Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Tue Jul 3 14:48:30 2001

Hi All

Below is an e-mail I received regarding the "fence drill." I am posting it and my response because I thought it better if he received views from other coaches and players.

>>> comments: Hello, my name is Bryan Burke. I use to play ball when i was in Grade School and now I started back up and I am in 10 Grade. My coach tought me the fence drill and I did not notice any thing. And I was reading your artical on the fince drill. I was kinda confused. My question is it useless or does it work. <<<

Hi Bryan

Bryan, I am sure your coach has your best interest at heart and is only teaching you the batting mechanics he was taught. Until recently, all batting instruction taught the batter to drive his hands, or knob of the bat, straight back toward the pitcher or at the ball - "Keep it tight and compact." He was also taught to keep his lead shoulder in and to only "clear-out the front side" in order to allow the hands to come through. In other words, the batters were taught to use the muscles of the arms to accelerate hands while keeping their shoulders closed as long as possible.

But while trying to use the arms to accelerate the bat, many young hitters would have their hands cast out in a wide arc. So, coaches found that further conditions must be added. In order to maintain a straight (linear) hand-path while keeping the shoulders closed, the batters must NOT allow the lead-elbow to straighten. The batter must have a bent lead-elbow to keep the hand-path tight. Some instructors would tell the batter to drive the elbow at the pitcher. This did aid in straightening out the hand-path and helped prevent casting.

So, a drill was needed to insure that the batter performed all these mechanics well --use the arms to accelerate the hands or knob of the bat -- keep shoulders closed as long as possible -- keep the lead-elbow bent -- get the hands to extend straight out -- have little or no arc in the hand-path -- have the bat-head trailing behind until the hands neared full extension. --- They called the drill, "THE FENCE DRILL." And it worked just the way it was intended to.

For decade's coaches and players thought that the mechanics they were using and teaching were the same mechanics as those used by the best hitters. But more recently, coaches and players started using VCR's with good frame-by-frame clarity to analyze mechanics for themselves. Now, many coaches and players are able to study in detail the mechanics used by the best hitters. ---They discovered that the mechanics they observed the great hitters using were not the mechanics they had been taught.

The best hitters did not use the arms to thrust the hands straight out -- the shoulders did start opening or rotating at initiation -- many did rotate with a straight or straightening lead-elbow -- they did not have straight (A to B) hand-path, they were ALL angular -- bat speed and contact did occur long before full extension of the hands. ---How could these great hitters exhibit all of those terrible mechanics and still not have a wide casting hand-path?

The single greatest cause of "casting" (hands sweeping out in a wide path) is due to the "lack of shoulder rotation." If the batter would keep the hands back with the lead-arm (straight or barred) across the chest and allow shoulder rotation to accelerate the hand-path, there is no way the hands can sweep out in a wide arc. In fact, if the shoulders continue to rotate, the hands will remain in a tight arc even with a "barred" lead arm. Casting the hand-path out wider for outside pitches occurs when shoulder rotation slows and the lead-arm casts away from the chest.

If a batter is having trouble with casting, there are good drills to combat it without submitting the hitter to the "fence drill." In my opinion, the fence drill is counterproductive, if for no other reason, it encourages the batter to delay generating bat speed until late in the swing. --- Bryan, as I stated, this is my opinion of the fence drill. But, I should also advise you that other very knowledgeable coaches have a positive opinion of the drill. It will be up to you and your coach to make the final decision.

PS: Bryan, I have decided it would be helpful if I posted your question and my response on the discussion board. Read it, you will probably get a broader view from the board.

Best regards,

Jack Mankin