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CONTENTS 3 INTRODUCTION 4 KEYS TO A SUCCESSFUL SWING 5-8 DRILL #1 - ROPE DRILL 9 DRILL #2 NO HIPS DRILL 10 DRILL #3 ONE ARM DRILL 11 DRILL #4 FRONT ARM DRILL 12 DRILL #5 KNUCKLE DRILL WITH TOP HAND 13 DRILL #6 WALK THROUGH DRILL 14 DRILL #7 SINGLE T DRILL 15 DRILL #8 SHORT BAT TRAINING DRILL 16 DRILL #9 SHORT BARREL T DRILL 17 DRILL #10 SHORT BARREL T DRILL - FRONT 18 DRILL #11 BALANCE DRILL 19 DRILL #12 BALANCE AND JUMP DRILL 20 DRILL #13 BLIND DRILL 21 DRILL #14 STRIDE BOX 22 DRILL #15 DOUBLE T DRILL 23 DRILL #16 HIGH/LOW DRILL 24 DRILL #17 HITTING THE OUTSIDE PITCH 25 DRILL #18 HITTING THE INSIDE PITCH 26 DRILL #19 PARTNER TOSS ZONE HITTING UTM 27 DRILL #20 PARTNER TOSS ZONE HITTING UTM W/SB401 28 DRILL #21 T DRILLS NEXT TO THE FENCE SIDE FENCE 29 DRILL #22 T DRILLS NEXT TO THE FENCE CORNER FENCE 30 DRILL #23 TWO STRIKE STANCE 31 DRILL #24 TWO STRIKE STANCE W/SB401 32 DRILL #25 AUDIBLE PARTNER SIDE TOSS 33 DRILL #26 TIMING DRILL 34 DRILL #27 FAKE TOSS 35 DRILL #28 TWO BALL TOSS 36 RESOURCES 37
INTRODUCTION 4 While there are many different ways to hit, there are several core mechanics that all great hitters possess. In this book, we are going to emphasize those key areas in the swing and provide drills that hitters can perform to improve their mechanics. Hitters that excel in the key areas identified in this guide will soon find themselves hitting the ball with power and consistency. As you proceed through this guide, please keep the following in mind: Two Important Things for Coaches to Keep in Mind When Doing Hitting Drills: 1. You and the players need to be patient for the rate of their success. Becoming a good hitter takes time and work. 2. When doing these drills, make sure you have quality in every single swing. Now Here are 3 Keys to Hitting Success to Stress to Your Players Eyes seek the target hitter must do a good job of picking up the ball and judging the trajectory. Body seeks balance hitter must have good balance and good posture to develop an explosive swing. Arms and hands seek space hitter must have space to create maximum acceleration and drive the bat head through the zone. Concentrating on these three keys will help a batter reach her full potential!
KEYS TO A SUCCESSFUL SWING 5
KEYS TO A SUCCESSFUL SWING CONT. 1 6 2 Reasons Why an Efficient Swing is So Important 1. It will allow the batter to create maximum force toward the softball. 2. Staying linear and rotational allows the batter to create a large strike path versus spinning, squishing the bug and coming around the ball which creates a short strike path. 2 3 4 5 Studies show that the longer the strike path the larger margin of error the batter has meaning if a batter has a long strike path if they are early they can pull the ball, if they are on time they can hit it up the middle and if they are late they can still hit it to the opposite field. Batter puts a good, efficient swing on the ball.
KEYS TO A SUCCESSFUL SWING CONT. 7 6 7 At Toe Touch, be sure player is in a good athletic stance with head aligned with belly button and weight equally distributed. At this step, many batters will either firm up their front leg or collapse it causing them to get out of balance.
KEYS TO A SUCCESSFUL SWING CONT. 8 9 8 10 Work on these 10 steps using a progression of simple hitting drills: 1) Dry Swing Drill go through the swing sequence swinging at air (no ball required) 2) Tee Drill hit balls off the tee 3) Soft Toss coach softly tosses balls to the hitter from 8-10 feet away (usually at a 45 degree angle from the plate) 4) Front Toss coach throws strikes to hitter from the pitcher s mound One thing to look for at the finish of the swing is that the batter has properly transferred her weight forward to the front foot. A way to check this is to draw an imaginary line at the batter s back foot. If the foot extends back past the line the better has spun out and not properly transferred her weight. She should finish her swing up on the ball of her foot as shown above.
