I was searching the net, looking for different times related to baseball and softball activities. I was investigating things like running and throwing times. I came across this really cool site with an interactive activity that simulates reaction time to a major league fastball. It is very simple, but I wasted atleast 10 minutes of my life before my wife made me stop. Check it out.
Indoor Batting Cage Practice: Our Set-up Chart
| Station #1: | Cage Sequence #1: 3-2-7-1 (track 3, 2 sacs, 7 cuts, 1 H&R) |
| Station #2: | Cage Sequence #2: 2-7-1 (2 sacs, 7 cuts, 1 H&R) |
| Station #3: | Cage Sequence #3: 2-8-1-1 (2 sacs, 8 cuts, 1 H&R, 1 Squeeze) |
| Station #4: | Cage Sequence #4: 2-6-1-1-1 (track 2, 6 cuts, 1 sac, 1 H&R, 1 Squeeze) |
| Station #5: | Cage Sequence #5: 1-NO ROCKS IN THE AIR!!! |
Drill List
1. Vision Soft toss (No side or standing feeders)
2. Launch & Drop (up the middle to opposite field)
3. Battle with the paddle
4. Battle with the paddle top hand
5. Lite-Flite Bunt
6. Launch
7. Dot Drill
8. Vision Tee
9. High Tee
10. Tee Walk-ups
11. Hitting discs
12. Front Toss Whiffle Balls
What you see above is basically the chart that is used during the season when we are stuck inside due to weather. Our cage area has space limitations. Therefore, we have to be creative utilizing the space that we have. This chart serves as a portion of a practice plan. It will be posted. The players are placed into their hitting groups. They should be able to look at the chart, understand where they should be, and what they are to do once they get there. It usually takes 2-3 three times for the players to totally understand the process, but when they get used to it, it’ll be like clockwork.
Here’s how the chart is used. The top of the chart is a map that displays the numbered cage station areas. It also shows the direction in which the players are to rotate. The table in the middle of the chart has Stations 1-5 listed. The coach is to write in drills for each station from the drill list at the bottom. Then, the coach is to circle a cage sequence to be followed once any given hitting group rotates into the machine area of the cage. The whole team rotates when the group on the machine is done. There is no reason for any one on the team to be standing around.
Everyone has a place to be and a purpose once they get there. By planning ahead of time there is less wasted time and more time for the coaches to float around and work with hitters. This is typically used in 45-60 minute session. We try to get everyone to each station twice. Each player should get between 100-125 cuts. If a player gets less than that, it’s on them for not working hard enough.
Must Read Article Related to MLB Hitters
My staff and I went to a clinic yesterday in Chillicothe, IL. Jerry Rashid, the head coach there always does a very nice job putting together the clinic with a variety of speakers. Two of the speakers, an assistant from the University of Illinois and the head coach from Indiana State University, gave a college perspective on hitting. Both came with different ideas. I saw this article this morning related to the relationship of a major leaguer player and his hitting coach, and I thought I’d share. Enjoy!
Click the link below:
Team Hitting Drill: The Octopus
“Talent without discipline is like an octopus on roller skates. There’s plenty of movement, but you never know if it’s going to be forward, backwards, or sideways.”
-H. Jackson Brown Jr.
The first time I saw this drill, or something similar to it, was in Dixon, IL. My friend Dan Crawford was using it as part of his team’s pre-game routine. Whiffle balls were flying in every direction. Players were placed all over left field. Jokingly, I said, “Dan, it looks like a octupus exploded out there. What’s going on?” He told me it was a drill. I liked it so much, that night I scribbled something similar to it on paper.
Equipment needed:
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1 bucket
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4 dozen whiffle balls
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4 bats
Purpose: The purpose of this drill is to get each of your players 24 purposeful swings with in less than 8 minutes. It makes a great pre-game hitting routine. I especially like it on the road. It also makes a good practice drill when time or space is limited for hitting. Lastly, it’s a good indoor drill when a cage is not available.
Set up & Grouping: Take your team and divide them into three or four equal groups. I recommend no more than 5 in a group. 4 in each group is just about perfect. Place the bucket of whiffle balls in the center and one group on each side of the bucket. Each group needs a hitter, pitcher, and shaggers. The hitters are nearest the bucket. The pitchers are throwing towards the hitters standing by the bucket.
