Drills/Gadgets to stop casting/arm bar

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May 15, 2008
1,941
113
Cape Cod Mass.
I have always been interested in this device but honestly I never went ahead and purchased it. I have some concerns that it doesn't work well with a full swing because I think it messes with the follow through. In most of the demos the hitters are swinging into a heavy bag. And I don't agree with some of Mankins analysis of the issue, but the result looks good.

 
Apr 2, 2015
1,198
113
Woodstock, man
There is no device that fixes this. The Perfect Connextion (like almost every hitting gadget) actually introduces a new flaw (pushing the front bicep away from the torso), ignoring the old flaw.

The biggest problem is that the issue isn't really with the front arm.

Watch the hands here from toe touch to hip slot. Notice they never leave the armpit area. They are not pushing forward, down, or backwards - they simply rotate down/around with the back shoulder.
Manny-toetouch-to-hipslot.gif


Now notice the hands here. See how they push backwards towards the catcher.
giphy.gif
ezgif-1-3eca89970b2d.gif

So, the fix is to simply do dry drills with no ball, and swing forward only until hip slot (like Manny above)
1. make sure the hands stay at the armpit
2. make sure the hands are roughly a thumb-length away (stick out your top thumb), and not jammed into the body
3. make sure the torso is rotating, and the back shoulder is rotating down/around
 
Last edited:
Apr 30, 2018
349
43
At our last practice I used this drill with a PVC pipe. The girls who swing with all arms struggled badly with this.



Does anyone have some videos of drills that expand on this with the arms?

Sent from my SM-G975U1 using Tapatalk
 
Oct 13, 2014
5,471
113
South Cali
At our last practice I used this drill with a PVC pipe. The girls who swing with all arms struggled badly with this.



Does anyone have some videos of drills that expand on this with the arms?

Sent from my SM-G975U1 using Tapatalk


you are on the right track w this. posture needs to be right before addressing the hands. Or posture needs to be present before changing the hands.

edit: creating space for the hands is key. Using the right muscles to get into a postion to fire is key. Posture does that. I don’t use this drill. so not sure if it hurts or helps.
 
Last edited:
Aug 20, 2017
1,502
113
Neck slot drills and old Epstein drills will help with connection like EFast is describing. Make sure you are using good posture with these drills. I also like putting a screen behind hitters (behind home plate) that cast during BP and tees.
 
Apr 30, 2018
349
43
I took a risk and bought the Powerbelt from Batspeed.com. It straps the bottom hand elbow to the ribs and has the top hand wrist on a break away velcro strap. I realize it probably isn't a perfect solution, but this is rec ball and we have very limited time with the girls trying to do any changes. If this at least gets them to feel what a non-casting swing feels like I'm hoping that will make it worth it. Here are some gifs of my DD being the guinea pig. We only did two buckets of balls, one with and one without the harness. As a baseline, the first gif wearing blue jeans is her swing taken last month.

Right Side Optomized.gif

Here is her swing today, one on the left with the harness and the one on the right without the harness. You can see the lead wrist strap breaking away just before contact. Thoughts?


With Harness.gifAfter Harness.gif
 
Apr 9, 2020
136
28
there are many products and drills out there not one is perfect.. the first one I tried which was the cheapest was the a 6$ dog chuck it toy.. we bought the long one with a bag of pressure less tennis balls.. we would hold like a bat with two hands and swing. if done correctly with no bat drag or casting the ball would travel directly towards pitcher, if casted or dragged it would go towards right field... what I liked most from this other than cost was you can do it million times without muscle fatigue and even better the athlete can do it by herself and know instantly if done correctly based on ball flight (she can work on her own) another we moved up to after she got older and more dedicated with some success that we still use daily is CAMWOOD bat and it 30 day program... they have a one handed and two handed bat. there is a learning curve as there are with all new drills and aids...and like most initial reactions from the athlete it will be " I don't like this " thats usually because it is showcasing the flaw or issue with the mechanics... which ever you decide start slow and be patient.. you can try proglider bat as well..good luck.. in no way an expert but have spent a lot of time and money on gadgets some great and some waste and what might work for one may not work for another child ..
 
Feb 5, 2021
2
1
What happens when you set a tee high and inside?

Try that and tell them to hit the "inside of the ball". Position the ball so that a Logo would be at the 9 o'clock position on the ball for a right-handed hitter; 3 o'clock for a leftie. That should force their hands inside. I think approach helps with hitters that cast. My son was a caster and we would drill buckets of balls working on hitting the "inside" of the ball off of the tee.
 

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