My favorite hitting drill is.....

[Eric F]

Thanks GM,
I like that A LOT. That "knee kick" when done correctly really springs the rear hip forward....

Yes. As GM mentioned, the "kick drill" is pretty effective for getting away from bug-squishing (save the bugs!) and building the feeling of a good hip turn. With young hitters, I usually have them start without a bat and focus on the feeling of driving the knee forward. Once they start to feel it, I have them start hitting off a tee, but keep the focus on the knee drive.

 

[tjintx]

Yes. As GM mentioned, the "kick drill" is pretty effective for getting away from bug-squishing (save the bugs!) and building the feeling of a good hip turn. With young hitters, I usually have them start without a bat and focus on the feeling of driving the hip forward. Once they start to feel it, I have them start hitting off a tee, but keep the focus on the hip drive.

Eric, this bolded section goes against the "knee kick" purpose IMO. The hip gets pulled by the rear leg/knee not the other way around.
Or perhaps that's what you mean when you say driving the hip?

 

[Eric F]

Eric, this bolded section goes against the "knee kick" purpose IMO. The hip gets pulled by the rear leg/knee not the other way around.
Or perhaps that's what you mean when you say driving the hip?

My mistake...it should have been "knee", not "hip". I have them focus on driving the knee forward. After they get familiar with the feeling, I have them keep both feet on the ground, and create the same feeling again. If they're doing it right, the rear foot will be pulled up onto its toe, and bugs will not be squished.

 

[tjintx]

From Jen's blog.. I found this interesting.

"Three, and most importantly, it breaks the kinematic sequence. By squishing the bug, it is impossible to separate the rotation of the hips and shoulders. They instead rotate at the same time, making the hitter use their arms a lot more, resulting in slower batspeed"

I would say a other factors can also keep the hips from separating from the shoulder as well. Something above the hips can also inhibit sequence.

 

[SCflashes]

What is the matrix hitting drill?

 

[SBFAMILY]

That is a Bustos Carrier drill that she talks about on her DVD's and it is slow motion training taken from the Book " The Talent Code" I suggest any coach read that book. It breaks the swing down into parts that you work on. Bustos spends hours hitting off the T working on parts of her swing.

 

[petricca413]

Tee work!

Hitting coaches often come up with drills to kill time in practice, but they do little to improve bat speed or consistency. They should feel comfortable devoting an entire workout to perfecting hitting mechanics off a tee.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Tee work!

Hitting coaches often come up with drills to kill time in practice, but they do little to improve bat speed or consistency. They should feel comfortable devoting an entire workout to perfecting hitting mechanics off a tee.

Don't overlook the value of hitting a ball moving towards you. The concepts introduced during tee work need to be emphasized and reinforced while facing a ball moving towards the hitter.

 

[Doug Romrell]

Sorry folks, and I'll get hit in the head with a bat for this, but I prefer the girls hitting a ball "moving toward" them to any tee drill.

 

[CoogansBluff]

Sorry folks, and I'll get hit in the head with a bat for this, but I prefer the girls hitting a ball "moving toward" them to any tee drill.

Based on my experience w/ DD, I'd say that it depends on how hard it is for the hitter to grasp the new hitting pattern she's trying to learn. I consider the tee the first step. But I wouldn't stay there too long, and I'd skip that step entirely if they can handle it from front toss. Then don't mind going back to tee for some remedial work.

And as an aside, it's not always easy to provide front toss. You need a screen, and you need to be fairly accurate in your ball placement. I'm terrible at front toss, and can do it only if I sit on a bucket and get as close as about 15-20 feet. ANd then I'm just pushing the ball about 12 mph. I envy those that can do better.