Bunt Young, Bunt Often
Marty Schupak
Bunting is a very big part of the game of baseball. And when a
bunt is laid down the right way, it is very difficult to defend.
I have always been big on bunting and feel it can be taught at a
young age. There are basically two types of bunts: the square
bunt and the pivot bunt. My preference is the pivot bunt because
the players just pivot and do not have to lift their feet. Once
in a playoff game I had a player square bunt and he put down a
perfect bunt and beat it out, or we all thought. The only problem
was when he lifted his leg and put it down in a different
position, it was right on home plate and he was called out.
The best way to teach bunting for the first time is to practice
with a soft covered ball or a rag ball which is described in The
59 Minute Baseball Practice video. With the rag balls or a soft
covered ball, there is very little danger of getting hurt and the
players can actually pitch to each other. Once they seem
confident, move on to a hard ball with the coach pitching.
There are many bunting strategies that can be used in a game. My
favorite is with less than two out and a runner on third, bunt to
the third baseman with the base runner bouncing toward home. When
the third baseman releases the ball, the man on third runs home
and he must slide. If it is a good bunt and the base runner
breaks to home when he should, this is almost unstoppable.
Remember that youth baseball players can practice bunting at a
very young age. Seek out your high school coach to teach the
proper technique. Also make sure your best bunters get a chance
to swing away.
Coach Schupak has been recognized by the American Baseball
Coaches Association and his videos have been recommended by the
National Alliance of Youth Sports, the largest amateur coaching
training organization in the country. He has a Master's Degree in
Physical Education from Arizona State University and his youth
baseball teams have won championships year after year.
Be sure to check out Marty Schupak's videos here at:
Winning Baseball Strategies
http://www.baseballtips.com/videos/coaching/winningbaseball.html
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