"Keeping It Simple" Hitting Drills

In recent years, across the country, the hitters have been catching up to the pitchers. Kids are spending more time in the cage and doing off season training. Better light weight space age metal bats have been developed. Most interesting, pitching has been lagging behind as coaches and parents are still fixated upon "single" pitcher teams and speed, speed, speed. In addition, few if any are teaching the youth pitcher today anything beyond mechanics. Pitchers are becoming more predictable all the time in what they throw, when. Thus it's getting easier and easier to hit any pitcher. Better trained hitters, with better equipment, and with a knowledge of what to expect from a "hot shot" speed pitcher, are having more fun wacking the ball all over the place. But that aside, the following free article summarizes a list of attributes and training practices good hitters have to have to be good hitters and take advantage of this opportuity to finally stick it to "Sally Blazer" .

To develop into a good hitter you need to work on and develop the following characteristics along with mechanics. This article identifies things needed to be considered as you develop. In addition, included are a list of fourteen simple drills any coach can help the hitter work on any time and any place. (click the headline to read the whole article free)

Mental Preperation

Confidence- Feeling comfortable with your swing so that you can repeat it and feel you can handle any pitch thrown in any situation.

Consistency- Following the same routine each time you hit so you are in the right position and mentally ready to hit.

Discipline- Putting in the practice time needed to become a good hitter and learn the proper mechanics. Having the mental toughness to hit pitches according to the situation and count.

Hittings Mechanics Considerations and Descriptions

Balance- Being able to set up, take your swing and finish in balance. This allows you to keep your head steady and on the ball an shows you have the right mechanics. Every time you step into the batters box and before each pitch you need to follow the same steps. By following the same routine you will establish consistency in being set up the same way each time ready for the pitch. You will also be mentally prepared for the pitch and the situation and be ready to focus only on the ball.

Stance- Set up far enough from the plate so that when you extend your arms the fat part of the bat covers the plate. Learn what this distance is so when you look at your feet you know how far they should be from the plate. Generally if you hold the bat in your lead hand you should be able to reach out and touch the outside edge of the plate with the end of the bat. Your feet should be a little wider than shoulder width apart with your weight on the balls of your feet. Slightly flex your knees so you can bounce a little to unlock your legs and bend forward a little at the waist to establish flexing at the waist to unlock your body.

Grip- To grip the bat you should rest the bat handle on your fingers and close them around the bat. This allows the bat to rest at the base of the fingers in your hands not running down the palms of your hands. You should line up your knuckles when gripping the bat so the middle (or door knocking knuckles) form a straight line. These steps are critical to allow your hands to turn and provide maximum bat speed through the hitting zone. You should grip the bat without squeezing it to tight. Your hands will tighten when you swing to the proper pressure to hold onto the bat. Gripping too tight locks up the wrists so you cannot generate maximum bat speed.

Bat Position- Rest the bat on your back shoulder. This is a good position to take your grip on the bat as it allows you to look down your knuckles to see they are properly lined up. From your shoulder pick the bat up and move your hands so the knob of the bat is even with your arm pit and lined up behind your back shoulder. This puts the bat at the top of the strike zone so the only move required is to pull the knob of the bat through the ball. ( The higher the competition level and faster the pitching, you may need to adjust by not positioning your hands as far back behind the shoulder.)

Cocking the trigger- In order to explode with your move forward you must first move your weight back slightly to the inside of your back foot. This is timed to the pitchers movement. When the pitcher begins her move to the plate you should slightly rock back to the inside of your back foot. This starts your stride forward into the pitch. Step with your front foot 2-3 inches forward toward the pitcher landing on your toe lightly like you were stepping on ice.

The turn and pull through- We do not call this the swing because we don't want to swing the bat, or have the bat leading our hands into the hitting zone. The hips start the move through the ball and always lead the hands. Turn the hips through and squash the bug, pivoting on the front of your back foot. This creates an inverted L with your back leg and back, allowing your weight to transfer to the inside of your front foot and keeping your head centered and steady over your back foot at the finish. Your hands must go directly to the ball in a straight line across the chest to the ball, like a karate chop with the lead hand. Pull and lead with the knob of the bat to the ball and drive with the lead elbow with a slightly downward pull to the ball. The knob of the bat should move in a straight line to the ball and feel as though you are trying to hit the ball with the knob of the bat. This can't happen, because with your hands, set up properly the back hand (or top hand on the bat), will roll over the bottom hand and accelerate the barrel of the bat through the ball.

