barry bonds drill ???
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obbay
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Someone (maybe Howard) posted an excellent description of what is involved here. Now that thread has been removed with a whole lot of other threads that Howard participated in and shared his wealth of knowledge. I thought I had saved it but I can't find it!
Maybe you could describe what you know? I often do a simplified Bonds drill that involves the batter stepping closer to the pitching machine one step at a time and then stepping away one step at a time. something I want to try with the younger kids is putting a fielding glove on the top hand (typically their throwin hand) and have them stand in the batters box and catch the pitches. (there's more to it than that but that's the executive summary) this is all part of the unabridged Bonds drill that was started at clinics and camps.
Maybe you could describe what you know? I often do a simplified Bonds drill that involves the batter stepping closer to the pitching machine one step at a time and then stepping away one step at a time. something I want to try with the younger kids is putting a fielding glove on the top hand (typically their throwin hand) and have them stand in the batters box and catch the pitches. (there's more to it than that but that's the executive summary) this is all part of the unabridged Bonds drill that was started at clinics and camps.
i thought it was something like that but??? catching with a glove on the wrong hand, will help with your batting ???
ok, so i have her in the batter's box,glove on the throwing hand.(is she in a batter's stance?) and how should she be holding her hands ? and then she starts taking steps towards the pitching maching?( how close?) and then we work our way back right? do we have our hands like we're gonna hit and pretend to swing? i'm sorry i've read this is a very good drill and i want to learn how to do it
- May 13, 2008
- 824
- 16
The Bonds Drill is really nothing more than moving a step closer to the pitching machine after every hit until you just can't catch up to it anymore.
We don't do much with pitching machines as I feel like it can be detrimental to a swing to use them too much. One thing I have my hitters do is a slight variance of this and that is to have the hitter move around after every hit. Move up two steps. In a little. Out a little. Move back on step. Etc. etc.
We don't do much with pitching machines as I feel like it can be detrimental to a swing to use them too much. One thing I have my hitters do is a slight variance of this and that is to have the hitter move around after every hit. Move up two steps. In a little. Out a little. Move back on step. Etc. etc.
We don't use a machine that often either, but you can still do the drill. We set 4 plates up. Batter keeps moving closer to the coach who is pitching from behind a screen.
obbay
Banned
I was writing this while go4fpsb was posting. that info is all you need but I already wrote this so I'm leaving it!
There are two main components to this drill as I understand it. This is my understanding and may differ from the original drill.
One component is for younger players where they put the glove on their throwing hand, stand in the box like they would be hitting, and catch the pitches as they come in. Then after that, start with the glove by the ear and step/shift weight as you would when hitting and swing around with that glove to catch the ball. Basically go thru the moves to hit only catch it instead. This helps the kids understand keeping the eye on the ball when hitting, tracking fast pitches and timing the faster pitches. Most young kids are intimidated by fast pitching. This drill helps them to not be afraid and build confidence necesary for hitting. It does not teach them to hit the ball with their hands.
The 2nd and most commonly used component is the stepping toward the machine component. After getting warmed up and hitting a few, I have the batter take one big step toward me and hit 3 to 5 pitches, then take another step closer and hit 3 - 5 more. we repeat this until either the player can't keep up with the pitch or she's about 10-12' from the machine.
Then she takes a step backward, hits 3-5, takes another step back and hits, and continues till back at the starting point.
This gives the batter experience on facing faster pitches as well as slower pitches. The idea mentioned earlier about varying the batters location between pitches is an excellent variation on the basic drill that I employ as well, often after I've had her up and back already. You can improvise according to the skill of the batter.
Another thing I've noticed is as the kid gets closer, the pitch location is more consistent. Our machines aren't that accurate and by the time it reaches the plate the ball can be high, low, inside, outside, you never know. As they get closer to the machine, the pitch location deviates less and less. so even though the pitch is faster, it holds to a tighter zone.
Another thing I do in the cages is use wooden bats. You have to hit the ball right with a wooden bat to get a good hit. In the cages, you can whack the hell out of a ball with a metal bat and never really know. with a wooden bat if you hit it right, you know it!
Sometimes the cages are our only choice, so I try to push the limits and find ways to use them where we might not with live pitching.
There are two main components to this drill as I understand it. This is my understanding and may differ from the original drill.
One component is for younger players where they put the glove on their throwing hand, stand in the box like they would be hitting, and catch the pitches as they come in. Then after that, start with the glove by the ear and step/shift weight as you would when hitting and swing around with that glove to catch the ball. Basically go thru the moves to hit only catch it instead. This helps the kids understand keeping the eye on the ball when hitting, tracking fast pitches and timing the faster pitches. Most young kids are intimidated by fast pitching. This drill helps them to not be afraid and build confidence necesary for hitting. It does not teach them to hit the ball with their hands.
The 2nd and most commonly used component is the stepping toward the machine component. After getting warmed up and hitting a few, I have the batter take one big step toward me and hit 3 to 5 pitches, then take another step closer and hit 3 - 5 more. we repeat this until either the player can't keep up with the pitch or she's about 10-12' from the machine.
Then she takes a step backward, hits 3-5, takes another step back and hits, and continues till back at the starting point.
This gives the batter experience on facing faster pitches as well as slower pitches. The idea mentioned earlier about varying the batters location between pitches is an excellent variation on the basic drill that I employ as well, often after I've had her up and back already. You can improvise according to the skill of the batter.
Another thing I've noticed is as the kid gets closer, the pitch location is more consistent. Our machines aren't that accurate and by the time it reaches the plate the ball can be high, low, inside, outside, you never know. As they get closer to the machine, the pitch location deviates less and less. so even though the pitch is faster, it holds to a tighter zone.
Another thing I do in the cages is use wooden bats. You have to hit the ball right with a wooden bat to get a good hit. In the cages, you can whack the hell out of a ball with a metal bat and never really know. with a wooden bat if you hit it right, you know it!
Sometimes the cages are our only choice, so I try to push the limits and find ways to use them where we might not with live pitching.
Last edited:
- Oct 14, 2008
- 665
- 16
The back hand glove drill is a tracking drill, and is very useful in getting the back hand thru the slot and tracking the ball at the same time.
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