Hitting and Hitters Discussion Hitting: Batting beam drill

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Here's a drill you may find useful. Construct a batting beam with pieces of 2" x 4"s. The main piece should be about 4' long. Two cross pieces about 18" should be nailed about 16" from each end of main piece. Have player stand on this during soft toss. The player should remain on beam throughout swing.

The beam encourages the batter to be on the balls of the her feet and to maintain a balanced swing. It also helps the batter to take their timing step straight to the pitcher. The players don't like this beam at first, but it does help.

 

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I would not recommend this drill as you can not get to heel plant and generate the angular ground forces required for rotation because the board is not wide enough. Additionally the back foot can not roll in towards the inside edge of the foot and then up because there is not enough board to land on.

You need to be balanced and at least 1.5 the width of the shoulder. To become balanced bend at the waist first and then soften the knees next in that exact sequence....gently push on the hitter's back and chest and see if they are rocking on their toes or heels. If they are not balanced try bending at the waist a little more or softening the knees a little more. Then push again and you and they will see it and feel it as the rocking motion of toe to heel will be minimized. We tell our girls no butt no balance. If the butt is not sticking out you are not balanced IF you are a female. To prove that balance can only be achieved one way try having them soften the knees first and then bend at the waist second and push gently on their back and chest and they will fall over. Again it is termed sequential core loading and balance can only be achieved in one way.

The females spine is more horizontal than the males which is tilted at a slight angle forward and this is so the female can adjust for the load during pregnancy, God was indeed a great designer! If you consider Chipper Jones standing tall in the box you will see that we can do that as males however it is much more difficult for the females and then you see females moving up and down as they load and stride to toe touch because some dad is trying to get them to do something they were not designed to do. Manny chooses to set up lower and I consider that his style versus mechanics. One thing balance is not and that is posture! Posture can be seen and balance can be felt...balance is what it is...balance!

You are correct about the balls of the feet and balance however you are taking it to the extreme by hanging the heels off the 2 X 4 and we need to get our heel down in order to rotate. This drill does not allow for them to get to heel plant and it does not promote balance either.

Take off your shoes and get a piece of paper and have the hitter stand on the paper so the back edge of the heel will be on the paper. Now bend at the waist and soften the knees and you will be able to pull the paper out from under the heel. Where most people get it wrong in their mind is that the shoes MUST show evidence of the heel being off the ground in order to be balanced. In fact the shoe MUST be on the ground HOWEVER the heel of the foot will be off the shoe when you are balanced properly and you can feel that.

If you want them to stride forward use a 4 X 4 not a 2 X 4 and lay it on the ground in a straight line, we term this straight line as a line of force as we always want them striding straight ahead and not at an extreme angle. Use the 4 X 4 so they kick it versus the 2 X 4 which they can trip on or step on so they do not twist their ankle. If the are striding towards the plate place it on the toe side and if they are striding away on the heel side.

 

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I did a clinic last week for the IWU softball team and noticed two girls both from the Indianapolis area hitting while they balanced on the their lead foot toe with their heel completely off the ground as they hit...when I observed their swing I commented do you work off a 2 x 4 and she said, "No it is a balance beam my instructor uses." and "Why would you asked?"

I said you are hitting while you are on your toe and your heel is not on the ground or planted. Because your front knee is flexed you are not going into rotation around your lead hip and you are not coming off the back side and you have no power. I ask her if she wanted to hit harder and she said sure!

I use a 5 gallon bucket that is filled 1/3 of the way with concrete. I use concrete so the sides of the bucket will not collapse (I tried sand and it did not work) when we step up against the bucket while going to toe touch the sides of the bucket gave way when we used sand and the edge of the foot will not slide down to heel plant unless you use the concrete.

The surface of the bucket allows for gym shoes to slide easily however I tried Plexiglas and even PVC pipes and the gym shoes would not slide on it smoothly.

I had her stride to toe touch a few times and told her this is like Burger King and you can have it your way so move the bucket to any position you choose. We then positioned the bucket in front of her lead foot so she could land with he lead foot at an angle so the big toe and the fleshy area behind the big toe would be on the ground and the lead edge of the foot and baby toe would be up on the side of the bucket. This position is termed eversion. This keeps you from opening or pointing your toe towards the pitcher so you feel what heel plant should feel like versus what it looks like.

If you step stiff legged your weight goes towards your heel and you rock backwards a little and are off balance.

If you do not get the heel planted and you are starting to rotate your heel will slide rearward and your toe is pointing towards the pitcher because your front side opened because the heel was never planted. By stepping side ways into the bucket you the hitting instructor can observe it and the hitter can feel it. The bucket can be used during tee work and soft toss however I would not use it for live hitting as fouls balls hitting the bucket could go anywhere.

We will use a concrete block at the clinic to demonstrate this.

