Hitting Training For Baseball & Softball Swing Trainers | Hitting Performance Lab

Batting Timing Drills For Baseball & Softball | BEST 2022 Youth Beginner Rhythm Hitting Drills And Swing Tips | Fresno, California

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We discuss the BEST baseball, fast-pitch softball, and slow-pitch softball batting timing drills.  Revealed are our favorite youth beginner rhythm hitting drills and swing tips.  We’re based out of Fresno, California.

The Sooner You Know These Batting Timing Drills The BetterBatting Timing Drills

Take a guess at one of the biggest hitting frustrations is, according to my readers?  Timing!  Probably not a shocker because your hitters probably struggle with this as well.  Mine do, especially at the start of the season.

This batting timing drills  for hitting a baseball and softball video guide will also have information useful to anybody facing the challenge of fixing a hitter with a late swing, getting a kid to swing earlier or sooner, and when to start front foot swing timing.

I always tell my hitters, the most effective mechanics in the world don’t mean a thing, if a hitter CANNOT get “on-time”.  In a survey, my readers asked if I use any batting timing drills with my hitters – that work?

Funny, because…

Last week, I was on a call with one of my online lesson dads from Southern California.  He said the difference in his son hitting the ball harder, with more consistency, has been because of how we cue one of the batting timing drills I’m about to share with you.

SCIENCE-BASED TRAINING:

Improve your hitting strategy dramatically by applying human movement principles.

Learn not only how and what to train but also the science behind the methods.

Right Course For You? Take Quiz Now

Before we get started…

I want you to note that the following two batting timing drills are validated by empirical studies in the science of successful learning.  They follow the Principle of Variance (CLICK HERE for a post that explains that).

In this post, I want to share the:

  1. “Float” Variance Drill, AND
  2. Reaction Time Variance Drill (aka, the “2-plate” drill).

Watch this Carlos Pena video on how a hitter’s reaction time changes with pitch location…

 

 

“Float” Variance Drill

Basically, a “float” is a slight pause before falling forward.  Make sure you’re cuing “load slow and early”.  This is what helped my SoCal hitter from above.  CLICK HERE for this post referencing how Jose Bautista turned his swing around with the same cue.

We want the hitter to pick the stride foot up and shift their weight back.  Which means the back knee will have to track over the back toe – and not inside.  How far the back knee tracks depends on whether the hitters has a:

  • High leg kick,
  • Medium leg kick, or
  • Slide step/toe tap.

The higher the leg kick, the more the back knee tends to track over the ankle.  The knee shifts inside the toe during the fall.  And this should be a natural move.  It’s difficult for hitters to get “on-time” by just picking up the stride foot and falling forward.

And this is what would happen if the hitter focused solely on keeping the back knee inside the toe pre-stride foot lift. Don’t believe me?  Check out this rant post I did on this.

If you still don’t believe me, then do an experiment with the drill, and have your hitters note the difference in their quality of contact and control swinging the bat.  This also requires a strengthening of the leg abductors and adductors.  Here’s the movement prescription to do that…

Side Band Walks (http://gohpl.com/1G1FlS5)

  • Week one: 1 set X 10-yard walk both ways,
  • Week two: 1 set X 15-yard walk both ways,
  • Week three: 2 sets X 10-yard walk both ways, &
  • Week four: 2 sets X 15-yard walk both ways.

Do once daily. Increase band resistance if necessary.  Also, the above video demonstrates a semi-leg kick for the drill, this is necessary.  The hitter can use any stride tip with the ‘float’.  CLICK HERE for a post on different stride types.  When to lift the stride foot to start the “float”, will get fleshed out in the next batting timing drill…

 

Reaction Time Variance Challenge (aka the “2-plate” drill)

In the past, part of my timing training, was to tell my hitters to lift their stride foot at a specified point in the pitcher’s delivery.

Which is okay.

