Posted by: donny () on Tue Jan 3 17:04:37 2006

Shawn,

I have coached some 9th and 10th graders facing 93 legit. I get what quickness means in a survival mode. The guy struck out 15 anyway and signed with Alabama. I have also seen college kids turn that around 400 feet as you have.

Try this******...tell a random bunch of HS players to put the bat in a quick position ( cocked in the 45 slot), heel to toe or stride. Now put a ball on a batting tee and let them stand anywhere they want in relation to same as long as their feet are aligned up the middle.

Now tell them to hit a line drive up the middle as quick as possible on your call.

Let me fast forward you and save you the trouble as I do this all the time. They cannot. I repeat ..they cannot. They will hit the outside of the ball and pull it on the ground from foul to SS.

Why? They do not get angular acceleration and they hit the outside of the ball. I did three guys today without clueing them about what would happen. All three have played since LL and are pretty good players. Same ole same ole...ground balls to 3B over and over. I was dying laughing as they kept trying

I said " when you guys get tired of trying let me know and I will show you how to hit the ball center , head high, back through the box. I was the only one there that could do it.

Clue....go to youthbaseball.com and watch tejada..... See his starting bat position. That will hit line drives back through the middle. The plane change will bring the barrel out as Jack says and have the hips leading. ALSO IMPORTANT!!!. If your having trouble with kids swinging before their front foot firms( back foot spinners) then slow the hands down by having then go back at stride beginning and the foot gets down for a better hip turn. You cannot make them get their front foot down faster...it doesn't work for most. You have to slow the hands and get them into the proper rotation

Again, coaching the upper body better fixes many things about the lower body. Sending the hands backwards at initiation gets the bat barrel out there and makes for a complete hitter. It gives the front side time to firm up in time to assist the launch too......

I test this daily and see the smiles on the kids faces when I prove these points. They don't believe anything until you show them.