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How to Gift
Wrap a Baseball Bat
I sure am lucky.
My wife Laura decided
to share with all the readers a little holiday
baseball giving tip she’s picked up over the years.
So, enjoy as I have…
If you’re like me,
you’ve found yourself on more than one Christmas Eve
flexing your wrapping-weary fingers, looking at a
shiny, new baseball bat and wondering, “Now how am I
going to disguise this gift again this year? How can
I make this look like something other than a
baseball bat?”
You’ve already given
in to the fact that a boy who loves to play baseball
needs a new bat almost every year. Even when my sons
aren’t outgrowing their bats we end up buying new
ones – after all, a metal baseball bat does have a
life, you know. And that life can be pretty short if
that fancy new bat becomes the team’s favorite. I
remember one year when my son’s new bat made its way
through the lineup way more than my son did. (I’ll
refrain from sharing more about that story right
now.) And if you live in any kind of cold climate,
you’ve ignored the warnings that come with the bat
about using it in low temperatures. What’s a player
going to do when he’s at practice in February and
the snow is coming down? Eventually, the pop goes
out of the bat and you find yourself in front of the
tree looking for a place to hide your gift. Even if
I can’t disguise the bat, I can at least try to make
discovering it a bit more fun.
Once a boy has got
that bat in his hands, one of the first things he’s
likely to want to do is take a trip to the batting
cages. (May as well get that bat used to the cold
weather right away.) But before you head out to the
cages, shouldn’t he learn how to swing a bat
correctly before he executes hundreds of repetitions
with potentially poor swing mechanics?
Have you ever given
any thought to a gift that will help your son make
the most of his fancy, new bat? Maybe you should
consider a gift certificate. They seem to be all the
rage these days. Now, normally I wouldn’t give a
gift certificate to my own kids. After all, they put
so much effort into creating their ultimate
Christmas wish lists that I know all too well what
they want. But, wouldn’t they be surprised to find a
gift certificate for hitting lessons attached to
that bat? Besides, if each time his bat hits a
baseball, the life gets sucked out of it, wouldn’t
you want to get the most bang for your buck? Isn’t
your son going to want some good hits out of that
bat?
There is so much more
to swinging a bat than the instruction so often
handed out: “Keep your eye on the ball. Now watch
the ball hit the bat.” Somehow, that doesn’t help
much. Then there are the misconceptions about
needing to “stay back” and “squish the bug.” Well, I
like it when my boys squish bugs for me, but not in
the batter’s box. Fortunately, at BioForce Baseball
Academy we have qualified instructors who can help
with the many aspects of hitting… mechanics,
approach, power, bat control, off-speed pitches, and
more. Even if you don’t come to BioForce, you should
look for a coach who teaches these skills.
In the end, I guess I
really can’t help you change the shape of that
baseball bat under the tree this Christmas, but good
hitting instruction could change the way your son
looks at the plate this spring.
Happy holidays! And
best of luck to you in making the wishes of your
loved ones come true.
May you enjoy the
season and the joy it brings.
Your BioForce
Sportsmom,
Laura
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