But now, my batting timing drills put more emphasis on trial-by-fire.  Let me put my hitter through an environment where they have to learn to calibrate their own timing.  I’m trying to melt them down mentally.  And they’re trying to keep me from melting them down.

In a game, the same thing happens.  To help hitters transfer grooved cage swings into games, we have to train with “random” versus “massed” practice.  It has to do with the process of “Read, Plan, Do”.

In other words, this batting timing drill “takes care of business”, in a natural way.

Please post any other batting timing drills – like these – that are working for your hitters in the “Leave a Reply” section below (or share your testing on the drills I included)…

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Hitting Training For Baseball & Softball Swing Trainers | Hitting Performance Lab

Get More Baseball Swing Power Using Lower Body Stride & Beginner Weight Distribution For Legs

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Learn how to get more baseball or softball swing power using a lower body stride and weight distribution for the legs in this beginner case study.

How To Get More Power In The Lower Half (A Case Study)

 

 

…We discuss the #1 way to hitting for consistent power by analyzing one of my younger hitters Braden:

  • Before and after swing,
  • The Un-Weighting Principal, and
  • What baseball hitting drill to work on next.

 

Before & After Swing

It’s so fun to see young men – like Braden – begin to build in human movement principals like Un-Weighting and notice an instant jolt in force at contact.  I ask all my students, if you wanted to live, would you rather get hit by a train going thirty miles-per-hour, or a motorcycle going sixty?

Of course the motorcycle!  You see, the motorcycle swing is very handsy, fast like a bike but no weight.  The train swing uses heavy mass and the slower rotational speed of the torso to pack a wallop at impact.  Forward movement and Un-Weighting are only the beginning…

SCIENCE-BASED TRAINING:

Improve your hitting strategy dramatically by applying human movement principles.

Learn not only how and what to train but also the science behind the methods.

Right Course For You? Take Quiz Now

The Un-Weighting Principal

I’m working with Braden on throwing his body mass at the ball.  Much like a projectile missile.  This helps to make the bat feel lighter to the hitter.  And be able to turn harder with less muscle involvement.  The swing is a transfer of energy.  We’re taking the potential energy contained in the hitter’s body, and getting it moving to transfer into the barrel.  Then effectively shift this moving energy into the incoming baseball.

This video I put together demonstrates the power of the Un-Weighting Principal:

 

 

What Baseball Hitting Drill to Work on Next?

Braden is coming along nicely with his footwork – with the exception of making sure his lower half is mostly open at the Fight Position (landing).  We’ll be getting him to tap into the natural springy effect of his torso.  I call it the Catapult Loading System.  How the swing is loaded is a difficult concept for most to understand because their focus is on the wrong things:

  1. Not every great MLB hitter walks away from their hands.
  2. And not every great MLB hitter is swinging as effectively as they can.
  3. We tend to study the wrong hitters.
  4. And the camera view matters.

If you have any questions on this, then please post them below…

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Hitting Training For Baseball & Softball Swing Trainers | Hitting Performance Lab

Get On-Time Without Messing With Mechanics

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What Does a Cornerback, 2 Wide Receivers, & Hitter’s Timing Have in Common? (No. This isn’t a joke, I promise) 😉

 

 

I have a treat for you.  In this post we’ll discuss:Effective Velocity: Get On-Time Without Messing With Mechanics

  • 10,000 foot view of Perry Husband’s concept of Effective Velocity,
  • Analyze a real at-bat of one of my new High School senior hitters, and
  • What a cornerback covering 2 wide receivers can teach hitters about timing…

 

 

 

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Josh Karr

ATTN: College Coaches, COVID19 Risk Hiding In Your Recruiting Process?

To Coaches That Want To Fill A 2021 Roster Spot Despite COVID19

(CLICK HERE for the full transcription of the interview)

UPDATED: Josh has currently found a home at a JC, but I’m sure he’d welcome any other interests.

