Drills to get them to feel the proper use of lower half
- Thread starter krd005
- Start date
Welcome to Discuss Fastpitch
Your FREE Account is waiting to the Best Softball Community on the Web.
I would like to hear some of these as well. The only thing I have used is to place the bat against their hips and hit the ball off a tee which forces them to rotate their hips. Too many girls still swing with just their arms.
Rear hip drive vs. spinning thread may cast some light on this same subject in my opinion.
Thanks Howard
I came up with something kind of interesting and fun. Have two hitters stand facing each other, standing across from each other. Assuming two right handed hitters, have them put their elbows on their back hips with the forearm and hand sticking straight out. They then stride and turn, and try to give each other a low five. This movement will help them learn to drive the back hip forward rather than spinning on the back side.
The key is to make sure the arm doesn't move forward on its own. It has to move with the hip.
The key is to make sure the arm doesn't move forward on its own. It has to move with the hip.
FiveFrameSwing
Banned
Wellphyt ... in another thread you requested some GIF of Bonds be posted here.
FFS, thanks for posting the clips. Have you seen the one of Bonds taken up high from the front side? It gives a different perspective of what the back hip is doing.
One drill that helped my daughter and I, feel what the hips are doing, is the Stretch and Fire drill from HI. I've found that it really helps for the girls to feel the rear hip pivot point. Plus it's the only drill that my daughter has actually said she likes.
I have her gradually close up her stance every few swings until she gets into her batting stance position. We also do Happy Gilmores on occassion.
Ted's comments on pages 4, 5 & 6 of this article Wade Boggs, Ted Williams and Don Mattingly rendezvous to - 04.14.86 - SI Vault also helped. His "unwinding of the hips" comment rang a bell with me.
I'm going to experiment with Ken's Low Five drill, as I feel the girls would have fun with it. I've already tried it a few times myself. Ken, do you have a problem getting the girls to straighten the front leg, or is that not an issue or even relative to this drill? Thanks.
One drill that helped my daughter and I, feel what the hips are doing, is the Stretch and Fire drill from HI. I've found that it really helps for the girls to feel the rear hip pivot point. Plus it's the only drill that my daughter has actually said she likes.
I have her gradually close up her stance every few swings until she gets into her batting stance position. We also do Happy Gilmores on occassion.
Ted's comments on pages 4, 5 & 6 of this article Wade Boggs, Ted Williams and Don Mattingly rendezvous to - 04.14.86 - SI Vault also helped. His "unwinding of the hips" comment rang a bell with me.
I'm going to experiment with Ken's Low Five drill, as I feel the girls would have fun with it. I've already tried it a few times myself. Ken, do you have a problem getting the girls to straighten the front leg, or is that not an issue or even relative to this drill? Thanks.
Wellphyt, I haven't had a problem with it so far. The movement isn't as violent as a true hip thrust/rotation. It's more to give them the feeling of the path. Also, the fact that they're meeting something that is coming toward them (their partner's hand) tends to keep them from over-doing it or breaking down the front leg.
By the way, for weight shifting I also like Happy Gilmores. The only trouble is a lot of girls haven't seen that movie so they don't get the humor in the name. Adam Sandler movies aren't always big with the girls. Probably means more to the boys.
By the way, for weight shifting I also like Happy Gilmores. The only trouble is a lot of girls haven't seen that movie so they don't get the humor in the name. Adam Sandler movies aren't always big with the girls. Probably means more to the boys.
The 1-2-3 Drill.
I have my students do what I call the 1-2-3 drill. Because its as simple as 1-2-3.
I get them into their stance with the front foot up. For this drill I also tell them to put the bat on the shoulder up against the neck. I then tell them the following:
1. Plant the heel.
2. Fire the back hip (While not moving the shoulders but getting the back foot up on its toe.)
3. Unload the shoulders and hit the ball.
Starting out I count for them making sure they perform each movement slow and correctly. I am looking for faults in their mechanics when I do this with them. After they get the idea I let them count and I observe their movement. After they get that down I do a progression swing process where I will tell them to swing at 10% 20% 30% ect. The whole time they are doing this I am observing the sequence of the swing. If I see the hands fire before the hips or at the same time then we start over.
This gets them the feel of the sequence of the swing at a very basic level. I have seen good improvement with my students in coil of the core, learning to keep the shoulder in during the swing and getting the correct sequence for the unload process.
One last thing. It also drives them crazy
Dana.
I have my students do what I call the 1-2-3 drill. Because its as simple as 1-2-3.
I get them into their stance with the front foot up. For this drill I also tell them to put the bat on the shoulder up against the neck. I then tell them the following:
1. Plant the heel.
2. Fire the back hip (While not moving the shoulders but getting the back foot up on its toe.)
3. Unload the shoulders and hit the ball.
Starting out I count for them making sure they perform each movement slow and correctly. I am looking for faults in their mechanics when I do this with them. After they get the idea I let them count and I observe their movement. After they get that down I do a progression swing process where I will tell them to swing at 10% 20% 30% ect. The whole time they are doing this I am observing the sequence of the swing. If I see the hands fire before the hips or at the same time then we start over.
This gets them the feel of the sequence of the swing at a very basic level. I have seen good improvement with my students in coil of the core, learning to keep the shoulder in during the swing and getting the correct sequence for the unload process.
One last thing. It also drives them crazy
Dana.
Similar threads
