Thoughts....

Looking forward to playing on Saturday. Game time 9 AM. Let's get there around 8:30 ish to losen up and field some ground balls. We worked on hitting and fielding on Thursday night at practice. The kids got a lot of cuts in.

One thing that I stressed on defense, in regards to fielding ground balls, was to move your feet, get your glove out in front of your body and work from the dirt up. What I mean by that is...

1. Get in front of the ball by having an active lower body. MOVE THOSE FEET!
2. Get your glove in front of your body and get your butt down underneath you.
3. Work your glove up from the dirt rather than down towards the dirt

All of these things will equate to a successfully fielded ground ball. Fitzgerald Guarantee.

Continue to stress this with your kid the rest of this season cause by the end of the fall season they will be sick of hearing me say it. Then after a layoff thru the winter, my big mouth will be there again stressing it.

I was watching a kid pitch game this week and saw this as a big issue even at that level. It is not an ability thing it is a practice thing. This is something we will practice, practice, practice in the spring.

We can improve on defense and will improve on defense because we have a lot of talent. Every kid can improve and no one is near their potential. I am a defensive minded guy and always enjoyed the defensive side of the game when I played. Pitching and defense is what it takes to win at any level and both will be stressed as we move the Big Stick Cardinals towards playing high school ball.

See ya Saturday!