I’m doing something a little different in this post…

I want to help college coaches.  But most importantly, I want to help support one of my High School Seniors that got stuck in this COVID-19 season ending cyclone.  What follows is an interview to help coaches fill a 2021 roster spot with a solid student athlete…

The NCAA has allowed a 5th year for seniors in college impacted by COVID-19 season shutdown.  I agree with this.  It was a good move.  However, what about High School seniors who only got to play 15-20 games in 2020, without the opportunity to commit?

I’ve interviewed one of those seniors, Josh Karr.

FULL DISCLAIMER: I’ve worked with Josh in the past, and his dad reinforces our system with him as well.  I wanted to conduct an interview as if I was a college coach recruiting Josh.

 

Quick stats and highlights from the interviewJosh Karr

  • 6-foot, 2-inches, 215-pounds. From: Wills Point, Texas. Goes to: Wills Point High School.
  • 96-mph ball exit speed off tee using PocketRadar app. Hit 100-mph on LIVE pitching but didn’t record that.
  • Infield corner position player: 1B/3B, has played outfield before (RF).
  • .960 to .970 Fielding%
  • 60-yard time: 7.2
  • Pop-time: 1.99
  • 3.62 grade point average.  1040 SAT.
  • Loves Math.  Wants to major in Biology, end up in the medical field.  Possibly wants to be an NPA.
  • 2019 stats (Junior year): .329 BA, .451 SLG%, .537 OBP%. 27 hits, 4 homers, 5 doubles. 26 RBI’s.
  • Named “player-to-watch” for his region.  Out of roughly 540-550 players of the whole region. Josh was one of top 40 they picked for it.
  • His main focus hitting right now is line drives

If you want to reach out and contact Josh, you can at the following spots:

  1. Email – jmkarr at SBCGlobal dot net (formatted this way, so Josh doesn’t get a lot of SPAM)
  2. Phone – 661-889-5543
  3. MaxPreps page
  4. On the socials – His personal page on Twitter is: @JoshKarr16 … and his baseball page is: @BaseballKarr …you can DM him there as well.

Final thoughts: yes, I’m a little biased in Josh’s case. And no, I don’t do this that often.  But I’m going to vouch for this graduating High School Senior.  Josh comes from a solid family.  They’re hard workers.  Highly disciplined.  And focused on what they set their mind to.  Josh is a fantastic student.  And since I’ve known him, he does what he needs to to compete at the next level.  He needed to cut weight, so he cut 10% body fat and dropped 10-15 pounds last fall.  His weakness is pitches down in the zone.  He’s currently working on driving those pitches on a line.  The point is, this is a coachable student athlete that is looking to compete for you.  Please reach out…

 

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Tee Drills With Adam Eaton

Tee Drills With Adam Eaton Video

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Tee Drills: Adam Eaton Speaks High Inside Pitch Approach Truth

 

 

Tee Drills With Adam Eaton

Adam Eaton photo courtesy: MLB.com

In this tee drills with Adam Eaton video, some main points Adam Eaton covers:

  • Ball flight tells you everything,
  • Demonstrates how REAL high level barrel path is on high inside pitches,
  • How most get the cue ‘stay inside the ball’ wrong, and how to use it properly, and
  • Tee drills tip for putting the high tee on steroids!

 

Make sure you watch the brief 5-minute 30-Clubs in 30-Days Adam Eaton interview before diving into my notes below.  I time stamped the above video for quick and easy reference…

