Coach Swing

Coach Swing

Baseball Coaching Tips: Swing, Drive, Stroke

Swing, one of the most common phrases heard on baseball fields around the world.  And we hear it in both negative and positive ways.  Coaches, dismayed by a batter who takes a swing at every pitched ball, "Swing at the good ones" to players frustrated by their lack of ability to make contact with the ball, "I don't know when to swing."

Visualize a bat swinging. The club head is moving and arching as it approaches the ball for contact. This is what most people visualize when they think about "swinging." However, swinging is just not a good idea. It doesn't allow for the hitter to have the best chance for maximum contact. Even the word swing, gives the impression that the bat makes a long arc as it goes to the ball.

Introducing the Drive. First, eliminate all references to a swing from batting practices. Instead, teach youth or older baseball players to drive the bat in a straight line to make contact.

In other words, we don't swing the bat to hit the ball—we DRIVE the bat to the ball in a straight line to get contact. We make contact, and then the bat swings! The bat should not arc until after contact. So a batter doesn't swing the bat, he STROKES it.

The hitter who uses this stroke sends the bat in a straight line to connect with the ball, which produces better contact and distance. This is what we call the "pro stroke," one of the eight hitting drills we demonstrate in our bestselling Super 8 Baseball Hitting System video package.  Others include Stance, Coil, Stride, Drive, Contact, Extend, Extend Again, and Finish.

 

About the Author

These techniques are fully explained in our baseball-training web site for the Super 8 Hitting System, completely demonstrated in a series of baseball hitting videos, which includes many baseball-coaching tips.

 

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 visit http://www.learnbaseballhitting.com.

Or check out some of our free instructional videos here.

I coach a 12 and under baseball team, one of my players is having a problem with his swing, help?

What he is doing is swinging about to where the bat would hit the ball and then he is stopping his swing and keeping his arms extended so he doesn't finish his swing over his shoulder, help?

have him practice swing with no ball and someone watching to make sure he swings correctly then under hand a tennis ball to him and have him swing until he gets it right

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