Glencoe Baseball Association Coaches’ Manual

Lesson 5 – Hitting a Baseball

BACKGROUND:

The three most fundamental aspects of batting are Posture, Balance and Rhythm.  For less advanced player levels, we will focus on learning and practicing good posture and balance.  Rhythm will come naturally or will be addressed at more advanced levels.  It is said that 2/3 of hitting is “feeling confident” and being “loose”, while 1/3 of hitting is “mechanics”.  We want to create opportunities for young batters to be SUCCESSFUL! 

POSTURE:  Batters should be in an athletic position.  Feet should be parallel and slightly wider than shoulder width.  The knees should be slightly flexed, the rear end slightly out.  Weight should be on the balls of the feet (not the heels).  The bat should be held in the fingers with the “knocking knuckles” aligned.  The hands should be positioned around the back shoulder (slightly behind and above the back shoulder) with the elbows pointed down.  The head should be turned so that BOTH EYES may see the pitcher (BOTH EYES ON THE BASEBALL).  The entire body should be somewhat “loosey goosey”.

BALANCE:  The shoulders, hips and ankles should be in balance BEFORE, DURING and AFTER the swing.  A batter should be able to hold their “pose” for a five count after their swing.

Hitting off of a tee is the BEST WAY (soft toss is second best) for players to learn and practice their hitting fundamentals.  Major league baseball players practice their hitting using tees.  Most kids will have a sense of how to connect with a pitched ball.  For the coach, the beauty of hitting off of a tee is that you can efficiently teach.  Every “pitch” is a “strike” and the kids can be SUCCESSFUL!!!  Also you can effectively observe the batters movements. 

TEACHING METHODS: 

First: Play a game of CONTACT using a tee (just play, with no feedback yet).  The object of the game is to see how many in a row a player may hit with solid contact.  The game emphasizes the importance of making solid contact with the ball.  Observe and evaluate the results for the player (note them mentally or document them in your notes)

Next: to provide feedback, describe what we are looking for: POSTURE (how we stand and hold the bat) and BALANCE (how we stand over our feet, before, during and after our swing).  POSTURE and BALANCE will be our CUES.

Next:  The coach should demonstrate POSTURE and BALANCE.  Have the player stand in a position so that they may easily see you.  You should demonstrate from several different angles and for a right and left handed batter depending on what you have.  Have the player practice their swing (WITHOUT A BAT), with the coach giving feedback.

Next:  Play another game of CONTACT.  Give CUES to start: POSTURE (observe, evaluate and provide feedback before the swing) and BALANCE (observe, evaluate and provide feedback after the swing).  Praise improvements.  Use a bigger ball (softball size) if the child can not hit the baseball.  (The Strike Zone uses BASKETBALLS for children who are learning to hit.)

Next: Play another game of CONTACT.  Make the game more difficult by only giving credit for fair balls and line drives.  Observe, evaluate and provide feedback.