It is quite frequent that I am asked either prior to, or after, a lesson; "Jared, how does ( my son / daughter ) develop arm strength? or how can ( he / she ) throw harder". In reality, there are actually two answers I can give them for this question.
The first answer is my bread and butter when it comes to the subject of young athletes throwing harder; they need to throw, throw, throw, and throw some more. Now, most parents or young athletes may and will miss interpret this to mean that they should play catch every day, throwing as hard and as far as they can, til exhaustion. Depending on the young athletes muscle and bone structure this may actually work for them, but more often than not this type of "practice" is going to have them end up with a new best friend named "ice" and a warm seat on the sideline watching their buddies play ball. What I'm preaching when I say "throw, throw, throw, and throw some more" is a structured daily routine to playing catch or throwing off of a wall or net. A typical routine for a baseball player between the ages of 12-18 in the offseason might look something like this:
Monday - (20-30) Throws total, starting at 5 throws from 30ft (10yrds) and ending with 5-10 throws at 90ft (30yrds)
Tuesday - (40-50) Throws total, starting at 5 throws from 30ft (10yrds) and increasing by 5yrds every 3 throws, ending with 3 throws at maximum distance
Wednesday - (20-30) Throws total, starting at 5 throws from 30ft (10yrds) and ending with 5-10 throws at 90ft (30yrds)
Thursday - (40-50) Throws total, starting at 5 throws from 30ft (10yrds) and increasing by 5yrds every 3 throws, ending with 3 throws at maximum distance
Friday - (20) Throws total, starting at 5 throws from 30ft (10yrds) and ending with 5 throws at 60ft (20yrds)
Saturday - (40-50) Throws total, starting at 5 throws from 30ft (10yrds) and increasing by 5yrds every 3 throws, ending with 10 maximum effort throws from 120ft (40yrds) or max distance whichever is closest to partner
Sunday - Off or light throwing (10-20 throws at 30ft-60ft)
This is one of the variations of an offseason throwing program. It is obvious to me that not every young athlete will respond the same way to every throwing program, so it is good to tweek the program ( heavier / lighter ) based on individuals needs and ability. However, I am a firm believer in the throw, throw, throw, and throw some more theory and a product of it's capabilities. Personally, my arm never felt better or stronger than when I was introduced to the "throw everyday" methodology and have stuck by it ever since.
Now onto the second answer. The second answer I will occasionaly give parents when asked how to help their son or daughter improve arm strength and throwing harder is about as simple, straight forward, and logical as can be. Sir/Mam, your son or daughter needs to grow into his or her body. Minor adjustments can be made to see minor improvements; i.e. - working on lower body drive, fine tuning mechanics and body direction; but the bottom line is some young athletes just need time to grow into their bodies. I've seen it time and time again, the one kid in the little league that looks like he drove his own car to the game and is about a foot taller than all the other kids just blowing people away with a superior fastball at age 12. Fastforward to 6 years later, and that same kid is the same height and throwing that fastball just about the same speed. Meanwhile, little Johnny who was 4foot nothing when he was 12 is now 6'2" throwing the ball nearly twice as hard as that guy who dominated little league. All little Johnny had to do was grow into the young adult he was always going to become. Understand though, growing into a young adult is only part of the equation. Of course continuing to practice and get better at baseball is only going to help once you've reached your full physical potential. I'm just simply pointing out that for some young athletes it is just not feasible to believe that they will have a rocket arm that can put the ball on a line from the outfield fence to home plate or make their catcher ice his hand between innings because of a blazing fastball. Some young athletes just need time and continuous practice, growing as a baseball / softball player and as a young adult.
Personally, I was a combination of the two. At the age of 14 I was fortunate enough to be taken on as a sort of "project" by my junior legion coach. At this point in my career as a young baseball player, I was hovering right around the middle in comparison to my fellow players in the arm strength department. My junior legion coach found a local warehouse type building in my hometown and would meet me there a couple times a week to throw throughout the entire offseason before my final year of junior legion baseball. That following summer I broke away from my teammates in the category of arm strength. I ended up setting a new team record for strikeouts in one season featuring an overpowering fastball ( old record - 60 strikeouts / my new record - 110 strikeouts ). It truly was a breakout season for me and was my initial introduction to the "throw everday" program...not to mention I was starting to grow into a young adult.
