April 30, 2004
Hit the Ball
I've found a nice resource for you if you don't already know about it. It's called eteamz (www.eteamz.com). The have discussion boards on hitting for Baseball and Softball, both Fastpitch and Slo-pitch. They certainly cover every way to hit the ball, so beware that you'll find some of every opinion out there, but a lot of it's good. If you're confused about the different hitting styles they talk about we've covered them in many of the past newsletters. If you're new to the newsletter you may want to review some of those discussions as well. This link will take you to the past newsletters.What I see in these posts are mostly are how to swing. Rotational vs. Linear, etc. What I have only found a few posts on are where most of it's lived, in the mental and visual arenas. I thought the most insightful post I saw was a gentleman that says he starts off teaching every kid to bunt first so they make contact with the ball and then worries about swinging the bat. I have to admit, I don't do that but it has a lot of merit. If the end goal is to hit, why aren't we learning more of Ty Cobb's techniques? He only averaged .367 over 20 years and was almost 20 points higher than anyone else in baseball history. His lifetime average could win the batting title many years in major league baseball. He bunted a lot and hit with his hands split apart. Would we dare think of such a thing? You'd have to be pretty self assured and be ready to answer lots of critics, but it is an interesting question.
What do the best hitters think about?
If you listen to what the best hitters think about right as they go to bat, it's "See the ball - Hit the Ball" or "See it and hit it". Doesn't that sound too simple? It did to me when I asked them about it, but if you're thinking of anything other than seeing it, you're not going to hit it. Practice is the time to perfect your swing. It needs to be embedded to the point that it's like lifting a spoon to your mouth. You'd never hear yourself thinking about the technique to where to place your hands on the spoon or the hand path to the mouth, you just do it.A drill for seeing the ball
You can use two balls for this drill or buy 2 different colored whiffle balls or whiffle golf balls. You do it as you would the standard toss drill but while the balls are in the air yell out the color of the ball they are to hit (of if using the 2 ball drill, call out "top" or "bottom"). This really forces them to focus and hit the ball they see. I will be inserting more hitting drills in this newsletter as time goes one. Also If you haven't signed up for your Free 7 day hitting lessons click here.How's your Batting Average?
I get a lot of questions about how to figure a batting average. I have one of the most complete answers on the Internet posted here.Hear more about how to hit the ball
Another question I get is if I have any videos or books. The closest thing I have so far is the interview I did with one of the nation's top hitting coaches, Phil Bruder.Tell me what else you want to know
Are there any other questions you'd like to know or to talk about? Please e-mail me, I'd love to hear from you. Maybe we'll answer them next time. Click here to write to meWelcome to the new subscribers, many more of you joined this month!! I want to help as many kids (adults) as I can. If you could help me by passing this newsletter on to your teammates or anyone you know that could use the help we're offering here, please forward this to them. Thanks in advance. Or if you'd like to post any of my information on your website, just e-mail me for permission and I'll be glad to get it to you in a format that will fit your site. Talk to you next time. Coach Andy