DRILL #1 ROPE DRILL 9 Teaches batter how to properly transfer her weight and have rhythm in the swing. Also, teaches batter that front arm and elbow should go straight toward the pitcher and not out to the side. Get a 34-inch piece of marine rope. Wrap tape on one end to form a handle. Attach a club head on the other end. The club head is actually just newspaper wrapped in tape. Set a series of golf balls in a line on the ground. 1. Player takes rope and starts swinging it with front arm like she is swing a bat at a down and in pitch. 2. Once player has a good rhythm going, she steps forward and hits the golf balls that are on the ground. Above, coach establishes a rhythm swinging the rope. Below, coach uses the rope to hit golf balls. Someone who spins out, opens their hips too early or tends to push their hand and elbow instead of going toward the pitcher will have a hard time with this drill. This drill is not about teaching players to hit bad pitches. Instead it should be used to help players develop the form and rhythm to hit down and in pitches.
DRILL #2 NO HIPS DRILL 10 Designed to help players who spin out or open their hips too early by helping them get a feel for proper weight transfer during a swing. Player takes stance by a tee, which is set up in front of a net. 1. Player gets in a comfortable position with legs apart, weight equally distributed, slight bend in the knee and at the hip, shoulders and hips square to the plate. 2. Player goes into a negative to positive move and swings at the ball on the tee without rotating her hips. Player should finish with back foot on the dirt. During this drill, the hips will slightly turn but this is only from the upper body moving. Player finishes her swing while participating in the No Hips Drill.
DRILL #3 ONE ARM DRILL 11 Designed to help players who pull out with their front shoulder. Player takes normal stance beside a tee that is set up in front of a net. 1. Player holds youth-size bat in back hand while holding front hand over the ball that is on the tee. 2. Player swings the bat one-handed while keeping her front hand over the ball on the tee. Holding the front hand out over the ball forces the batter to keep her front size closed. Batter should properly transfer weight to front side. She should NOT be spinning on her back foot and keeping her weight back. Player holds hand out over the ball and prepares to swing.
DRILL #4 FRONT ARM DRILL 12 Helps players learn to keep both their hips and their shoulders flat to the plate instead of opening up too soon or pulling out. Player takes normal stance beside a tee that is set up in front of a net. 1. Player holds bat with front arm only. 2. Player swings the bat one-handed and hits the ball on the tee. Player should be unlocking shoulder, elbow, wrist in that order without her arm coming across her body. Remember, all swings should be set up to hit inside and then player can adjust to hit outside. It s a lot easier to swing inside and adjust outside than vice versa. This drill can also be done using the SB401 wood training bat. Player gets ready to swing the bat during the Front Arm Drill.
DRILL #5 KNUCKLE DRILL WITH TOP HAND 13 Helps batter get more comfortable with the pace of her swing. She learns to be in control, have good rhythmic load and a good negative move to positive move. Player takes normal stance beside a tee that is set up in front of a net. 1. Player holds the bat with her lower hand and only puts the knuckles of her top hand against the bat. 2. Player swings the bat and hits the ball on the tee. Above, the grip for this drill. Below, the batter gets ready to hit the ball. Beginning part of swing should be slow and rhythmic then accelerate to the fastest part of the swing which is when the barrel comes through the zone.
DRILL #6 WALK THROUGH DRILL 14 Helps batter understand cadence and rhythm. Reinforces keeping front side closed during swing and also emphasizes transferring weight to the front side. Player marks where back foot goes in her normal stance then takes one step to the side and aligns her front foot with that mark. A ball is placed on a batting tee. 1. Player crosses over and steps to the mark with her back foot keeping her front side closed. 2. Player then moves front foot in front of back foot and swings at the ball on the tee. Watch that player keeps front side closed and that she properly transfers her weight while walking through and swinging. To make the drill more difficult, you can have the batter line up behind her mark so that she does a full crossover. Be sure she keeps her hips flat while doing the walk through. Player goes through the Walk Through Drill.
