Staying inside the ball

Maybe use a hitting stick. Place it where the heel lands (back of foot).

I just bought the insider bat for our HS team and I really like it. Definitely worth $50 or so. Kids get instant feedback and can feel the difference. And it works well with one-hand drills which I really like.

And I don't have any affiliation with them, I promise.

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Originally posted by ExWrangler:
I have two sons (15 and 16) that are pull happy in game time situations. They know how to go the other way because they can do it just fine in short toss and BP. Are any of the swing aids worth buying? Ex:insider bat or that bat that has wooded handle,then a rod in the middle, the wooden sweet spot.
Some drills you might recommend?

Are they getting burned on the outer half? Are they hitting mistakes and those mistakes happen to be in?

The insider bat is outstanding.

IMO, every hitting session should begin with hitting "oppo" and all pitches (tee set-up, soft-toss, short toss etc) should be "away." Only at the very end would I reward him with the opportunity to drive the ball to the pull field.

Hitters want to pull the ball. Learning to stay inside and drive the ball the other way is that desired learned skill they should work on every day to battle that pull tendency. Once you master that, then you must deal with them then "trying to stay inside" the ball on the inner half. And believe me, if they've learned the lesson well they will do that. So then, you go back to the drawing board and work on hammering and pulling the ball on the inner half .... and then retrain about every 3.3 weeks! Hitters, well trained, will naturally react to the inside pitch which is why pitchers prefer to stay "away."

Seriously though, you work on all areas of the zone and plate coverage in every hitting session. I preferred a tee in the cage and then soft toss to the desired areas so they could see, by where the ball hits in the netting, if they were doing what they should be doing with their baseball swing. Then we proceed to dart toss (behind the L-screen) so I could pin-point pitch location and the hitters could instantly see their results.

Whenever my swing got long and pull happy I had a drill that worked for me. Keep in mind this may not work for your sons but to each his own
I would set the tee well in front of my front foot. Then I would try and drive the ball the other way. It would force my hips to drive forward a bit more and really keep my hands inside. The drill has its drawbacks because it can teach some hip glide or over striding, but a dose of this drill here and there always tidied up my swing.

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Originally posted by Prime9:
IMO, every hitting session should begin with hitting "oppo" and all pitches (tee set-up, soft-toss, short toss etc) should be "away." Only at the very end would I reward him with the opportunity to drive the ball to the pull field.

Prime9, why would you think to begin every hitting session with oppo? and why away? and why just at the very end let him pull a few?

Have you tried or heard about the Lock and Load Swingtrainer... It is a muscle memory swingtrainer that forces you to stay inside the ball.. It also won Best in Show at the National Coaches Conv in Dallas back in Jan... check this training device out... it really works!!

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Prime9, why would you think to begin every hitting session with oppo? and why away? and why just at the very end let him pull a few?

To effectively hit "oppo" the hitter must let the ball travel "deep." Learning mechanics to do that and practicing that way gives the hitter more time to see the ball (speed, spin and location).

Good pitchers, with control and command, attempt to get good hitters out, low and way. Practicing taking low and away pitches to the opposite field then, to me, makes sense.

Thirdly, the natural instict for most hitters is to pull the ball. One has to fight that natural reaction on pitches away or suffer the not so good consequences of trying to pull that pitch, i.e. soft ground ball outs.

it's JMO, doesn't make it correct but it seems also to be a popular approach with most. Note if you watch MLB BP, where the various groups begin hitting balls, and where they end.

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To effectively hit "oppo" the hitter must let the ball travel "deep."

There are some who will disagree with this...I know I will...

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There are some who will disagree with this...I know I will...

I hope you were an English Prof, as semantics and I'm guessing cross word puzzles and one-liners are your calling in life. You can indeed hit an inside pitch to the opposite field, but I don't recommend it or talk about it. Conversely, you can pull an outside pitch but the outcome often isn't desirable either.

Please help me understand the error of my ways! My son still has good teaching time left and I don't want to leave anything to chance.

Make it a point to remind your son that anyone can pull the ball. And yes you can pull an outside pitch, vice versa with going oppo with an inside pitch. The key is all about your hands, and your approach through the zone with your hands. Whether it be let the ball travel, etc.. Your hands are the factor.

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The key is all about your hands, and your approach through the zone with your hands.

This should suffice.....

The "hands" have everything to do with making contact but less to do with generating power.

I prefer both. Your talking apples, I'm speaking of Apples & Oranges.

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I have two sons (15 and 16) that are pull happy in game time situations.

Sorry ExWrangler; we digress. I stand by what has worked for me. I'm sure you will get some more informed solutions here.

Enjoy the baseball while it's being played!!

tee work away. and try to drill them and drill them to wait and hit off your back leg when going oppp and eventually the muscle memory of pitch location takes over. Thats what I have learned from my experiences

I am always looking for a better way to instruct. I looked at the Lock and Load usage video. I would definitely use it to teach my students how NOT to hit. It promotes a low elbow and the guy in the video shows a locked elbow and power-V at contact. I don't get it...

I have also used the insider bat and it is a great tool for hitting the ball to the opposite field. There is a fairly good explanation of the bat at the My-Youth-Baseball web site.

It is worth watching.