Darryl Strawberry' Is Finding His Way

If you get a chance pick up my friend's Darryl Strawberry's book entitled Straw: Finding My Way.

Strawberry is a former Major League Baseball player who is well-known both for his play on the field and for his controversial behavior off of it.In his book he talks about overcoming his battles with alcohol, cocaine, cancer, women and money that he had during his playing career.

He is now a born again Christian and currently lives in St. Louis and attends Church On The Rock.Strawberry says "Yeah. I gave up the houses, the cars and everything. It was the most remarkable thing. I've always lived a high life, but here it is. God has brought me to a simple life to do his will."Purchase it the next time you are in a book store , it would make an excellent Father's Day gift for the guy who loves sports.

Don't forget to register to the MVP Baseball Clinic Featuring Ozzie Smith that will be held on Monday, June 29th at Big Hitter Baseball & Softball Academy in Arnold, MO from 6-9:30 pm. For more info call 866-487-4687 or log onto http://www.mvpbaseballtips.com/

Improve Your Speed By Runnig Down Hills

A great way to improve your speed on the bases is to run hills downhill. That's right running downhill instead of uphill. A lot of great athlete's such as Walter Payton and Jerry Rice improve their speed and leg strength by incorporate hill training in their workouts.

Running down Hills has many benefits:

Helps develop power and leg strength
Improves stride frequency and length
Develops co-ordination

Good for muscle memory by allowing your legs to move faster

Encourages the proper running form by using your arm action during the driving phase
Develops control as well as improved speed
Promotes strength endurance
Develops maximum speed and strength
Improves your time in the 60 yard dash
Improves your base stealing percentage

Here's a hill training routine:

1. Find a hill with a slope of approx 15° decline and a length of 60 yards
2. Running down the hill to build up to full speed and then maintain the speed for a further 30 yards
3. Recovery walk back up
4. Start with 2 sets of 4 repetitions ( a total of 8 times) and gradually increase over time

Do this routine twice a week and soon you will find yourself improving your speed.

Don't forget to register to the MVP Baseball Clinic Featuring Ozzie Smith that will be held on Monday, June 29th at Big Hitter Baseball & Softball Academy in Arnold, MO from 6-9:30 pm. For more info call 866-487-4687 or log onto http://www.mvpbaseballtips.com/

Here's An Inexpensive Way To Improve Your Speed

Every baseball and softball player wants to get quicker and faster. The difference of running down a ball in the gap or beating a throw by sliding home to score a run can make a difference in a big game.

I'm going to show you a simple and inexpensive exercise that will improve your first step, your batting average, your defense and at the same time will improve your speed and quickness.

But before I do, I want to remind you of the MVP Baseball Clinic featuring Ozzie Smith, the legendary shortstop for the St. Louis Cardinals,. Ozzie will sign copies of his book, “Ozzie Smith: Road to Cooperstown” Monday, June 29th in Arnold, MO.

The one-day clinic will be held at Big Hitter Baseball and Softball Academy located at 2120 Tenbrook Road. Check-in will be 5:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. with the clinic taking place 6:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.

The clinic consists of three sessions:

· Session A: Unlocking the Secrets of the MVP Mindset

· Session B: How to Improve your Speed, Agility and Quickness

· Session C: Ozzie Smith book signing of
“Ozzie Smith: Road to Cooperstown”

For more info call 314-831-7505 or log onto http://www.mvpbaseballtips.com/

Now for today's tip:

The exercise that I'm talking about that will add speed and quickness to your tools is jumping rope.

The benefits of this simple but yet complex training technique ranks as also an ideal brain exercise, bone builder, and as one of the most efficient ways of improving cardiovascular fitness in as little as ten minutes.

According to research jump rope for a minimum of five minutes a day can improve your foot speed and when you build to ten minutes of nonstop jumping at 120 RPMs it can provide the same benefits as 30 minutes of jogging!

Simple grab a jump rope and do the following:

1. Start with the jump rope in each hand.
2. Jump off the ground and start swinging the jump rope under your feet.
3.Continue jumping up and down as you bring the jump rope under your feet.
4.Continue for the prescribed number of 500 jumps or for 5 minutes.

