Woodridge Bulldogs

 Hitting Fundamentals

Plate Coverage: (Where to Stand)

1. Set Up Approx. a half bat away from home plate
2. Choose which corner of Home Plate your front foot will line up with

Common Mistakes

A.      Players to far away or to close to plate

B.       Players not developing consistency because they don’t realize where front foot lines up.

Corrections

A.      Have players set distance and draw a line in the dirt with bat, place, place feet    

       On line.

Stance: ( How to stand, Lower & Upper Body)

A.      Lower Body

1.      Feet Squared up, (Parallel)

2.      Feet (At Least) shoulder width apart

3.      Toes pointing straight, body weight on inner balls of feet

4.      Knees set up inside of feet

B.       Upper Body

1.      Head held upright, eyes level/look over shoulder not around it

2.      Front shoulder pointed at pitcher level shoulder and hip set up

3.      Grip: Palm of the top hand, back of the bottom hand face pitcher, bat held loosely

4.      Hand Position: Hands held on top of strike zone (both hands visible if looking in a mirror)

5.      Barrel held at 45 degree

6.      Front elbow down, back elbow half way up. Bicep and forearm of top hand touching

7.      Rhythm:  Backward and forward sway

Common Mistakes

1. Overly closed stance position creating a body angle which shoulders naturally follow resulting in poor hand position.
2. Toes which point outward indicating poor balance
3. Head held at angle resulting in poor back eye vision
4. Improper or weak grip
5. Hands to far away from body or in a position which does not lend to fluid movement up and back to a strong launch position.
6. Back elbow all the way up creating a poor grip
7. Lack of rhythm

Corrections

A.     Keep feet parallel in stance by drawing a line in dirt when setting plate coverage                          and set up feet on line

B.     For balance and head position:  Keep toes straight, bend at waist first and then bend at knees to allow body weight to rest on balls of feet.  Also, bend only so far at waist (chest in line with knees) that eyes remain level.

C.     Keep back elbow position at a 45 degree angle to ensure proper grip.  Palm of top hand will begin to face hitter instead of pitcher the higher the back elbow becomes, resulting in weaker grip.

D.     Hands must be visible to hitter if looking in a mirror to ensure proper straight line to ball usage latter in swing.

Load (Front Heel Lift, Front Toe Push, Front Shoulder Tuck) 

A.     Lower Body

1.      Weight transfers back to inside back inner thigh

2.      Front heel raises off ground

3.      Back knee is inside of back foot

B.     Upper Body

1.      Front shoulder begins to lower in the direction of the pitchers feet

2.      Hands MAY initiate separation phase by beginning to move slightly back to launch position as stride begins.

Common Mistakes

A.     No gathering at all of weight to back inner thigh (rushing into stride)

B.     Gathering of so much weight on back side the back knee moves in line with back foot causing weight to rest on back knee leading to a possible collapse of back side if swing has upward tilt.  Also, causes weight to rush forward to soon resulting in a hitter’s head moving out of their center.

C.     Front shoulder moving upward as weight is being gathered to back inner thigh

Corrections

A.     Make sure to gather enough weight on back side to ensure a controlled stride

B.     Weight must be gathered to back inner thigh keeping back knee inside back foot

C.     Maintain level body segments (shoulders & hips)

Stride Separation (Stepping into a Hitting Position)

   A. Lower Body

1.      Step straight to pitcher, front foot closed (toe pointing to plate)

2.      Stride softly to a balanced 50/50 by landing on the ball of the front foot first and then placing the front heel down. (Note: As the front foot lands, when heel is up weight is back.  When heel is placed down, weight is now evenly distributed-50/50.)

3.      Stride and land with a bent front knee w/knee inside of front foot.

   B. Upper Body

1.      Front shoulder will move downward pointing from the feet of the pitcher to the feet of shortstop for a left handed hitter, and from the feet of the pitcher to the feet of the second baseman for a right handed hitter

2.      Move hands independently up and back to the launch position, bottom hand will now be closest to the catcher with inside barrel angle.

3.      Hands will be back behind the shoulder line, top hand same height as back shoulder.

4.      If looking into a mirror hitter should be able to see all of the bottom hand

5.      Back elbow will be half way up (45 degree angle)

Common Mistakes

A.     Stepping open with front foot

B.     Landing with a locked front knee

C.     Stepping and landing with to much weight back or forward

D.     Landing with front shoulder up and/or out

E.      Dropping of hands  / Lack of hand action back / Wrapping of bat

F.      Poor launch position / taking away the straight line route to ball

Corrections

A.     Concentrate on striding straight and closed keeping should, hip, knee and ankle on           pitcher.

B.     Front knee will not lock out until hitter swings (firm front side)

C.     Keep head in center of body when striding to promote a 50/50 landing

D.     Maintain level body segments

E.      When striding, trigger hands back and up to a strong launch position

F.      Do not allow front shoulder to close so much that bottom hand would not be visible if looking in a mirror.  This results in hitter loosing straight line route to ball creating a long swing.

Swing

 A.   Lower Body

1.      As front heel is planted (linear weight shift is done) back heel comes up  (action becomes rotary)

2.      As back heel comes off ground back knee and foot turn to pitcher initiating hand movement to ball.  Back knee will not move forward.  It remains at or lower than the position it was in as front foot was planted.

3.      Front side resists, front leg firms and pushes hips backward into 90 degrees of rotation

4.      Level hip rotation

5.      Front foot may open 45 degrees

6.      Back toe faces front foot, heel up to sky, at or before contact

7.      Bottom to top, back to front, backside knocks front side out

B.     Upper Body

1.      Out of the rotation hands work forward and down on a straight line inside the ball

2.      Shoulders rotate level

3.      At contact bottom hand faces down top hand palm faces up

4.      Rear arm pushes forward to full extension after contact

5.      Swing plane is short to long (down level, and up)

6.      Only after full extension will hands begin to roll over to finish

7.      Eyes remain level during swing, chin works from front shoulder to back shoulder

8.      Two hands remain on bat through extension and finish near back of front shoulder.

Common Mistakes

1. Lack of back foot pivot
2. Front foot opening up with toes facing pitcher (leads to poor balance, indicates spinning action or opening front side)
3. Back foot sliding behind causing hips and shoulders to work upward
4. Front shoulder working upward in swing creating long swing/Front side fly
5. Hands working back to front in the strike zone(laying of hands back)
6. Hands working outside ball causing slicing action
7. Barring out of front arm
8. Pulling our of front shoulder and head during swing
9. Early finish, wrist roll
10. Hip slide

Corrections

1. Have hitter swing and hold finish for a moment and check footwork, back foot pivot front foot only opened half way
2. Promote level shoulder rotation
3. Promote hands entering strike zone from side and working forward
4. Do not allow hands to cast away from body or lay back during initial forward hand action in swing
5. Front arm will maintain flex or bend until extension through ball
6. Concentrate on staying closed with the front side as long as possible during beginning of swing
7. Finish with nose down on contact (Not back ear)
8. Rear arm extension
9. Back knee in sequence