Softball Batting Drills For Power: “Back Eye” Test (Hit-Bit #2)

What Everybody Ought to Know About Softball Batting Drills for Power…

“Back Eye” Test – after “showing his numbers” to the pitcher, can Andrew McCutchen still pick up the ball with his back eye? Photo courtesy: MLB.com

This softball batting drills for power “Hit-Bit”, or hitting tid-bit, is an answer to questions from my readers when I asked them, “If you could have a private conversation with me, what two questions would you ask?”  The answers are meant to be short, actionable, and tips you can use today.

Today’s Hit-Bit answers the reader questions:

“How much can your shoulders turn on the load? Do you transfer all your weight to the front leg at sometime during the forward swing?”

We’ll talk about:

1. The shoulder load & the “back eye” test,
2. Weight transfer & the ‘Float’, and
3. Weight transfer & the ‘Free-Fall’…

The Shoulder Load & “Back Eye” Test

I often relate the Goldilocks Golden Rule with my hitters.  Some movements we can do too much.  Some not at all.  We want to practice softball batting drills for power, such as loading the torso, “just right”.  And to make sure our hitters do this, in the video, I demonstrate the “back eye” test.

Weight Transfer & The ‘Float’

The “Float”, or as some call it a “negative move”, is a movement back towards the catcher before shifting the hitter’s body weight forward during the stride.  It’s a timing mechanism.  Hitter’s use different kinds of Floats: High, Medium, and Low Leg Kicks & Toe Taps.  See link below for different examples of this…

Weight Transfer & the ‘Free-Fall’

For the definitive guide to the Free-Fall, or Forward Momentum, Click the following HPL post link: “Baseball Batting Techniques: Simple Way To Use Forward Momentum That Works For Elite Hitters“.

Please comment below with any questions or comments about this video post…

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Joey Myers

Author at Hitting Performance Lab

I’m a member of the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA), the International Youth and Conditioning Association (IYCA), and the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR).I’m also a HUGE supporter of the Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA).

I’ve spent 11+ years in the corrective fitness industry, and have too many alphabet-soup certifications to bore you with.I also played four years of Division One baseball at Fresno State from 2000-2003.

It’s NOT how you study, but what you study that counts.I apply human movement principles (or rules), validated by science, to hitting a baseball and softball.

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