I will save my story about my transition into college baseball for another time, but it also has the same principality of how I endulged in the "throw everyday" program and at the same time began to grow out of being a teenager and into being a full fledged man. I hope this sheds some light for you on that timeless question of arm strength. In conclusion, I am a firm believer that arm strength can be gained through a combination of repitition and time. Let's keep our fingers crossed for warm weather in the near future...almost time to Play Ball !!!
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Playing Catch to Win the Game
Arguably the most overlooked, underrated, and neglected part of any practice or pre-game warmup is the 10 to 15 minutes players spend having a catch, warming up, getting loose. More often than not, this fundamental exercise is done with minimal to no supervision and seen as more of a formalitly than as a part of preperation and practice.
The way I was brought up in baseball, from age 6 to 21, it was always the same old thing; "Here's a bucket of balls. Pick one out, grab a partner, and head out to the outfield to start throwing." The coaches ( or parents when your 6-12 ) would hang out and talk by the bench while the kids played catch, or for some of them, played "miss". I would say, on average, it was about 3 to 5 throws in that we would lose interest in the idea of doing things correctly and start goofing around. Goofing around would usually include seeing who had the best knuckleball, try to make a jumping throw, see how high you could throw the ball, and/or my personal favorite; the side arm on the run throw. So in essence, we would spend about 12 minutes of our 15 minutes warming up developing bad habits and making bad throws. Don't get me wrong, it was a blast from a kids having fun standpoint, but as far as development and preperation, it was a complete waste of time.
It wasn't until college and my first throw and catch session in professional baseball that I learned what a true warm-up toss was all about. The "bucket of balls" was still there, the "grab a partner" was still there, and the "stroll to the outfield" was still all there. The difference was structure. The coaches would walk around and small talk with all the players giving us the subtle feeling that we were constantly being watched, but in a relaxed atmosphere. The very first day we were told how the throw and catch was going to happen from there on out. Make 5 throws from 15ft away, back up 10ft, make 5 more throws, back up 10ft, make 5 more throws, back up 10ft, make 3 throws, back up 10 feet, make 3 more throws, back up 10ft and continue the process until you are at max distance ( if playing long toss, if not playing long toss end process at comfortable distance ) and finish with 3 throws at that distance then stop. At this point, you will have made a limited, but reasonable amount of throws and have a set distance from which to work from and build off of in the distance. I can't tell you how many times I've watched kids warming up throw 15-30 throws from 20 feet away, where as with this structured throw and catch we've just thrown 15-30 throws to max distance and are ready to practice or play...so many wasted throws !!!
The point of this blogpost is to highlight what I believe is one of the most important parts of any pregame warm-up or practice, which is greatly overlooked and mistreated. At the youth and amatuer level, how many plays are determined by an accurate or inaccurate throw? How many games are won or lost, for that matter, by an accurate or inaccurate throw? And yet, that part of the practice or pre-game warmup is usually the most un-supervised, un-focused, and un-structured part of the program.
So in closing, if you are a coach or a player. Do the right thing and take it upon yourself to try to bring a little supervision ( even if it's just walking around talking to the kids while they are throwing ) bring a little focus, and bring a little structure ( even if it's just counting the amount of throws they make each warmup session )each and everytime a throw and catch is involved. Think about it, every play involves a throw and catch in baseball. The team who is best prepared to make a good throw and make a good catch is going to win the game. Practice and professional preperation begins with a bucket of balls, a partner, and a good throw and catch in the outfield. Warm weather is just around the corner, so get out there or get in there and play ball !!!