DRILL #7 SINGLE T DRILL 15 Teaches precision in hand-eye coordination as player must focus on smaller and smaller target. Batter assumes normal batting stance next to a ball on a tee. Coach is nearby to critique player s swing. 1. Batter starts out with a 12-inch softball and takes normal swings. 2. Batter should use an adjustable tee or where she sets up to simulate inside, middle and outside pitches. 3. After, taking a set number of swings in each zone, batter next uses an 11-inch softball and repeats the process. 4. Batter finishes up the drill using a 7.5 inch baseball. Above, player prepares to hit a 12-inch softball. Below, player uses a 7.5 inch baseball in this drill Make sure that each swing the batter takes is a quality swing with high concentration, focus and effort. One tip to improve focus is to have the player not just focus on the softball but instead focus on a particular seam or a mark or wart on the ball.
DRILL #8 SHORT BAT TRAINING (28-INCH BAT) T DRILL 16 This drill helps the offensive player work on being on time based on where the pitch is located. A common problem in softball is a batter being out in front of the pitch, which causes them to lose power. Tee is placed to simulate an inside pitch. 1. Batter gets into stance with a 28-inch bat. 2. Batter swings at a 12-inch softball that is placed on the tee. 3. After a set number of swings, batter switches to an 11-inch softball. Players need to keep their hands inside and focus on not hooking the ball. Batter uses 28-inch bat in this drill. The tee is placed to simulate an inside pitch.
DRILL #9 SHORT BARREL T DRILL 17 Helps batters learn to keep their hands inside the path of the ball and how to get the barrel of the bat on the ball. Place tee to simulate an inside pitch. Batter gets in normal stance holding the short barrel bat (SB401). 1. Batter starts out hitting the 12-inch softball, then switches to the 11-inch softball before finishing up with the 7.5 inch baseball. Here is the short barrel SB401 bat. When players are making good contact with the barrel of the bat the ball will come out cleanly. If the player is off in her aim and fails to keep her hands inside the ball she may feel uncomfortable reverberations in her hands. Player used the short barrel bat to hit a 12- inch softball off a tee set up inside.
DRILL #10 SHORT BARREL T DRILL - FRONT 18 Players work on keeping their hands inside the ball and hitting the inside pitch with the sweet spot of the bat. Player gets in normal batting stance holding the short barrel (SB401) bat. The tee is set up to simulate an inside pitch. 1. Batter starts out with a 12-inch softball, then proceeds to an 11-inch softball and then a 7.5 inch baseball. Batter finishes up this drill by hitting a 7.5 inch baseball. The majority of softball players pull the inside pitch either foul or as a ground ball to the third baseman. Make sure the hitter is keeping their hands inside the ball for a long period of time so she can hit the ball with power in fair territory instead of hooking it foul.
DRILL #11 BALANCE DRILL 19 Problem: This is a stride board and freeze drill that emphasizes balance during the swing, which is one of the most important factors for becoming a better hitter. Players must stay on the ball and not pull away or dive in to remain balanced on the board. Place a 2X6 board in the batter s box. 1. Batter assumes normal stance while standing on the 2X6 board. 2. Batter goes through normal swing focusing on remaining balanced the entire time. In addition to hitting the softball of a tee, player should also go through a series of swings where she stops and freezes in her follow-through to further test a player s balance in her swing. Drill should be done in tennis shoes. Player begins her swing while balancing on board placed in batter s box.
DRILL #12 BALANCE AND JUMP DRILL 20 Helps improve the balance of the batter. Batter stands in batter s box with ball on a tee over home plate. 1. Batter takes normal swing and hits ball off tee. 2. At finish of swing, batter jumps up vertically. If the batter does not remain balanced through her swing she will not be able to jump vertically. Make sure player doesn t cheat and shuffle feat to regain balance in order to jump. Player hops up vertically at the end of her swing to test her balance.
DRILL #13 BLIND DRILL 21 This drill also helps improve balance while also increasing the body awareness of the batter. Batter stands in batter s box. Softball placed on a tee. 1. Batter hits the first ball. 2. On the next ball, batter closes her eyes and attempts to hit it. 3. Process continues with batter keeping her eyes opened for one swing and then closing them on the next swing. Make sure batters are keeping their eyes closed when they are supposed to and really trusting their bodies to repeat the action of hitting the ball. Batter hits the ball with her eyes closed.
DRILL #14 STRIDE BOX 22 Teaches batters to maintain a short stride and balance during the swing. A common problem many batters face is opening their toe and consequently their hips during the stride phase of the swing. Nail the stride box into the ground. Coach stands off to the side to watch form. The stride box. 1. Player takes normal swing, using stride box to ensure that front foot stays closed during the swing. The batter s front foot, or stride foot, should remain pointed toward the opposite batter s box. This is an excellent drill for someone who opens up or is a toe-pointer toward the pitcher. The toe should eventually open up but not until the hips snap open during the swing. Player uses the stride box.