The Finish- Accelerate the bat all the way through to your back. This allows you to have maximum bat speed through the hitting zone. You should finish in balance with your back leg in the inverted L position, with your belly button facing the pitcher. Your head stays still and your back shoulder comes under your chin. In between pitches the hitter needs to re-think the hitting situation and get ready for the next pitch. Don't stand frozen in the batter's box in the hitting position. Rest the bat on your back shoulder, relax you arms and hands and rethink the hitting situation and count to define your zone. Go through your routine and regain your focus and get set back up to hit.

Hitting Zones

Hitting requires mental discipline, assuring you take advantage of the count to hit pitches that you have the best chance of hitting. Every hitter has a zone that if they get a pitch in that area, they will have a high success rate in hitting. There are other areas that even though the pitches are strikes they are not high percentage pitches to hit. To be a good hitter you must take advantage of the count to look for high percentage pitches when you are ahead in the count. When you are behind in the count your hitting zone has to enlarge as you cover a larger area of the strike zone. You are a much better hitter hitting pitches in your good zone, so when you are ahead in the count you must be disciplined enough to hit only pitches in this zone.

Hitting Drills

Balance Drills-

1. Weight- Hitter takes stance and swings with a 1" board under their heels. This gives the feel of keeping the weight on the balls of the feet and not back on the heels.

2. Balance/Footwork- Hitter sets up with hands on hips, weight on balls of feet. Turn through the hitting zone feeling and staying in balance.

3. Weight Transfer- Take a normal stance, cock the trigger letting your weight move to the inside of the back foot and stride forward to the toe of your front foot 3 times. On the 4th tap swing through and finish the swing.

Hitting Mechanics

1. Overall swing-With a standing tee, the hitter works on all the aspects of the full swing finishing in balance.

2. Upper body- The hitter kneels on back knee with front knee up and pointing in the direction you are hitting. Concentrate on pulling the knob to the ball in a straight line and let the hands go through the hitting zone.

3. Overall (Soft toss)- Work on the full swing. Isolate areas the hitter is having problems with and work on those. Always emphasize finishing all the way.

4. Lower body/Trigger- Off a hard surface bounce a tennis ball to the hitter and have them swing through as in soft toss. This drill allows the coach to watch the lower body and place emphasis there.

5. Hip rotation- Have batter hold a stick behind their back through the arms. Setup to the hitting tee as if hitting and hit the ball of the tee with the stick. This works on footwork, balance, and turning through the ball with the hips leading and getting the belly button through facing the batter.

6. Shadow drill- Take hitting position with the sun at your back and put a ball at the top of the shadow of your head. Swing through and see if head stays still and hitter stays in balance.

7. Plumb Bob-drill- Take a normal stance and let the bat hang down at the belly button. Take your stride. If your weight is moving forward the bat will swing. When the weight stays back properly the bat does not move.

8. Wall drill-Have the hitter stand so there is a wall or object just past where the outside corner of the plate would be. Have the hitter swing through emphasizing pulling the knob directly to the ball. If done correctly the hitter will not hit the end of the bat against the wall.

9. Pulling through the ball- Have the hitter take the stance and hold the bat with lead hand only. Toss a ball out in front of the hitter and have her pull the knob of bat to the ball (straight line across the chest).

10. High Tee drill-

--a) Set up batting tee high and tight and have the hitter swing through, drawing a straight line across the chest, pulling the knob through the ball.

--b) Do the same drill as above except choke up on the bat and have the hitter hit ball off the tee with the knob.

11. Double Tee drill- Set up two batting tees with the back tee lower than the front. The hitter sets up and swings through the ball pulling the hands in a straight line across the chest to hit the ball off the front tee.

12. Bat Speed- Have the hitter set up for soft toss. Hitter must swing and snap bat back quickly into the hitting position and toss the next ball. Keep feeding the balls quickly hitting and snapping the bat back to hitting position.

13. Bat Speed- Have the feeder stand on a raised surface about 3 feet higher than the hitter. The batter takes a normal stance ready to hit. The feeder drops balls from above for the hitter to take swings at and make contact.

14. Bat Speed 5's- In a batting cage or off live pitching have hitter start at normal hitting distance taking swings. Every 5 times the hitter makes contact with pitch have her move up 2 feet closer to the pitcher. Continue this through 5 sets or until hitter is hitting from 10 feet closer to the pitcher