My son seems to be pulling off the ball. Causing him to pull everything and swing and miss on curvballs. Are there any drills we can do that will fix this issue?
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Place a second tee in the path of where proper extension should be and have him hit both balls.
Post of a video of your son's swing so we can look at it.
It's hard to tell what's going on. It could be he is opening up too soon or stepping out.
It's hard to tell what's going on. It could be he is opening up too soon or stepping out.
In my experience there is not one thing you can do. This is caused by a whole host of other issues up stream of the casting of the bat. Poor hip action, plant foot rolling over, hands casting, pulling off of head, all end up causing this. That said getting him to focus on the inside of the ball off the T is the first step, Set the ball up inside so and have him hit seams turned inward. Hit every thing away, move to soft toss and then to live balls, hit everything away. The old throwing of the bat trick will give him an idea on where his throws should be. Throwing a frisbee is also something that gives them a feel. Like I said this is the result of something else wrong and video work with an instructor is likely going to be needed.
quote:Originally posted by BOF:. That said getting him to focus on the inside of the ball off the T is the first step, Set the ball up inside so and have him hit seams turned inward. Hit every thing away, move to soft toss and then to live balls, hit everything away. The old throwing of the bat trick will give him an idea on where his throws should be.
Regarding the above bold, great idea! But be careful that he doesn't shove the knob with his arms and get nothing out of his lower body.
quote:DRILLS to help extension???
hmmm... sounds like you should avoid extension.
Post a video.
quote:Originally posted by Eaglecoach:
My son seems to be pulling off the ball. Causing him to pull everything and swing and miss on curvballs. Are there any drills we can do that will fix this issue?
to me it was always the KISS theory; all tee and soft toss drills centered on hitting first "oppo" and then focus on hitting every ball "the length of the cage." I wanted to see every line drive hit our "batters eye" which was a tarp at the end of our batting cage.
All the things that go with that concept must occur; hand/hips inside & thru ball, head still and down thru contact, etc.
Guys, thanks for the help. Although I have plenty of video I don't know how to upload it to show you. I'm not what you would call computer savy.
Prime9,
What you posted is exactly where I start with every kid struggling to "stay back", "hit curveballs", or trying to "pull everything". I always tell them to hit the ball right back at ME. Try and take my head off. In order to do this, everything must work together in a uniform and timely fashion. This encourages the swing that we spend hours trying to perfect. I always tell them that you will know what to do when you see the inside fastball... You will get those hands inside and drive it. That's the easy part.
What you posted is exactly where I start with every kid struggling to "stay back", "hit curveballs", or trying to "pull everything". I always tell them to hit the ball right back at ME. Try and take my head off. In order to do this, everything must work together in a uniform and timely fashion. This encourages the swing that we spend hours trying to perfect. I always tell them that you will know what to do when you see the inside fastball... You will get those hands inside and drive it. That's the easy part.
quote:Originally posted by Eaglecoach:
Guys, thanks for the help. Although I have plenty of video I don't know how to upload it to show you. I'm not what you would call computer savy.
You can upload it to YouTube or create a Photobucket/ Tinypic account and have one of those websites host it.
I've used this drill with guys I work with. Promotes positive extension through the zone -
quote:Originally posted by The Pitching Academy:
I've used this drill with guys I work with. Promotes positive extension through the zone -
My eyes started to glaze over after about 2 minutes.
I would recommend the Happy Gilmore drill (or cross step drill) because it's easy and it incorporates all the proper mechanics needed to hit with power. I would also film your son doing this drill then play it back so your son can view it at slow speed.
Happy Gilmore Drill
quote:Originally posted by tradosaurus:quote:Originally posted by The Pitching Academy:
I've used this drill with guys I work with. Promotes positive extension through the zone -
My eyes started to glaze over after about 2 minutes.
I would recommend the Happy Gilmore drill (or cross step drill) because it's easy and it incorporates all the proper mechanics needed to hit with power. I would also film your son doing this drill then play it back so your son can view it at slow speed.
Happy Gilmore Drill
Run like H E L L from that drill posted earlier. Promotes hands in front of hips: A push swing.
We want HIPS in front of hands, with BOTH making a contribution to power.
Happy Gilmore, much better
quote:Originally posted by tradosaurus:quote:Originally posted by The Pitching Academy:
I've used this drill with guys I work with. Promotes positive extension through the zone -
My eyes started to glaze over after about 2 minutes.
I would recommend the Happy Gilmore drill (or cross step drill) because it's easy and it incorporates all the proper mechanics needed to hit with power. I would also film your son doing this drill then play it back so your son can view it at slow speed.
Happy Gilmore Drill
I've used and liked the "walk-thru drill" for years. Certainly agree that it entails all the movements. I would use it when talking about the importance of developing rhythm and transferring energy in a dynamic swing.
