Any suggestions?
- Thread starter bartxe
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The BP Hero
Addicted to Softballfans
Stay on your back foot and let the ball come to you. You're lunging and rolling over on a lot of stuff. I screen capped these to show you how bad you're reaching. At this point in your swing you should be making contact and the ball is still 2' away from you. Also, find a pitcher or buy/build a tee.
Pdpwally
Coach
im not a super star but i think you're timing and what not is fine... you're just reaching for pitches since they are short. i know its hard in bp to let balls go by but most of those that you lunged at wouldve deff been balls falling short
The BP Hero
Addicted to Softballfans
It looks like a mixture of bad timing and the bad habit of lunging. Either way you play it you shouldn't end up with your back foot completely off the ground and in the position you are in on contact.
[ame]http://youtu.be/XPtLtFbk-1Q[/ame]
Example here. He leaves his back foot down and uses it to drive off of. I struggled with this and at times still do. I can tell the difference in balls I hit when I can keep my back foot planted to give me something to drive off of. I'm no guru by any stretch. Still learning myself, just sharing what I've learned along the way
Pdpwally
Coach
build a tee then... tee work can greatly help develop good habits and can be done solo
The BP Hero
Addicted to Softballfans
At this point a tee wouldn't be a bad investment. Since you're making some big changes a tee will give you the ball in the same spot every time so you can focus on new mechanics and less on judging pitches.
17HnH
Old Made New Glove Relacing Owner
I agree with the tee advice. I hit around 4000 balls off my tee last winter. My power increased and I didn't lift at all last winter. My consistency also got much better. Tweaks are much easier to make doing tee work unless you have a very good bp pitcher. I built a net in my garage to take some cuts. I included the link should it be something you decide to do. I few tweaks have been made since the video, but the general idea can still be seen.
Keep working and rely on a few of these guys who really know swing mechanics. You will see results.
http://forums.softballfans.com/showthread.php?t=1332888
Keep working and rely on a few of these guys who really know swing mechanics. You will see results.
http://forums.softballfans.com/showthread.php?t=1332888
obagain
Dr. bats are for wimps
At this point you need to try and work on one thing at a time.
As others have stated, if that is your only bp pitcher then build or buy a tee.
He has you swinging at pitches all over the place and you are forming more bad habits than good.
One drill I like is to not worry about your upper half much and think about throwing your hips at the ball like you do your shoulders.
You know if you don't turn your shoulders you don't make contact and the hips should be as big a part of the thought process.
If you turn your hips into the ball the upper half will take care of the rest.
Just know that changing such a big part of your swing will probably make the swing worse for a bit until you start making better contact so don't give up.
As others have stated, if that is your only bp pitcher then build or buy a tee.
He has you swinging at pitches all over the place and you are forming more bad habits than good.
One drill I like is to not worry about your upper half much and think about throwing your hips at the ball like you do your shoulders.
You know if you don't turn your shoulders you don't make contact and the hips should be as big a part of the thought process.
If you turn your hips into the ball the upper half will take care of the rest.
Just know that changing such a big part of your swing will probably make the swing worse for a bit until you start making better contact so don't give up.
^^Like the setup for your garage. We've got something similar in my basement. It is unfinished so we hung up some tarps from one of the beams in and set up a batting tee, a swing trainer (called a Watchdog, best swing trainer I've come across for baseball in 20+ years of playing/coaching), and a Mauer QuickSwing. We basically can only hit whiffle balls into it because we have some stuff on the other side of the tarp, but it gets the job done none the less.
Like he said, if you can set something up like that you'll get your swing refined in a hurry. Nothing I've found is quite as effective as tee work. You really allow yourself to focus on one thing at a time, rather than worrying "Hey is that pitch a strike? What kind of arc does it have?" etc. It has really helped me become a more complete hitter too, as I can focus on high/inside pitches, low/away pitches, and everything in between so I can be confident in whatever type of swing I want to use based on the pitch location. Tee work ain't ***y, but it is damn effective. :biggthumpup:
Triple7
Addicted to Softballfans
Stay on your back foot and let the ball come to you. You're lunging and rolling over on a lot of stuff. I screen capped these to show you how bad you're reaching. At this point in your swing you should be making contact and the ball is still 2' away from you. Also, find a pitcher or buy/build a tee.
I'll use these picture just to say, your hands are wrong starting off . There is some argument over box grip or knocking knuckles being lined up, but if you have a box grip and your hands don't adjust you end up with a top hand like this.... This is no good. Line up your knocking knuckles then take the other advice
bartxe
1st base coach
Since I posted this I have tried to be more aware of sitting back. I've shortened my step and am still able to transfer my weight. I will work on my grip. I've never really put any thought into the grip. I've just alwasy held the bat that way. Since moving from baseball to softball I do drop 2 fingers. I'll try lining up my knuckles. Thanks guys
[quoteFreak;18109753]At this point a tee wouldn't be a bad investment. Since you're make big changes a tee will give you the ball in the same spot every time so you can focus on new mechanics and less on judging pitches.[/quote]
What also helps me is make a home plate behind my tee that allows me to kind of see where the trajectory of the ball will hit for a strike. I also toss the ball up to myself along the same plane to work on timing. I have absolutely no one that will pitch bp so this helps then i tweak it in league.
What also helps me is make a home plate behind my tee that allows me to kind of see where the trajectory of the ball will hit for a strike. I also toss the ball up to myself along the same plane to work on timing. I have absolutely no one that will pitch bp so this helps then i tweak it in league.