I have been coaching for a number of years and recently had an opportunity to work with a 6U team. Much to my surprise, the advanced team that I am coaching is now benefiting greatly with these baseball hitting drills. How? BASICS!!!
Hitting BASICS
Hitting is critical for every team, no matter what age. Don’t assume anything and remember to go back to the basics.
Specifically: what does a batter do to once they step into the box. They should start with: feet, grip, position, and trigger. Most players, good hitters or bad, just jump in the box and try to hit the heck out of the ball.
Stop them next time at practice and ask the following questions:
- Where are your feet?
- Where do they point?
- How are your hands aligned and to what are they aligned?
- What do your knees do (position)?
- Where are your shoulders?
- What position is your body in?
- Where does your bat go before your swing?
- What are the first 3 things that move when you start your swing (trigger)?
If they have responses for each of these, evaluate them and adjust as needed. If they have no process to go through before they start their at bat, than teaching the basics will go a long ways.