  • At the 0:45 mark, Adam Eaton talks about how tee drills are the most important part of the day.  According to the tee drills naysayers out there, man oh man, how many Big Leaguers are doing it “wrong”.  Haha!
  • At the 1:30 mark, while working tee drills, DeRo asks if Adam Eaton is worried about his hands, bat path, what?  And Adam responds by saying, ball flight tells you everything.  If ball flight is clean, he knows his body is in the right position.
  • At the 2:30 mark, Adam talks about letting ball get to belt buckle on pitches away.  He clarifies you aren’t actually going to hit it there in the game.  Feel cue, pure and simple.  Interesting he mentions getting on plane quickly here in reference to outside pitch.  This is when deep barrel dump is okay.  Adam mentions his powerful impact position checkpoints: palm up palm down, hardly any bend in the front arm (he actually works on this!!), and nice bend in back arm (90-degrees).
  •  At the 2:55 mark, Adam Eaton talks about high inside tee drills. Uncomfortable drill because it feels like you’re crowding yourself.  But it teaches body control and to control the shoulders.  “Blackout moment” defined as an experience when body takes over without thinking because you’ve practiced it so many times.  And just before the 4-minute mark watch him demonstrate how he gets to that high inside pitch — he keeps the barrel up, above his hands, until last possible second.  Much different barrel path he’d take to a pitch away.  I talk to my hitters about the difference between hitting a catcher’s glove perpendicular to the hitter’s “belly button” (inner third part of plate), versus knocking off the real catcher’s glove (outer third part of plate).
  • On these tee drills, Adam Eaton talks a lot about ‘keeping hands inside the ball’.  The cue is great for hitters that do the opposite – hook the ball a lot.  And ‘get barrel around the ball’ works brilliantly for hitters with racing back elbow or who tend to push the ball opposite a lot.  Over the years I’ve learned that every hitting feel cue has their place.  We used to laugh, cajole, and mock Major Leaguers when we’d hear them say things like ‘get on top’, ‘swing down on the ball’, or like in Adam Eaton’s case ‘stay inside the ball’.  These cues do work, but mostly to the hitters who do the opposite of what these cues suggest.  It’s called Paradoxical Intention.
  • Also note on Adam Eaton’s slow motion game swings how virtually straight his front arm is at stride landing.  He’s not a big guy, 5-foot, 8-inches, and only 176-pounds.  He can lever up that front arm because of a shorter wingspan for sure.  I’ve seen him do this on outside pitches as well as inside.  Although, here’s the catch on the inner half of the plate, you have to take the barrel path approach he demonstrated on the high tee drill.  In addition to training my hitters to use a longer front arm on the high pitch, I also make them do it with an end loaded heavy bat.  Makes the drill even more uncomfortable – as Adam Eaton put it – BUT if they can accomplish it at that pitch location, everywhere else is gravy.
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Hit grand slam in playoffs, went 3 for 3 in league championship game, including winning run…

“Hi Coach, I’ve bought two copies (CLS book), one for me and one for my grandson’s coach. I also have three of your online programs.  Despite never having played organized ball I think that, I  with your instruction’ I’ve got the fundamentals of your system across to my grandson.  He played catcher for the league U12 championship team. Hit a grand slam in the league playoffs and went 3 for 3 in the league championship game, including the winning run.  For the first time he also made the tournament team and batted 400.  I can only say thank you for your hard work. Thank you for all you do.”

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Pitchers Have No Batter To Pitch Around They Can All Crush…

“I bought into this two years ago and bought the book. I coach Fastpitch travel softball. From top to bottom of our batting order pitchers have no batter to pitch around they can all crush the ball and do so consistently!!”

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Wow, I didn’t realize how researched this material actually was.

Wow, I didn’t realize how researched this material actually was. I’m blown away how these simple movement patterns have been researched. I just ordered the Truth about explosive rotational power. Never in my 20 years have I seen someone or anyone for that matter actually explain movement/motion. They all claim to teach how the body works to swing a bat, but never have they explained it. They just claim to know how the body works and failed to explain it in their material.

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Actually works and teaches the coach on how to teach hitting to younger kids…

Actually works and teaches the coach on how to teach hitting to younger kids. Ever get frustrated while explaining hitting to a little leaguer and they still don’t grasp the concept? This helps because its physics, and makes sense to the hitter actually seeing improvement.

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I decided to take a more hands on approach…

I’ve gotten the oldest 3 “professional” instruction with their swing mechanics and approach with mixed results. Often times, Id have to spend countless hours fixing a flaw they developed through the instruction. It became frustrating for everyone involved, and more importantly we lost precious developmental time…

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