We say to our hitters slow to load soft to step and land on a flexed front knee and think you are kind of sitting on that knee a little to redistribute your weight to 50/50 when you are at toe touch.

When you start connection and the back elbow begins to slot, rotation begins and the process of heel plant began when the elbow started to slot and when they come to contact the front leg stiffens up as we hit the ball.

Within 20 minutes she had a smile on her face that told me she could feel the difference and you could hear the difference in the bat to the ball collision or impact. She said I wasted my money doing this drill didn't I? I said maybe that is why you are in college now to learn more.

I am being redundant by saying when balanced your shoe will be in contact with the ground however the heel of your FOOT will be OFF the heel of your shoe!

Balance beams and 2 x 4 's are a waste of time and money in my opinion and poor technique to teach or use.

 

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Have to agree with Howard on this one. For all the reasons he stated. Others I dont like. Hitting a deflated baskeball or a tire. Not good either.

Elliott.

 

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I just want to repost this. We talk about why Ohio teams cannot compete with West coast teams. I attended a college hitting camp this weekend. Guess what. They were doing balance beam drills with young kids. Hitting punching bags, plus other drills that had no merit and the poor college player that were teaching the young girls doing the drills couldn't explain the merits of the drill. No teaching was being done and after hearing what they told a kid about her swing I had to walk away. The kid hit her back stopped her swing and had no extension, yet nothing was said. Yes they were still teaching squish the bug.

 

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I just want to repost this. We talk about why Ohio teams cannot compete with West coast teams. I attended a college hitting camp this weekend. Guess what. They were doing balance beam drills with young kids. Hitting punching bags, plus other drills that had no merit and the poor college player that were teaching the young girls doing the drills couldn't explain the merits of the drill. No teaching was being done and after hearing what they told a kid about her swing I had to walk away. The kid hit her back stopped her swing and had no extension, yet nothing was said. Yes they were still teaching squish the bug.

Can I ask what college hitting camp this was?


Straightleg

 

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MT. Union. The sad thing about this , is the young kids and parents that attended have no idea that what they are paying for is bad instruction , so many will probably go home and have the kid hit off a 2X4 4 inches up in the air, or have them hitting tires and other objects.

 

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I'm new here and to fp in general so - what should we be teaching? What drills, in what order? What are the basics, what is the learning progression? Not to be lazy (I will go back and try to read all of the hitting posts) but what should I do now to get them to hit correctly? If there is a website or a video out there that would be helpful too.

Again, I don't want anyone to think I'm lazy but if I read posts for 30 minutes on a wrong technique/theory/drill then that's 30 minutes that I don't have learning the correct info. It will also allow me to know what is bs and what is not.

Thanks in advance.

 

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I was watching the 14U NSA tournament a few weekends ago and saw a team from up north just BEATING the bat against what looked like a punching bag. Then hit large rubber balls against a net. These girls looked like bruisers! And to hear the bat slamming as hard as they could against that bag, well looked intimidating at best. Well then the game started , they couldn't hit anything!!! The pitcher was not as fast as what I've seen at the 14u level but had control. Made them look silly. However, just watching them warm up WOW!!! Wonder how many arm and shoulder injuries they have through out the season!

 

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Here's a drill you may find useful. Construct a batting beam with pieces of 2" x 4"s. The main piece should be about 4' long. Two cross pieces about 18" should be nailed about 16" from each end of main piece. Have player stand on this during soft toss. The player should remain on beam throughout swing.

The beam encourages the batter to be on the balls of the her feet and to maintain a balanced swing. It also helps the batter to take their timing step straight to the pitcher. The players don't like this beam at first, but it does help.

I personally like the balance beam drill but I would suggest a 2X8 or a 2X10 as the platform. A 2X4 beam is too narrow.

Len

 

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I personally like the balance beam drill but I would suggest a 2X8 or a 2X10 as the platform. A 2X4 beam is too narrow.

Len

What are you trying to reinforce with the use of a balance beam?

 

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http://files.leagueathletics.com/Images/Club/3002/TheMechanicsofaSwing1.doc

After spending some time on google search on this subject , it would appear this pretty much covers what most of the posts I read are explaining. At least this guy says a 2x6.
He also says take the knob of the bat to the ball, which we know what happens in the big zone when you do this. Most are baseball sites and we know girls have to get balanced slightly different then boys. Just my take on it.

 

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What are you trying to reinforce with the use of a balance beam?

Ummm......balance.

:lmao::lmao::lmao:




Len

 

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Ummm......balance.

:lmao::lmao::lmao:
Len

Is this what your response would be to someone you were trying to teach how to hit??;&

So why couldn't this be done on the ground?? Why must you elevate an athlete to teach balance??

 

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Is this what your response would be to someone you were trying to teach how to hit??;&

So why couldn't this be done on the ground?? Why must you elevate an athlete to teach balance??

