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How do you guys coach your kids to see the ball while at bat/ at contact?
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Have them close their eyes and let the force guide them....
no... Try and get both eyes facing the pitcher and ensure they arent striding too long, which drops the head too much vertically. Keep the head at the point of contact, instead of following the swing. Not sure what age....
no... Try and get both eyes facing the pitcher and ensure they arent striding too long, which drops the head too much vertically. Keep the head at the point of contact, instead of following the swing. Not sure what age....
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See ball, hit ball. its not that hard, just ask bouldersdad....
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We measure off from the plate using the bat. Bat head is on outside corner of plate and lead foot is at the knob. I measure the width of the shoulders and use a shoulders width and a half plus or minus two inches as each hitter has a different body type. Then we measure from the knob and use the bat graphics to measure the stance width. We want them to stride at least the length of their bat.
We use a 5 to 10 degree open stance by moving the back foot in towards the plate. This is about 2 to 4 inches. This gives you what is termed a good two eyed look. To demonstrate this simply take a straw and tape it to their visor exactly in the middle. Have them measure off from the plate as noted and you stand in front of them. Can you see the whites of the eyes completely? Look at where the straw is pointing. You may need to open the stance a little more to be able to get the head in a good position. Ask them if their neck and shoulder muscles are comfortable or not?
I have only had three girls that used a closed stance and all three had what is termed a lazy left eye.
We also teach a load by coiling the hips rearward however not to the point of turning the shoulders inward.
Then when we stride we turn the head using the nose as a indicator of direction so as to give the head a head start while the eyes are tracking the ball. The eyes can move faster than the head so we term it as giving the head a head start to eliminate blurring. Head down at contact as you are stronger with the head down verses up as if seeing where the ball would be going.
Tracking the ball off the tee can be done by putting a piece of tape on the wall while they are looking through the net and after they stride turn the head and then look at the ball on a tee. Do not let them just stare at the ball on the tee. We also have a white rag glued inside the tee and ask them to see the ball on the tee and after they swing they see the white rag. It helps reinforce keeping the head down during the contact. We want them to hit the ball and get out of the post quickly!
Ask the hitter what action does the pitcher do that triggers the hitter to load and stride?
We teach to load on the downward action of the arm at about the 3 to 5 o'clock position and stride on the release on a flexed front knee. Encourage them to look at the pitchers window of release. That is why we always look at something through the net and track it to the tee.
To get them to track the ball and encourage the hitter to keep the head down after I soft toss, I will show a fist, one finger, two or three and if the did not track the ball you will see them have to actually turn the head rearward to see your hand. They know they did not track the ball fairly quick.
Howard
We use a 5 to 10 degree open stance by moving the back foot in towards the plate. This is about 2 to 4 inches. This gives you what is termed a good two eyed look. To demonstrate this simply take a straw and tape it to their visor exactly in the middle. Have them measure off from the plate as noted and you stand in front of them. Can you see the whites of the eyes completely? Look at where the straw is pointing. You may need to open the stance a little more to be able to get the head in a good position. Ask them if their neck and shoulder muscles are comfortable or not?
I have only had three girls that used a closed stance and all three had what is termed a lazy left eye.
We also teach a load by coiling the hips rearward however not to the point of turning the shoulders inward.
Then when we stride we turn the head using the nose as a indicator of direction so as to give the head a head start while the eyes are tracking the ball. The eyes can move faster than the head so we term it as giving the head a head start to eliminate blurring. Head down at contact as you are stronger with the head down verses up as if seeing where the ball would be going.
Tracking the ball off the tee can be done by putting a piece of tape on the wall while they are looking through the net and after they stride turn the head and then look at the ball on a tee. Do not let them just stare at the ball on the tee. We also have a white rag glued inside the tee and ask them to see the ball on the tee and after they swing they see the white rag. It helps reinforce keeping the head down during the contact. We want them to hit the ball and get out of the post quickly!
Ask the hitter what action does the pitcher do that triggers the hitter to load and stride?
We teach to load on the downward action of the arm at about the 3 to 5 o'clock position and stride on the release on a flexed front knee. Encourage them to look at the pitchers window of release. That is why we always look at something through the net and track it to the tee.
