Thursday, October 7, 2010
The Stance
GRIP: The most common grip in use, both by kids and adults, is the choke grip, which lines up the top set of knuckles on one hand with the middle set of knuckles on the other hand. The choke grip also forces you to hold the bat more in the palms of the hand than in the fingers. The choke grip limits the range of motion of the wrists.
POSITION AT PLATE: Young hitters need a good anchor point to make sure they don’t stand too close to or far from the plate, and that they stand at a consistent spot from pitch to pitch.
LOWER BODY: The feet should be about a bit wider than shoulder-width apart and aligned in a square stance.
UPPER BODY: The upper body should be bent forward slightly from the waist – if your upper body is too upright, it will force you to reach for the ball by sweeping your bat out too early when you swing.
HEAD: The hitter’s front shoulder should be slightly closed (turned away from the pitcher) and his head should be turned so that his chin is almost touching his front shoulder. The eyes should be level and both eyes should be on the pitcher.
**RELAXED AND BALANCED: The key to a good stance is to be relaxed and well balanced.
POSITION AT PLATE: Young hitters need a good anchor point to make sure they don’t stand too close to or far from the plate, and that they stand at a consistent spot from pitch to pitch.
LOWER BODY: The feet should be about a bit wider than shoulder-width apart and aligned in a square stance.
UPPER BODY: The upper body should be bent forward slightly from the waist – if your upper body is too upright, it will force you to reach for the ball by sweeping your bat out too early when you swing.
HEAD: The hitter’s front shoulder should be slightly closed (turned away from the pitcher) and his head should be turned so that his chin is almost touching his front shoulder. The eyes should be level and both eyes should be on the pitcher.
**RELAXED AND BALANCED: The key to a good stance is to be relaxed and well balanced.
The Step
BACKWARD LOAD: As the pitcher goes into his leg kick, slightly rotate your front side (shoulder, hip, and knee) to a more closed position, away from the pitcher. As you rotate, slightly lift the heel of your front foot so only the big toe is in contact with the ground.
LAUNCH: As the pitcher releases the ball, stride forward on a direct line toward the pitcher. Do not step toward 3rd base or 1st base. Do not turn your toe toward the pitcher; leave it pointed toward home plate. Turning your foot will cause your hips and shoulders to open too early.
LAUNCH: As the pitcher releases the ball, stride forward on a direct line toward the pitcher. Do not step toward 3rd base or 1st base. Do not turn your toe toward the pitcher; leave it pointed toward home plate. Turning your foot will cause your hips and shoulders to open too early.
Swing to Connect
The hitter is in the launch position.
The hitter initiates the swing by pulling the knob of the bat directly at the ball with the hands.
As the back elbow passes near the back hip, the lower body should start to come around the back foot starts to roll over onto the big toe and the back knee starts to turn toward the front knee. At this point, the hitter’s lower body is following the upper body. When the hands get about even with the hitter’s belly button, the hitter need to explode open (swing).
At contact, the back thigh should be vertical and the upper body should be aligned directly over the back thigh. The front leg should be straight and angled out in front of the hitter. The back foot should have rotated around toward the pitcher and should have rolled up onto the point of the toe with the heel high.
The hitter initiates the swing by pulling the knob of the bat directly at the ball with the hands.
As the back elbow passes near the back hip, the lower body should start to come around the back foot starts to roll over onto the big toe and the back knee starts to turn toward the front knee. At this point, the hitter’s lower body is following the upper body. When the hands get about even with the hitter’s belly button, the hitter need to explode open (swing).
At contact, the back thigh should be vertical and the upper body should be aligned directly over the back thigh. The front leg should be straight and angled out in front of the hitter. The back foot should have rotated around toward the pitcher and should have rolled up onto the point of the toe with the heel high.
The Follow Through
Extend and Point: After hitting the ball, continue your swing until both arms are fully extended and pointing at the pitcher.
Roll and Wrap: After you have extended both arms, roll your wrists over and continue to hold onto the bat with both hands until your back shoulder rotates completely around to the front and touches your chin.
Roll and Wrap: After you have extended both arms, roll your wrists over and continue to hold onto the bat with both hands until your back shoulder rotates completely around to the front and touches your chin.
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