The way I was brought up in baseball, from age 6 to 21, it was always the same old thing; "Here's a bucket of balls. Pick one out, grab a partner, and head out to the outfield to start throwing." The coaches ( or parents when your 6-12 ) would hang out and talk by the bench while the kids played catch, or for some of them, played "miss". I would say, on average, it was about 3 to 5 throws in that we would lose interest in the idea of doing things correctly and start goofing around. Goofing around would usually include seeing who had the best knuckleball, try to make a jumping throw, see how high you could throw the ball, and/or my personal favorite; the side arm on the run throw. So in essence, we would spend about 12 minutes of our 15 minutes warming up developing bad habits and making bad throws. Don't get me wrong, it was a blast from a kids having fun standpoint, but as far as development and preperation, it was a complete waste of time.
It wasn't until college and my first throw and catch session in professional baseball that I learned what a true warm-up toss was all about. The "bucket of balls" was still there, the "grab a partner" was still there, and the "stroll to the outfield" was still all there. The difference was structure. The coaches would walk around and small talk with all the players giving us the subtle feeling that we were constantly being watched, but in a relaxed atmosphere. The very first day we were told how the throw and catch was going to happen from there on out. Make 5 throws from 15ft away, back up 10ft, make 5 more throws, back up 10ft, make 5 more throws, back up 10ft, make 3 throws, back up 10 feet, make 3 more throws, back up 10ft and continue the process until you are at max distance ( if playing long toss, if not playing long toss end process at comfortable distance ) and finish with 3 throws at that distance then stop. At this point, you will have made a limited, but reasonable amount of throws and have a set distance from which to work from and build off of in the distance. I can't tell you how many times I've watched kids warming up throw 15-30 throws from 20 feet away, where as with this structured throw and catch we've just thrown 15-30 throws to max distance and are ready to practice or play...so many wasted throws !!!
The point of this blogpost is to highlight what I believe is one of the most important parts of any pregame warm-up or practice, which is greatly overlooked and mistreated. At the youth and amatuer level, how many plays are determined by an accurate or inaccurate throw? How many games are won or lost, for that matter, by an accurate or inaccurate throw? And yet, that part of the practice or pre-game warmup is usually the most un-supervised, un-focused, and un-structured part of the program.
So in closing, if you are a coach or a player. Do the right thing and take it upon yourself to try to bring a little supervision ( even if it's just walking around talking to the kids while they are throwing ) bring a little focus, and bring a little structure ( even if it's just counting the amount of throws they make each warmup session )each and everytime a throw and catch is involved. Think about it, every play involves a throw and catch in baseball. The team who is best prepared to make a good throw and make a good catch is going to win the game. Practice and professional preperation begins with a bucket of balls, a partner, and a good throw and catch in the outfield. Warm weather is just around the corner, so get out there or get in there and play ball !!!
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Hitting Hands
Here is just a simple thought process for improving consistent contact as a hitter:
Where are your hands in relation to the ball at the point of contact?
A simple logical theory on hitting; - If you want to hit a ground-ball your hands must remain above the ball until the point of contact, thus striking down on the ball - If you want to hit a fly-ball or pop-up your hands must go below the ball at some point before the point of contact, thus striking up on the ball - If you want to hit a line-drive your hands must begin above the ball and then level out with the ball at the point of contact, thus driving through the ball with direct contact.
Ground-Ball = Hands Above Ball + Drive Down
Fly-Ball = Hands Below Ball + Drive Up
Line-Drive = Hands Slightly Above or Level w/ Ball + Drive Through
It is very rare for a hitter to want to go to the plate with a plan of hitting a fly-ball or pop-up. Good hitters and good fielders alike, know that it is much harder to field a well hit ground-ball than a fly-ball or pop-up. The ultimate goal being to hit a hard line-drive everytime up at bat. So to improve consistent and successful contact as a hitter, one should always focus on their hands staying slightly above or on plane with the ball until contact.
