Basketball hitting drill

I'm guilty of doing this drill too... however since buying the tcb's, I haven't done it since. The hard recoil of the barrel is what is supposed to teach the kids to power through contact. But if you don't have any tcb's then the basketball will do...but only very sparingly or as a pregame warm up. IMO...not at all if less than 14u

CycloneSoftball22 said:

Like I said , I have the TCB balls. I just saw this video and wondered about it since I have seen it at other major D1 camps and clinics. Is there a proven downside or just personal preference?

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I don't feel there is a downside, more just personal preference like you say. We don't use the basketballs in travel, but the HS coach uses them. I've not heard the girls complain of injuries, but I've also not seen production go up or down in the box. Like most things, if you feel it's helping ( regardless of what others say ) go for it.

coach james said:

I'm guilty of doing this drill too... however since buying the tcb's, I haven't done it since. The hard recoil of the barrel is what is supposed to teach the kids to power through contact. But if you don't have any tcb's then the basketball will do...but only sparingly or as a pregame warm up.

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I wonder why college programs still use the basketballs/soccer balls instead of the TCB (it isnt like they cant afford them)?

CycloneSoftball22 said:

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I wonder why college programs still use the basketballs/soccer balls instead of the TCB (it isnt like they cant afford them)?

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One D1 that I am friends with didn't know what I was talking about and I had to show them to him.

redhotcoach said:

One D1 that I am friends with didn't know what I was talking about and I had to show them to him.

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Interesting. That kind of amazes me since they have been out on the market for a while now. One of the programs that I have seen hit the basketballs , etc is an SEC program.

CycloneSoftball22 said:

I know that most on here dont like the idea of hitting basketballs , etc. But , I found this video interesting. Seems like these girls are hitting them pretty hard. What would be the downside?

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I used basketballs for awhile. With the plug removed. They do have some negatives. Sometimes at various contact points things can happen, like awkward twisting of the wrists or arms. On an inside hit there is a tendency for the bat to ricochet into the knee. We used them a lot and the only injuries were to the knee, bruising.

Since the TCB balls we don't use the basketball anymore.

We do use a punching bag still, but it's not a follow-through type drill. It's strictly for throwing the barrel at the bag (ball) and listening for loud impact and square contact at various positions.

You want to avoid coming to a complete stop such as hitting a tire or a basket ball. Talk to your orthopedic surgeon and ask what it does to your shoulder, elbow and wrist ESPECIALLY on the younger kids you are forcing this drill on!

There are other ways to strengthen the wrists and forearms than subjecting them to this drill. Learn a proper hand path and just swing the bat if you want to increase bat speed.

We recommend swinging a heavy bat or use Edge Weighted Gloves. Above from Howard/Hitter, but I could cut and paste many posts from another site from many different hitting coaches.. True story. We had a 16U team at a clinic and they were all complaining of having sore shoulders. Bustos asked what are you doing hitting basketballs ? All the parents at once stated yes!

SBFAMILY said:

You want to avoid coming to a complete stop such as hitting a tire or a basket ball. Talk to your orthopedic surgeon and ask what it does to your shoulder, elbow and wrist ESPECIALLY on the younger kids you are forcing this drill on!

There are other ways to strengthen the wrists and forearms than subjecting them to this drill. Learn a proper hand path and just swing the bat if you want to increase bat speed.

We recommend swinging a heavy bat or use Edge Weighted Gloves. Above from Howard/Hitter, but I could cut and paste many posts from another site from many different hitting coaches..

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Once again , with the number of trainers , doctors , surgeons , etc that college programs have access to , why wouldnt this drill be taken out of the program if it was causing serious injuries?

I have been at 26 college camps. Only two hit basketballs and the other coach went to that same school. My dd plays and they don't hit basketballs. You have a good point, but there are many old school stuff we put kids thru, because we did it. None of the Olympic teams did this per Bustos and they had the best trainers in the world. You would think they would, but I can't speak for those schools!

SBFAMILY said:

I have been at 26 college camps. Only two hit basketballs and the other coach went to that same school. My dd plays and they don't hit basketballs. You have a good point, but there are many old school stuff we put kids thru, because we did it. None of the Olympic teams did this per Bustos and they had the best trainers in the world. You would think they would, but I can't speak for those schools!

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I know that not all schools use this drill. I really dont know how many do. But , my observation was that I have seen it at the camps of some top D1 schools. Actually , the last one I was at , they were hitting the Muhl balls (which I think are 1 lb each) So , is it just personal preference?