by
posted 03/07/2013
Rotational Hitting Drills
Three Core Movements
1. Hips lead the hands.
2. Match the swing plane to the pitch plane.
3. Staying inside the baseball
“Effortless power vs. Powerless effort”
Torque—two forces acting on an object in opposite directions
Torque—Root of all bat speed, quickness, and power
1. TORQUE DRILL
a. Standing straight up—stride out with front leg (front foot 45-60 degrees)
approximately the length of a bat
b. Bat attached to the rear shoulder (not on top)
c. Hands should be in and armpit level
d. Tuck rear elbow into rib cage (slot)
e. Lead forearm is parallel to the ground
f. Front leg is straight and rigid
g. Turn upper torso and get lead shoulder toward pitcher
h. Torque (rotate upper body and turn lead shoulder in and down)
(Hands follow rotating body around stationary axis.)
2. TORQUE “SHORT 3
a. Once torqued, rotate arms, shoulders, and hands and upper body as a
UNIT
b. Arms and hands do not separate from body
c. Slot rear elbow
d. Front elbow leads up—rear shoulder dips
e. Upper torso slightly tilts rearward
f. Rotate approximately 12” and stop
3. Torque “Long 3”
a. Once torqued, rotate arms, shoulders, and hands and upper body as a UNIT
b. Arms and hands do not separate from body
c. Slot rear elbow
d. Front elbow leads up—rear shoulder dips
e. Upper torso slightly tilts rearward
f. Rotate to the contact position and stop
1. front knee must be rigid
2. hitter must be behind the ball at contact (except on pitches on outer 1/3
plate)
3. extent of rearward tilt is determined by type of hitter
4. palm up/palm down at contact
5. hands and arms disconnect from body just prior to extension
6. hitter extends
through the ball before the Power “V”
4. Torque Dry Cut
5. 1-2-3 Drill
ONE
a. From stance position
b. Stride 2-4”
c. Open stride foot to 45 degrees
d. Land on ball of foot, slight weight forward, heal up
e. As stride goes forward, torque upper torso
TWO ”
(Coach Point: Get in front of the player and hold his/her lead forearm. Let him/her feel the hands staying back as the hips begin at heel drop)
a. Heal drop
b. Rear shoulder dip
c. Lead elbow begins to work up
d. Rear heal “POPS” and begins very slight rotation (Hips Lead the Hands)
e. Upper torso remains torqued (This is the Universal Launch Position)
THREE
a. Swing or Short 3 or Long 3
6. 1-3 Drill
ONE—SWING
ONE—Short 3/Long 3
7. Enforcer Drill
a. Not a “contact zone” drill
b. Purely to overemphasize the “Hands inside the ball” and rotating “around” an
axis
c. Stand around 12-16” from net or fence from torque position and swing w/out
hitting net
8. From Torque position –Extension Holds
a. On the tee (make sure to follow
through the path of the ball as long as possible.)
1. Vary your contact point in/out, up/down
b. From torque position—short toss and hold Power V (make sure to follow
through the path)
{you can do this at 50% first, then work your way up to 90% or so)
9. Knee top hand drill—extension hold (make sure to have top hand “under” at contact and “under” at
Power V
ACHS Baseball
Practice Schedule Template
10 Minutes each
Keep quick pace
Move quickly—what you don’t do great revisit the next practice
Conditioning should take place within the practice if ran correctly.
Additional Conditioning if necessary
1. Team warm-up and stretch (organized activity that is consistent—get minds right—silent)
2. Base Running—10 minutes per day, every day
3. Throwing—(options: knee, long toss, quick hands, bands, etc)
4. Position Drill work
Catchers: Infielders: Outfielders:
5. Team Defense (example)
a. Rocket Relay
b. Pop-up Communication
c. Bunt Defense
d. Picks and Rundowns
e. 1
st and 3
rd offense/defense
f. Live ground balls, 8 minute drill, double fungo, timed double plays, Rocket double plays w/BP, etc
6. Batting Practice: 45 min. Chart it. Organize it. Hitting with purpose.
7. Dirt Ball Reads: Be aggressive on both sides of the ball
Rotational Hitting Notes
“Effortless Power versus Powerless Effort” …….. This is the ACHS goal!