A great drill for this is working off of a high tee. Set the batting tee up to about 6 to 12 inches higher than normal. As a hitter, you want to work on getting on top of these pitches at first. Try to hit several hard, driven ground-balls back up the middle of the field or tunnel. This is showing you that your hands are staying up on top of the baseball or softball. If you continue to pop-up or hit weak ground balls, it is more than likely that your bat and hands are dropping below the ball before contact. Continue to force your hands to stay above the ball throughout your swing and drive the ball on a downward plane. You have now proven that you can handle the high pitch withouth popping-up or swinging underneath. Now put the tee back down to a normal height ( roughly level with your waist line, maybe slightly below ). With the tee back to a normal height, begin to drive the ball on a line back up the middle of the field or the tunnel. Work on keeping your hands up above the ball ( like the high tee ), but then level them out at the point of contact to create the low, driven line-drive. This is the swing you are looking for. You can now handle the high strike-zone pitch, normal strike-zone ptich, and the low strike-zone pitch because you have trained yourself to keep your hands above the ball until the point of contact.
This is a drill I recommend every hitter to come back to throughout their careers. It is a great training tool to become and maintain being a complete hitter, having complete control of the entire strike-zone from top to bottom.
At this time of year especially, "the offseason" - "winter months", hitters should be spending a lot of time working off of batting tees. Find a tee, a net, and some space and keep your hands above the ball. Get out there or get in there and PLAY BALL !!!
Where are your hands in relation to the ball at the point of contact?
A simple logical theory on hitting; - If you want to hit a ground-ball your hands must remain above the ball until the point of contact, thus striking down on the ball - If you want to hit a fly-ball or pop-up your hands must go below the ball at some point before the point of contact, thus striking up on the ball - If you want to hit a line-drive your hands must begin above the ball and then level out with the ball at the point of contact, thus driving through the ball with direct contact.
Ground-Ball = Hands Above Ball + Drive Down
Fly-Ball = Hands Below Ball + Drive Up
Line-Drive = Hands Slightly Above or Level w/ Ball + Drive Through
It is very rare for a hitter to want to go to the plate with a plan of hitting a fly-ball or pop-up. Good hitters and good fielders alike, know that it is much harder to field a well hit ground-ball than a fly-ball or pop-up. The ultimate goal being to hit a hard line-drive everytime up at bat. So to improve consistent and successful contact as a hitter, one should always focus on their hands staying slightly above or on plane with the ball until contact.
A great drill for this is working off of a high tee. Set the batting tee up to about 6 to 12 inches higher than normal. As a hitter, you want to work on getting on top of these pitches at first. Try to hit several hard, driven ground-balls back up the middle of the field or tunnel. This is showing you that your hands are staying up on top of the baseball or softball. If you continue to pop-up or hit weak ground balls, it is more than likely that your bat and hands are dropping below the ball before contact. Continue to force your hands to stay above the ball throughout your swing and drive the ball on a downward plane. You have now proven that you can handle the high pitch withouth popping-up or swinging underneath. Now put the tee back down to a normal height ( roughly level with your waist line, maybe slightly below ). With the tee back to a normal height, begin to drive the ball on a line back up the middle of the field or the tunnel. Work on keeping your hands up above the ball ( like the high tee ), but then level them out at the point of contact to create the low, driven line-drive. This is the swing you are looking for. You can now handle the high strike-zone pitch, normal strike-zone ptich, and the low strike-zone pitch because you have trained yourself to keep your hands above the ball until the point of contact.
This is a drill I recommend every hitter to come back to throughout their careers. It is a great training tool to become and maintain being a complete hitter, having complete control of the entire strike-zone from top to bottom.
At this time of year especially, "the offseason" - "winter months", hitters should be spending a lot of time working off of batting tees. Find a tee, a net, and some space and keep your hands above the ball. Get out there or get in there and PLAY BALL !!!
Monday, November 29, 2010
Boys, Take a Lesson from the Girls
I have just recently moved to the northern New Jersey area from the Philadelphia area. With this relocation, I began instructing at a new facility up here in New Jersey. My first assignment at the new facility was helping out with a rotating group of high school girls softball players. The group size ranges from roughly 8 to 15 girls depending on the day with sessions lasting for one hour at a time.
I want to preface the message of this post by saying that I have worked with softball players ages 8 to 18 in the past, but primarily on an individual basis on fielding and hitting. This is the first time in my instructing career that I am working with a "team" of softball players at once. I'm beginning to get the hang of working with the group. The concepts are all the same from baseball to softball, but the speed and size of the softball field make the intrinsics of the sport remarkably different.
