3 Reasons to Practice with Shaved Little League Bats

What are the reasons parents encourage their children to play sports? In 2015, a survey showed that over 80% of parents believe sports improve their child's physical health, give the child something to do, and teach the child discipline and dedication. In the same survey, over 70% of parents believe that sports teach children how to get along with others and improve their child's mental health, while over 60% believe sports help their child develop a social life. Significantly, most parents did not cite winning or becoming a professional athlete as their reasons for encouraging their child to participate in sports. Knowing this, it becomes clear that practice is just as important, if not more important, than competitive games in achieving most parents' goals for their children.

Bat shaving is a technique that results in a baseball bat with improved distance and a larger sweet spot. Shaved Little League bats are not legal in competition. However, they are legal in practice. Here are three reasons to use shaved Little League bats in practice:

Make Practice Fun

Why do kids dread practice? Often, it is because of boredom and frustration. Rather than dreading practice, practice becomes fun when children are engaged and see success. Using shaved Little League bats for at least a portion of baseball batting practice allows kids to experience the excitement of turning a fly ball into a home run. These hot bats reduce frustration and boredom and reinforce that practice is fun.

Focus on Form

Almost every coach admonishes players to focus on form rather than worrying about where the ball goes. However, this runs against the instinct of every player. Using shaved Little League bats in practice can teach children that good form produces good hits. Moreover, since contact with the ball is more likely to produce good outcomes, kids can focus on making contact, and the skills required to make contact, rather than trying to steer the ball.

Learn Self-Confidence

Many parents say that they encourage their kids to play sports because sports build self-confidence off the field. What they often miss is that self-confidence on the field can make the child a better athlete. In fact, many experts teach that confidence in the batter's box is the most important skill in hitting successfully. Shaved bats can help build that self-confidence in the batter's box. After practicing with shaved baseball bats, a child has not only the feel for how to hit home runs and hard line drives, but also the confidence to know that he or she can do it.

While no parent would encourage a child to use a juiced bat in a game, there are reasons to use a shaved Little League bat in practice. Shaved baseball bats can make batting practice fun and build a batter's confidence. Moreover, shaved bats can allow a player to focus on form since he or she knows that good form will produce good hits.