Here's
a drill to emphasize the importance of the hands to the ball. This
drill can be incorporated with a soft toss or a short screen. It is very
effective even without the luxury of hitting a ball during the drill.
Find yourself an old plastic chair, or a bucket with a lid and sit on
it. Lock your ankles around the legs of the chair or base of the bucket;
This is to anchor yourself into the chair. We want to eliminate the lower
body action in this drill. The only thing moving will be from the waist
up. Take your bat and get in the hitting position. If you have the luxury
of a practice partner, have him toss a ball up into the hitting zone.
You should be rhythmic and rock the hands back slightly on time with the tosser's initial move so that you can properly load the upper body. As the ball reaches the hitting zone fire your hands inside the ball, concentrating on the proper wrist
action into and through the hitting zone.You want a Top Hand 'UP" and Bottom Hand "DOWN" position for your palms at the point of impact. Hit "through the ball" as flat as you can to create a line drive flight. If you do it right you should finish your swing over the shoulder.. kind of like this:
Here's
a drill to emphasize the importance of the hands to the ball. This
drill can be incorporated with a soft toss or a short screen. It is very
effective even without the luxury of hitting a ball during the drill.
Find yourself an old plastic chair, or a bucket with a lid and sit on
it. Lock your ankles around the legs of the chair or base of the bucket;
This is to anchor yourself into the chair. We want to eliminate the lower
body action in this drill. The only thing moving will be from the waist
up. Take your bat and get in the hitting position. If you have the luxury
of a practice partner, have him toss a ball up into the hitting zone.
You should be rhythmic and rock the hands back slightly on time with the tosser's initial move so that you can properly load the upper body. As the ball reaches the hitting zone fire your hands inside the ball, concentrating on the proper wrist
action into and through the hitting zone.You want a Top Hand 'UP" and Bottom Hand "DOWN" position for your palms at the point of impact. Hit "through the ball" as flat as you can to create a line drive flight. If you do it right you should finish your swing over the shoulder.. kind of like this: 