Recently read a tip from Ripken about using a flat s****r ball as a hitting drill to learn to drive the ball.
Has anyone tried this?
I've tried this and really like it.
I stand back about 20 feet and underhand the ball to the hitter. The first few swings jarred the bat out the hands of the youth hitter. But, he soon adjusted and began to swing and hit the flat s****r ball harder. Since the ball is nearly flat, any miss-hits are obvious as the s****r ball spins either up or down. The goal of the drill is to have the hitter drive the ball in a line drive. As the coach/pitcher throwing the ball underhand, you get hit a lot when they drive it correctly, but since its a nearly flat s****r ball, it doesn't hurt when you get hit. I do this drill in a cage so that I don't have to chase the ball after each pitch.
I then followed this drill with normal baseball batting practice to make sure their swing mechanics are in order and I'm surprised at the great results.
Just wondering if anyone else has tried this?
(Yes, there might actually be something positive coming from sokker afterall.)
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