Increasing bat speed

I don't have any drills but recently my son received some instruction from an old school guy. He noticed my son was inconsistent at impact with the ball, as far as force, and wasn't maximizing his strength and bat speed. He told him to swing and wip the bat back to its starting position, varying the length of the follow through after 4-5 swings. He and I were very surprised at how this helped to level the swing and create much more consistent force at impact. my guess it is the mental process of knowing you have to get the bat back to the starting position that created the marked increase in force at contact. Maybe this is a usual technique used but I have never seen it. Can wait for a showcase to measure exit velocity. I must note that this is not a wild out of control swing, just your sons typical swing with the quick return to the starting position. Hope this works for you.

Without knowing your son's age - I'll post as if he's 14+yrs. and at or near the high school level. The baseball swing is an explosive movement. Fast-twitch muscle fibers firing on all cylinders. Underload principle will help build those fast-twitch muscles.  We use a 38" length - 1" PVC pipe to practice the underload swing.  3 sets of 5-6 quick swings in both directions from the right & left-hand side. 

 

More importantly, players need to train their arms, legs & core in explosive movements. DB Cleans, Plyo Push-ups, MB Slams & Rotational Toss, DB Jump Squats, Lateral Skater Jumps, Split Squat Jumps and we use a 6lb. Sledge and hit a large truck tire. That "baseball swing" is the overload principle at work. This movement is mainly used to train the forearms/wrists at impact and to train the muscles related to the core.   

 

Finally, take a look at his swing. Is there room for improvement with his load. If he gets stronger and more explosive, but his load is just so-so, he'll still just be a singles hitter.

 Here are a few Stack videos and an old school drill:

 

Old school ------ Hit a basketball off of a tee.

 

http://www.stack.com/video/772...anded-hitting-drill/

 

http://www.stack.com/2012/05/1...c-forearm-exercises/

 

http://www.stack.com/2012/10/01/bat-speed-drills/

 

http://www.stack.com/video/905...with-gordon-beckham/

 

http://www.stack.com/video/776...reebok-vector-o-bat/

 

Gentlemen, thanks for the responses.I'm definitely going to use a couple of these suggestions.

Cut a tire in half, nail to a fence, find a old wood bat and take 5 swings thru the tire, don't stop on contact, rest then take 5 more.

 

Find a rubber racquetball and squeeze daily for finger and hand strength.

 

Bob

 

 

 

How about a punching bag. Same as Consultant said, 5 swings through the bag.

It's the same idea, but the bag may not survive the pounding.  Also, if you are hanging it from the rafters you may want to put some reinforcement in the framing to help absorb the stresses.

Underload / overload works.  You need three bats.  Your game bat (ex = 32/29), game bat +3 oz (32/32), and game bat -3 (32/26).  Over time, repetitive swings with each bat will increase bat speed and power (assuming you are mechanically sound).

To increase bat speed in a matter of a few minutes. Thats not possible or is it?

 

          Drill: ONE ARM DRILL

Soft toss, tee's. or machine, whatever. I would start with a tee...

 

Put the bat in one hand and choke up a little more than usual(left hand, then right hand). in most hitters the weakest hand is the front hand. Do this drill  3 sets of 10 swings then let the hitter use both hands.

You will see immediate results. One of the biggest problems which causes the hitter to have a slow swing is one arm is weaker than the other..Thats the one we are looking for... 

Work on this drill and you will see a major improvement quickly. 

 

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Just try it and see if the swing isn't quicker immediately, tell me if I'm wrong. You as a coach and the player will see the results.

The more you practice this drill the quicker the bat will be with both hands.