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 !!!

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 !!!