DRILL #15 DOUBLE T DRILL 23 Emphasizes proper contact point and that the batter hits through the ball. Set two tees up together. 1. Batter steps into batter s box and takes her normal swing. Hitting the first ball into the second ball so that both balls go out into the field. Batter should focus and hit through the first ball. Front elbow should have a slight bend, extending and straightening out as the arm goes through the hitting zone. If second ball goes straight up, that means batter topped off the first ball (hit it high). If it goes to one side, the batter didn t hit the first ball squarely and instead caught too much of the edge of the ball. Make sure batters aren t pivoting too early or spinning out Batter prepares to swing during the Double T Drill.
DRILL #16 HIGH/LOW DRILL 24 Teaches batter to keep the bathead high (higher than the hands) until she is ready to make contact. Set two tees up together. The second tee is higher than the first tee. 1. The lower first tee forces the batter to keep the barrel high when swinging. 2. The object is to miss the first ball and hit the second. This drill forces the batter to keep the bathead high. If you are busy, this drill can be run without coach supervision because the batter will instantly know if she has failed to keep the bathead high if she hits the first ball.
DRILL #17 HITTING THE OUTSIDE PITCH 25 Helps players learn how to hit the outside pitch. Uses two tees, the back one is setup outside and the front is set up middle-in. The front tee is set slightly higher than the back tee. 1. The player hits the back outside ball without making contact with the front ball that is setup middle-in. Above, proper tee set up for this drill. Below, the batter works on hitting the outside pitch. Watch that the player is making strong contract and driving the ball to the opposite field. The key to hitting with power to the opposite field is to let the ball get deep into the zone.
DRILL #18 HITTING THE INSIDE PITCH 26 Teaches player to hit the inside pitch. Setup two tees. The back one should be in the middle of the plate and set lower than the other tee. The front tee is set up on the inside part of the plate. 1. Batter tries to hit the ball off the front tee without hitting the ball on the back tee. Batter should focus on having a short, compact swing and keeping her hands inside the ball to hit for power and consistency. If the batter has a tendency to cast out or wrist extend to soon, she will knock the first ball off when swinging. At top, player prepares to hit inside pitch. At bottom, player follows through after hitting ball.
DRILL #19 PARTNER TOSS ZONE HITTING UTM (UP THE MIDDLE) 27 Partner tosses the ball into the middle zone and the batter works on hitting the ball up the middle. Batter sets up in front of net. Partner sits beside net with balls. 1. Partner tosses the ball to the batter. 2. Batter swings and hits the ball into the net. Partner tosses the ball to the batter who is working on hitting the ball up the middle. Patience is key. Batter should wait for the ball to get the middle zone area. Batter should be watching the ball from the partner s leg area into the middle zone. Batter should not swing at bad tosses that are out of the strike zone.
DRILL #20 PARTNER TOSS ZONE HITTING UTM WITH SB401 & 11-INCH SOFTBALLS 28 Partner tosses the ball into the middle zone and the batter works on hitting the ball up the middle. Batter sets up in front of net. Partner sits beside net with balls. 1. Partner tosses the ball to the batter. 2. Batter swings and tries to keep her hands inside the ball and hit it with the sweet spot on the bat. Batter prepares to swing the short barrel SB401 bat. Batter should keep head down upon contact and stay balanced through the entire swing. Batter should use short quick first step and keep lead foot closed.
DRILL #21 T DRILLS NEXT TO THE FENCE - SIDE FENCE 29 Forces batter to stay short as she brings the barrelhead through the strike zone. Place a ball on a tee near the side fence. Batter should hold the bat against her belly button and have the other end touch the fence that s the distance she should be from the fence. The tee should located in the center of the bat. 1. Batter hits the ball off the tee into the net being careful not to hit the side fence during her swing. Batter aims to make solid contact without hitting the side fence in this drill. If the player casts during the early part of the swing where her hands go out and the bat sweeps through the zone, she will hit the fence. If she stays short during her swing, she ll make proper contact with the ball.
