My favorite hitting drill is.....

[Eric F]

I know I prefer to practice my "incorrect" movements at full speed; we get thru them much more quickly that way

Not sure I understand the problem some have with "matrixing" a swing, though. I wouldn't say we use it often; but I do think slowing the process down to focus on a particular point of emphasis has real value. Maybe I'm performing it incorrectly

As I understand it (I could be wrong), it's because some people do not believe the swing should be taught as a series of positions, but rather movements.

 

[OzOl]

Hi guys, firstly thanks to EVERYONE who posts on this site. I am relatively new to softball coaching(I coach my 12 yr old daughters team with another dad) and I find the majority of the info on this site helpful and even the ideas that don't work for me send me out looking for why it doesn't and what might help in the future.
Apart from front toss my only drill with my daughter is a half way around hit against a punching bag then repeat. My DD gets a rhythm going and it helped her get the feel of power from hips and torso. Also got her out squishing the bug.
In between front toss we sometimes get the old ball on a stick out to emphasize where she should be hitting outside or inside balls.

 

[FP26]

That's the one! Admittedly, when she was young, I taught her to squish the bug. But I have since "found the light". This drill helped her a lot, IMO.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

A comment on drills…what is the purpose of doing a drill or using mechanics that you would never use in a game? For instance the quick hands drill where the person soft tossing throws balls out quickly for the hitter to hit.






Before long the hitter gets behind and misses or their mechanics and they get erratic and before long all the mechanics we have worked so hard on are soon lost and our efforts have been wasted.

You will hear people say this drill builds bat speed, stamina and quick hands…BULL CRAP! We just finished drills that promoted every aspect of hitting we can think of and we used good technique and mechanics. Some drills make no sense and this is one of them.

FFS where did anyone say on here say that the book stated to practice in slow motion incorrect methods anyone that has read the book would know your statement made no sense!

Softball and baseball is a ballistic sport and not an endurance sport so train in your mind on the execution of the mechanics and not on the results as you have no control of the results only on the execution!

1: Agree that rapid fire drills can be counter productive. What some call "rapid robotics" ... I call "rapid BADbotics".

2: Slow motion swings are nothing new. They've been around for decades. Virtually all of the demonstrations of the matrix drill that I've seen involve faulty mechanics ... hence the reminder that practicing improper mechanics at slow speed is not the goal.

3: Agree that the focus should be on the "process". That has long been a theme of mine. I'll add to that .... allow the Hanson Principle to serve as the blue-print for that process.

 

[Spartans21]

"The process" Any Nick Saban fans? Good stuff....

 

[tjintx]

Refresh my memory please. Why is this GIF labeled the Kick drill? I ask because whens I looks at it I See a focus on keeping Her upper body from drifting back when She shifts Her weight back. Then when She tips it's a sign Her upper is giving a press to stay ahead of or on top of the hips. Was the kick a cue to get the rear hip through?

 

[Greenmonsters]

Don't know where the clip orignated, but Yee has series of photo of same on her blog and refers to the movement as a kick. She talks about how the knee kick initiates the hip rotation (rather than the hip pulling the leg) and that its an anti-bug squish move

 

[coach james]

I'm interested in the "bounce drill" does anyone have a video of this and can elaborate on its purpose?

First Strike Baseball Front Toss (Bounce Ball) - YouTube

Thanks... I give it a try with dd this weekend

 

[tjintx]

Don't know where the clip orignated, but Yee has series of photo of same on her blog and refers to the movement as a kick. She talks about how the knee kick initiates the hip rotation (rather than the hip pulling the leg) and that its an anti-bug squish move

Thanks GM,
I like that A LOT. That "knee kick" when done correctly really springs the rear hip forward....

 

[SBFAMILY]

Dave Paetkau's Brain in a Blog Yee learned from Dave Paetkau. Dave is a very good hitting coach.