Regardless of all the little nuances, the games are still the same in principality. The team who can hit, field, pitch, and run the bases the best is going to come out on top more often than not. With that being said, I want to get into the message of this post.
"Boys, Take a Lesson from the Girls" is a title that is meant to pay homage to a generalization I have come to realize about softball girls. The generalization is that softball girls LISTEN !!! As an instructor, the greatest skill we could ask for out of a player that comes to us for lessons is that they LISTEN. I'd rather work with a kid ( boy or girl ) who has zero athletic ability and/or talent but LISTENS than a kid with all the talent in the world but tunes me out the whole lesson. The kid who LISTENS is going to enjoy the lesson more, improve the most, and of course the instructor is going to enjoy the lesson as well. Again , this is a generalization. I know for a fact that there are boys out there who do a great job of listening ( I have instructed some of them in the past ). I am just blown away by the vast majority of softball girls who LISTEN. Maybe I've just gotten lucky with who I've worked with, but the point remains that LISTENING is an incredibly valuable thing to both the player and the instructor.
There are thousands of instructors out there right now passing on priceless amounts of knowledge to young athletes and a lot of it never gets absorbed. As a former professional baseball player, I can assure you that talent can only take you so far. So as the title says, "Boys, take a lesson from the Girls" and start to LISTEN. Find an instructor with experience and knowledge and set your mind on focus for 30 minutes to an hour, you'll be amazed at what you learn.
DISCLAIMER - not all boys are bad listeners and not all girls are good listeners. the title of this post was based on a generalization realized through experience. the purpose of this post is to inform young athletes ( boys or girls ) of the importance of listening when it comes to coaching / instruction from a qualified source.
Until next time, cold weather just means you have to find somewhere inside to PLAY BALL !!!
I want to preface the message of this post by saying that I have worked with softball players ages 8 to 18 in the past, but primarily on an individual basis on fielding and hitting. This is the first time in my instructing career that I am working with a "team" of softball players at once. I'm beginning to get the hang of working with the group. The concepts are all the same from baseball to softball, but the speed and size of the softball field make the intrinsics of the sport remarkably different.
Regardless of all the little nuances, the games are still the same in principality. The team who can hit, field, pitch, and run the bases the best is going to come out on top more often than not. With that being said, I want to get into the message of this post.
"Boys, Take a Lesson from the Girls" is a title that is meant to pay homage to a generalization I have come to realize about softball girls. The generalization is that softball girls LISTEN !!! As an instructor, the greatest skill we could ask for out of a player that comes to us for lessons is that they LISTEN. I'd rather work with a kid ( boy or girl ) who has zero athletic ability and/or talent but LISTENS than a kid with all the talent in the world but tunes me out the whole lesson. The kid who LISTENS is going to enjoy the lesson more, improve the most, and of course the instructor is going to enjoy the lesson as well. Again , this is a generalization. I know for a fact that there are boys out there who do a great job of listening ( I have instructed some of them in the past ). I am just blown away by the vast majority of softball girls who LISTEN. Maybe I've just gotten lucky with who I've worked with, but the point remains that LISTENING is an incredibly valuable thing to both the player and the instructor.
There are thousands of instructors out there right now passing on priceless amounts of knowledge to young athletes and a lot of it never gets absorbed. As a former professional baseball player, I can assure you that talent can only take you so far. So as the title says, "Boys, take a lesson from the Girls" and start to LISTEN. Find an instructor with experience and knowledge and set your mind on focus for 30 minutes to an hour, you'll be amazed at what you learn.
DISCLAIMER - not all boys are bad listeners and not all girls are good listeners. the title of this post was based on a generalization realized through experience. the purpose of this post is to inform young athletes ( boys or girls ) of the importance of listening when it comes to coaching / instruction from a qualified source.
Until next time, cold weather just means you have to find somewhere inside to PLAY BALL !!!
