Pedro Figueras writes on 2007-07-07 12:25:08 for AllExperts > Experts 
Keys to Youth Baseball and Softball Development

What does it take to become an exceptional good player?

Well,drawing from my direct personal experiences as a player and coach, discipline and natural ability are vitally important components of the make-up of an aspiring young player to become an exceptional good player. In addition, common sense and determination to acquire, apply and master the fundamentals of the game; namely, throwing, running, fielding, hitting and thinking are also crucial skills in the road to become an exceptionally good player. He/she must be able to master at least two of these skills and carry out the other three extremely well, time and time again. Much of the time, many players failed to progress to a better things in baseball, simply because they have not given those skills the attention they demand or they have not been encouraged to do so. I do not put this down to lack of natural ability, it is more to do with the inability to follow a set of procedures and lack of self motivation. Discipline and absolute determination makes all the difference in the world when it issues us challenges but only by delivering the goods time and time again can we meet those challenges and keep our thirst for success on an even keel. It is not enough to train for the sake of training, a player must, if his aspirations are beyond playing baseball in the park, take learning seriously since it is the only sure route to fulfil those aspirations. Indeed, proper coaching is also mighty important since a talented player needs to be guided and shown the best way to use the harness so that he is able to take advantage of his natural ability. Finally, but not lastly, I cannot emphasise enough the importance of practising the basics of the game in training, time and time again, since only through this mastering will you be able to improve your technique on using those skills for you will be expected to make use of them at every opportunity during a match. Yeah! You need to able to transfer those skills, gained in training, into a real time game and apply your thinking faculties in a game situation, time and time again. From the coaching point of view it is of paramount importance that young players focus on throwing, fielding, batting and their mental and physical constitution. Yeah! Most definitely, good coaching will bring out the natural ability of your child since it will instruct him/her on how to do things in a proper manner.

Pedro Figueras
Head Coach
Figueras Baseball Academy
http://www.spanglefish.com/Figueras