I am NOT a hitting instructor. I think my own swing is probably pretty good, but beyond a basic level, I'm not well school in recognizing flaws in technique and teaching corrections, so I stick to coaching (middle school and LL) other parts of the game when I can. We have two other coaches who can do it. So, remember if this question is stupid, you know who you're dealing with.
I've noticed over the years that less experienced hitters have a lot of trouble just tossing the ball up and hitting it, like any coach has to do to hit popups and grounders, etc. There's maybe one kid on our middle school team that can do it.
Granted, it probably doesn't do much to improve (and maybe even causes bad habits?) the swing itself, but it's been pretty clear that people with less experience tracking pitches seem to struggle with a simple toss and hit. Even our kids that do well with side toss don't do well with self toss. And maybe the difficulty for them is just a matter of toss, grip and set bat, then swing, as opposed to just having difficulty tracking it. Maybe it's even hand strength.
Has anyone used self toss as a way to improve tracking and coordination? Is this a terrible idea? I had thought about just trying it with my own kids (8th and 10th grade) to see if it has any effect.
What say you, experts?
I've noticed over the years that less experienced hitters have a lot of trouble just tossing the ball up and hitting it, like any coach has to do to hit popups and grounders, etc. There's maybe one kid on our middle school team that can do it.
Granted, it probably doesn't do much to improve (and maybe even causes bad habits?) the swing itself, but it's been pretty clear that people with less experience tracking pitches seem to struggle with a simple toss and hit. Even our kids that do well with side toss don't do well with self toss. And maybe the difficulty for them is just a matter of toss, grip and set bat, then swing, as opposed to just having difficulty tracking it. Maybe it's even hand strength.
Has anyone used self toss as a way to improve tracking and coordination? Is this a terrible idea? I had thought about just trying it with my own kids (8th and 10th grade) to see if it has any effect.
What say you, experts?