Baseball Article

propel the body. These warm-up drills include 1) ankle walks; 2) ankle flips; 3) wall reaches; and 4) hi-knee pop-ups. These drills strengthen the muscles, tendons and ligaments in the feet and calf areas. To maximize the benefits of these exercises, I suggest they be performed barefooted.

1) Ankle Walks:
Start on balls of feet and walk forward cocking and flexing the feet up and down alternating left and right. In other words, if on your left foot, the right foot should be cocked (dorsi flexed); i.e. toes up, palms placed on the wall or hold a basketball over head. Slowly

rise up on the balls of the feet to full flexion.

2) Ankle Flips:
Same as walk, but now bounce from left foot to right foot.

3) Wall Reaches: Stand facing against a wall with feet 16--20 inches from the wall. Place arms straight up with then come down, keeping the fingertips or ball in contact with the wall.

4) Hi-Knee Pop-ups:This is an exaggerated "skipping in place" that focuses on driving one knee up to the chest with popping off or full flexion of the jumping foot. Landing must be on the ball of the foot.