Baseball is a Game of Movement
Spring Classes
Spring Skills Classes
Lower Woodland Park
March 15, 22, 29
(Each program is Three sessions)
SCHEDULE & REGISTRATION
(Wa State Sales tax is added to registration fee per new state regulation [Oct 1, 2025].)
Pitching 130-230 REGISTER ($157)
(teaches the baseball delivery)
Batting 230-330 REGISTER ($157)
DESCRIPTIONS of CLASSES
Batting - The Swing
Teaches the entire batting swing using a step-by-step, building block approach. Review and repetition, core components of the class, are critical in learning a physical skill.
We are training muscle memory, which is learned by Doing.
Players learn body control and how to fully utilize the body, in proper sequence, to maximize power, bat speed and produce a consistently accurate swing.
Program is structured to have a parent or coach participate with the player. Much of the drill work involves hands-on help and/or oversight from an adult to keep the player on point. I lead all instruction.
Kids are more focused and behave better in this environment. They learn quicker and better establish the habits needed for continued
development over the long-term.
The class involves ‘homework’ (3 minutes per day). A parent who understands the ‘why and how’ can be more encouraging when reminding their player to do their daily work at home.
Participating with your child makes for a memorable bonding experience!
Coach & Parent Reviews - Batting
Mark, My boys (9 & 11 yrs) look forward to each hitting class. You have a great sense and awareness for each players’ ability and in helping them understand what is being taught…Both boys have advanced greatly while working with you. They hit with so much more confidence. -Coach Mark O., West Seattle
Mark worked with our 12 year-old All-Stars…a simple approach to all aspects of the game… The kids were applying what was being shown right away and their hitting improved from day one. – Mark M., Past Pres. North Seattle Baseball
Coach Mark, I grew up playing different sports and my kids are now involved with many sports …never have I experienced something so technical explained and broken down so clearly like this. Thank you for the follow up info…this is very helpful for us. Gio and I are looking fwd to the next hitting classes. -Jerry (Gio's father)
Pitching - The Delivery
Teaches the delivery using a step-by-step, building block approach. Review and repetition, core components of the class, are critical in learning a physical skill. We are training muscle memory, which is learned by Doing, over and over.
Players develop body control and learn how to fully utilize the body, in proper sequence, to maximize velocity and accuracy. Drills develop solid and consistent pitching mechanics, minimizing the chances of arm stress, soreness, or injury.
Instruction is easy for the player to digest and translate to success on the field. Program notes are provided prior to, and following, each workout.
Players receive a drill plan for working out at home between each session. This aspect of the program ensures the kids maximize their learning. The home workouts are short in duration and designed with the attention span of a kid in mind. ...no equipment is needed.
Participants learn the 4-Seam Fastball, Change-up, and 2-Seam Fastball, including grip variations for each.
At the end of the program each participant receives a comprehensive guide for continuing their development. The guide includes all content taught in the class. Video, pictures, and instruction points are included to support training activities.
Each player MUST bring an adult to catch their pitches ...all players pitch at the same time. The Catcher/Adult learns all the content from the sessions and benefits tremendously from their participation. (A mature teen may substitute as catcher.) A basic understanding of the drills and teaching gives the adult participant the tools needed to help their player, at home, between class sessions.
Participating with your child makes for a memorable bonding experience!
Coach & Parent Reviews - Pitching
Hour for hour that was easily the most instructive time my son has had in his baseball life. You made pitching so simple, but it was all there. – Harlan, Coach and former Little League President
Mark has been able to relate the mechanics of pitching in a way that my son could understand. - David B, Dad
The players learned simple fundamentals that really improved their pitching skills …Later, I saw dads showing others what they had learned. - Keith, Coach and former Little League President
Mark Linden
Playing Days
Participating in organized baseball began for me in 1975, playing in a four-team Tee-Ball program run by Northeast Seattle Little League. The teams were named after the Northwest members of the Pac-12 (then the Pac-8) Conference: Beavers (my team), Ducks, Cougars, and Huskies.
That was the first in 16 years of great memories, lifelong friendships made, challenges, frustration, disappointments, and learning to be humble in victory (fleeting) and to grow strong and remain determined in defeat (happens throughout life).
Playing sports, I am convinced, is unequaled in the lessons it teaches us about life. My ‘official’ playing career concluded after being a member of the Chicago Cubs organization in 1989 and 1990. Yes… the dream came and went in the blink of an eye. Chasing a dream is something for every child to embrace and for us parents to encourage.
The thing we want to put at the forefront of our thoughts and actions is to help our kids—and for us as parents—to enjoy each moment of the journey, and all the good that is offered in those moments. Today’s moment is real. We do not know if the dream will be achieved, or how long a person may live in that dream.
