Cactus Newsletter Vol 5 Issue 6

January 23, 2010 By: Admin Category: Weekly Newsletter

CACTUS ATHLETIC CAMPS NEWSLETTER
Correspondence for Cactus Athletes and Parents
VOLUME 5, ISSUE 6

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

“I’d rather have a short pencil than a long memory.”

- Ken Madden

IN THIS WEEK’S ISSUE:

A WORD FROM THE PRESIDENT:

I hope everyone is enjoying their day. It has been raining for almost 4 days straight here in Phoenix and personally, I am loving it. I grew up in Michigan and went to college in Alabama so I miss having rain on a consistent basis. The only hard thing for us is that we have had to reschedule our whole week of practices, games and lessons. This was difficult, but well worth it because we can always use rain here in the desert.

After months of work and a lot of patience we are very excited to announce the launching of our Professional Baseball Training DVDs! For the past 2 years I have thought about creating these and finally in October of ‘09 we started shooting footage. We used 7 current & former professional baseball players (including myself) and made 3 separate DVDs. The first is an offensive one that focuses on Hitting, Bunting & Base Running. The second is on team defense and it focuses on every position in the Infield & Outfield. Our third DVD is all about Pitching & Catching. Each DVD has a Dynamic Stretching Program, along with the story of how our company was started and a hilarious blooper reel! An added bonus is a Written Manual that breaks down all of the footage in the videos and is durable enough for you to take to the field with you! They are very affordable so please click on the link to our online store to see some footage and order yours today!- Cactus Camps Store

We are also very proud of the league we are running. The Arizona Baseball League is in it’s second year and we have grown to two locations. We added a South Division in Gilbert and have 114 players spread over 11 teams. In our North Division we have 163 players on 16 teams. That’s a total of 277 players and 27 teams! It has been amazing to see a prayer come to fruition and to watch this league grow so much in just 14 months. For those of you who don’t know the story I was walking our dogs & praying in mid November of ‘08 about a way to increase business and our outreach to the community. Immediately a thought about starting a Winter baseball league came to my mind and I threw the idea out to our clients. Within 4 weeks we had 250 players sign up!

God moves powerfully when you are in his will and when I decided to stop talking so much and start listening to his plan for me, life got easier. I simply let him take the wheel and started to ride shotgun. Our organization is about baseball and teaching your kids the finer intricacies of the game, but in my 30 years of playing and coaching I realize it’s just a game and my life will not be determined by wins & losses on the field. If we are not having fun out there, then what’s the point? My goal is to be a good example to you and your kids. I hope that my staff and I are accomplishing that. Thank you for being a part of our family and good luck in all of your endeavors this new year.

“It’s CHOW TIME!!!”

STUDENT-ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Logan Woodward

by Billy Horton
Logan, a 12 year old from Phoenix, is our Student-Athlete of the Week. He is a 7th grader at Explorer Middle School and he holds a 4.0 grade point average. We first met him during our pitching clinics in May and he really opened our eyes with his dominance on the mound during our Thanksgiving Baseball Camp in 2009. He showed great leadership and athletic ability that weekend and because of that the coaches voted him the MVP of the camp.

Logan is a two sport stud. In basketball he plays for the Junior Suns and excels at both guard positions. He is a deadly shooter and if you don’t keep a hand in his face all game long he will rip you for 20 in a heartbeat. In baseball he currently plays for the AAA Rockies in the Arizona Baseball League. Logan is a great left handed pitcher and when he is not on the hill you will find him flashing gold glove quality leather over at first base and in the outfield.

He loves sports and music and when he grows up he would like to play in the NBA or pitch in the big leagues. Who knows, with his talent, brains and work ethic he may end up doing both! The most important thing is that he is a fine young man who shows respect to others and I am confident that he will be successful in every endeavor he sets out to accomplish.

COACHES’ CORNER: Choosing the Right Bat

by Danny Putnam
One of the amazing things about parents is their ability to provide for their kids. There is no limit to the extent a parent will go for the well-being of a child. This truth is evident in the fact that you are reading this article. So I applaud you for unselfishly taking the time to learn something that you can pass on to your children as an investment in their athletic future. Not only do I want to applaud you, but I also want to help relieve some pressure that some of you may be feeling.

You don’t have to buy the most expensive bat for your child! More expensive does not mean better, and it certainly does not equate to “providing for them”. I understand the pressure of “keeping up with the Jones”. For example, you may have heard your son come home and go on-and-on about the new bat Billy got and how cool and expensive it is. The “new bat day” with youngsters is kind of how adults get when a friend or neighbor gets a new car. You may ask yourself, “Maybe I need a better one now?”

