Videos and Drills

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What's New!

Fall 2010 Deep East Texas Play will begin on August 21, 2010.

The Flint Gresham Ballpark begins play on May 1, 2010! Knights take on Mt. Vernon Crushers at 11:00 a.m.

The Knights are seeking sponsors to help offset expenses related to travel and the costs to water our home field. Anyone interested in helping us, please go to our sponsor pages.

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Knights Uniforms have arrived!!

Visit the Photo Gallery where our own Jensen Smith is modeling our new uniforms! The Knights have officially become the best dressed team in all the land! Please feel free to contact GM Sam Smith for your uniforms and Knight's apparel orders.

Current News

Knights are in the process of finalizing Coaches for all age divisions. Tryouts are taking place throughout July, please contact us at membership@etknights.com.

Fall 2010 hope to have teams in the 11U, 10U, and 8U Divisions. We are seeking a 9U, 12U, and 13U Team to be added to our organization at some point in the future. Please contact us if interested in coaching or trying out for one of these teams. Tryouts will be in July for Summer/Fall 2010 Season.

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The Knights begin the 2010 Campaign with the new addition of professional pitching and hitting instruction to enhance the many years of experience of our Coaches.

RecentEvents

The Knights have been taking applications for our Fall 2010 Teams. Please come join us!

Knights sweep Double Header in Pittsburg! Open new Ballpark on May 1!

Knights begin 2010 Pre-season Play in Nacogdoches, Texas! The Deep East Texas Season begins April 10, 2010!

Knights lose in Deep East Texas World Series Championship Game!

The Knights finished day one as the number 2 seed and come from behind to win their semifinal game 6-5. They lose to the Gilmer Dirtbags in the final. A heroic effort by a team that has only been playing together for a few months!

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Knights find many ways to enjoy the game of baseball, both in and out of the Pool?????

The Knights and their families all got together recently at Eagles Bluff Country Club for fun, food, and drink! The Pool Party extraordinaire was a visible example of how kids are kids, and these kids love baseball! Not 30 minutes into the party, all the Knights had gathered in the shallow are and were playing a improvised game of baseball with a beach ball and water cannon (bat)! There is one thing that all had in common from the beginning..........BASEBALL!

The initial focus for the team will be the reinforcement of fundamentals. We fully expect that every player will be asked to play multiple positions throughout this season as we will be expected to play multiple games during a single day and flexibility will be important.

Knights Instruction Team & Drills

Welcome to the East Texas Knights Instruction Team & Drills Library! Below you will find information about our Instructional Staff followed by video drills that your athlete can work on by themselves to improve their skills. In the end, the East Texas Knights have one singular goal: "Develop kids of character and skill both on and off the field of play!" - Enjoy!

The Knights have been honored to have some of the finest instruction available to work with our athletes on a regular basis. We are thrilled to announce that we now have Instructors on Staff to help develop our athletes. If you are interested in private instruction, please contact us at instruction@etknights.com.

Charlie Franklin

Attended Texas Christian University on a Baseball Scholarship
Lead Entire SWC in most hits, total bases, and RBI's (.382 avg)
Named First Team "All Southwest Conference"
Same Year Batted 121 times with 0 Strikeouts (SWC Record)
Charlie has many years experience teaching kids the art of hitting

Wes Hall

Wes Hall has joined the Coaching and Instructional Staff of the East Texas Knights full time. He has had a lifelong commitment to baseball and youth athletics after a very successful playing career. Wes specializes in developing proper pitching technique and has set aside time for additional personal instruction for our athletes when necessary.

Robert Ellis

Played for the 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks World Champions
16 Year Professional Baseball Career in Pitching
3 Years Pitching Development with NY Mets Organization
Graduate of Northwestern State University
Many Years of Teaching Kids the Mechanics of Pitching

Basic Throwing Drills

Playing Catch Drill

baseball drills logo

Drill:
Wrist/Elbow (Throwing Series - Part 1)

Purpose:
Develops players use of wrist and elbow along with emphasizing the correct grip on the baseball.

Equipment:
Baseballs

Setup:
Players pair up with gloves and 1 baseball for each pair.

