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CHECKOUT VIDEO TIPS ON HITTING AND POWER.
Here are some hitting tip from Ray DeMarini's "The Secrets to Ultimate Bat Speed" and a few other places. I'll be updating this periodically, so keep checking back. If you have any
tips you want to share with the rest of us softball nuts, e-mail me & I'll put them in here.
1. Keep your hands loose - you get a lot more speed with a relaxed grip than with a tight grip.
2. PUSH with your back hand while PULLING with your front hand - the PUSH will give you a significant increase in power & improve your follow-through.
3. Release your top hand off the bat - this will help give you more extension which means more power. If you don't already do this, it will probably feel uncomfortable at first, but
work with it & you should see an increase in power.
4. Keep your hands out in front of the bat - basically throw your hands at the ball so that the last thing that comes through the strike zone is the bat head.
5. Hit the bottom half of the ball - this causes back spin which will carry the ball farther.
6. Make sure you are shifting your weight from your back foot to your front foot as you're powering through the ball. If you keep your weight on your back foot, you just won't
generate that much power.
7. Make contact slightly in front of where you're standing because this will be where you're generating your max bat speed. Too far in front, though, and the bat will be decelerating
when you hit the ball. Too soon in your swing, & you won't be generating enough speed & won't have enough leverage.
8. Drop your pinky finger off the knob to get more leverage because leverage = speed.
9. Choose pitches in your "power zone". Each of us has his own zone where he can hit with the most power. Try to be patient & really work on pitch selection.
10. "Ikey-Mikey" - start your swing with your chin on your front shoulder (Ikey), and end with your chin on your back shoulder (Mikey). This will keep your head down on the ball
and prevent you from opening up too soon & losing power.
Don't worry about hips, back elbow, and all that other stuff; concentrate on your hands - keeping them relaxed, swinging them fast and pulling (accelerating) through the ball to
maintain as much speed as possible, and the rest (hips, weight transfer, follow-through, etc.) will take care of itself.
You'll be surprised what you are capable of if you apply proven techniques and practice hard. If you WANT to hit with more power and consistency, you CAN and WILL; it is up to
YOU.
tips you want to share with the rest of us softball nuts, e-mail me & I'll put them in here.
1. Keep your hands loose - you get a lot more speed with a relaxed grip than with a tight grip.
2. PUSH with your back hand while PULLING with your front hand - the PUSH will give you a significant increase in power & improve your follow-through.
3. Release your top hand off the bat - this will help give you more extension which means more power. If you don't already do this, it will probably feel uncomfortable at first, but
work with it & you should see an increase in power.
4. Keep your hands out in front of the bat - basically throw your hands at the ball so that the last thing that comes through the strike zone is the bat head.
5. Hit the bottom half of the ball - this causes back spin which will carry the ball farther.
6. Make sure you are shifting your weight from your back foot to your front foot as you're powering through the ball. If you keep your weight on your back foot, you just won't
generate that much power.
7. Make contact slightly in front of where you're standing because this will be where you're generating your max bat speed. Too far in front, though, and the bat will be decelerating
when you hit the ball. Too soon in your swing, & you won't be generating enough speed & won't have enough leverage.
8. Drop your pinky finger off the knob to get more leverage because leverage = speed.
9. Choose pitches in your "power zone". Each of us has his own zone where he can hit with the most power. Try to be patient & really work on pitch selection.
10. "Ikey-Mikey" - start your swing with your chin on your front shoulder (Ikey), and end with your chin on your back shoulder (Mikey). This will keep your head down on the ball
and prevent you from opening up too soon & losing power.
Don't worry about hips, back elbow, and all that other stuff; concentrate on your hands - keeping them relaxed, swinging them fast and pulling (accelerating) through the ball to
maintain as much speed as possible, and the rest (hips, weight transfer, follow-through, etc.) will take care of itself.
You'll be surprised what you are capable of if you apply proven techniques and practice hard. If you WANT to hit with more power and consistency, you CAN and WILL; it is up to
YOU.
Hitting a softball can not be learnt to do overnight. You need to learn how to hit the ball by using drills which will give you the necessary skills to perform better at
the plate. Some of the best drills use a batting tee and this article has several of these types of drills. Use a couple of these softball hitting drills and you will really
notice how much better you are getting at hitting the ball.
Drill 1 - Deflated Volleyball
Purpose: To learn to drive through the ball at contact 3x10 with light bat and heavy bat.
Drill 2 - Inside - Outside
Purpose: To emphasize taking the same stride, regardless of the pitch location.
Procedure: One T is placed on the inside corner of the plate (in front of the plate), and the second T is placed on the outside corner of the plate (even with the
plate). While using correct mechanics, the batter alternates between hitting the inside ball and the outside ball.
Drill 3 - Regular T
Purpose: To practice keeping the head down and the barrel up.
Procedure: Place the T in the strike zone so that the barrel stays up. The batter should drive the front shoulder to the outside corner of the plate. After contact the
batter should look inside the T. This ensures that the head stays down and eyes on ball.
Drill 4 - Target on the Fence
Purpose: To practice a smooth rhythm and follow-through.
Procedure: Place a target on the fence and a T about 15-20 feet in front of the target. The batter tries to hit the target.
the plate. Some of the best drills use a batting tee and this article has several of these types of drills. Use a couple of these softball hitting drills and you will really
notice how much better you are getting at hitting the ball.
Drill 1 - Deflated Volleyball
Purpose: To learn to drive through the ball at contact 3x10 with light bat and heavy bat.