Bodyweight Exercise Video Shows How A Young Baseball Player Can Increase Strength

One of the topics that will be discussed at the upcoming June 29th MVP Baseball Clinic featuring Ozzie Smith is "How A Young Baseball or Softball Player Can Increase His or Her Strength."

The one-day clinic will be held at Big Hitter Baseball and Softball Academy located at 2120 Tenbrook Road in Arnold, MO. Check-in will be 5:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. with the clinic taking place 6:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. For more info go to http://www.mvpbaseballtips.com/

Now for today's tip:

Bodyweight Exercises or Calisthenics are the best way for a young athlete to build muscle and stay in shape during the baseball season and during the off-season. One of the great benefits of bodyweight training is that your routine can be done at home, away from gym or on the road.

Calisthenics are exercises consisting of movements which use the weight of your body as resistance to work against. Its an extremely incredible and efficient way to build muscle and stay fit as it provides short bursts of intense training and only a few exercises covers almost all muscle groups.

Check this Bodyweight Workout video. It is guaranteed to blast and tone your muscles.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANsUWq194Lg&feature=channel_page

Ozzie Smith Coming To Arnold, MO

Ozzie Smith, legendary shortstop for the St. Louis Cardinals, will sign copies of his book, “Ozzie Smith: Road to Cooperstown” Monday, June 29th in Arnold, MO at the MVP Fitness Baseball Clinic. The one-day clinic will be held at Big Hitter Baseball and Softball Academy located at 2120 Tenbrook Road. Check-in will be 5:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. with the clinic taking place 6:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.

Smith will be on hand to sign copies of his book, “Ozzie Smith: Road to Cooperstown,” which chronicles his journey to becoming the greatest shortstop in the history of baseball.

MVP Fitness’ trained and licensed staff designed MVP Baseball Clinic to assist attendees with improving body conditioning quickly and easily.
The clinic consists of three sessions:

· Session A: Unlocking the Secrets of the MVP Mindset

· Session B: How to Improve your Speed, Agility and Quickness

· Session C: Ozzie Smith book signing of
“Ozzie Smith: Road to Cooperstown”

Cost for the clinic is $65 per player. Each attendee of the clinic will receive a book autograph by Ozzie Smith. Tickets for the book signing only are available for $35. To register call 314-831-7505 or visit http://www.mvpbaseballtips.com. To schedule media interviews with Ozzie Smith please contact MVP Fitness at 314-503-8384.

Baseball Training Aids

Baseball training aids are an effective way to learn the skills you need to achieve MVP status. They can aid in muscular development, hand eye coordination, as well as on posture and instruction on skills. But, which are the best baseball training aids to take your game to the next level? Here are two ways to improve your game from 1-Stop-Baseball.com

Training videos - One of the best ways to learn what the pros know is to use videos that they create. Many of the professional players and coaches are more than willing to share their experiences about techniques and tips that work. Learn these by watching and reacting to videos. The problem with these, though, is that you don’t have someone watching what you are doing and correcting your stance or your aim. So, watch them with someone else and allow them to tell you if you are actually doing what the video says. This is an all-year-round tool to benefit from.

Summer Camp or Clinics - Probably the very best option to think about investing is are baseball camps or clinics. Baseball camps are offered for virtually all age groups depending on your needs and skills. Baseball Camps are also offered during Christmas and Spring break. The benefit here is one on-one-training that you can not get anywhere else unless you have a personal coach, of course.

Find a Mentor

To find a mentor, identify someone you admire and respect.

For example, you may be a high school baseball player wanting to gain a scholarship to your State University. You can choose someone from your own high school who has received a scholarship to the same University.

Decide what you need in a mentor -- what skills you'd like to develop with your mentor's help. (It may be hitting for power, hitting for average, improving your speed, fielding or throwing).

Simply look around and find someone who has achieved the goal that you want to accomplish, as well as someone who shares good values. When you find one, don’t be afraid to ask.

Be sure to let your mentor know what you are trying to accomplish. Mentors are most likely to invest in people who want to improve themselves.