One arm drills

[Mr T]

I personally don't use these much but my older daughter's new team does them. I though I might try to help improve them. I actually recall an instructor who already made an attempt at decent one armed drills, but in my old decrepitude I can't remember who. Was it Tewks? Does this ring a bell for any one, can they maybe even provide a link or at least know who I am talking about?

I have tried to effort it, but I ran into gems like this one. Ripkien shows what not to do in slow motion, and then proceeds to contradict himself by actually demonstrating what he said not to do.

 

[Eric F]

In related news...

 

[Mr T]

Yeah Eric. Even in the video I am referencing I think the instructor says these drills are typically not the most useful but here is an attempt to better them

 

[Westwind]

There was a fairly recent post about one arm swings. Not everybody was down with the plan. I recall discussion that in this case a downward trajectory off the tee might be beneficial. Might have been FFS. I looked for it a few days ago and couldn't find it. Would like to think about that more if someone can point me to it.

Full disclosure: we do them regularly. One hand bats, light/high drop bats, game bats and best of all IMHO Hitters PVC one hand bats that have moving birdshot in the barrel to change the moi.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

I perform a drill with many of my hitters in which I perform front-toss and the hitter alternates between 1-hand top-hand swings and 2-handed regular swings. The focus is on developing a good top-hand path. It is common for me to do two buckets of this with a player as part of their warm-up ... about 50 pitches.

Important ... the 'result' of a 1-hand top-hand swing should NOT be the same result as that from a regular 2-handed swing ... doing that is asking for trouble and is a quick way to ruin a hitter. The result of a 1-handed top-hand swing, performed with an emphasis on a good hand-path, will have the ball more often than not, driven into the cage floor. With two hands, and a force couple, the same top-hand path should yield a sweet line-drive to the back of the cage.

Developing a good top-hand path is important ... I rate it up as #3 (to #4) in terms of importance when working with a hitter.

 

[RichK]

I rate it up as #3 (to #4) in terms of importance when working with a hitter.

So.....what is #1 and #2 and # 5, etc?

I don't use one-handed tee drills but I like your one-handed soft-toss drill thought.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

So.....what is #1 and #2 and # 5, etc?

I don't use one-handed tee drills but I like your one-handed soft-toss drill thought.

You are smart to be cautious wrt to one-handed swings. One-handed swings, with a focus on obtaining a result similar to a result with two-handed swings, can be a quick way to ruin a swing.

Let me answer your question as I think through it …..

The simple sequence, akin to “walking away from the hands”, rates near the top of my list.

After that, the “early & slow” initial weighting of the rear leg, within the sequence, rates high. This is performed as a "timing of the pitcher" such that the move-out occurs at, or just slightly before, the pitcher's release of the ball.

It may seem overly simple, but having rhythm ranks next for me. That rhythm will go a long way towards timing the pitcher and getting the “early & slow” well positioned.

Hand path ranks next. If you want to square a high percentage of balls … you’ll want this embedded in your swing.

Direction of the throw ranks next for me. In terms of the “short-to” & “long-through”, even the “short-to” has direction associated with it. Squaring balls on both sides of the plate.

Back to the sequence. As I work with a hitter I like to beef up their ‘move out’. Having a hitter move forward (with or without a stride … yes, a hitter has a ‘move out’ even without a stride) such that they FbC + forward laterally bend the lead side + get the front hip “in the way to get out of the way” + flex the hips … leads to a simple forward “walking away from the hands” that sets up the hitter for a powerful usage of their frontside without needing to consciously think of their frontside. In my experience, as you develop the frontside usage, it helps to first have the benefit of a good top-hand path embedded in the swing.

Vision usage is important to me. I do not want a sharp focus. I care less about identifying the spin on a ball. If I get an accurate handle on the ball’s speed and trajectory then I don’t feel that I need to see the ball’s spin. In fact I believe that attempting to see the ball’s spin will induce a sharp focus that will ultimately “speed the game up” for the hitter and put them at a disadvantage. I care all about accurately predicting the ball’s movement/trajectory/path. To that end I want a relaxed open focus. It’s more about seeing “around the ball” than it is about actually “seeing the ball”.

Having a hitter’s mentality ranks high with me. This can be as simple as behaving as a predator … the notion being that it isn’t the pitcher that is hunting the batter, it is the batter that is hunting the ball. With less than two strikes I don’t want my hitters thinking about the strike zone. I want them hunting with a mentality of getting “long through” the ball. If they swing at a pitch and get “long through” … then I’m happy. I don’t get hung up on the result … because I know with good mechanics, good vision and a healthy mindset, that the probability for their success is high. The mentality goes beyond “yes, yes, yes/no” … it is more “I’m going to get long through this frigging ball”. Get extended on one.

There is more … but that’s the basics. Get a hitter in sequence, with a swing that doesn’t need to be rushed (compliments of the “early & slow”), that contains rhythm, a good top-hand hand path, a favorable move-out that automates front-side usage, with a relaxed open focus that assists (along with the “early & slow) in “slowing the game down”, and with a hitter’s mentality … and you’ll have hitters in reasonably decent shape.

Each hitter will have their own personal needs and areas where they need focus. For them a #1 may be completely different than for someone else.

To re-iterate … I want the sequence tackled first. My personal experience is that those that ignore the importance of sequence often find themselves chasing their tail … going around-and-around and never truly embedding the benefits of what they are working on … as erasure of such work will happen easily when a hitter is not in sequence and attempts to tackle another swing attribute.

 

[RichK]

FFS thanks. I am currently doing some off-season *team* hitting instruction at 18U (and trying to make it instructional, not just a "workout". That's much different than individual instruction, and also different from instruction of beginners. I'm finding an overall "path" that makes sense to them and they can test/work individually with a focus on results is a necessity in that setting. TKs again.

 

[Mr T]

You are smart to be cautious wrt to one-handed swings. One-handed swings, with a focus on obtaining a result similar to a result with two-handed swings, can be a quick way to ruin a swing.

Let me answer your question as I think through it …..

It may seem overly simple, but having rhythm ranks next for me. That rhythm will go a long way towards timing the pitcher and getting the “early & slow” well positioned.

It took years and years for this to slowly climb up my checklist. I don't think many people realize how important this is. I didn't. And for some reason, it's hard to get girls to do this. Not sure if there is embarrassment or something. It should be easier and better for girls, they tend to be better dancers than us boys.

 

[strawman]

It took years and years for this to slowly climb up my checklist. I don't think many people realize how important this is. I didn't. And for some reason, it's hard to get girls to do this. Not sure if there is embarrassment or something. It should be easier and better for girls, they tend to be better dancers than us boys.

I think it may have to do with boys trying to emulate their favorite major league players' swings from the time they're very young. I was never taught rhythm, but I was constantly trying to swing like Strawberry or Griffey or whomever and it developed naturally.