I say ‘official’ regarding my playing career because, since then, I played four seasons of semi-pro ball in my late 20s and early 30s. This past January (2021) marked 32 years since playing in my first Snowshoe Softball Tournament in the mountains of North Idaho. This is a three-weekend-long, modified fastpitch tournament that recently celebrated its golden anniversary… why do I mention these additional playing days? Because my experiences as a little kid forged in me a love for this great game that grows every year.
And I, like many of us weekend warriors, have logged many more years playing as an adult than as a child. For most athletes, their childhood careers are brief. However, if during those years, kids find that love of playing, they can take the many joys involved far into adulthood… life.
As parents and coaches, we hold in our hands these small globs of clay with the potential of molding them to love a game they can take hold of, embrace, and make a part of the rest of their lives, far beyond these precious few years they play during their youth.
Coaching in College
As a coach, I was an assistant on Gene Stephenson's staff at Wichita State ('93-'95) and the staff of June Raines' University of South Carolina club ('95-'96). Head coaching days included (what was then NCAA D-I) Centenary College in La. ('96-'98), then Skagit Valley CC in Mt. Vernon, WA (2000-03).
RADIO Color Commentator
The summer of 2007 I attended an open tryout for a position as radio color commentator for the Vancouver Canadians, then a minor league affiliate of the Oakland A's. My understanding is it was a publicity stunt as much as anything. Minor league baseball has a long history of trying anything to create awareness and interest in their teams. They picked me to go on air for a game. I was told they might stretch it to 3 or 4 if that first try wasn't a total disaster. [:o
After a couple of games, the GM called me into his office 'for a talk' (uh-oh). The meeting concluded with an offer to join play-by-play guy Rob Fai for the season… and be paid $100/game! … Woohoo, that was so cool!!
It was a fun summer with a lot of memorable experiences. Included in those was watching Sean Doolittle in his first year of pro ball… when he played first base. He is not the first, or the last, player to begin a pro career as a position player, only to be converted to a pitcher. For some, it becomes the path to realizing their Major League dream.
Working With Kids and Youth Coaches
From 2008 to the present, I have been the Director of Baseball Positive, working with youth leagues, coaches, players, and parents. Prior to that time, as a player, and then as a coach, my sights were always set on being involved at the higher levels of the game.
But life takes unanticipated turns. During a Super Bowl party at my brother Todd’s house (former MLB player 2003–2007), a college teammate of his, who owned a batting facility, asked me to come in and help him with the growing requests he was getting for private lessons.
While helping him through his busy period, I bumped into some old childhood friends and teammates. They were bringing their kids in. I learned that local leagues wanted training for their coaches and kids. Before I knew it, I was working with a dozen leagues, their coaches, and players. My day job was ditched and Baseball Positive was born.
The first couple of years were challenging; a huge learning experience. I was bringing a college and pro mindset to working with kids. It was a ton of fun, but very quickly it became clear that the 60’ game is different than the one played on the 90’ diamond.
Teaching skills to kids, rather than teens and college players, I soon found, required an entirely different approach. During those first two years, there was a lot of trial and error as I learned how kids’ minds and bodies worked, and how they responded (or didn’t respond 🙂 ) to instruction.
The result of the experience during those first years (and continuing through to today) is an approach to coaching kids that really works—they ‘get it’! Some of this I figured out, but much of what is found on this website, and what is taught in Baseball Positive Skills Classes, Coach Training Clinics, and Summer Sandlot Games Camps, is a collection of bits and pieces shared with me by scores of youth baseball and softball coaches I have worked with over the years (David Reyes and Paul Lepley, to name a couple, who I learned from in the very beginning).
In this time, I found there are two keys to kids truly learning from their coaches:
- Recognize and accept their physical capabilities and limitations.
- Use terminology that is clear and makes sense to a kid’s brain.
In the decade following those early years of figuring things out, the experience has been amazing! A cool thing about working with kids is how quickly their skills develop; they are so raw (even 11- and 12-year-old All-Stars). Better than seeing them improve is watching their excitement in recognizing they are getting better, and watching their confidence grow. Thirdly, it is nice to receive thanks from coaches. Hearing the line, “You made it so clear and easy,” never gets old.
This website and Baseball Positive programs are produced with the objective of simplifying the process of teaching and learning the game. My hope is that your child and you experience the greatest joy possible during their, and your, time being involved in this great game.
The Mission of Baseball Positive: Help create a coaching, learning, and playing environment that makes the on-field experience fulfilling and memorable for everyone. Each child grows their passion for the game and has the desire to play again next year.
All the best,
Mark Linden