Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Fri Apr 13 12:25:23 2001

>>>Hello, I a youth baseball coach, I was wondering on some drills that I could have my players work on opeing their hips. Most of my players tend to swing with only their arms.<<<

Hi Mike

The drill I find most effective in getting hitters to use more body rotation in their swing is what I call “The welded wheel drill.” This drill will require the use of a bag (as described in a thread below) to absorb the bat’s energy. The bag will also offer a contact point or a point by which maximum bat speed should have occurred. Any energy expended by body or arms after contact will have no effect on how hard the ball is hit. The presence of the bag will cause the batter to develop bat speed earlier in the swing.

I call it “The welded wheel drill,” because the arms remain in a fixed position (welded) as the body rotates. I have the batter assume the body and arm position of a good swing at contact. The shoulders and hips are fully open and facing the pitcher. The lead-leg is fully extended with the back-leg forming the “L” position. The lead arm is fairly straight and across the chest. When the bat is in contact with the bag the back-arm will form the “L” position.

From this contact position you have the batter use his/her legs to rotate the body and the bat back around until they are facing the plate. The position of the arms should remain fixed as they rotate back. The legs will now assume the position they would have in the launch position. Without moving the arms, have the batter use their legs to rotate the body and the bat back around to the contact point. They should now have the good power position they started with.

I think your players will be very surprised at the power and bat speed they can attain without using the arms and it will definitely help them to use more body in their swings.

Jack Mankin