Drill 2 - Inside - Outside
Purpose: To emphasize taking the same stride, regardless of the pitch location.
Procedure: One T is placed on the inside corner of the plate (in front of the plate), and the second T is placed on the outside corner of the plate (even with the
plate). While using correct mechanics, the batter alternates between hitting the inside ball and the outside ball.
Drill 3 - Regular T
Purpose: To practice keeping the head down and the barrel up.
Procedure: Place the T in the strike zone so that the barrel stays up. The batter should drive the front shoulder to the outside corner of the plate. After contact the
batter should look inside the T. This ensures that the head stays down and eyes on ball.
Drill 4 - Target on the Fence
Purpose: To practice a smooth rhythm and follow-through.
Procedure: Place a target on the fence and a T about 15-20 feet in front of the target. The batter tries to hit the target.
Tee drills
One of the fastest ways to increase your team's
batting average and power is to improve bat speed.
The quicker the bat head moves through the hitting
zone, the longer your players can wait and see the
ball - and make a better choice in a swing, no-swing
situation.
And when your players strike the ball with more
velocity, it travels further and faster, increasing
the chances of extra base hits.
Here are 3 simple tips you can use with players of
any age to develop lightning-quick bat speed.
1) Train The Core
A powerful core helps your athletes transfer speed
and momentum to the upper body, the arms, and
eventually the bat head.
Here are 3 core exercises you should include in your
your team's in-season and off-season program:
* Plank
Lie down on your stomach. Lift your body off the
floor with your forearms (elbows at 90° degrees) and
your toes. Keep your body in a straight position
(without arching your back) and hold for 30 seconds
to one minute. Lift one foot in the air for added
difficulty.
* Lying glute pushup
The lying glute pushup targets your butt and back
muscles. Lie on your back with your feet resting on
top of a chair or bench. Push through your heels to raise
your butt off the floor as high as possible. Form a
straight line from your knees to your shoulders.
Hold this position for 60 seconds.
* Twisting crunch
This is one of the most effective crunch workouts,
as it hits all of your stomach muscle fibers at once.
Assume a standard crunch position, raise your torso to
a 45° angle, and then twist from side to side. For an
advanced movement, extend your legs and pretend to
peddle a bicycle while you continue to twist.
2) Build Grip Strength
To develop a quick bat your kids must have strong
hands, wrists and forearms.
Your players can easily build grip strength by using
common objects found at home. Have them spend 30
minutes a day squeezing a tennis ball (they can do
this while watching TV or reading).
Another great at-home tool is the wrist-roller.
Making one is easy. Just take a broom stick and cut
it to about 12 inches long. now drill a hole in the
middle of the cut broom stick and insert a piece of
rope around 4-5 feet long.
Now tie one end of the rope to the handle and the
other end to a brick or five-lb weight.
To perform the exercise, twist and turn both wrists in
an alternating fashion, rolling the weight all
the way to the top. Lower slowly and repeat.
3) Solo Hitting Practice
Simply put, the best way to improve bat speed is
repetition.
Earlier this season, I stumbled onto a "magic" hitting
machine that allows your batter to get a massive
number of swing reps in only 5 minutes a week
batting average and power is to improve bat speed.
The quicker the bat head moves through the hitting
zone, the longer your players can wait and see the
ball - and make a better choice in a swing, no-swing
situation.
And when your players strike the ball with more
velocity, it travels further and faster, increasing
the chances of extra base hits.
Here are 3 simple tips you can use with players of
any age to develop lightning-quick bat speed.
1) Train The Core
A powerful core helps your athletes transfer speed
and momentum to the upper body, the arms, and
eventually the bat head.
Here are 3 core exercises you should include in your
your team's in-season and off-season program:
* Plank
Lie down on your stomach. Lift your body off the
floor with your forearms (elbows at 90° degrees) and
your toes. Keep your body in a straight position
(without arching your back) and hold for 30 seconds
to one minute. Lift one foot in the air for added
difficulty.
* Lying glute pushup
The lying glute pushup targets your butt and back
muscles. Lie on your back with your feet resting on
top of a chair or bench. Push through your heels to raise
your butt off the floor as high as possible. Form a
straight line from your knees to your shoulders.
Hold this position for 60 seconds.
* Twisting crunch
This is one of the most effective crunch workouts,
as it hits all of your stomach muscle fibers at once.
Assume a standard crunch position, raise your torso to
a 45° angle, and then twist from side to side. For an
advanced movement, extend your legs and pretend to
peddle a bicycle while you continue to twist.
2) Build Grip Strength
To develop a quick bat your kids must have strong
hands, wrists and forearms.
Your players can easily build grip strength by using
common objects found at home. Have them spend 30
minutes a day squeezing a tennis ball (they can do
this while watching TV or reading).
Another great at-home tool is the wrist-roller.
Making one is easy. Just take a broom stick and cut
it to about 12 inches long. now drill a hole in the
middle of the cut broom stick and insert a piece of
rope around 4-5 feet long.
Now tie one end of the rope to the handle and the
other end to a brick or five-lb weight.
To perform the exercise, twist and turn both wrists in
an alternating fashion, rolling the weight all
the way to the top. Lower slowly and repeat.
3) Solo Hitting Practice
Simply put, the best way to improve bat speed is
repetition.
Earlier this season, I stumbled onto a "magic" hitting
machine that allows your batter to get a massive
number of swing reps in only 5 minutes a week
HITTING TIPS FOR SOFTBALL
BAT SPEED DRILLS