After a hitter gets 6 cuts, he or she rotates to become the pitcher of his group. The pitcher rotates to shagger. A shagger comes to the bucket and becomes a hitter. Make one of the groups “the lead group”. When all of the hitters in the lead group have hit, that group yells “ROTATE” and all of the groups rotate clockwise. It should take a little less than 2 minutes for a group of 4 to hit at each station. Each station has a purpose. See below:
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Station #1: Pulling inside strikes
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Station #2: hitting up the middle
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Station #3: hitting outside strikes
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Station #4: I like to use this one as a wildcard station in order to mix it up. You can make it a bunting station, top hand drill, 2 strike hitting, etc. Most often, I like to use a paddle drill.
Hints:
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The first time you run the drill, it will take a bit longer than 8 minutes due to explanation. It will get to be more fluid each time the drill is run.
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For younger players, eliminate the rotation. As the coach, call out a new hitting purpose every 2-3 minutes.
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Monitor your pitchers. Make sure that they are throwing the balls hard enough and trying to hit locations.
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Monitor your hitters make sure that they are swinging at strikes. Much to often, when the whiffle balls come out, hitter start swinging at everything.
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Emphasize no pop-ups.
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Make sure your hitters are not getting to close to one another. Safety first
Baseball & Softball Hitting: The Finish
The previous three posts related to hitting dealt with:
- Stance or Rest Position
- Negative Movement or Launch Position
- Contact Position
The fourth installment of this series of posts deals with the end of the swing or “The Finish”. Basically, I want to describe what a hitter’s body should look like after contact is made. The focus of this description will be related to balance and direction of of bat path. Here are 4 questions to ask your hitters at the end of the swing:
- Are you hitting off a firm front side with your front knee still locked?
- Are you still balanced with your head centered between both legs so as not to be lunging forward? Could you take a steel rod and insert it through the top of the skull, go down through the spine, and come out the bottom of the femur?
- Is your head still and steady? Does the neck look and feel relaxed? Did the head remain at a consistent altitude?
- Is the bat completely wrapped around your back? This may vary, based on whether you are a top hand release hitter (ex. Mark MacGwire) or a no release hitter (ex. Mike Schmidt).
The Test- Repeatedly, look to see if the hitter is in a steady, controlled position upon finishing the swing. If not, continuously look to improve until he/she is in that position. Depending on core strength, age, and amount of built up muscle memory the amount of time to correct improper balance will vary. For some hitters it may take 1,000 repetitions to get to “comfortable”
Please feel free to comment.
If you enjoyed this post, you’ll probably enjoy the following:
http://coach5150.wordpress.com/2009/08/14/baseball-softball-hitting-the-contact-position/
Baseball & Softball Hitting: The Contact Position
Lefty hitting an inside pitch.
The previous post was related to the negative movement or “launch” position. That negative movement should be performed on every pitch. The idea is to be ready to hit every pitch. Making the assumption that the next pitch will be the one to drive. Hitters should only be laying off pitches that they decide aren’t giving them an optimum chance of making good contact. This post is about what a hitter’s body should look like when he or she sees that pitch, you know…. “the one”.
Here is a list of questions or checkpoints, if you will. Some questions to ask your hitters as you review videotape of them hitting. Or simply some things to watch as your hitters take BP.
- Is the hitter’s rear foot and kneecap turned facing the pitcher?
- Did the back hip and back shoulder coincide movement?
- Is the hitter up on the toes of his or her back foot?
- Is the hitter’s front foot slightly open at a 45° angle?
- Is the knee braced and locked?
- Are the hands in a palm up-palm down position?
- Is the hitter’s head still an centered between both legs?
- Is the posture still tall and not leaning forward or back?
- Are the hitter’s eyes fixed on the point of contact? You can’t hit what you can’t see.
- Is the hitter hitting strikes at different parts of the zone at the correct area over the plate? The inside pitch should be struck in front of the hitters front hip, the outside pitch near the front of the back hip, and the pitch right down the middle should be struck somewhere in between.
Albert Pujols hitting an outside pitch. Notice the eyes, hands, and feet. Awesome!!!
As always, feel free to comment.
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Baseball & Softball Hitting: Loading, Launching, Slotting…. Getting a Negative Movement
In the last post, I described the qualities of a great batting stance or “rest position”. So, what’s next? Well, the next step is referred to by many different names, such as, “load”, “slot”, “point of no return”, or “launch”. “Launch” is my favorite. It connotes explosion and power. Very positive. No matter what you call it, the point is; hitters need to get a negative movement prior to during every pitch in order to be prepared to swing.
Here’s what it looks like:
- The hands of the hitter take a negative move, back towards the back shoulder. The hands should be held high at the top of the zone.
- The hitter should keep the stride shorter rather than longer. This has nothing to do with how high the foot comes off the ground. Stride is relative to the distance the front foot travels from its beginning in the rest position to the end of the launch. In this case, typically, less is more when dealing with the core strength and body control of young hitters.