To get them to track the ball and encourage the hitter to keep the head down after I soft toss, I will show a fist, one finger, two or three and if the did not track the ball you will see them have to actually turn the head rearward to see your hand. They know they did not track the ball fairly quick.
Howard
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My 12U DD got hit twice in the cage off the machine yesterday (ball split) both times in her most padded area. And she said after the second one " YES that was great"......and then looked at the parent feeding the machine and asked him what his problem was...LOL.
Honestly, if the machine ball hits you it is almost always a bad ball and it needs to be removed from circulation. I suggested this to him after 3 girls had gotten hit that maybe he should check out the ball. And of course it was almost in half. He kept saying "boy every so often a ball just goes crazy out of this machine"
Honestly, if the machine ball hits you it is almost always a bad ball and it needs to be removed from circulation. I suggested this to him after 3 girls had gotten hit that maybe he should check out the ball. And of course it was almost in half. He kept saying "boy every so often a ball just goes crazy out of this machine"
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You think?!? Wow.
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After seeing Britt grow up hitting truck tires, basketballs and you making her use the bat ax nothing would surprise me.
I remember when you would shoot soup beans at her with a sling shot. However at least you made her wear safety glasses even though you put black electric tape on them to make her focus more. I remember when she would get hit by a pitch and did not even flinch! You were and are ahead of your time my Brother!
When people see the bat ax in my bat rack they wonder if their kid could swing it. I always tell them it is a little end loaded and you must have a good hand path.
Do you still have the lead bat?
I remember when you would shoot soup beans at her with a sling shot. However at least you made her wear safety glasses even though you put black electric tape on them to make her focus more. I remember when she would get hit by a pitch and did not even flinch! You were and are ahead of your time my Brother!
When people see the bat ax in my bat rack they wonder if their kid could swing it. I always tell them it is a little end loaded and you must have a good hand path.
Do you still have the lead bat?
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You do know hitters don't see the ball/bat collision.
You Can't Keep Your Eye On The Ball - 09.13.54 - SI Vault
One of my DD's thinks that she improved her contact by avoiding hitting off the pitching machine at practices.
A little dated
Timing Softball Flaws and Fixes - Poor Timing - YouTube
Ball call and Face the Fire Softball Flaws and Fixes - Vision Skills - YouTube
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Thanks for another idea!
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After seeing Britt grow up hitting truck tires, basketballs and you making her use the bat ax nothing would surprise me.
I remember when you would shoot soup beans at her with a sling shot. However at least you made her wear safety glasses even though you put black electric tape on them to make her focus more. I remember when she would get hit by a pitch and did not even flinch! You were and are ahead of your time my Brother!
When people see the bat ax in my bat rack they wonder if their kid could swing it. I always tell them it is a little end loaded and you must have a good hand path.
Do you still have the lead bat?
I do along with the bat loaded with concrete she used to swing under water
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Who do you think tested the bat ax for us? It wasn't Tim or I, we couldn't swing it!
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I could swing it, just couldent split the ball in half
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Terribly flawed article by people that obviously know nothing to very little about hitting. Where did they come up with this?
"When a batter swings he tracks the ball with his eyes alone; his head remains stationary unless he elects not to swing at all."
I'm guessing they misunderstood what is meant by keeping the head still. They obviously never looked at videos of MLB hitters or pictures of them at contact.
Hitters may not see the actual ball/bat collision, but they certainly track the ball a lot closer than this article suggests.
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SoCal dad....agree about the videos. There is a book, Keep Your Eye On The Ball by Robert G. Watts/ A. Terry Brahill. A quote from the book page 181.
"We have often heard the batting axiom "Don't move your head." So we thought the vestibulo-ocular system would not be used when tracking a baseball. However, in monitoring the eyes of the professional ballplayer, we detected a small vestibulo-ocular eye movements to the left during the early part of the ball's trajectory, as the head was moving to the right, this appears as the downward deflection between 0.8 and 1.1 in the eye trace of Figure 61a. At this point, the head position was changing faster than the angular position of the ball, and the vestibulo-ocular eye movements compensated for the premature head movement. The batter was apparently giving his head a head start. Why would he want to do this? Because the head is heavier than the eye and consequently takes longer to get it moving; therefore, in the beginning of the movement, as the head starts turning to the right (ahead of the ball), the vestibular system in the inner ear signals the oculomotor system to make compensating leftward eye movement. This allows the head to start turning while the gaze remains fixed on the ball."
