| 1. Grip - The first thing every young player must | | | | good hip rotation. |
| be taught is how to properly grip the bat. The bat | | | | 5. Balance - A batter must have good balance to |
| is gripped with the "knocking knuckles" on the top | | | | be successful. Balance refers to proper weight |
| and bottom hands aligned perfectly in a straight | | | | distribution prior, during the swing, and at the finish |
| line with each other. The purpose of this grip is to | | | | of the swing. Good balance allows the hitter to |
| place the bat handle in the fingers away from the | | | | have more control at the plate. Good balance |
| palms of the hands. This grip allows the hands to | | | | begins with even weight distribution with a proper |
| be move quicker and to have maximum control | | | | stance. The batters ability to control the body |
| of the bat. Tension is a batters worst enemy | | | | during the stride is the key to good balance. |
| when it comes having a quality swing. Gripping the | | | | 6. Bat Speed - The speed of the bat during a |
| bat improperly often causes tension throughout | | | | swing. The bat the batter used must be the |
| the body. A relaxed grip on the bat allows the | | | | correct length and weight for a batter to |
| batter to react with better bat speed and hand | | | | generate optimum bat speed. |
| quickness. Feeling relaxed at the plate is a key to | | | | 7. Squash the Bug - This term refers to the pivot |
| a batters confidence. | | | | the back foot during the baseball swing. This foot |
| 2. Stance - A batters stance is how a batter | | | | action allows the hips to open up or turn. |
| initially stands in the batter's box to look out at | | | | 8. Shoe Laces to Pitcher - The best back foot |
| the pitcher. A batter's stance is the position of | | | | action is not a squashing action with downward |
| the hands and feet prior to the start of the | | | | pressure. The best motion is to turn the back |
| swing. The feet should be shoulder width apart | | | | foot with the shoelaces toward the pitcher. This |
| with toes pointing toward the plate. The feet | | | | turn should be performed with a "light-weight" |
| should be square to the plate. Square to the plate | | | | pivoting motion with little downward pressure. The |
| means that they are an equal distance from the | | | | batter pushes off from the ball of his rear foot to |
| plate. The stance also refers to the position of | | | | shift weight to the front side. Putting downward |
| the hands and the angle of the bat. The hands | | | | pressure on the ball of the back foot as it pivots |
| should be no more that several inches from the | | | | and the hips rotate tends to constrict the |
| shoulder. The stance should comfortable and | | | | quickness and power swing. |
| should allow the batter to look at the pitcher with | | | | 9. Trigger - Load - Both have the same meaning. |
| ease. | | | | Batters must learn to trigger or load to get ready |
| 3. Stride - The term refers to the batters weight | | | | to hit. The loading or triggering process is a |
| shift or step prior to the swing. The stride should | | | | batter's final movement of the body and hands to |
| be short and only about three to four inches if | | | | the optimum bat launching position to get ready |
| the front foot moves. Many batters simply pick | | | | for the swing. Different batters use different |
| the front foot up and replace it without moving it | | | | movement as a triggering mechanism. Many |
| forward. If a step is taken, it should be a little | | | | batters turn the front knee and should slightly |
| step forward with the toes pointing toward the | | | | inward. Other batters simply take the hands |
| pitcher. It is important to teach young players | | | | slightly up and back to what they call their launch |
| that they must stride to get ready to hit. They | | | | position. The loading or triggering action should be |
| do not stride to hit, but rather, they should stride | | | | a very slight movement. |
| to get ready to hit. The batters stride foot should | | | | 10. A, B, C Baseball Swing - The "A, B, to C |
| be set before the pitchers front foot lands. | | | | baseball swing" means a baseball swing that is not |
| 4. Hip Turn - Hip turn refers to the process of a | | | | fundamentally correct. The term describes a |
| batter generating power by driving the hips | | | | swing that is not compact and not direct to the |
| through a power rotation. Only pitches over the | | | | ball. The batter sweeps the bat in a slow long |
| middle and inside 3rds of the plate allow a batter | | | | arch. |
| to get full hip turn. The closer the pitch is to the | | | | 11. A to C Swing - Used to refer to a sort |
| batter, the more hip turn is needed to properly hit | | | | compact swing that take the bat from the "A" |
| the ball. Pitches on the outer part of the plate | | | | launch position directed to the "C" or contact |
| require little hip turn to hit. The hitter will rotate his | | | | position. The perfect baseball swing is a short |
| hips open farther on an inside pitch than an | | | | compact "A to C" Swing. |
| outside pitch. The batter should rotate the hips on | | | | For more articles on coaching baseball visit the |
| a level plane. Player should not lean forward over | | | | Youth Baseball Digest, Little League Digest and |
| the plate or lean back away from the plate. The | | | | the Baseball Coaching Digest. |
| batter's back foot must pivot in order to have | | | | |