Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Mon May 6 18:08:51 2002

>>> We have played 6 LL games this season. As coach and batting practice pitcher the kids I have observed the following: the kids that have been taught to throw their hands at the ball have the least amount of power on the team. In testing swing speed they have the lowest batspeeds. Granted this is only a group of 12 kids. We have had limited practice time and it is a challenge to "un-teach the hands to the ball". They improve in Batting Practice and revert to old habits in the game. <<<

Hi mb
You are correct on both points. “Hands to the ball,” does produce weaker results and batters learning circular-hand-path & torque (rotational) mechanics do tend to revert back to linear mechanics in the game. Hitters seem to develop two different mental hitting programs. One for hitting the bag (or off a tee) and one for swinging at live pitching. No matter how well some exhibit rotational mechanics on the bag, the mental image of a live ball triggers an old muscle memory program.

I have found the best way to burn in rotational mechanics from the bag to game situations is not to go straight from the bag to live pitching. The batter will make the conversion much sooner when you use “soft toss” and the bag together. Have the batter hit the bag while you “soft toss” to the bag. This will allow the batter to start developing the timing and mental images of rotational mechanics to a pitching motion. Once he/she demonstrates good rotational mechanics with this drill, then soft toss to them away from the bag. Make sure they show they have the correct mechanics before moving back for longer pitches.

PS: You might want to use a soft ball (like a wiffle or tennis ball) for soft tossing to the bag. It is surprising how hard the ball will come off the bag at you when the batter’s timing is correct.

Jack Mankin