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.