The top of the line aluminum bats can cost in the range of $400! Is the best and newest bat really worth a car payment? You may rationalize the sticker shock with “I want to provide the best for my child.” However, I argue against that notion and hope that you do not feel obligated to make such an investment. Don’t get me wrong. I am not trying, nor am I qualified, to tell you how to spend your money. I just want to challenge the notion that more expensive is better.

In certain cases, I will argue the opposite. Some of the more expensive Little League bats are -13. That means that a 30 inch bat will weigh only 17 oz. Over time bats have become lighter and lighter due to the new technologies and materials that bat companies utilize. These new technologies come with a price tag that I am sure you have felt at the register. Here lies the problem: we tend to buy the best. The best is generally associated with price. Price is set by the manufacturer. Therefore I have this question: does the bat company really know what is best for your child? Their expertise is creating the next years shinier and more expensive model, not in the development your child’s swing. (I am not anti-bat company. I am just trying to shake things up a bit).

Is a lighter bat really better for a youngster? After all, everybody has heard that you want quick bat speed. This is true, but just putting a lighter and lighter bat in the hands of a growing, developing ball player could actually hinder his or her development. It can delay the development of hand and forearm strength and can produce bad habits in a young player’s swing. A light bat can also be a problem in that it doesn’t have enough mass (weight) to redirect the baseball without much of that force being absorbed by the young player. That is physics. The ball doesn’t ever get lighter so when bats gets too light the force behind a player’s swing is also less. There are many power hitters in the Big Leagues who use -1 or -0. Meaning they use a 35 inch 35 oz bat. They choose this weight because lighter doesn’t mean better, and it can actually mean worse. What initially sounded like a good idea actually can have negative side effects. So guess what. If you pay a little less for a bat that is not ultra-light, you may actually be providing for your child more effectively. The bottom line is this. More expensive is not better and lighter is not better.

The key is to find a bat that a player can swing and feels good, not just the lightest possible. The final reason that a lighter bat in not always best is the feel. A player needs to be able to feel the bat and where the barrel head is. If the bat is too light, they won’t be able to feel the bat or what is going on in the swing. A bat with some ‘meat’ on it can be much more helpful for a young player because they can feel the bat, it will develop muscles, and it will actually apply more force to the pitch.

Extra credit. Now I make one more challenge and offer one last suggestion. Imagine investing the same amount of money that the newest, latest and greatest bat would cost, into quality instructional hitting lessons and camps. Four hundred dollars could get you a lot of great one-on-one instruction that truly has the ability to take a child to the next level. The real improvement will come from hard work and sweat, not from the the biggest price tag at the sporting good store.

I recommend for players who are 12 years old and older to begin supplementing wood bats in batting practice. I will expand more on this idea in the next article, but I will leave you with this. Wood bats improve strength, hand eye coordination (smaller sweet spot), and better swing mechanics. How can a bat improve mechanics? When the bat is heavier, it makes a hitter more efficient and teaches them how to have rhythm in their swing. The key is to get a wood bat that is heavy enough to be a challenge without being so heavy that they will hurt themselves.

Danny is an outfielder in the San Diego Padres organization & finished the 2009 season playing for the AAA affiliate in Portland, OR.

EXERCISE OF THE WEEK: Plank Knee Punch

by Taleen Horton
The plank knee punch is a great core exercise and provides a variation to your plank hold exercise which is typically performed on the floor. By using a swiss exercise ball, the plank knee punch will require a greater level of core stability. This exercise will strengthen your transverse abdominus muscle and will fire your oblique abdominal muscles as well by adding the knee punch component.

1) Begin this exercise with both feet on the floor and lean on the swiss exercise ball with your elbows. (Figure 1)

2) Then roll forward out on the exercise ball into a plank position.(Figure 2)

3) While holding this plank position, kick or “punch” your right knee toward the ball. Perform 10 repetitions. (Figure 3)

4) Then rest your right foot on the floor and “punch” your left knee toward the ball. Perform 10 repetitions.

5) Perform 1 set of 10 repetitions on each side and then rest. Perform a total of 3 sets of 10 repetitions.

As with any new exercise, if you experience pain stop immediately and consult your physician. When beginning a new exercise program, always consult your physician.

Taleen is a Certified Athletic Trainer and Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Physiological Science & a Master’s degree in Sports Health Care.