Players Movie Reviews

During more than a decade of coaching youth baseball teams, Marty Shupak realized that he kept seeing coaches and teams put hour after hour into practices that became so repetitive that they served only to bore the Little Leaguers forced to endure them. He sought to remedy the problem by devising practice routines that can take less than an hour, and which consist of drills that the kids will not only find fun and interesting, but will help them consistently develop their baseball skills. In this video, Shupak and a band of Little Leaguers demonstrate more than 30 different drills that can be used on the practice field with an entire team as well as by parents and children in a backyard session. The drills focus on basics such as base running, hitting, and fielding, but they often provide a wrinkle designed to keep the kids enthused, such as a defensive drill in which fielders practice throwing from third to first while in a kneeling position, or hitting drills in which a very soft ball made of old rags and masking tape is used. This video is not flashy yet the camera work is very professional, and the practical advice is imparted in an engaging manner. --Robert J. McNamara