- Oct 2, 2017
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Curious to hear the instructions that you're (meaning whomever) using when attempting to get the player to achieve whatever it is you're looking for from the drill...and IOWs, what you're hoping to teach or instill in the hitter by using it.
While I don't use a hammer, I do a similar rear "hand path" drill...simply by having the hitter stand with an open hand up in their "loaded" position (thus the open hand is somewhere near their rear ear/shoulder), and then instruction them in letting me see the "hand path" they'd take to get their hand "behind and through" the ball in order to hit (or "lift") a LD over F6 for a righty, and F4 for the lefties.
If you try that now yourself just with those instructions...where does your hand automatically go, and depending on how you were holding it at the top...what does it do w/o being coached on it?
I only ask that because I'm not sure I see the actual benefit of having a hammer or mallet in one hands for the lesson. I could be wrong though, and why I'm curious to here the drill instructions, and what can only be taught with a hammer in hand. Thanks in advance.
The drill would be something similar to what you are saying with the open hand drill if I'm understanding it properly. Would be the open palm facing away from the body in the open position during "Loaded" position. Then take a hand path to get behind the ball. In which the open palm would be facing towards lets say the pitcher? Hopefully that's correct. The benefit I see in the mallet or hammer using the same drill as the open palm is probably 2 fold. 1 - Weight. Our bodies do things differently when weight is present. An open palm has no tension. So how you get behind the ball is a little different in feel. Add weight and now how you get behind the ball at least in my thinking would be a little different. Even though the final result is probably the same. Because now the body has to engage certain muscle groups etc to perform the task presented. That's my first thinking. 2 - With a mallet or hammer which only has one strike surface in the loaded position would be facing away from you just like the open palm. To get behind the ball a person would have to in my mind turn the mallet or hammer in the hand path to strike the ball with the strike surface of the mallet. Correct? That coupled with the weight the player would get the feeling and feed back that they need to swing properly. As in turning the barrel of a bat etc. Also as I stated previously to properly release the bat head. I don't if this makes any sense LOL
To be clear I'm not looking at this to be some magical cure. Teaching a 8yr old feel I believe is one of the most difficult things to communicate through Words. using drills or objects to communicate the same thing without the use of words I believe is priceless at this age.
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