“Torque is the root of all bat speed, bat quickness, and power in hitting.”
“Swing level to the ball, not level to the ground.”
“Hands follow the rotating body around a stationary axis.”
Core Movements
1. Hips lead the hands
2. Match the swing plane to the pitch plane
3. Stay “inside” the ball
5 Absolutes of Rotational Hitting
1. Dynamic Balance
2. Stationary axis of rotation
3. Torque Position
4. Body tilt/ shoulder dip
5. Bat lag
DYNAMIC BALANCE
a. Transition fluently from one hitting sequence to the next
b. Maintained from stride and throughout
ROTATING AROUND THE AXIS
a. Once stride has taken place and heel drops, the axis should remain stationary
TORQUE
a. Separation of upper and lower torsos
b. Big muscles pull the small muscles through the hitting zone
c. “
Effortless power vs. powerless effort”
BODY TILT/SHOULDER DIP
a. Allows the hitter
- To match swing plane to pitch plane
- To keep weight back
- To stay “behind” the ball
b. Hinging the knee allows for backward tilt
c. Rear shoulder dips immediately when swing is launched
d. Front elbow is determined by pitch location (low on high pitch high on low pitch)
e. Rear elbow must tuck into rib cage
BAT LAG
a. Hands are last body part to the “fire.”
b. Bat head
must become horizontal to down as the swing is launched.
c. Hands follow rotating body around its axis
“A hitter’s personal style is always subject to scrutiny and change. This is not true for a hitter’s universal technique. Once it is mastered, it should not change.”
7 Swing Sequences
1. Stance
2. Stride
3. Torque/Launch
4. Approach
5. Contact
6. Power V
7. Follow through
1. STANCE
a. Comfortable and tension free
b. Weight on balls of feet (60/40 or 50/50)
c. Legs slightly flexed
d. Front shoulder at pitcher
2. STRIDE
a. Matter of style not technique
b. Establishes the axis of rotation
c. Must re-establish the “balance point.”
d. Stride to ball of foot (2-4”)
e. Front toe opens to approximately 45 degrees
f. Get to universal launch position (top hand at approximately armpit)
g. Must land on ball of stride foot while the hands are
still rotating rearward
h. Ok to have a little weight shift to front foot as long as balance is re-established.
** If too much weight is kept back, it’s nearly impossible to explode your lower half and get full rotation on back foot.
3. TORQUE/LAUNCH
a. Heel drop gets hitter into torque position
b. Dynamic balance
c. Hinging rear knee
d. Slight body tilt
e. Slot rear elbow down and in (into rib cage)
f. Lead elbow works up and adjusts to pitch
g. Rear shoulder dips
4. APPROACH
a. Top hand quickly works underneath
b. Bat must flatten out as the swing is launched
c. Bat lag
d. Rear tilt
e. Hands & arms stay connected. Should not separate until extending front of hitter’s body
f. Hands and arms work in a circular path & follow a rotating body around a stationary axis
g. Hitter’s weight stabilizes on inside of back thigh
h. Plane of swing must be on its slight upslope approximately 4” in front of lead knee
i. Both elbows should remain flexed until extension
through the ball
5. CONTACT
a. Front knee must be rigid
b. Hitter must be behind the ball at contact (except on pitches on outer 1/3 of plate)
c. Extent of rearward tilt is determined by type of hitter
d. Palm up/palm down at contact
e. Hands and arms disconnect from body just prior to extension
f. Hitter extends
through the ball before the Power “V”
6. POWER “V”
a. Arms fully extend out front toward the pitcher into V position
b. Angle of V determined by pitch location
7. FOLLOW THROUGH
a. Should be at shoulder level
b. Pitch location will determine if slightly lower or higher than lead shoulder