"However, this vestibulo-ocular compensation must soon stop. In the last half of the ball's flight, the eye and head must both be moving to the right, and the batter must, therefore, suppress his vestibulo-ocular eye reflex, so that the tracking head movement does not produce compensating eye movements that would take his eye off the ball. The professional athlete was very good at suppressing his vestibulo-ocular reflex."
At the garage we have a strobe light set above the tee. Unless the hitter turns the head slightly to the right and we use the nose as an indicator of direction, they will not hit a ball that is soft tossed. I have the parent / coach stand directly behind me so they can see when they turn the head slightly they hit the ball and when they do not they swing over the top of the ball.
When I soft toss the hitter looks at a black rectangle on the wall through the net. When my hand lowers they say EEEE and load and when I release the ball they say R and stride. At the stride is when they turn the head slightly and then the eyes. They give the eyes a head start. I will then make a fist and that is for zero or show one finger or two and they have to call it out as they hit the ball. If they can not see my fingers they will not hit the ball squarely and usually hit the top of the ball.
Also Dr. Bill Harrison, a vision specialist has been helpful over the years in helping me understand this. He was the one that gave me the idea about gluing a white rag inside the tee to help them to track the ball to the tee and then see the white rag after they hit it off the tee.
This might also help...[h=1]Vestibulo-ocular reflex[/h]From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The vestibulo-ocular reflex. A rotation of the head is detected, which triggers an inhibitory signal to theextraocular muscles on one side and an excitatory signal to the muscles on the other side. The result is a compensatory movement of the eyes.
The vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) is a reflex eye movement that stabilizes images on the retina during head movement by producing an eye movement in the direction opposite to head movement, thus preserving the image on the center of the visual field. For example, when the head moves to the right, the eyes move to the left, and vice versa. Since slight head movement is present all the time, the VOR is very important for stabilizing vision: patients whose VOR is impaired find it difficult to read using print, because they cannot stabilize the eyes during small head tremors. The VOR does not depend on visual input and works even in total darkness or when the eyes are closed. However, in the presence of light, the fixation reflex is also added to the movement.[SUP][1][/SUP]
Hope this helps Howard
"We have often heard the batting axiom "Don't move your head." So we thought the vestibulo-ocular system would not be used when tracking a baseball. However, in monitoring the eyes of the professional ballplayer, we detected a small vestibulo-ocular eye movements to the left during the early part of the ball's trajectory, as the head was moving to the right, this appears as the downward deflection between 0.8 and 1.1 in the eye trace of Figure 61a. At this point, the head position was changing faster than the angular position of the ball, and the vestibulo-ocular eye movements compensated for the premature head movement. The batter was apparently giving his head a head start. Why would he want to do this? Because the head is heavier than the eye and consequently takes longer to get it moving; therefore, in the beginning of the movement, as the head starts turning to the right (ahead of the ball), the vestibular system in the inner ear signals the oculomotor system to make compensating leftward eye movement. This allows the head to start turning while the gaze remains fixed on the ball."
"However, this vestibulo-ocular compensation must soon stop. In the last half of the ball's flight, the eye and head must both be moving to the right, and the batter must, therefore, suppress his vestibulo-ocular eye reflex, so that the tracking head movement does not produce compensating eye movements that would take his eye off the ball. The professional athlete was very good at suppressing his vestibulo-ocular reflex."
At the garage we have a strobe light set above the tee. Unless the hitter turns the head slightly to the right and we use the nose as an indicator of direction, they will not hit a ball that is soft tossed. I have the parent / coach stand directly behind me so they can see when they turn the head slightly they hit the ball and when they do not they swing over the top of the ball.
