Posted by: Doug () on Wed Apr 21 22:08:59 2004

Does anyone have tips for a 29-year old on how to stop dropping his hands? I have tried both the high tee and wall drills, as well as bringing my hands down in my stance. These things have helped as my hitch has lessened, but a teammate informed me that it is still present. My question is how often should I be doing these drills with how many reps each time and what other types of things can I be doing to eliminate this problem? I appreciate the advice. MH

Mike, You did not say if you were dropping your hands and then bringing them back up. If your hands are about shoulder height when your front foot touches down, you are fine. A hitch is fine too.....it is an action of cocking (lowering) your hands and then raising them back up. Ruth, Williams, Foxx, Mays, F. Robinson, Mitchell and Bonds all hitched. If you are just lowering your hands, start with them high and then lower them to your shoulder as you stride. If you are hitching, it does not matter where you start your hands as long as they come back up to shoulder height when the front foot comes down. If anyone tells you that a hitch is bad, just tell them about the the guys mentioned above, along with many other HOF players.

Doug