CNBNews

The series of clips, filmed at the Western Region Headquarters in San Bernardino, Calif., and the University of California-Riverside, focus on the basic elements of Little League Baseball and Little League Softball for Minor and Major Division-age players.

“The opportunity to enhance the education and training available to coaches, through the Coaches Resource Center, is an important step toward engaging new volunteers and building their confidence to coach,” Nick Caringi, Senior Director of Operations and Education, said. “Through the relationship with SKLZ, training coaches and providing easy-to-access resources via the Internet, is expected to give both novice and experienced coaches alike the tools necessary to teach players.”

Introducing the various baseball lessons was former Major Leaguer Brian Hunter. The softball segments were introduced by University of Nevada at Las Vegas (UNLV) Head Coach Lisa Dodd and Jen Schroeder, a former University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) standout. All three are Little League graduates.

The drills and explanations are aimed at instructing the younger age groups on the fundamentals of batting, fielding, throwing and pitching. Additional clips on baseball and Tee Ball instruction will be filmed at Little League International in the coming weeks.

“SKLZ is proud to partner with one of the largest and most prestigious youth sports organizations in the world,” John Sarkisian, SKLZ Chief Executive Officer, said. “We’re not only helping millions of young athletes get better at their sports, but also delivering products and content to coaches—especially new ones—that will give them a great head start in improving their players and building solid programs.”

Softball-related skills and drills also focused on batting, catching, throwing and pitching.

“The segments that were filmed were made priorities by the Little League Softball community,” Sara Thompson, Little League International’s Director of Softball Development, said. “With the input and feedback from our softball constituents we are able to target specific areas that can become the foundation for those wanting to learn how to properly instruct and coach softball players.”

During the three days of taping in California, more than 50 individual segments were filmed. An additional 20-to-25 drills and tips will be completed in the coming months.

“The intent is to make teaching Little League Baseball and Little League Softball easier and understandable for volunteers of an experience level,” Mr. Caringi said. “To have these clips on the Coaches Resource Center is another step in educating our volunteers.”

About SKLZ

SKLZ is committed to elevating the athlete in each of us by guiding and serving athletes on their journeys to be their personal best. As the flagship brand of Pro Performance Sports, SKLZ develops innovative athletic performance and skill development training products, technology and knowledge for serious athletes of all ages, skill levels and sports. Based in San Diego, California, SKLZ delivers durable, high-performance trainers that can be found around the world at major sporting goods retailers, specialty shops, and mass merchants, as well as on the SKLZ web site at www.sklz.com