YBE 135: Smarter Practice Planning with Bo Ashabraner

Practice planning is one of the most frequently asked topics for youth coaches. With so many topics (hitting, pitching, fielding, throwing, baserunning, the mental game, the catcher position, team defense, situational defense, situational offense, bunting, rundowns...and those are just the main categories, not to mention the many subcategories within), how do you know what to work on, and when? Bo Ashabraner has some helpful advice so you can plan smarter, not harder, for your practices in part two of a two-part interview. Plus Rob answers the Question of the Week (38:36) about the benefits of batting lefty instead of righty.

In this 53-minute episode, you'll learn:

• 3 reasons why the change-up is difficult for youth pitchers (1:42)
• how to throw a change-up (3:50)
• a tip for making the change-up more effective (4:59)
• where to throw the change-up (7:17)
• when to throw the change-up (8:05)
• 3 things to emphasize when teaching baserunning (9:44)
• a drill that teaches quick & accurate baserunning reads (13:41)
• what the 80/20 principle is, and how to apply it to baseball practices (19:56)
• the #1 needle-mover for your team (21:36)
• 5 things to that apply the 80/20 principle (26:05)
• how the catcher position fits into the 80/20 principle (27:12)
• how to plan for pitchers in practice when not everyone on the team pitches (29:46)
• a drill to help pitchers leading with their hips & glutes (32:12)

Resources and links mentioned in this episode:

• John T. Reed's youth baseball coaching book
• Reuters article on whether to bat (and throw) lefty or righty
• FanGraphs article on whether RH or LH hitters are more likely to have success in MLB
• A youth baseball perspective on handedness
• Ask Rob a question

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