Happy Gilmore would have been successful in baseball too, not just in golf and in the movies. So many baseball players develop a sound baseball swing, with enough practice and supervision of course. However, many of those hitters, even at the big league level, lack the relaxed, initial set-up position, rhythm, aggressiveness, and explosiveness, necessary to reach their hitting potential.
Happy Gilmore Hitting Drill
Imagine having a baseball hitting drill that helps players relax, develop rhythm, prepare to swing, and load up their power, before unleashing that power into an aggressive swing and weight shift, not to mention a catchy name for the drill. Happy Gilmore from, where else, the movies, did it in golf and the Happy Gilmore baseball swing drill does the same thing for baseball hitters. I love the Happy Gilmore method of swinging the golf club for baseball because so many young hitters have trouble with the aforementioned hitting necessities. Of course, the method cannot actually work for game hitting because of the timing issues in baseball batting and the limitations of the batter's box, but all of the ingredients the drill works on are necessary for successful hitting.
Batters back up about a yard further from home plate than normal and set a batting tee in front of home plate or have a coach, safely behind a pitching screen, ready to flip balls at them, preferably from directly in front of them in the direction of the pitcher. This flip method, known as front toss is best, but even works with the coach off to the side - side toss for this hitting drill. Just like Happy Gilmore, the golfer, batters begin back of contact area in a relaxed manner with the bat resting on their shoulder, as initial relaxation is important for batting. Next, batters take a rhythmic hop step, not too fast and not too slow, with their rear foot going behind their front one and directly towards the pitcher. At this same time, players rhythmically take the bat off their shoulder and back to the power hitting position. At this time, batters hands and weight are now back, as desired, before players aggressively, but controlled, stride to the ball and swing, with the intention of putting every ounce of their body into the swing, while maintaining good balance through the swing finish. Other good news is that players do not usually forget the Happy Gilmore drill with its catchy name and fun actions of the drill and look forward to practicing it. Over time, players begin to prepare to hit better, and develop rhythm when hitting and aggressively swinging the bat. Watch the Drill here
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.There are 0 comments on "Happy Gilmore had it Right - Even for Hitting a Baseball"
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