. It's not super comfortable at first to tuck your index finger into the baseball. This is why I recommend that you spend a few weeks — preferably during the off-season — working on tucking your index finger into the baseball. Do it while you're watching TV or reading a book. Once your index finger is comfortable with the grip, you can progress into spinning a baseball to a partner without any trouble. Note: You've got to maintain short and well-manicured nails — especially on your index finger of the throwing hand — for this pitch to be effective because long fingernails can get in the way of the grip. Zoom In | Normal | Zoom Out This free script provided by JavaScript Kit Baseball record that will never be broken. O.K. For the people who said every record will be broken, Johnny Van Dameer's 2 straight no-hitters will probaly NEVER be tied or broken. Can you imagine the pressure of going for consecutive no-hitters? Much less 3!