P.S. I also like the 1-arm drills (I've used them in all positions, kneeling & standing) and believe they have a place in the tool box, if for nothing else developing the wrists, forearms and promoting follow through.
quote:Originally posted by Low Finish:quote:Originally posted by tradosaurus:quote:Originally posted by The Pitching Academy:
I've used this drill with guys I work with. Promotes positive extension through the zone -
My eyes started to glaze over after about 2 minutes.
I would recommend the Happy Gilmore drill (or cross step drill) because it's easy and it incorporates all the proper mechanics needed to hit with power. I would also film your son doing this drill then play it back so your son can view it at slow speed.
Happy Gilmore Drill
Run like H E L L from that drill posted earlier. Promotes hands in front of hips: A push swing.
We want HIPS in front of hands, with BOTH making a contribution to power.
Happy Gilmore, much better
I second the motion to RUN like H E L L.
I had a high school coach who thought the "chair drill" (very similar) was the greatest thing in the world. How can anyone possibly learn to hit a baseball sitting in a chair?!
Makes me very sad thinking kids are learning to hit like this. They aren't afforded an amazing opportunity to good hitting information.
That drill is bad news. Listen to some of the guys on this forum and do what the baseball greats have been doing for years. Let the "hips lead the way!"
Best wishes!
If I had only one drill to teach a kid it would be the Happy Gilmore drill.
Why do you think when you toss up balls and hit them to the outfield they go so far? Because you are using all the proper techniques that the Happy Gilmore drill incorporates.
In fact what I have done in practice is have the kids during the batting is for them to toss up a ball and hit it as far as possible. I would have them hit 10 balls.
Live it. Love it. Learn it!
Why do you think when you toss up balls and hit them to the outfield they go so far? Because you are using all the proper techniques that the Happy Gilmore drill incorporates.
In fact what I have done in practice is have the kids during the batting is for them to toss up a ball and hit it as far as possible. I would have them hit 10 balls.
Live it. Love it. Learn it!
quote:Originally posted by Low Finish:quote:Originally posted by tradosaurus:quote:Originally posted by The Pitching Academy:
I've used this drill with guys I work with. Promotes positive extension through the zone -
My eyes started to glaze over after about 2 minutes.
I would recommend the Happy Gilmore drill (or cross step drill) because it's easy and it incorporates all the proper mechanics needed to hit with power. I would also film your son doing this drill then play it back so your son can view it at slow speed.
Happy Gilmore Drill
Run like H E L L from that drill posted earlier. Promotes hands in front of hips: A push swing.
We want HIPS in front of hands, with BOTH making a contribution to power.
Happy Gilmore, much better
BTW, comments such as yours is why I don't waste money on hitting "instructors".
And if my son is good enough to play college ball I will choose the college whose coach won't screw up my son's hitting technique.
Can someone explain to me how the one-hand drill can be bad? It doesn't "promote" anything to me involving the lower body. It isolates the upper body to develop a palm up/palm down swing path. It lets kids feel the roles of the top hand and bottom hand. The kid should be able to stand up and have the same timing/connection/separation/buzz-word-of-the-day that he had with hopefully a better swing path.
Not that I know what I'm talking about. I coach at a HS.
Not that I know what I'm talking about. I coach at a HS.
ironhorse
I agree, there is nothing wrong with the one handed drill. Tons of positives if instructed correctly. An instructor who puts it down probably doesn't understand the intent or how to interpret the drill and convey that to the student as a part of their swing and hand path. In other words they do not know how to instruct it.
The only bad that comes out of it is an instructor or coach not properly teaching it which would cause a negative to the hitter. But that is the same with any drill.
I agree, there is nothing wrong with the one handed drill. Tons of positives if instructed correctly. An instructor who puts it down probably doesn't understand the intent or how to interpret the drill and convey that to the student as a part of their swing and hand path. In other words they do not know how to instruct it.
The only bad that comes out of it is an instructor or coach not properly teaching it which would cause a negative to the hitter. But that is the same with any drill.
Definitely.
The one hand drills are valuable tools. Usually we use light bats for those, as swinging a regular weight bat one handed could do more harm then good.
We sometimes go to contact hitting balls one handed. Sometimes if players have difficulty creating some separation between the lead arm and the ribs/torso we will try these one hand drills.
They are a great tool if used correctly to develop the proper swing path.
The drill we are disagreeing with is the "kneeling and hitting soft toss with a full swing" drill. That promotes bad mechanics. I.E. a push or chopping swing.
The one hand drills are valuable tools. Usually we use light bats for those, as swinging a regular weight bat one handed could do more harm then good.
We sometimes go to contact hitting balls one handed. Sometimes if players have difficulty creating some separation between the lead arm and the ribs/torso we will try these one hand drills.
They are a great tool if used correctly to develop the proper swing path.
The drill we are disagreeing with is the "kneeling and hitting soft toss with a full swing" drill. That promotes bad mechanics. I.E. a push or chopping swing.