When I soft toss the hitter looks at a black rectangle on the wall through the net. When my hand lowers they say EEEE and load and when I release the ball they say R and stride. At the stride is when they turn the head slightly and then the eyes. They give the eyes a head start. I will then make a fist and that is for zero or show one finger or two and they have to call it out as they hit the ball. If they can not see my fingers they will not hit the ball squarely and usually hit the top of the ball.
Also Dr. Bill Harrison, a vision specialist has been helpful over the years in helping me understand this. He was the one that gave me the idea about gluing a white rag inside the tee to help them to track the ball to the tee and then see the white rag after they hit it off the tee.
This might also help...[h=1]Vestibulo-ocular reflex[/h]From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The vestibulo-ocular reflex. A rotation of the head is detected, which triggers an inhibitory signal to theextraocular muscles on one side and an excitatory signal to the muscles on the other side. The result is a compensatory movement of the eyes.
The vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) is a reflex eye movement that stabilizes images on the retina during head movement by producing an eye movement in the direction opposite to head movement, thus preserving the image on the center of the visual field. For example, when the head moves to the right, the eyes move to the left, and vice versa. Since slight head movement is present all the time, the VOR is very important for stabilizing vision: patients whose VOR is impaired find it difficult to read using print, because they cannot stabilize the eyes during small head tremors. The VOR does not depend on visual input and works even in total darkness or when the eyes are closed. However, in the presence of light, the fixation reflex is also added to the movement.[SUP][1][/SUP]
Hope this helps Howard
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Lesson #2......Never, ever, tell a parent their kid is not as good as said parent thinks she/he is.
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See Ball Hit Ball
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Howard - what is your reasoning behind moving the rear foot as opposed to the front (stride) foot when opening the stance? I'm assuming a stride generally straight toward the pitcher.
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I have wanted to ask this myself just for curiosity sake. I have heard Howard explain the why behind "bend at the waist soften the knees" to load the core properly but not the why of moving the back foot closer and not the front foot away. Looking forward to another kernel of knowledge.
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Once we measure off the plate, moving the back foot in about two to four inches allows a better two eyed look. Try standing with both feet even and looking towards the pitcher. Can you see the white around the lead eye. Most can not without feeling some discomfort in the neck/ shoulder area. Now move the back foot in about two to four inches and it usually takes the discomfort away and allows you to see the ball better at the pitchers window of release.
Think of it another way. If you had a pair of binoculars and placed them on your eyes, can you turn your head towards the pitcher and still keep them up against your face? Can you look at your target without discomfort in the neck and shoulder area without any straining of the eyes in the sockets?
Some hitters move the lead foot open a little more instead of the back foot. The idea is too see the ball better as it is traveling towards you. Think of a hitter who rolls the shoulders in excessively and can the see the ball well enough to square up on it. Usually they top the ball or pop it up.
The next time you are a passenger in a car look ahead at the guard rails without turning your head. The guard rails will look like a blur. Now turn your head to the right slightly and pick one guard rail and it will be in focus. The one in front and the one behind will be a blur.
Whatever works to allow you to see the ball better in my opinion gives you an advantage.
Whether you step even, slightly open or closed will be your style and should be based on your results and the ability to track the ball and create your swing DNA based on your window to hit in. We use about a 20 inch window to hit in.
Howard
Think of it another way. If you had a pair of binoculars and placed them on your eyes, can you turn your head towards the pitcher and still keep them up against your face? Can you look at your target without discomfort in the neck and shoulder area without any straining of the eyes in the sockets?
Some hitters move the lead foot open a little more instead of the back foot. The idea is too see the ball better as it is traveling towards you. Think of a hitter who rolls the shoulders in excessively and can the see the ball well enough to square up on it. Usually they top the ball or pop it up.
The next time you are a passenger in a car look ahead at the guard rails without turning your head. The guard rails will look like a blur. Now turn your head to the right slightly and pick one guard rail and it will be in focus. The one in front and the one behind will be a blur.
Whatever works to allow you to see the ball better in my opinion gives you an advantage.
Whether you step even, slightly open or closed will be your style and should be based on your results and the ability to track the ball and create your swing DNA based on your window to hit in. We use about a 20 inch window to hit in.
Howard
