One of the most important things to teach young hitters is that they need to be consistent with their stance and their batting routine. Whether it is during a game or at practice, your player’s stance and swing should be nearly identical each time they step into the batter’s box. While not every baseball player will use the same stance, there are some key points that should be addressed to create a reliable and effective swing.
• Proper balance
• Location of hands and elbow
• Comfort
Balance
A balanced stance is a major key to success before a pitch is even thrown. The distance between a batter’s feet is key in generating power from your lower body and keeping your stride level and even. You should instruct your …show more content…
Two important notes when developing your players stance, their back shoulder should never dip lower than their front shoulder, and they should have a relaxed grip on the handle of the bat.
Find a Comfortable Stance
It is important to understand that not every one of your players will be comfortable using the exact same stance. A taller or stronger player may be able to raise their bat head higher and use a wider stance in order to generate more power while a shorter or stouter player may need a more compact lower body. Keeping in mind the principles of proper balance and hand location, it will be necessary to help each individual player find a stance that is comfortable for them.
The Swing
Perfecting a player’s stance goes hand in hand with perfecting a baseball player’s swing. There have been numerous theories as to what makes a great baseball swing, and many different methods of how to perfect a little league ball player’s swing. In order to get consistent results, it is important to understand the three main elements of a perfect swing.
• The stride
• Hip rotation
• Contact
The …show more content…
While the natural beginning of the swing is a downward motion, ideal contact should happen at the bottom of the inverted arc. Hitting ground balls in Little League games may produce more hits at a young age, this often leads to more frustrating ground ball outs and time and training to break this habit at the higher levels.
Bunting
Bunting is a skill that is often overlooked. When teaching your players to bunt, teach them to slide their top hand three-quarters of the way down the bat in a loose grip with all fingers behind the bat. Rather than direct or hit the ball, Little Leaguers should be taught to catch the ball with the bat. This will allow the ball to die quickly, preventing short pop-ups, and will usually results and a good fair ball bunt.