- During launch the hands and front foot move in opposite directions, or walk away from one another. The foot is somewhat optional. Some very successful hitters are stride-less. The hands however are not an option.
- Compare this to shooting a rubber band. In order to get it to fly farther and faster, you must pull the ends away from each other. The further apart, the better, right?
- Most importantly!!! The weight distribution of the hitter should be 80/20 at launch. That means 80% on the back foot and 20% on the front foot. In the stance, the hitter should have started at 60/40. Getting to 80/20 is difficult for many young hitters. I attribute this to poor instruction at an early age. All to often, I hear parents and coaches tell young hitters to take a big step towards the pitcher. Yes, we want the front foot to go in the general direction of the pitcher, but a step will put the hitters weight distribution at 20/80. That is the total opposite of what it should be at launch position. Years later you’ll hear the same parents and coaches telling the same hitters not to lunge at off-speed pitches. Good luck fixing that one.
Notes:
- This negative movement must happen on every pitch!!!
- This negative movement should be practiced in the on-deck circle.
- This negative movement needs to be drilled as part of a batting practice routine.
- Think of cue words or phrases to remind hitters of this negative movement, such as, “stretch the rubber band” or “load up”.
Baseball & Softball Hitting: Qualities of a Great Batting Stance
This post and the following three will all deal with hitting. I feel comfortable discussing both baseball and softball hitting together. There was a point where I wasn’t so comfortable. When I first spent time around fast-pitch softball players, I heard some coaches say that the softball swing was totally different from a baseball swing. So, I sat back and watched. I saw girls having the same problems as boys. I saw myself giving the same advice to female hitters as I would with a male hitter. The major difference that I had observed was that some of the girls had holes in the backs of their helmet for ponytails. Ultimately, hitting is hitting.
We can get into the baseball and softball difference of pitching angles and hitting approach on off-speed pitches at another juncture. I am going to present, what I consider to be, universal fundamentals of both baseball and softball hitting.
Let’s begin with what is most commonly referred to as the STANCE. I’ve always preferred the term “rest position”. I like that term better due a difference in connotation. For example, “stance” connotes readiness but with stiffness and rigidity. Try this, walk up to players and say, “Show me your stance.” More often than not you will see a mechanically sound product, but take a closer look at the player’s forearms, neck, jaw, and legs. You will see muscle tension. “Rest position” connotes comfort and relaxation which is much more conducive for focus and overall success. Promoting a proper mental framework at the plate starts with the stance…. Oh sorry, I meant rest position.
So what does it look like:
- Weight distribution at 40/60. 4o% of the hitter’s weight is on the front foot and 60% on the back foot. Weight should be on the balls of the feet.
- Knees comfortably flexed and positioned inside the feet.
- Feet parallel to slightly pigeon toed. This will ensure that later on in the swing the big muscle groups in the legs will be allowed to do their job. One of the easiest corrections, seldom made for many youth through high school hitters fixing “duck toes” or both toes pointing outward with the back foot be the most blatant. These hitters are typically all arms and have very little pop. The sad part is many of those same hitters have tremendous hand-eye coordination, but due to bad foot position from the start, singles and doubles are turned into easy outs.
- Feet should also be one and a quarter to one and a half of shoulder width.
- Hands should be shoulder to ear hole of the helmet high and 4 to 6 inches from the body. This will vary greatly. It is really most important where the hands go after this point. I will further address the hand in the next post.
- Forearms should be in the shape of an upside-down letter “V”. DO NOT resort to the old-school advice, “Get that back elbow up.” I cringe when I hear that from someone in the crowd. It usually works against the next step in this sequence…. the grip.
- Bat should be held in the fingers, not in the palms of the hands. The “door knocking knuckles” should be aligned. There are many tricks for getting the correct grip. One of my favorites is to have the player point both index fingers while holding the bat. If they go in the same direction, the grip is correct.
- The hitter should maintain a tall backside and keep his/her head equidistant between both feet.
- Both eyes should be level and facing the pitcher.
In the next post, I will discuss the next step after the rest position. My favorite name for this position is “launch”. It is also referred to as the slot, trigger, load, and etc. No matter what you call it, it is the negative movement needed on every pitch in order to initiate a great swing.
I hope you enjoyed this post. As always, please feel free to comment.