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
A Hitter's Best Friend
From the first time we pick up a bat until the last day we lace up our spikes there is one training tool that remains a constant throughout, the batting tee. The batting tee should quickly become a hitter's best friend and remain within close reach throughout their careers. It is the only training tool that has withstood the test of time and can be found on little league fields all the way up to major league batting cages. A training tool with an extremely impressive track record indeed.
What makes the batting tee such a worthy companion? Simply put, it's simplicity. The batting tee takes away all the variables; pitch speed, pitch location, pitch movement. The ball is stationary, placed right where you want it. It's just you and your swing that determine what kind of contact you make with the ball. A poor swing results in poor contact and a quality swing results in quality contact. But what is quality contact off of a tee?
A good approach to hitting off of a tee is to drive the ball on a level ( line-drive ) or slightly downward plane ( hard ground ball ). The reason being, a hitter wants his / her swing to be direct to the ball. A quick and direct swing with extension is a hitter's primary objective when the ball is in motion. Thinking logically, the hitter's hands will start above the ball. In order to be direct and quick, the hitter will then descend down and toward the ball to make contact. Thus, creating the level to slightly downward angle of the driven ball from the tee.
The hitter must learn to trust that his / her swings off of a tee that result in well struck line-drives and low line-drives ( hard ground balls ) will translate into pitched balls being struck with backspin. These pitched ball contacts with backspin will cause the ball to carry, which in turn will result in well struck singles, doubles, triples, and home runs. Continue to practice a quick and direct swing for the best results. A hitter's swing is sculpted in practice and the batting tee is a great way to create a mold to build from.
So do as thousands of major leaguers have done befor you, get yourself a batting tee and make friends with it. Continued success in all you do and play ball !!!
- More Posts on specific drills with the batting tee to follow -
What makes the batting tee such a worthy companion? Simply put, it's simplicity. The batting tee takes away all the variables; pitch speed, pitch location, pitch movement. The ball is stationary, placed right where you want it. It's just you and your swing that determine what kind of contact you make with the ball. A poor swing results in poor contact and a quality swing results in quality contact. But what is quality contact off of a tee?
A good approach to hitting off of a tee is to drive the ball on a level ( line-drive ) or slightly downward plane ( hard ground ball ). The reason being, a hitter wants his / her swing to be direct to the ball. A quick and direct swing with extension is a hitter's primary objective when the ball is in motion. Thinking logically, the hitter's hands will start above the ball. In order to be direct and quick, the hitter will then descend down and toward the ball to make contact. Thus, creating the level to slightly downward angle of the driven ball from the tee.
The hitter must learn to trust that his / her swings off of a tee that result in well struck line-drives and low line-drives ( hard ground balls ) will translate into pitched balls being struck with backspin. These pitched ball contacts with backspin will cause the ball to carry, which in turn will result in well struck singles, doubles, triples, and home runs. Continue to practice a quick and direct swing for the best results. A hitter's swing is sculpted in practice and the batting tee is a great way to create a mold to build from.
So do as thousands of major leaguers have done befor you, get yourself a batting tee and make friends with it. Continued success in all you do and play ball !!!
- More Posts on specific drills with the batting tee to follow -
Friday, May 21, 2010
Why Ask Why?
A baseball / softball player will receive advice, tips, drills, and general coaching knowledge from a wide variety of people in their lives. Whether it be from a former professional player like myself, little league coach, or dear old Dad, the job of a successful baseball / softball player is to take in all of that information with an open mind, practice it relentlessly, and after extensive trial and error evaluate if that information works for them. The difficulty lies in the fact that not all the information a young player will be given will be good information. Nobody wants to waste their time and effort practicing something that isn't going to help them. But fear not, the beauty of baseball / softball is that the fundamentals and mechanics are all logical. This means that anyone who is giving information should be able to back up that information with an explanation that makes sense. The best advice I can give to a player, regardless of age, is to politely ask "why?". Any source of good information will be able to give you an answer that makes sense as to why they are suggesting you to do a certain thing.
