Dartball’s history dates back to many decades, with the first Dartball board being established by the Apex Company in 1923. Players have been competing in the Mon Yough Dartball League since 1928. A State Dartball Committee was also established by Wisconsin n 1951. Still, many people have never heard of the game of Dartball! If you are also one among them, read on.

Dartball is an indoor game played with darts and a board. The game makes use of a Dartball board which is a four by four foot square. The scoring areas of the game of Dartball are similar to the game of Baseball.

The board is placed two feet off the floor and is angled in such a way as to give the shape of a diamond. The four-base diamond shaped board consists of first, second, third, and home plate. Strike, out, ball, error, sacrifice, double play, triple play and hit pitcher are the additional areas marked in the board.

The home run is located in the centre of the board. A six inch foul line border surrounds the diamond shaped board. The measurement of the entire playing field including the foul territory is 42 inches. The configurations of the board and the rules of Dartball may vary from league to league.

The positioning of the players in the board is such that they are twenty to twenty-five feet away from the board. Each dart has a scoring area such as strike area and foul ball area.

The game is started just as the game of Baseball, with a player throwing the darts. The aim of the player throwing the darts is to make an out, get a hit or walk.

The Dartball player throwing the darts is called as the “batter”. Each dart thrown is the same as a pitch (baseball) in baseball. Darts may be thrown over handed, underhanded or both depending on league rules. Players throw darts towards the playing field from the pitcher’s line at a distance of 25 feet.

Run in Dartball is scored by a player when he advances around all of the bases- the first, second and third base and returns to the home plate safely. A player may score by hitting a home run or by any combination of plays, after he is “on base” (first, second, or third base) by subsequent batters getting either base hits or home runs that brings him home.

The other players of the team follow the player when he concludes his turn at the bat. The team has to make three outs. Then the other team has its turn up to bat.

The team scoring the most runs is the winner of the game.

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Volleyball, a well known sport, is a great way to stay in shape since it is close aerobic work out. This sport was first spotted in 1895 in Massachusetts by a YMCA physical director. Volleyball was initially considered as a combination of sorts, sort of a cross between handball and tennis which was known as Mintonette. The sole purpose of Volleyball was to keep players in shape during off season.

When the game was first introduced, the players were allowed to throw the ball over the net. Around 1896 some formal rules were introduced and those rules are still intact today in the well known game of volleyball. Here are the basics of Volleyball.

Volleyball needs two teams. Each team should consist of six players which means six players on each side of the net. On each side of the net, three players will be standing in the front row while the other three players should constitute a back row. The game kick-starts when the person standing in the back row and far right corner serves the volleyball first. The opponents have three attempts to get the ball over the net and the other team scores points if the ball goes out of bounds, does not make it over the net or falls onto the court. There is a rotation with volleyball and the players as each time the control of the ball changes sides the players will rotate one position to the right. This always changes the server. The players standing in all the locations thus have an opportunity to hit the ball.

No wonder why Volleyball has gained so much popularity and even recognized in the World Olympics since it is very easy to learn and understand the basics of Volleyball. The game is so simple that it can be played both outdoors as well as indoors.

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It is very important to tell your players to detect if the ball is in dirt during the base-running session. Here is a tutorial for you, the coach, to train your players how to read the trajectory of a pitched ball that will bounce in the dirt. Here’s how.
Players’ positioning is very important. Set up the players at all the three bases. Remember, different bases have different rules for a ball in the dirt so; different rules apply for the players at each base.

Now mix in strikes and balls in the dirt to the catcher. If the ball is about to bounce, ask all your players to uniformly say “DIRT” in a high pitch. This ensures that all the players of your team are paying attention to the session. Guide the base-runners as to instantly go when they get to know that the ball is about to bounce.

Tell the runners on the second base to react to the ball in the dirt and then decide whether they would be safe or not. Ideally, if the ball kicks away from the catcher, they should have gone and tell the base runners to stay if the catcher blocks the ball in front of him. Meanwhile, the runners on the third base should follow the same procedure as done by the second base runners. 

Always highlight the point to your players each base is independent of each other, so that the players don’t get confused.

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I think that the best way to mould excellent base runners for your baseball team is to inculcate base running into the batting practice. Here is how to accomplish the task.

When your players are ready for the practice (wearing helmets), ask them to go back to the bag after each pitch in order to stimulate getting the sign and take a new lead.

Make sure that the two players running the bases sway themselves as to avoid running up to the next runner. This helps your players for alertness and confidence and conditions the players. Before conducting the drill, make sure that every player undergoes a warm up session. Teach them the hard core rule in Baseball- the sport needs aggression!

Drill your players to detect the pitch in the dirt. That is, if they notice a dirt ball, ask them to immediately break. Train them to build up their confidence level on field.
The above were warm up tips. Now comes the real drilling session and the technical know how about the same. Read on.

Divide your players into four groups for the batting session. The first player should hit. The next will warm up on deck. Ask the third and fourth players to run “circuits” on the bases. The circuits are enlisted and attached to the first baseman protection screen. Make sure your players always run after hitting. The normal hit is three times with 10 swings each.

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Let us have a quick review of the three phases of strength training programs for Baseball. When you kick-started the training session, you got to learn how to get a balanced base of all your muscular groups. While in the second phase, you aimed at increasing your strength to the peak. Third phase aimed at hard hitting. You concentrated on increasing your explosive power that you gained during the previous sessions. You learned to accelerate quickly, pitch forcefully and hit powerfully in the third phase.

Now that you have gained the power and strength needed for the sport, it is the time to maintain the gain. The final phase of the strength training program in baseball aims at maintaining all your gains. This involves a combination of maximal strength training exercises and explosive power exercises.

This session aims at the competitive season, where you have to charge-up yourself to trudge into the field.

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Strength training is very essential to any sport. When it comes to baseball, there are broadly four phases of strength training program for the baseball players. Here are they.

Strength training program phase-one
The first phase of strength training program in baseball aims at a balanced base of strength in all the major muscle groups of the players. This training program strengthens the joints, ligaments, tendons and connective tissues of the players’ body.

The phase one of the strength training program aims at developing this balance and strengthening the centre of power in your body.

Strength training program- phase two
The phase two of strength aims at enhancing the player’s muscle power and speed. The phase two of the training session aims at maximizing the strength. Maximal strength automatically increases your potential for speed.

 Strength training program phase- three
The phase three of the strength training program is carried on to accelerate quickly, pitch forcefully and hit powerfully. To accomplish this, you need both strength and speed and which is concentrated in this phase of strength training. So, concentrate on increasing your explosive power that you gained during the previous session. To do this, increase either one (your power or speed) and reduce the other. This will increase your explosive power.

Strength training programs phase –four
The final phase aims at maintaining whatever you gained in the previous phases. This involves a combination of maximal strength training exercises and explosive power exercises.

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