DRILL #22 T DRILLS NEXT THE FENCE CORNER FENCE 30 Forces batter to stay short in both the first third of the swing and the second third of the swing. Batter stands in corner of fence with the ball on a tee. 1. Batter takes short, compact swing to hit the ball on the tee. Have batters take slow motion to swing to determine how deep they can go into the corner for this drill. Youth players should start out just taking dry land swings with no ball and tee to get muscle memory for the drill. Players should take a 75% swing instead of a full swing in this drill. Batter prepares to swing in the corner fence area. This is a great drill for players who get long in their swing.
DRILL #23 TWO STRIKE STANCE 31 Prepares batters to feel comfortable in game situations when they are at bat and have two strikes. Player takes a wider stance than usual, opens up a bit, widens her strike zone and shortens her swing. A partner sits or kneels off to the side to toss balls to the batter. The coach stands nearby to critique the batter s swings. Batter prepares to hit the ball while in a twostrike stance. 1. Player gets into two-strike stance. 2. Partner tosses the ball to the batter. 3. Batter swings and hits the ball into the net. Practice this drill regularly to ensure your players feel comfortable and confident when they get in a two-strike situation in a game. Partner should toss the ball all over the strike zone so batter learns to cover the entire plate. Batter may also want to choke up to get more control of the bat in a two-strike stance.
DRILL #24 TWO STRIKE STANCE WITH SB401 & 11-INCH SOFTBALL 32 Another drill to get batter comfortable with two strike stance. Also improves players focus and hand-eye coordination. Batter gets in two-strike stance while holding SB401. Partner tosses 11-inch softballs to the batter to hit. 1. Partner tosses the ball. 2. Batter swings and hits it into the net. Batter should have a bigger strike zone with two strikes on her. The last thing a batter should want to do is strike out looking. Hitting tip: Any time a batter s body has to break down to reach for a pitch it is not a strike and they should not swing. Batters should strive to hit the ball with the sweet spot of the bat in this side toss drill.
DRILL #25 AUDIBLE PARTNER SIDE TOSS 33 Improves player focus on the ball and teaches them to wait to hit the ball. Batter gets in normal stance in front of net. Partner sits or kneels off to the side to toss a multi-colored ball to the batter to hit. 1. Partner tosses the ball to the batter. (Note: Partner should be tossing to all areas of the strike zone instead of focusing on one specific area). 2. Batter calls out the color facing her and then hits the ball. This drill should force the batter to keep their head on the ball and actually watch it coming into the zone so make sure they are doing that. If you don t have a multi-colored ball, the batter can simply call out yes for a strike and then swing and no for a ball, which she would not swing at. Batter calls out color and then hits the ball in this side toss drill.
DRILL #26 TIMING DRILL 34 Helps batter learn to time the pitch. Also, teaches her to keep her hands back when going after an off-speed pitch, outside pitch or change-up. Batter sets up in normal stance in front of net. Partner stands to side of net and bounces a tennis ball to the batter to hit. 1. Batter gets in loaded position. 2. As the partner goes into the toss and starts to bring her arm down, the batter begins phase one of the swing, taking a stride and being sure to keep her hands back. 3. Partner bounces ball to batter. 4. Batter swings and hits it into the net. Batter prepares to hit the tennis ball that has been bounced into the strike zone. This drill works best on a nice, hard, flat surface. If you are doing it outside, make sure the dirt is smooth and level. Batter should keep her hands back until the ball bounces into her zone.
DRILL #27 FAKE TOSS 35 Helps batter improve timing and focus. Batter gets into normal stance. Partner sits or kneels to the side to toss the ball to the batter. 1. In addition to tossing the ball to the batter, the partner also uses fake tosses to attempt to throw the batter s timing off, like how a changeup might. Partner tosses the ball to the batter after executing a fake toss. Make sure players are keeping their hands back and waiting for the ball to get into the zone instead of rushing even when they take a step on the fake toss.
DRILL #28 TWO BALL TOSS 36 Forces the batter to react to the stimulus helping improve their decision making and develop split-second reaction skills. Batter sets up in normal stance in front of net. Partner sits or kneels off to the side. 1. Partner tosses two balls to the batter at the same time. 2. Partner tosses the balls in vertical fashion so that one goes higher than the other. 3. Partner calls out high or low. 4. Batter must then swing at the ball that the partner called. Batter swings at the ball called out by her partner. This is a drill for experienced players. If you are doing it with youth, then the coach should be the tosser.
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