Most young baseball players want to be a great hitter. They want to slug the ball just like their favorite players, and be the one to drive in the game winning run. But before their favorite players became great, they practiced their swing. For advice for parents to share with their little sluggers, we reached out to Yorkville Youth Athletic Association (YYAA). They responded with tips from five of their baseball experts on how kids can improve their swing and batting average this season. And who knows? He or she may drive in the winning run, or hit the game-winning home run!
From Chris Collins, the Developmental League Director
For beginners it is best to keep things simple. The keys are to keep a constant routine, and develop your muscle memory. When your future hall of famer steps into the box, make sure he or she has these fundamentals down:
- Hands: When you grip the bat, your middle knuckles should be aligned.
- Stride: Small stride to the pitcher.
- Load: Create separation with the hands and weight, moving your hands back while the foot is traveling forward.
- Finish: Batter’s backside turns and his or her belly button is to the pitcher.
From John Rodriguez, the Director of the Baseball Academy, who was an outfielder on the 2006 World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals.
- When the batter grips the bat, his or her knuckles should be aligned.
- The batter’s hands should be in front of his or her back shoulder.
- The knees should be slightly bent and the feet should be shoulder width apart.
- Level swing: where the barrel of the bat is entering the back of the plate and finishing past the front of the plate.
- As the hitter’s bat is in the zone, his or her back shoulder, back hip, and back knee should be in a straight line.
- At the point of contact the hitters hands should be “top hand palm up & bottom hand palm down” also the back arm should be in an L shape at the point of contact.
From Alex Fabian, Baseball Director
- Step straight to the pitcher: Avoid “stepping out.” Stepping out leads to the batter’s hips opening up, his or her head drifting away from the point of contact, and many swings and misses. Stepping straight to where the ball is coming from helps the batter’s head stay on the ball.
- Knob of the bat goes through the hitting zone first, hands follow: This leads to a more direct bat-path to the ball, and prevents the batter from swinging around the baseball. Remember: Knob, hands, and then the barrel.
- Transfer of weight/ weight distribution: Before the swing, the batter should have all of his or her weight on the back-foot, almost leaning back. At the point of contact, the weight shifts from the back-foot to neutral.
- Hold the finish: Being able to “hold the finish” means that the batter did not swing out of control. The batter must hold the finished swing as if posing for a picture.
- Drills, drills, drills, drills: Don’t simply throw batting practice. Young hitters can hit whiffle balls off a tee or at a soft toss pitch (aiming the underhand toss at the batter’s front hip), and do dry swing drills where there are no balls being hit; the batter just take practice swings and repeat it.
From Jaime Roggenkampm, Expert Trainer
- Make sure the batter is starting in a proper hitting position. That means that the batter’s feet are properly placed, hands are up, and his or her eyes are on the pitcher.
- When the batter swings, make sure his or her hips and hands are working together. This will help with turning the back foot. Note that balance is very important as it keeps the batter in control for more consistent results.
- As the batter swings, make sure his or her bat stays through the strike zone as long as possible. (This is called staying through the ball.) And to avoid a “long swing,” make sure that as the batter swings, his or her back elbow is moving in toward his or her ribs. This is called staying inside the ball. If the batter’s hands are going away from his or her body when swinging, this will create a long swing and the barrel of the bat will not consistently hit the ball. (Think: getting jammed or hitting off the end of the bat.)
- When the batter makes contact with the ball, make sure that the batter is behind the ball. The batter wants to avoid hitting off his or her front foot and lunging during the swing. Note that when swinging, make sure the batter’s front foot is stepping straight. This will help the batter avoid opening his or her hips too early.
5. See the ball all the way through to the point of contact.
From Clark Wright, Baseball Clinic Supervisor
- Put the ball in the air–Uneducated coaches teach their players to hit down on the ball. This is wrong. Hitting down on the ball creates ground balls and puts your bat in and out of the hitting zone very quickly, thus not getting on the hitting plane and decreasing contact greatly. Its not fun hitting ground balls; it’s that simple unless you are moving a runner over. Hitting the ball in the air creates true hitters.
2. Use your power hand/punch hand–If a young player would like to hit for more power he/she must use what is called the power or drive hand. This is quite simple–if you are a righty, use your right hand, and lefties can use their left hand. By focusing the mind on using this hand you begin to literally punch and square up baseballs. Punching the baseball can greatly increase pop and it’s quite easy to master once you feel it.
3. Use your hips–A batter’s hips and hands are the most important pieces of a hitter’s swing. The hands simply take the bat to the baseball, while the hips get you through the baseball and create torque. These two components work together, almost like a rubber band. If you take your hands away from your hips and step toward the baseball, you are elongating the rubber band/body to create serious torque.
4. Balance–This is an extremely vital aspect of hitting. Without balance, consistency cannot occur. If you are unbalanced at the plate, nothing can work together unless you simply get lucky or are facing a weak pitcher. The leg kick has become a hot topic lately and I support it in some players as long as they are balanced and distributing 50-50 weight through contact.
5. Trust your body–Many coaches and trainers try to make their players swing the same and create cookie cutter hitters. This is extremely wrong. Hitters need to follow what feels good to them because that is where the special talent is found. Imagine if Ken Griffey was told by his hitting coach to change his stance because his hands start a bit lower! Being comfortable and confident translates to great play on the field. Granted there are some strong foundations that all hitters must have, but over-tweaking is unnecessary.
For more from Yorkville Youth Athletic Association, visit yyaa.org.
