Posted by: swb (batspeed@integritycorp.com) on Tue Apr 16 09:57:54 2002

For kids who either jerk their heads up on (or right before contact), and for those who say they can't "see" the ball, we've tried a drill I heard from Barry Bonds: Have the player stand in with a fielding glove, and track the ball into the glove. Obviously, the glove range is shorter than the bat, so you'll want to adjust the machine to track a higher strike, and have the player lean in a bit. They should be able to catch it easily, and when they pick up the bat, tracking the ball into the impact zone is essentially the same activity. This helps some players.

Problems with head movement before contact can also be indicative of other problems with hitting mechanics. If they're "hitching", i.e. raising the hands, bat, and maybe shoulder upwards before swinging (as opposed to moving the bat backwards, e.g. "inward turn", or Jack's "circular" hand motion), it can take their head off the line of sight.

Check their basic hitting mechanics, and see if you can find out if there's anything in their swing that forces their line of sight off the path of the ball. After all, that's what we want them to focus on, the ball, not the bat. What do they focus on before the ball is pitched? It's tough to focus more than a second or two on anything without losing concentration. Have the player pick a point (maybe the pitchers shoulder) other than the ball to focus on until the ball is released, then shift focus to the ball.

Hope this helps... Scott


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I coach 7 and 8 year-old boys. Our league uses 2 innings of machine pitch (35 MPH) and the remainder player pitch (mid 30's to mid 40's).
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> The biggest problem I have it teaching kids to track the ball to the bat. Does ayone have any drills they can recommend?
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> In practice, I'll have the players watch the first few pitches from the delivery point until they hit the catchers glove with emphasis on "keeping the nose on the ball". I won't let them swing until they successfully track the ball a few times. As soon as I turn them loose it's back to looking straight ahead.
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> I've tried having them tell me what letter of their bat logo the ball hits. That sometimes works.
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> I may try putting different color dots on some practice balls and have them tell me the color.
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> Any help would be appreciated.
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> John