Question on rope drill?

[PEPPERS]

Tim Walton Florida Gator coach advised that to prepare to hit Kelsi Dunne’s rise and screw ball they worked a lot on rope drills. Anyone know want he was refereeing to as rope drills?

 

[actionpnh]

rope drills

Tim Walton Florida Gator coach advised that to prepare to hit Kelsi Dunne’s rise and screw ball they worked a lot on rope drills. Anyone know want he was refereeing to as rope drills?

I would guess he is referring to a drill where you take a rope and string 5 or 6 whiffle balls on it. You anchor the ends to something solid so that the rope is tight. I usually have the top hand side of the hitter a fuzz higher. The hitter is instructed to hit the ball on the top side of the rope. If the rope is high, and the hitter initally drops the hands, it is very difficult to adjust and hit on top of rope. Same goes for hitting the rise IMO.

 

[PEPPERS]

I googled (softball rope drill) and another drill I saw mentioned was drilling a hole in a softball and threading a rope through the hole tie a knot in the rope to keep the ball from slipping off, use a batting glove to hold the rope and swing the rope, swinging the ball into the strike zone. The hitter hits the ball when it comes into the strike zone on a certain number of rotations. The way these Florida players swing the bat I would not want to be on the end of the rope.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

Rope drill to me, is swinging a 32 inch length of 1-2 inch width rope, with the "grip" taped. I don't know what that would do with the rise and screw ball, though.

I would prepare for those pitches, by bouncing tennis balls to the batter.

 

[PEPPERS]

Amy, my daughter and I watched the FL and AL game on the net Sunday they reference the accident to Fowler at one point. Not sure who all the broadcasters were, but Michelle Smith was one of them.

During the interview this is what he advised they worked on the rope drill to prepair to hit Dunne who threw mostly the rise, screw and change. Although she sneaked a few curves in she was from 50-62 on the radar.

 

[starsnuffer]

I was thinking of Howards rope drill where he has the rope stretched through the zone to mimic the path of the ball so the batter can practice/demonstrate "long through the zone" for a higher chance of making contact.

-W