Easy now....I was just (kinda) kidding around. Why must we use a hammer? Why must we have the hitter walk around the plate? Why must we use a tee? Why must we use the Whip-Hit? Why must we reverse hands....etc? To teach a certain discipline.


The balance beam is a tool that reinforces direction and balance. It's easier to teach these things on a beam (in my opinion) than on the ground swinging at a ball on a tee. The hitter gets instant feedback being on the beam. I do agree that a 2X4 is too narrow for heal plant. That's why I recommend a 2X8 or a 2X10 beam. Many hitters rock back on their heels, dive into the plate, and step in the bucket when they swing and this tool (in my opinion) proves it immediately to the hitter. If the hitter does not have any of these issues, than the tool is not necessary.

Len

 

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Easy now....I was just (kinda) kidding around. Why must we use a hammer? Why must we have the hitter walk around the plate? Why must we use a tee? Why must we use the Whip-Hit? Why must we reverse hands....etc? To teach a certain discipline.


The balance beam is a tool that reinforces direction and balance. It's easier to teach these things on a beam (in my opinion) than on the ground swinging at a ball on a tee. The hitter gets instant feedback being on the beam. I do agree that a 2X4 is too narrow for heal plant. That's why I recommend a 2X8 or a 2X10 beam. Many hitters rock back on their heels, dive into the plate, and step in the bucket when they swing and this tool (in my opinion) proves it immediately to the hitter. If the hitter does not have any of these issues, than the tool is not necessary.

Len

Thank You...I at one time had (2) 2x4 balance beams I used for hitting. I actually saw one of them tonight in my HS coaching office is why I asked. I no longer use them, but was just curious as to your thoughts. I know why I used them back then..."I didn't know any better and was drinking the Kool Aid." But as in everything else in life we learn and move on. Best of Luck.

 

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I'm new here and to fp in general so - what should we be teaching? What drills, in what order? What are the basics, what is the learning progression? Not to be lazy (I will go back and try to read all of the hitting posts) but what should I do now to get them to hit correctly? If there is a website or a video out there that would be helpful too.

Again, I don't want anyone to think I'm lazy but if I read posts for 30 minutes on a wrong technique/theory/drill then that's 30 minutes that I don't have learning the correct info. It will also allow me to know what is bs and what is not.

Thanks in advance.

Well I can tell you that the best hitter ever in Female Fastpitch Softball, And probably the most sound hitter the world has ever seen Crystal Bustos refers to Howard Carrier as her hitting coach. So I guess my advice to you will be, do what ever HITTER says to do because he knows more about hitting then the rest of us combined together.

 

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Well I can tell you that the best hitter ever in Female Fastpitch Softball, And probably the most sound hitter the world has ever seen Crystal Bustos refers to Howard Carrier as her hitting coach. So I guess my advice to you will be, do what ever HITTER says to do because he knows more about hitting then the rest of us combined together.
__________________


Amen...

 

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Easy now....I was just (kinda) kidding around. Why must we use a hammer? Why must we have the hitter walk around the plate? Why must we use a tee? Why must we use the Whip-Hit? Why must we reverse hands....etc? To teach a certain discipline.


The balance beam is a tool that reinforces direction and balance. It's easier to teach these things on a beam (in my opinion) than on the ground swinging at a ball on a tee. The hitter gets instant feedback being on the beam. I do agree that a 2X4 is too narrow for heal plant. That's why I recommend a 2X8 or a 2X10 beam. Many hitters rock back on their heels, dive into the plate, and step in the bucket when they swing and this tool (in my opinion) proves it immediately to the hitter. If the hitter does not have any of these issues, than the tool is not necessary.

Len

great points Len
nice to see that you have some ideas you can call your own

 

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Thank You...I at one time had (2) 2x4 balance beams I used for hitting. I actually saw one of them tonight in my HS coaching office is why I asked. I no longer use them, but was just curious as to your thoughts. I know why I used them back then..."I didn't know any better and was drinking the Kool Aid." But as in everything else in life we learn and move on. Best of Luck.

What did you learn from not using them? Why did you use them in the first place? What flavor Kool Aid were you drinking? Why are you still holding on to them?

I know many MLB hitting coaches use balance beams, and I guarantee you some of the best college softball teams break out the balance beams on occasion. Just because a respected hitting coach does not use it does not mean it is a bad tool to use. So, if people do not want to use a balance beam that is fine. I never said anyone did not know any better or were drinking Kool Aid for not using one. But I will say that using the balance beam is a great tool for a hitter that is having issues with balance and direction, and for the accomplished hitter for reinforcement of discipline. Also, I went in my garage last night, put a 2X4 on the ground, grabbed a bat, and took a good swing. Remarkaby, I was able to toe touch and heel plant in my size 11's without incident, but then again I do believe in hip rotation before heel plant where many here do not. I didn't even bother putting down the 2X8 plank.......


Len