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Balance Hitting Drills for Baseball - Video

HomeBlogsJack Perconte's blogBalance Hitting Drills for Baseball - Video
HomeBlogsJack Perconte's blogBalance Hitting Drills for Baseball - Video
Balance Hitting Drills for Baseball - Video
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Jack Perconte

 

Balance Hitting Drills are Crucial

Hitting drills for baseball, like the following, lead hitters to success and a high batting average.

It is great when a drill works on multiple aspects of hitting like this one, which helps develop bat speed, bat quickness, bat load, rhythm, and most of all hip rotation and balance, all important ingredients to successful hitting.

Hitting coaches often hear comments as these, "He is always trying to kill the ball," "She swings so hard," "He's always swinging for the fences." And so on"¦ I know I hear these concerns all the time from parents of my students. My first unspoken thought is, "So, that is the point of hitting, to kill the ball and hit it as far as one can. However, parents have a valid point, but it is not the hitter's intentions that are wrong, but the implementation of their hitting mechanics.

I explain to batters that it is OK to try to kill the ball and to hit it as hard and as far as possible, as there is no reason to hit it without authority. I know those were my intentions, when hitting all the way to and through my major league career, but what matters is doing it under control. Swinging the bat one hundred percent is the objective, but it must be done with balance.

Of course, there is the other side of it, with concerns that players use only their arms to swing, with little use of their lower half. This problem also needs addressing. The following hitting drills for baseball help both sets of hitters, as it emphasizes balance and use of the lower half, when swinging.

This drill works with side or front angle flipped balls, as seen here. Coaches flip an initial ball to batters. At the completion of their swing, batters hold the finished position, with the bat all the way to the middle of their back. When coaches yell now, players reverse the swing quickly to bat load position as the next ball is on its way. Once again, at swing finish, batters hold the finish, until the same scenario begins again. Batters should reverse the swing in the same manner as they swung forward, with a full reverse swing. The good news is that just having hitters completely finish their swing, often solves many hitting problems, too.

Additional Balance Hitting Drills

As seen here, this drill works with one-hand drills in the same manner, especially for working on extension with the lead arm and for staying behind the ball with the top hand. A lighter bat is good, as is choking up on a regular bat.

After a while, coaches move closer to enhance bat quickness and eventually can try the quick hands drill, with continual ball flips, but never flipping balls until batters have just enough time to finish the swing. As with the first drill, players will have to maintain balance, if they are to be in position and quick enough for the next flipped ball. Both drills work on body balance and hip rotation, as those who pull their head and over swing or do not finish their swing, will have trouble with these drills. These hitting drills for baseball are best for players with good fundamental swings to begin with, as there is no benefit in reinforcing bad swings, although it works on balance and control, regardless.

About Jack Perconte

After playing major league baseball, Jack Perconte has taught baseball and softball since 1988 and offered valuable coaching training too. He has helped numerous youth players reach their potential, as well as having helped parents and coaches navigate their way through the challenging world of youth sports. Jack is one of the leading authorities in the areas of youth baseball training and coaching training advice.

All Jack Perconte articles are used with copyright permission.

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