Playing baseball can go a long way toward making an athlete healthier, quicker, stronger and better able to enjoy life. The sport requires a commitment to overall conditioning and players must work hard to improve at the skills needed to play the game. The effort needed to work on both aspects can help the physical and mental development of the game's participants.
Muscularity
Baseball requires players to build strength in key muscles like the thighs, hips and upper body to perform the tasks associated with the game, including throwing, catching, swinging the bat and running the bases. Stretching exercises prior to the start of practices and games help improve muscle flexibility and strength, and so does weight training. Those strength exercises include lunges, the bench press and arm curls.
Aerobic Conditioning
Baseball requires aerobic conditioning to run the bases and play defense. Outfielders might have to sprint hard after a ball and those sprints require an outfielder to have the conditioning to handle those bursts needed to make the plays. Interval sprinting before games and practice improve aerobic conditioning and so do base running exercises. Divide your team into two groups and place one group at home and the other at second base. On your signal, the first player in each group will sprint around the bases and when he reaches the starting point/finish line, the next player will take off. Keep going in this manner until all players have finished.
Hand-Eye Coordination
Hand-eye coordination is needed to hit and catch the baseball. As the ball leaves the pitcher's hand, the batter must follow the ball with his eyes determine how and where to swing the bat. This builds your hand-eye coordination, as does the process of catching the baseball when it is batted or thrown.
Emotional Health
Playing baseball means that you are on a team with others who share a common goal. While you are all trying to win the game and working hard to make that happen, baseball also is a game of failure. For example, the best hitters end up with a batting average of .300, meaning they fail seven out of every 10 at bats. Players talk to each other about their success and failures and go through many common experiences. This leads to bonding and friendship, which benefits a ball player's emotional stability. Players also learn the value of sacrificing for one another. When a coach asks a player to lay down a sacrifice bunt to advance a runner, it can help the team score a key run that might be instrumental to winning. This helps players learn the concept of teamwork.
