Coach Hand

Coach Hand

Common baseball batting technique dismissed by Hall of Fame Coach. Instead try this for maximum hitting power

Here is a common statement from parents when they first teach their youngster to hit: "Get your hands away from your body!"

The fact is that the hands require body support during the hitting stroke. The farther the hands get away from the body, the weaker the stroke. The hips take us to the ball. So by allowing the hands to go outside the body, they end up over the plate, weakening the stroke. In the proper hitting stroke, the hands are kept close to the body. The body squares to the pitch. Then the hands go in a straight line to contact the ball.

As a fielder, we have to move our hands away from the body to catch the ball. That is because our arms are in a single-lever system. However, when we place a bat in our hands, we now have a double-lever (bat plus arms/hands).

What about the pros who have their hands away from their bodies in their hitting stance? Well, when we see pros with their hands all over the place before the ball is pitched, that is their "show" position. Many pro hitters do not get into their best hitting position until they take their stride, which then brings the hands close to the body. They are not in their hitting "stance" until they take their stride. We call this "step-stance." Pros begin in their "show" position.

"Step-Stance"

The good pro hitter will always have his hands close to the body when he completes his stride.

Here is the problem. The amateur hitter who copies a pro "show" stance and does not recognize this will start his stroke this way. He is therefore cheating himself of maximum power.

What is the best way to get into a state of power and then maintain that power?

Associate the hands with the body, and get into a powerful stance from the beginning. Then a player won't have to deal with making an adjustment on the way to the ball. Instead of "Step-Stance," the hitter goes to "Stance-Step." Now he will be in full strength at the moment the ball strikes the bat!

Stance-Coil-Stride

If a baseball player plays this game long enough, his stroke will have to occur in less than half a second. By getting into, and staying into a compact stance, he will be giving himself a great advantage in his hitting.

Another aspect of this is to "get the hands moving." This is not necessarily a bad statement, but it could be detrimental if misinterpreted. If the hands, as a separate entity, would be moved away from the body, this would NOT be correct.

It is a fact that in a physical activity, action begins with the largest muscle mass and is completed by the smallest. With this in mind, any early movement of the hands in the hitting process should be generated by the hips. Getting the hands moving along with the hip movement is fine. Early hand movement separates from the hips causes hitting problems.

Here is the proper sequence: The first hitting action begins with the hips and finishes with the hands. The body and hands should move in sync. This could be a problem for the hitter if he feels he needs to get the hands moving. Keeping the hands and body in sync avoids the following problems:

1. The hands running away from the body

2. The body running away from the hands

This is totally obvious during weight transfer. The only time that we really want the hands to move away from the body is when they move to strike the ball in the contact area.

 

About the Author

Coach Joe Brockoff, a Division I Head Baseball Coach for Tulane University for more than 19 years, and former minor league player for the New York Yankees, has sent 45 baseball players to the pros and coached thousands of college level and youth players using his proven Super 8 Hitting System.  Coach Brockoff's unique drills, tips, and techniques have increased many players' batting average by more than 200 points.

To learn more about our proven baseball hitting system, complete with instructional videos, visit http://www.learnbaseballhitting.com.  Our unique approach to increasing bat speed and power, improving batting averages, and improving overall performance has sent 45 baseball players to the professional leagues, and inducted Coach Joe Brockoff into the baseball Hall of Fame.

To learn more visit the Super 8 Baseball Hitting System web site at http://www.learnbaseballhitting.com and then check out our free baseball instructional videos here.

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