Posted by: BHL (Knight1285@aol.com) on Sun Sep 3 00:49:10 2006

> at the beginning of the season we play a game where We both have a bat and one player stands at second base the other at home. We hit a half deflated soccer ball back and forth. A "homerun" is if you can either hit it out of the infield, or from second make it hit the fence behind home plate. It teaches powering thru the ball i believe.

Dear Ballistic,

Please consider that when one "powers through" the baseball, they will not be striking the ball at peak bat velocity. This latter oft-soft aspect hitting will occur too late the speed to have any appreciable effect on one's power. Perhaps a better alternative for bat speed drills is to pitch a tennis ball at the hitter, and see how far the sphere travels.

Even so, I would be remiss to dismiss your "driving through the ball" philosophy entirely. During practice, for instance, using this approach can strengthen one's wrists, forearms, and biceps, and, at least in that respect, your product does have some probative value. Hence, I believe that your gimmick adds a positive dimension, albeit in an indirect way.

You will do well to continue assisting children, as I am certain that your advice and / or products are affecting them in many positive respects. Your next step should be trying to come up with a tennis ball product that will prove efficacious to teams.

Keep up the good work,
BHL
Knight1285@aol.com