If you enjoyed this post you might like the following posts:
http://coach5150.wordpress.com/2009/06/22/tips-for-baseball-pitchers-finding-target-line/
Bunt Technique: The Pivot
Bunting is a fundamental aspect of both baseball and softball. Through practice, bunting can and will be turned into a major offensive weapon for your team. Let’s begin with a definition:Sacrifice Bunt: The objective is to move a runner(s) to a succeeding base. The batter’s concern should be about moving the runner along, not trying to get a base hit.
The Technique
I used to allow my players to use any method of bunting that they desired. It was my mistake. I had the “just get it down” attitude. It was not hard to see that we were not very efficient. We needed one set philosophy, one disciplined set of rules, that all players would learn. I chose the pivot method. The pivot portion refers to the feet. Basically, the difference between this method and the “square around” method is that during a pivot, the player’s feet do not leave the ground.
Here are the rules and characteristics of a good pivot bunt technique:
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Stance has the feet shoulder width apart (slightly more is fine) and remain square to the plate, not the pitcher.
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Stand closer to the pitcher than normal (up in the box). This will allow a better opportunity to bunt the ball in fair territory.
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Stand closer to home plate than normal. This will allow more plate coverage with the barrel of the bat once the actual pivot is made. Most poor bunt attempts are made due to a lack of plate coverage. Put your players in position to successfully bunt the strike on the outside half of the plate.
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When the pitcher takes the ball from the glove during delivery, pivot on the both feet without picking them up from the ground. The back heel should be up and the front heel down with 50/50 balance. (When bunting for a hit or squeezing this happens later in the pitcher’s delivery.)
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Shoulders should be square to the pitcher.
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Torso bent slightly forward.
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Knees flexed.
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Arms relaxed and extended forward.
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Slide top hand up the taper of the bat. Top hand should use the thumb, index and middle fingers to control the bat. These fingers should pinch the bat in the shape of the letter “V”.
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There should be a minimum of 8 inches between hands. The top hand is the fulcrum. More distance between the fulcrum and the bottom hand will give the player more bat control.
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Bat should be held in front of the plate with the barrel angled slightly higher than the handle.
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To hit the lower pitch, lower the body, not the hands. The rule is…. “Keep the bat head above the ball.” I don’t like hearing, “Don’t drop the bat head!” Inevitably, that’s what will happen. State it positively, that gives a notion of “what to do”, not “what not to do”.
The pivot method on the left promotes much better plate coverage than does the square around method on the right.
Other hints:
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In a sacrifice situation, bunt strikes only. This pitch selection must be drilled. Teach players how to pull back on bad pitches.
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Bunts should be rarely attempted with two strikes. Foul bunts with two strikes are strikeouts.
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Have your players pretend that they have a glove over the barrel of the bat and they are going to catch the ball. This will help those that seem to poke or jab at pitches.
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In a sacrifice situation, get the bunt down first, then run. Do not attempt a fast start out of the box. Although, the pivot method places the player’s feet in a great position to run, unlike the square around method where often times there are false steps in getting going towards 1st base.
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Get bunts to “hot zones“. These are areas 3 feet from the lines and 3 feet away from the path to the pitcher. I’ve included a diagram of the “hot zones below. The point is to make the pitcher run to field the ball and keep it fair. As well, the bunt need to be 8- 10 feet away from the catcher. I suggest using landmarks, like cones or rugs for hot zone drills and games.
Far too often, we see young players, that get the bunt sign in a sacrifice situation, get cute. They will either pivot too late in a effort to surprise the defense, or they will try to get their bunt to go right down the third base line. What usually happens is that the player either fouls the ball off, pops up, or misses completely. Players need to know that the sacrifice bunt has a purpose, and it is an honorable part of the game. The successful sacrifice bunt is just as important as the lead-off hit or the RBI single that scores a run. Therefore, as coaches, we need to continually emphasize the importance of the sacrifice. A great way to do this is via reward. I like to absolutely go nuts over a great sacrifice bunt. I want my players to know that I appreciate it as the coach. So, I must be the first one clapping and giving verbal praise. The players will follow suit. Also, I suggest a giving a physical reward. It may seem a little childish, but it works. Here are some examples:
- Give a plaque at your end of season banquet or party for the most successful bunts.
- For softball players, give out helmet stickers or use a reward board.
- For baseball players, steal a page from the late 70′s, “Pops” Stargell, Pittsburgh Pirates. Give out the star patches for the players’ caps. There are many options other than stars. Last year we used a skull and crossbones patch for a sacrifice. Ah… I can hear “We are Family” right now. Sister Sledge was very underrated.
I like giving rewards for the little parts of the game. Not every player can hit home runs or strike out the side, but every player can bunt or use great ground ball technique. When players start paying attention to the little details of the game, BIG things will happen.
Comments are welcome!!!
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