Baseball or Fastpitch Softball Hitting Drill - Hands to the Ball

Baseball or Fastpitch Softball Hitting Drill - Hands to the Ball
By guest author: Jim Moyer


The dreaded Golf Swing is a common problem for Softball players. You know what I'm talking about, the player consistently misses below the ball by four or five inches. You have talked to them about taking their hands straight to the ball and about swinging level, yet time after time they are underneath the ball. You finally decide the girl is a complete moron and is unable to process the valuable information you are giving her or you determine that she must enjoy bringing you pain and misery.

Your Hitter is probably into the pain and misery he/she is causing you, but on the outside chance that's it's just a bad batting habit you should try this Hands to the Ball drill.

During your next batting practice, place your hitting tee directly behind home plate (touching the back corner of the plate) and pull the tee up to about mid-thigh. Now when the girl swings she must take her hands and bat over the tee without hitting the tee. Now break out the pitching machine and start throwing batting practice. If she drops her hands or the bat head she will hit the tee. Aaaahhhhh, success! Now she can process what you have been telling her for so long. It really won't take too many swings for her to correct the problem, however you may need to do this hitting drill at several batting practices.

This same procedure can be used in soft toss or in hitting from a tee. Just place a hitting tee behind the home plate so he/she can't drop her hands without hitting the back tee.

I have to admit, the first few swings are hysterical. The player thinks the coach is crazy for putting a tee behind her. In her mind you are NUTS thinking she is going to hit the tee. Then on that first pitch when she sends the tee tumbling forward the hitter will have a look of complete astonishment and disbelief. By the third or fourth swing a look of total disgust will have replaced the disbelief. By the sixth or seventh swing the player will finally own up to having poor hitting mechanics. Now, she is making real progress. Just like any 10 Step corrective plan, the first step is to admit there is a problem.

If you have a player with a great golf swing, it may take several sessions to re-train her muscles to swing correctly. Just stick with this drill. The player will absolutely hate hitting that tee and will be working very hard to correct the problem. In all of my years of coaching fastpitch softball and baseball, I have found this to be the single best drill for correcting the "golf swing" strikeouts.

Should she continue to hit the tee, she may very well just enjoy watching you pull your hair out. :-) Then again, you may be ruining the next Tiger Woods. But this isn't a golf team, it's Baseball or Fastpitch Softball and you need hitters, not golfers.

Jim Moyer is the author of http://www.mysoftballcoach.com Having coached over 500 youth fastpitch softball games, Jim decided to put the information online to allow parent/coaches to draw on his unique experience. See http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/play-softball.html for more fastpitch softball tips, drills and essential coaching strategies.

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Explore These Fast Pitch Softball Hitting Mechanics

Explore These Fast Pitch Softball Hitting Mechanics
By guest author: Marc Dagenais


Differences in style when doing the softball swings have been the major dilemma of many softball enthusiasts these days. Why not? If you really hear and see a myriad of softball hitting techniques virtually available everywhere, you don't know what to do first. Well, yes, you have to try all of them and choose which is most effective on your softball hitting strategy. But, why waste time when you will now be provided with the powerful and sure ball tips in softball hitting?

Kidding aside, this post will provide you with everything you need to know about softball hitting. We will provide you with the right kind of questions to be able to get hold of the right kind of answers, too.

Let's get started:

· How do I do the softball hitting? Pick up the pace and accelerate the bat through the ball. You drop bat speed when the bat makes contact with the ball. The answer is to speed up as you are hitting the ball explode the bat through it. Preserve a loose grip on the bat. Don't keep your weight on your back foot. Shift your weight from your back foot to your front foot so that you'll generate more hitting power.

· What are the fundamental considerations when hitting a softball? The head must be as at a standstill as probable. The eyes must judge the ball perfectly. The feet must accomplish a perfect weight shift. The hands must be in the right position throughout the whole process. The hips and shoulders must remain closed until exactly the right moment. It is a far more difficult thing to teach than almost any other skill. So let's break it down.

· What is the best exercise program in order to increase my hitting power? Squats are one of the best exercises to increase hitting power. Your entire body will benefit from this powerful movement. If you can't do squats, try leg presses or weighted dips. They are great for developing power in triceps, chest, and deltoids-important muscles for hitting. Try to condition the correct muscles and the specific fast twitch muscle fibers that are critical to faster muscles. This means you have to do more hits, longer drives, and fewer strikeouts.

· How do I increase my hitting power? It is essential for you to hit with superior power and get just about on more quick balls. Always remember to hit with your power zone. This means you must be comfortable with the hitting position so that an uninterrupted hitting power will be increased. The great hitters are the ones who practice and develop drills daily in order to boost their stamina. And most importantly, get your head in the game. You can get angry if you want so that you can focus all your energy on nailing that ball over the barrier.

If you read these carefully and take by heart every bit of information, you'll be surprised what you are capable of, especially in softball hitting. If you apply the mentioned proven techniques and you will practice hard, you'll soon dominate the softball arena and become the big difference in your team!

Marc Dagenais, MHK, CSCS, is a softball peak performance coach that helps players and teams hit with more power, run faster, throw harder, become mentally tougher, and be more dominant on the softball field. Visit us and sign-up to get tons of great FREE Softball Pitching tips to boost your game!

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