Bat Throwing Drill

I'm a fan of this drill. It really gets them to understand what extention through contact feels like.
I have to agree that this drill is best served in a wide open space and not into a net. I had a 16yr old girl tear my heavy duty vinyl backstop a few months ago while performing this drill. Ironically, I though I would be protecting the cage by throwing into the backstop...

rdbass said:

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So, if this drill helps girls get "extension," why isn't Swingbuilder doing it here? The player I was working with ended up doing more like this. I was thinking I would work next (with the bat throwing drill) on getting her to extend through with her hands.

P.S. Those who know me would think this Swingbuilder fella from this distance looks like me. I guess a brotha from a different motha.

Doug Romrell said:

So, if this drill helps girls get "extension," why isn't Swingbuilder doing it here? The player I was working with ended up doing more like this. I was thinking I would work next (with the bat throwing drill) on getting her to extend through with her hands.

P.S. Those who know me would think this Swingbuilder fella from this distance looks like me. I guess a brotha from a different motha.

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Doug - IMO, you don't create extension by working on extension. You create extension by solidifying the swing mechanics. Swingbuilder's drill is meant to create immediate "whip". If you think back to the thread you started a couple of weeks ago when you were talking about what Miggy was doing with his hands. BINGO! That's what this drill is meant to do. It was the first video you posted in that thread. If you can create that rapid barrel turn and whip, the extension will work itself out. Again, IMO.

fastpitch26 said:

Doug - IMO, you don't create extension by working on extension. You create extension by solidifying the swing mechanics. Swingbuilder's drill is meant to create immediate "whip". If you think back to the thread you started a couple of weeks ago when you were talking about what Miggy was doing with his hands. BINGO! That's what this drill is meant to do. It was the first video you posted in that thread. If you can create that rapid barrel turn and whip, the extension will work itself out. Again, IMO.

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Well, I guess that's true, because when I put the tee in front with a ball on it and had her hit it (without throwing the bat) using the same mechanics, she did, for the most part, extend through much more so than she did throwing the bat.

Cannonball said:

The first person I saw do this drill is Englishbey. Subsequently, other coaches at various clinics have demonstrated the same. I have never thought that the drill was for extension but rather whip. SB is the first one that I have seen throw the bat toward the 3B dugout as a left hander.

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The intention (as I understand it) is about the feel of whipping the bat with top hand swivel...immediately, explosively, riNOW! It's about isolating an action in the hands by taking EVERYTHING else out of the equation.

Eric F said:

The intention (as I understand it) is about the feel of whipping the bat with top hand swivel...immediately, explosively, riNOW! It's about isolating an action in the hands by taking EVERYTHING else out of the equation.

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And by EVERYTHING else, what exactly do you mean? I'm asking because I see a lot more going on than just top hand swivel.
If you are quoting SB then that's 1 thing but if YOU are using the word EVERYTHING else on your own then I would like to hear how you interpret that.
Before you answer look at the clip and see what His body is doing before He activates His hands....

Here is how swingbuilder explained the drill on BBD.

The Whip drill. I would do it daily.

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I would get the hitter to whip it in the same exact direction you see me doing here.

Then to the opposite field. LF for me.

Then to CF.

Then to the pull side. RF for me.

Do not focus on anything but barrel turn whip at LAUNCH.

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This is a drill that will transfer to the swing at the moving ball. Remember its a drill where I am letting go of the bat. NOT EXTENDING MY ARMS or ALLOWING the whipped bat to pull my arms to extension. Its simply a whip the barrel/ turn the barrel at launch drill.

The next phase would then be with the whipped barrel pulling the arms to extension before release of the bat in the whipped direction.

This is phase one.....NO ARM EXTENSION!!!

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This drill as I read, is not an ARM EXTENSION drill.

NO ARM EXTENSION!!![/

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I like this drill much better:

Hands 'turning the barrel to the ball'. Extension is not some thing that is taught in a 'arm extension drill'. Extension is a result of the swing. The arms will get 'extended', because of what the hitter does upstream. 'Whip' the barrel, 'turn the barrel to the ball' righttttttttttttt now.

rdbass said:

I like this drill much better:

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The problem is that this drill will not be tolerated by the HS softball coaching staff that this player will run into here in a couple months. In rebuilding her hitting mechanics to help her become a better hitter, we want to take the path of least resistance, which will be to learn to swing without the hand action in the above clip. It will also need to be without a stride (head coach announced last season, "There will be no strides."). This player, a pitcher, will take enough flack for her IR pitching style. She doesn't want to have to take more flack with her hitting style.

Swingbuilder's bat-throwing drill has already helped her swing immensely in how it gets her bat path correct.