For example, Dad stands behind the batting cage and readily repeats the same mantra, "Keep your back elbow up, keep your back elbow up". This one is a personal favorite of mine. Now let's take a second and think about that, "why Dad?". I'm yet to hear a good reason for this one. The most common responses are, "that's how the big leaguers do it" and "that's how my Dad taught me". Let's think logically now. A back elbow that starts up must come....? You got this, "down" during a swing. Nice job. When that back elbow starts to come down, more often than not, so does that young hitter's hands. when the hands drop, so does the bat and that means they are now swinging underneath the ball or coming from under the ball. The end result will almost always be a swing and miss, pop-up, or weakly hit ground ball. So why do the big leaguers swing like that? They are super strong, grown men. When they drop the back elbow they are strong enough to keep their hands up. Even if they don't keep their hands up, they are strong enough to hit the ball 300+ feet and clear the fence with a swing that comes up from under the ball. So why did my Dad teach me to swing like that? Well, probably because his Dad taught him to swing like that and his Dad's Dad taught him to swing like that. Unfortunately, being a man doesn't always qualify Dad as a good source of baseball information.
I teach young hitters to swing with a relaxed, slightly pointing down back elbow. "Why?", you ask ( hopefully you will ask now ). Well, a relaxed back elbow allows the hitter to keep their hands up ( above or on the same level as the ball ) during their swing. Therefore, they can now attack pitches from the height of their hands down to their knees, the entire strike zone, with a direct and level swing. The key word there being "direct". Now that the back elbow is relaxed, when the swing starts the hitter can take their hands directly to the ball instead of waiting for the elbow to drop or dropping with the elbow during the swing. A successful line-drive swing is a direct and quick swing that meets the baseball on a nearly level plane.
I hope this example helped to illustrate my point that not all instruction or information will be good information. But, fortunately, we can start to weed out some of the bad information just by asking a simple question, "why?". I will do my very best in all of my posts on this blog to explain the "why?". If for any reason, you have any more questions or need a better explanation, please do not hesitate to ask. I pride myself on being an instructor and person of knowledge on baseball / softball that can back up the information that I give. Thank you for your time and play ball !!!
For example, Dad stands behind the batting cage and readily repeats the same mantra, "Keep your back elbow up, keep your back elbow up". This one is a personal favorite of mine. Now let's take a second and think about that, "why Dad?". I'm yet to hear a good reason for this one. The most common responses are, "that's how the big leaguers do it" and "that's how my Dad taught me". Let's think logically now. A back elbow that starts up must come....? You got this, "down" during a swing. Nice job. When that back elbow starts to come down, more often than not, so does that young hitter's hands. when the hands drop, so does the bat and that means they are now swinging underneath the ball or coming from under the ball. The end result will almost always be a swing and miss, pop-up, or weakly hit ground ball. So why do the big leaguers swing like that? They are super strong, grown men. When they drop the back elbow they are strong enough to keep their hands up. Even if they don't keep their hands up, they are strong enough to hit the ball 300+ feet and clear the fence with a swing that comes up from under the ball. So why did my Dad teach me to swing like that? Well, probably because his Dad taught him to swing like that and his Dad's Dad taught him to swing like that. Unfortunately, being a man doesn't always qualify Dad as a good source of baseball information.
I teach young hitters to swing with a relaxed, slightly pointing down back elbow. "Why?", you ask ( hopefully you will ask now ). Well, a relaxed back elbow allows the hitter to keep their hands up ( above or on the same level as the ball ) during their swing. Therefore, they can now attack pitches from the height of their hands down to their knees, the entire strike zone, with a direct and level swing. The key word there being "direct". Now that the back elbow is relaxed, when the swing starts the hitter can take their hands directly to the ball instead of waiting for the elbow to drop or dropping with the elbow during the swing. A successful line-drive swing is a direct and quick swing that meets the baseball on a nearly level plane.
I hope this example helped to illustrate my point that not all instruction or information will be good information. But, fortunately, we can start to weed out some of the bad information just by asking a simple question, "why?". I will do my very best in all of my posts on this blog to explain the "why?". If for any reason, you have any more questions or need a better explanation, please do not hesitate to ask. I pride myself on being an instructor and person of knowledge on baseball / softball that can back up the information that I give. Thank you for your time and play ball !!!
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