Hitting and Hitters Discussion Hitting: Basketball drill

[default]

This is a great drill for teaching follow-through. Get a couple of old basketballs and take most of the air out of them.

Place them on one of those orange cones you see at construction sites. Have the batter take her normal swing and follow-through right through the basketball. HAVE THEM WEAR HELMETS!!!

Use regular sized bats for this drill.

 

[default]

I know I am going to catch the wrath of the baseball gods for this....We do not do this drill as it causes way too much stress in the shoulders, elbows and wrists. Crystl does not even do this drill and she could arm wrestle Statman and Ringer and beat them. We also do not hit tires or heavy bags or rubber tubes. We want them to think to the ball and through the ball and not stopping however feel the powering through the ball. The wrists, elbows and shoulders take a real shock when doing these drills. Crystl demonstrated nicking a light weight karate bag but not hitting to the point of stopping her swing.

At the NFCA Ralph Weekly (UT) showed hitting a 15 inch rubber tube and you could see the hitters faces frown like it was hurting to do it. At lunch wit about 15 other coaches present at the table I asked if anyone did this drill or hit basketballs....everyone said no not unless you want to have shoulder problems.

You want resistance for bat speed and follow through to extension not an almost stopping motion that using basketballs cause and getting them to extend through and finish over their shoulder.

We use a progression drill of soft tossing a tennis ball, hard ball, regular softball and a weighted softball weighing 10.8 ounces and then repeat. We also do a one knee drill to accomplish this.

I will not name the team BUT you know who you are...that did the basketball drills and I was working with three of their girls and all were complaining about their back shoulders hurting them and I turned around and ask the coach what they were doing as to throwing mechanics and he hung his head down and said it was not from the throwing mechanics...OK so what is it from....we were hitting basketballs! I told him you know better than that and why would you want to harm a young girls arm!

The one coach who had not worked with me before took it upon himself when the other coach who knew better was not there to try it out on the girls!

 

[default]

I would suggest not hitting a mostly deflated basketball also. I've personally done it before and although I did not feel the stress in my shoulders, I definitely felt it in my wrist joints and the palms of my hands. In my youth, I found that the best way to increase hitting strength and followthrough was to literally swing a bat in chest high water in a pool. You do not swing out of your shoes in this drill. Swing the bat at about half speed, working on a mechanically correct swing. Let the resistance of the water work for you. I would not recommend using a game bat for this drill. Use a wood bat or a junk bat. Also, make sure nobody is around the batter when doing this drill! :O

Len

 

[default]

lenski, talkign about that drill in the pool reminded me of my dad talking about his college days....during the off-season, they did alot of conditioning drills in the pool....maybe our girls could find an indoor pool and work on pitching or hitting...it would be a sight, with some girl with a farmer's tan coming in a pool with a bal/or a rockettech, taking swings

 

[default]

Statman

Your dad's conditioning coach in college was smart. Ya wanna get in shape........get in the water and do some exercisin'

 

[default]

I would highly recommend you NEVER DO THIS DRILL. With your DD or any team. It will result in injury.

Elliott.

 

[default]

Volleyballs work, lighter with a little resistance, maybe I'm wrong, but sometimes we use the big pads from the football team to beat into, kinda like a heavy bag.

Different strokes for different folks. They do these types of things in the Latin America and last time I checked they where producing better major leaguers.

 

[default]

If you talk to any good hitting coach they will tell you not to do this. I agree with Elliott. First hitting something , bag,tire, basketball is not giving you the correct path of your hands . Do you stop your swing when you hit a softball? What are you trying to teach.? Read some of the good hitting sites Baseball 101, Discussfastpitch.com to name a few. They will go in detail and the medical reasons you should not do this.

 

[default]

I would suggest not hitting a mostly deflated basketball also. I've personally done it before and although I did not feel the stress in my shoulders, I definitely felt it in my wrist joints and the palms of my hands. In my youth, I found that the best way to increase hitting strength and followthrough was to literally swing a bat in chest high water in a pool. You do not swing out of your shoes in this drill. Swing the bat at about half speed, working on a mechanically correct swing. Let the resistance of the water work for you. I would not recommend using a game bat for this drill. Use a wood bat or a junk bat. Also, make sure nobody is around the batter when doing this drill! :O

Len

Remove the air from the bat by drilling a hole in it...hopefully not a new bat... it will increase the workout load , or if you want to go all out,, cut the top from a bat and fill it with concrete then swing it in the pool....( the last one was for Howard by the way,, i enjoy watching the vein in his forehead pop out)

 

[default]

Volleyballs work, lighter with a little resistance, maybe I'm wrong, but sometimes we use the big pads from the football team to beat into, kinda like a heavy bag.

Different strokes for different folks. They do these types of things in the Latin America and last time I checked they where producing better major leaguers.

Warning this post may be long or windy!
Try to keep in perspective most of these kids we are talking about are females and do not have the forearm strength or wrist strength the potential major league player has or will have.

We hit a weighted ball that is about 10.8 ounces and others that are 11.8 ounces. I am not exactly sure however I think a regular softball weighs about 6.75 ounces so it provides resistance verses coming to a complete stop which is were the stress on the elbow, shoulder and wrists take a beating. Practice smarter not dangerously with a sound reason or logic.

Without naming the team, every girl on the team was having shoulder issues and I jokingly said what are you doing hitting basketballs and both parents who happened to be coaches said yes!

We played against team Venezuela and their coaches do not use these drills and they were good hitters and are fundamentally sound they need pitching however.

Look at the differences in male/ female ACL injuries by just going to Google and type in female ACL injuries...it is an education and starts from the ground up and being in a strong balance athletic position so all drills are not created or done equally.

The female differences would be a good thread...

 

[default]

Good one bouldersdad. Tim you had me going till I read the punch line. I thought you would bring up the tire as a joke, since H loves to tease you about it.

 

[default]

He actually had an axe attached to his daughters bat and feed her a line of bull that the more trees she chopped down the more home runs she would hit.

After she cleared his property she started on the neighbors yard and they called the police, the hitting police, because she was swinging down on the ball from chopping down on the trees and incorporating bad habits...for those of you who went to Catholic Schools, only nuns have bad habits, he was just teaching bad swing mechanics.:lmao:

 

[default]

no SBFAMILY i dont bring up the tire to much, Howard being in his tender years cant take to much of it

 

[default]

Boulder,

He may be in his tender years but he is cantakerous enough to probably outlast us all.

Elliott.

 

[default]

At least I am tall enough to ride the rides at Disney Land....unlike some people I know and I am taller than my son unlike some people who are shorter than their daughters! Can I get an amen brother on that one?

 

[default]

Boulder,

He may be in his tender years but he is cantakerous enough to probably outlast us all.

Elliott.

I think its those 64 oz. Jack & cokes.

 

[default]

at least i am tall enough to ride the rides at disney land....unlike some people i know and i am taller than my son unlike some people who are shorter than their daughters! Can i get an amen brother on that one?

lol !

 

[default]

see thats why I come here. I learn somethnig new every day,..i diddnt know you could stack poop that high.....who loves ya brother,,,,, Amen

 

[default]

Amen Brother.

 

[default]

Elliott. You knew he was going to have a come back, after he got done with Tim and Chris. !