extension drills

[Bouldersdad]

Try using the chuck it for extension drills also, the extension is correct the ball will go back up the middle. A bit of a viusual for kids to see where the ball goes.

Tim

 

[baseballer]

Soft toss from directly behind will help get extension. It enforces the hitter to stay behind and through the ball.

 

[Diamond Junkie]

Love to use a hinged bat. It gives instant feedback to the hitter. They must be wearing a helmet though, improper extension and follow through results in a swat against the body. The kids learn pretty quick with it. I like it using it with a tee, soft toss, and front toss to hammer home the feeling.

 

[redhotcoach]

H If you throw the barrel, extension will be a natural product.
.

Throw the barrel

 

[SBFAMILY]

Extension drills are a bad term to me. You are trying to fix something that happens at contact, after that it doesn't matter. Most young ladies tend to roll the wrists and have now idea the feeling of hitting thru the ball . Almost everything above mentioned will help them feel that and hit thru the ball. I have asked them for years why they roll the wrist before or at contact. It was what they were taught, like swing level. Go to the youth softball fields and watch the kids swing and hit themself hard in the back, while warming up. Drives me nuts. If they would swing a whip hit they would kill themself. Most of this starts with the grip, swing a bat with different grips and you will see some force you to roll at contact.

 

[RayR]

Throwing bats is a great tool to use....yes like a helicopter (but slanted helicopter really denotes hands above the barrel at contact) and up the middle is the goal.....pull side indicates a sweep/cast/front shoulder blow out swing....this drill really trains the wrists to work better...working to cock and uncock in one smooth move....

The top hand reverse drill is good in that it forces a tighter hand path which discourages a sweep and creates an environment for natural extension - front arm stays bent longer with a top hand reversed....which is ultimately what you want to work towards if you have sweep problems....train the front arm to stay bent longer keeps the hands tighter and allows even more adjustability....add in oily wrists and hitting should become much better....

I had my daughter throwing a plastic bat yesterday. ... Also was doing some of what Wellphyt recommends.

When throwing a bat, am I correct to say that if the bat tends to go toward the left side (toward SS), that we're probably casting a little? Also notice that the bat might hit around SS and roll further left, which suggests rolling the wrists too early. Does that sound like a fair diagnosis?

On the better swings, the bat tends to go end over end (or side over side like helicopter) directly toward the pitcher and continue to roll or slide straight, not off to the left.

When throwing a bat, my DD has a little trouble w/ the front arm (gets straight too early), and she also sometimes will let the hips glide forward and drag the back foot forward. She's gotten better at that over time, but she's never quite fixed that. Front leg is not fully firm on contact.

 

[straightleg]

Throwing bats is a great tool to use....yes like a helicopter (but slanted helicopter really denotes hands above the barrel at contact) and up the middle is the goal.....pull side indicates a sweep/cast/front shoulder blow out swing....this drill really trains the wrists to work better...working to cock and uncock in one smooth move....

The top hand reverse drill is good in that it forces a tighter hand path which discourages a sweep and creates an environment for natural extension - front arm stays bent longer with a top hand reversed....which is ultimately what you want to work towards if you have sweep problems....train the front arm to stay bent longer keeps the hands tighter and allows even more adjustability....add in oily wrists and hitting should become much better....

The top hand reverse drill is good in that it forces a tighter hand path which discourages a sweep and creates an environment for natural extension - front arm stays bent longer with a top hand reversed....which is ultimately what you want to work towards if you have sweep problems....train the front arm to stay bent longer keeps the hands tighter and allows even more adjustability....add in oily wrists and hitting should become much better....[/QUOTE]



I like this explanation... Just what my DD does in this video. Tight hand pivot point.Creates that crack of the bat. Hands dont go out over the plate

Sophmore in High School when i made this video...Sophmore in college now, she is much stronger
now
http://youtu.be/-A2tuXwB3u8

SL

 

[jbooth]

Extension drills are a bad term to me. You are trying to fix something that happens at contact, after that it doesn't matter. Most young ladies tend to roll the wrists and have now idea the feeling of hitting thru the ball . Almost everything above mentioned will help them feel that and hit thru the ball. I have asked them for years why they roll the wrist before or at contact. It was what they were taught, like swing level. Go to the youth softball fields and watch the kids swing and hit themself hard in the back, while warming up. Drives me nuts. If they would swing a whip hit they would kill themself. Most of this starts with the grip, swing a bat with different grips and you will see some force you to roll at contact.

Yeah, that move of hitting themselves in the back with the hands way high, drives me crazy.

The coach of a very good division 1 private school in Phoenix teaches them to make contact with the palm facing the pitcher (roll into contact.) That's his philosophy but the team hits well because most of the girls have their own hitting coaches and they don't do that.