Posted by: Teacherman () on Fri Dec 13 16:08:09 2002

Teacherman said:
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> >> They have to let the ball come to them instead of going out after it. How do you do this? I've had very good results with high school age players asking them to "focus" on the contact point as they watch the ball come in. What do I mean by focus? I mean their set up, their load, their mental image, everything is ready to swing and "aimed" at the contact point (the top of a batting T if it were there). Their decision is yes swing or no don't. But if its yes, they swing at the T. They time the ball to the T. Get the bathead at the T at the same time as the ball. Having a spot to time the ball to makes it easier for them than to just time the ball.
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> Teacherman:
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> Why do you need a batting T? I thouhgt that is the purpose of Home Plate. Why not use the plate as the reference point? Where exactly do you propose to put the batting T - - I hope you say home plate. Anyway, by posing my initial scenario, I did not and do not want to get into a debate about where proper contact is; let's just say my players are hitting the ball further out front then I want them too, is there any suggestions from anyone on things I can do to "let them or make them feel letting the ball get deeper".
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> Trying to transfer hitting the heavy bag to hitting an incoming baseball is the issue with the same/similar bat speed and mechanics. Problem is my players hit the incoming ball past where the heavy bag would be and then different problems arise like deceleration, disconnecting, throwing their hands, slowing the bat, etc. I guess it is the age old problem/question of TIMING.
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> Does the swing advocated on this website provide for a greater margin of error in TIMING judgments than let's say the linear swing where the bat head seems to be in the zone forever because of course it is moving so slow.
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> Are there any modifications or tips to the rotational swing that can help keep the bat head in the zone longer?

The "imaginery batting T" would be "imagined" in the ideal spot for the rotational hitter to hit the ball. You don't use home plate because it's in a different spot for each hitter depending on where they stand in the box. I'm not sure what the confusion is but I think my answer is right on target. Your point is your kids are "out front" too far. (We won't talk about how far that is and if we agree on that) Let's talk about moving their swings deeper in the zone. Why do they hit the heavy bag correctly? Because they know where it is before they swing. Why don't they hit a moving ball correctly? Because they don't know where it'll be before they swing. Therefore, they are reacting to the pitch. They must make the pitch come to them. The pitch can be in almost an infinite number of locations. Some within the zone and many outside of it. Therefore, we need to minimize the area we're focused on because we can't focus on the infinite locations and be able to hit everyone of them. There's just not enough reaction time. So let's reduce our area of coverage to what we can handle (this varies with hitters age, ability, and experience). Now, it's our job the make the pitcher throw it there or we won't swing (this is a less than 2 strike approach to hitting). Some people can only handle a small area. Others can handle a larger area. I prefer to talk about the areas in sizes like that of a baseball, softball, volleyball, basketball etc etc. As our mechanics, reaction time, quikness etc etc get better we can handle larger areas. But whatever the size of our "zone", we need to be "aimed" at it before the pitch. What does aimed mean? It means be loaded, cocked, coiled etc so that when you say swing, the bat goes to the contact spot not the ball. You've already determined where ideal contact is made in your swing, and you're aimed at it. Now, the job is to time the ball to that spot. To me, and my players agree, this is easier than just timing a pitch. It gives you a spot to time the pitch to. This helps keep them back and in the ideal zone and keeps them from going out after the ball. This is what many mean when they say make the pitcher throw to you.

Now, if we've done all this right, your decision is not where to swing, we've already determined that and we're already aimed there. We already know where we will swing before the pitch. If the pitch isn't there we won't swing. Now, with this in mind, if the player reaches out for a ball or hits too far "out front" he's probably been fooled. He thought the pitch was one speed and got another, or he thought it was in one location and it moved to another. These things happen to the best hitters in the world at times. But, with this mental approach to hitting, I get many, many, many good swings from my kids. It takes a good pitcher with movement or offspeed pitches to cause a bad swing. And that's all you, as a coach, can do for them. Help them get good swings. It's their job to pick the pitches.

How does this tie into your question about how to keep the kids from swinging out front? If they already know where they will swing before the pitch they should be set up and ready to swing at the ideal spot for them each and every time. Just don't swing unless the ball will be there and then swing at the spot, not the ball. Just swing there when the ball will be there. Many kids swing at the spot the ball is at when they make the decision to swing. This is obviously out front. They have to be able to swing where the ball will be not where it is when they decide to swing.

I hope this helps. If I've misunderstood your point I'm sorry. This mental approach has really helped a lot of my players

Teacherman