Sioux Empire Baseball

1
Sioux Empire Baseball

• Fiction vs. Facts
• Correct Hitting Mechanics

2
FictionGet Up On The Plate.

• Frequent piece of advice on the lower levels from
  coaches
• and parents.
• Good hitters stay off the plate in order to hit
  the
• baseball with the sweet spot of the
  bat.
• Standing too close to the plate increases the
• chance that a young hitter will jam
  themselves.
• It will also promote the development of an
• outside in swing path.
• Most young hitters already are afraid of being
  hit
• by the baseball. Moving closer to the
  plate only
• compounds this fear.

3
FactStay Off The Plate.

• Promotes good plate coverage. Less chance of
• the hitter getting jammed by the pitch.
• Reduces the anxiety of being hit by the pitch.
• Allows the hitter to make contact more
  consistently
• with the sweet spot of the bat.
• Assists with the development of an inside out
• swing path to the baseball.

4
FictionChoke The Bat For Bat Control.

• Gripping the bat correctly is the very first
  fundamental that should be instructed to young
  hitters. The grip is often a personal or
  individual thing with older hitters but there are
  several basic rules that all hitters should
  follow.
• Fact
• Rule 1
• The bat should be held more in the fingers than
  in your palms. You need a firm grip but it
  should not be too tight. This increases bat speed
  and bat control.
• Rule 2
• When gripping the bat, the second knuckles of the
  top hand should come close to lining up with the
  second knuckles of the bottom hand. This promotes
  good hand and wrist action and eliminates tension.

5
FictionStride To Where The Ball Is
Pitched.

• The premise behind this advice for example,
• is that if the pitch is outside, a
  hitters stride should
• be outside. An inside pitch, the stride
  should be away
• and a pitch down the middle the stride
  would be straight
• ahead.
• Incorrect
• Fact
• Good hitters step directly towards the pitcher on
  every
• pitch. Adjustments to pitch location
  should be made with
• the hands, not the feet.
• If the hands are quicker than the eye, a hitter
  will be
• able to make faster adjustments with his
  hands than his
• feet.
• Striding in a direct line towards the pitcher
  will also assist
• in keeping the front shoulder closed
  which is essential
• to the development of power during the
  swing process.

6
FactStride Directly Back To The Pitcher.

• Allows for better plate coverage and minimizes
• the chance of getting jammed.
• The hands are quicker than the feet.
• Allows the front shoulder to stay closed.
• Assists in keeping the head and eyes on the
  baseball.
• 
  

Correct Stride Direction
7
FictionKeep Your Back Elbow Up!

• Parents and youth coaches give this advice
  believing
• that by raising the back elbow, a hitter
  will not drop
• the bat barrel, avoiding an uppercut.
• Fact - If the back elbow is up, it must drop to
  the back hip
• once the swing starts. It has no where
  else to go.
• Newtons Third Law of Motion states
• for every action there is an equal and
  opposite reaction
• in direction and magnitude.
• Based on Newtons law, the higher the back
• elbow starts, the more forcefully it
  will drop resulting
• in the front shoulder lifting higher!
• In attempting to prevent an uppercut, the
  coach/parent
• has done just the opposite.

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FactKeep The Elbows Down.

• Elbows should be down and form a triangle (i.e.
  left elbow, knob of
• bat, to right elbow.
• Starting from this position creates less tension
  as well
• as makes it easier to keep the front
  shoulder down.
• As the swing begins, this elbow down position
  will
• assist the hitter in keeping the barrel
  of the bat above
• his hands, thus preventing an uppercut
  swing.
• The barrel above the hands approach will provide
• greater contact potential.

9
FictionStep And Swing.

• As the pitch approaches, a hitter should just
  step
• at the pitch to start the swing process.
• Stepping into the pitch reduces the reaction time
• of the hitter to the pitch. In essence, he
  is closing
• the gap.
• Fact Step To Swing (Get Your Front Foot
  Down!) Correct Load
• As the pitchers front foot makes contact, the
• hitters front foot should demonstrate a
  like action.
• This is referred to as the load. During
  the load,
• the hitters takes his hands and weight
  back while
• the front foot strides towards the
  pitcher.
• Loading via this technique provides a hitter more
  
• time to wait on the pitch and reduces head
  
• movement.

If you dont get your stride foot down in time,
youve got no foundation. Youll have poor
balance and little power. Youve got to give
yourself enough time to push your hands back and
get your foot down. Alex Rodriguez
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Good Hitters Create More Time To Hit!

• Fact
• 606 Race Factors A Hitter Must Know
• 1. 85 mph FB (.4) seconds from mound to home
  plate.
• 2. Swing from start to finish takes (.2) seconds.
• P ---------------------------------------------
  ------------------
• -----------------30-------------------
  ---------------30 ----
• 
  .2 sec./Swing
• 3. Swing starts with ball 30 from home plate.
• 4. A hitter must be loaded and ready at release
  of the ball from the pitcher, be
• early rather than late with the load or
  trigger mechanism.
• 5. Hitters must do everything they can on game
  day practice to assist
• themselves in seeing the ball at release
  and early in flight to home plate.
• 6. Hitters prior to stepping into the box must
  prepare themselves to aggressively
• attack each pitch.

Incorrect Step Swing Stride
Closing The Distance Between You and The
Pitcher!
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Time Wasters

• Poor Bat Angle
• Stride Into The Pitch vs. Front Foot Down
• Wrapping The Bat
• Pre-mature extension of arms (barring)
• Outside In Swing Path

Barring The Arms
Wrapping The Bat
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The Outside In Swing Time Wasters cont.

• Mechanics And Problems With The Outside - In
  Swing
• Hands cast away from the body.
• Hitter approaches ball from the outside.
• Hitters bat does not stay in contact zone
• long.
• Hitter tends to always pull the baseball.
• A hitter with this swing will have difficulty
• hitting to the opposite field

13
Fiction Bat Angle Is Not Important.

• Poor bat angle during a hitters pre-pitch ready
• position can promote two common mistakes.
• 1) Swinging under the baseball
• 2) A long and slow swing path to the
  baseball.
• Fact
• The recommended pre-pitch bat angle is
  Incorrect
• 45 degrees. The advantages of a hitter
  displaying
  Correct
• this optimum angle are
• 1) Greater hand relaxation
• 2) Assists in keeping the barrel above the
• hands during the swing
• 3) Helps promote an inside out swing.

14
A Correct Swing

• Putting It All Together

Keep the head down on contact!