Execution:

baseball drills

Players get on one knee about 6 feet from their partner. Have each player place their glove on the ground in front of them.
Start by showing the players the proper 4 seam grip on the baseball.
The player with the ball will get the proper grip on the baseball. The player will then bend his elbow and hold his forearm with his other hand.
The player will then bend his wrist back and flick the ball to his partner using only the wrist to throw the ball. Emphasize that the wrist will be used during all throws.
Have players aim for the others players glove as a target.

Have the players back up to about 15 feet.
This time the player throwing the ball will place his other hand under his arm holding his triceps.
The player will then throw the ball using just his elbow and wrist.

baseball drills

Playing Catch Drill

baseball drills logo

Drill:
One Knee (Throwing Series - Part 2)

Purpose:
Develops players upper body throwing mechanics.

Equipment:
Baseballs

Setup:
Players pair up with gloves and 1 baseball for each pair.

Execution:
Players get on one knee(throwing arm side) about 15 feet from their partner.
The player with the ball will rotate his shoulder toward the target, bring his arm back with his hand on top, use a good circular motion and throw the ball.
Build on the wrist and elbow drill, making sure the player bends his elbow and uses his wrist.

baseball drills

Playing Catch Drill

baseball drills logo

Drill:
Stationary (Throwing Series - Part 3)

Purpose:
Players learn how to line up their body and follow through when throwing the baseball.

Equipment:
Glove and Baseballs

Setup:
Players pair up with gloves and 1 baseball for each pair.

Execution:
One player will get in the proper position to catch the ball and give the other player a target. Player with the ball will place his back foot facing perpendicular to the target. Make sure he has lined up his body in the direction of the throw. He will then step and throw to the other player. Remind the players that this is a continuation of the other throwing drills.

This drill shows them how to place their back foot and close their front side before making the throw. Check the position of the back foot and whether they are pointing their front shoulder and hip toward the target.

Check to make sure they are following through on their throw. The throwing hand should end up down by the knee of the front leg.

Playing Catch Drill

baseball drills logo

Drill:
Step and Throw (Throwing Series - Part 4)

Purpose:
Players learn how to catch the baseball and then step and line up to throw in a single movement.

Equipment:
Glove and Baseballs

Setup:
Players pair up with gloves and 1 baseball for each pair.

Execution:
Both players will get in the proper position to catch the ball. Player with the ball will step forward with his throwing side leg placing down in front of him perpendicular to the target. As he places his foot down he bring his back leg forward, swiveling his body as he does this, to get lined up in the correct throwing position. As he completes the step with his back leg, he will throw the ball. Remind the players that this is a continuation of the other throwing drills.

This added step will often result in younger players not getting their back foot positioned perpendicular to the target. Make sure you watch the placement of the foot and that they still close the body and point it toward the target.

Playing Catch Drill

baseball drills logo

Drill:
Shuffle (Throwing Series - Part 5)

Purpose:
Players learn how to shuffle in order to get their body in position to throw and to gain momentum toward the target.

Equipment:
Glove and Baseballs

Setup:
Players pair up with gloves and 1 baseball for each pair. Since you want the players to gain momentum toward the target, make sure they have warmed up their arms and are making a long enough throw.

Execution:
Have the player with the ball place it on the ground in front of him. He will then simulate fielding a ground ball. Once he has fielded the ball he will take a couple shuffle steps toward the target getting his body in good throwing position as he does so. After a couple shuffle steps he will step and throw.

Make sure the player is getting his body lined up as he performs the shuffle steps. His lead shoulder and hip should be pointing towards the target. As he gets lined up his back foot should land perpendicular to the target.

Catchers

	Catchers

	In order to be a good and effective catcher, you must know and understand the position. The following videos are done by Brandon Smith who is a fantastic specialist in the art of Catching the Baseball. Please watch and have your kids watch these videos to get an idea about how to be an effective catcher. - Sam Teaching Youth to Play Catcher How to set up to Receive the Ball How to Block the Plate How to Make the Throw to Second Base How to Make the Throw to Third Base What it takes to be a good Youth Catcher - The Mental Approach
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Infield

How to Field a Ground Ball

How to play First Base

How to play Second Base

Playing the Middle Infield

How to Play Short Stop

How to turn a Double Play

How to play Third Base

Outfield

	Outfield

	How to play Left Field How to play Center Field How to play Right Field How to Practice Playing Outfield How to Field a Ground Ball in the Outfield How to Field a Fly Ball in the Outfield
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Other Key Roles

The Secret Weapon - Utility Man