Hamco Team 
Quick Answer A good youth baseball practice matches its length to the players’ attention spans: about 60 minutes for tee ball, 75 for machine pitch, 90 for kid pitch and Majors, and up to 120 for middle school and high school. Every plan follows the same skeleton, which is a warmup, then throwing, fielding, and … Read more
Quick Answer Teaching youth pitching mechanics comes down to four simple checkpoints: a balanced leg lift, a straight stride toward the plate, the throwing arm up on time, and a full follow through out front. But mechanics come second. Arm care comes first. A 10 year old should throw only a fastball and a changeup, … Read more
Quick Answer The best baseball drills for beginners build skills in the order they are used: throwing first, then fielding, then hitting, then baserunning. The 15 drills below all scale, which means the same drill works for an 8 year old and an 18 year old, just with more reps and higher standards as players … Read more
Quick Answer A regulation college softball game is 7 innings, not 9 like baseball. That holds across every level of the NCAA, plus NAIA and JUCO. The two things that change the math are the run rule, which ends a game after 5 innings if a team leads by 8 or more, and extra innings … Read more
Quick Answer The shortstop plays between second and third base, roughly 12 to 15 feet behind the baseline, and is position 6 in the scorebook. Because most hitters are right handed and pull the ball, the shortstop fields more ground balls than any other infielder. The job needs range to both sides, the strongest arm … Read more
Quick Answer The dropped third strike rule lets a batter run to first base when the catcher fails to catch strike three, but only if first base is unoccupied, or if there are two outs. In every other case the batter is simply out. The ball stays live, so the batter still has to be … Read more
Quick Answer A catcher does far more than catch pitches. The job rests on four pillars: receiving and framing pitches, blocking balls in the dirt, throwing out base stealers, and leading the defense by calling the game. The catcher is the only player who touches the ball on every pitch, sees the whole field, and … Read more
Quick Answer The hardest position in baseball is catcher, with no real debate: it is the most physically and mentally demanding job on the field. Shortstop and pitcher come next. First base is the easiest position to field, though it carries the most pressure to hit. Here are all nine baseball positions ranked by difficulty, … Read more
Quick Answer A regulation college baseball game is 9 innings, the same as MLB. The exceptions are doubleheaders, where each game is cut to 7 innings by conference rule, and blowouts, where a 10 run mercy rule can end a game after 7 innings if the conference has adopted it. High school games are 7 … Read more
Quick Answer The best hockey drills for beginners start with stopping, not shooting. Teach the snowplow stop, then the hockey stop, then crossovers, before you move to stick handling, passing, and shooting. Ten drills below run in that order, and they all work in a single 45 minute practice. The one rule that matters most: … Read more
