Posted by: () on Mon Oct 7 13:52:53 2002

Bart could you explain your fence drill,I must have missed it.Tom can ou explain your higher load idea for o.s. pitch,I think I feel it been trying to describe it.
> >
> > RQL: This is one of my statements I had previously made regarding the fence drill:
> >
> > "The correct way to do the fence drill is to start with the one bat length of distance, plus another 10 or 12 inches or so. This way the bat can come near the fence but without restricting the bat from arcing out from the very beginning of the swing. I like the hitters to get the feel of the tip of the bat getting close to the fence & early on in the swing, because if done correctly this can help evaluate/promote the circular hand path, elbow in the slot, etc.And, I think to many hitters this will have the feel of pushing the bat. As a matter of fact, I like to use the drill in conjunction with a tire, heavy bag, etc."
> >
> > The difference in my version of the drill and in others (Baker?)is distance from the fence, and maybe because of the difference in objectives.
> >
> > My objective would be to, on the one hand, be far enough from the fence so that there is not a natural tendency to prematurely draw in the hands in order to clear the fence, but on the other hand WANT to come as close to the fence as possible EARLY IN THE SWING without hitting it.
> >
> > The objective of Baker & Co. apparently is the opposite: they WANT the hitter to draw in the hands , excessively in my view.
> >
> > In other words, there is a certain distance that the hands must be from the body...not to close & not too far. Casting is one extreme, too far, Baker-type fence drill is the other extreme, too close. Finding the proper distance from the fence will put you between the two extremes.
> > *******
> How do you get the bat head out fast enough so that it does not lag behind to long? After watching my so after the pull the ball post, I have noticed that this just may be the problem. He does do a knob to the ball drill and the fence drill.


Too All,

More often the fence drill will teach hitters to pull the bat into the contact area. This drops the bat head below the hands and diminishes power. The drill is not supposed to teach this, but it does.

This drill is too easy to do wrong. It's easier to miss the fence doing an improper swing. The thing that makes it so bad is that when it's done wrong, it can't be seen by the naked eye. The batter can be doing it wrong and grooving a bad swing and the coach won't see it unless he tapes it in slow motion, and who tapes drills? And if he does tape it, he has to know what to look for.

This is a bad drill and has done much damage to many hitters.

S. P.