The Post Baseball Swing Analysis
Ever take notice after the baseball swing at youth baseball games? Listen to what goes on between pitches. There is often a chorus of oohs and aahhs immediately after a young hitter takes a swing and miss. If the pitch was a little high or low the chorus gets even louder. And then it begins….
3b Coach Starts the Hitting Clinic:
I Know How to Hit a Baseball
“Look at Me!” the 3b coach angrily starts in on the scolding. “Why don’t you listen to me. 'I just told you about that high one and you turn around and swing at it.” “Now ‘Load’ get back in the box, crowd the plate and don’t forget to use your hips.” And “Keep your eye on it…and don’t forget to keep your shoulders level. So, the hitter gets a complete 15-second mini baseball batting lesson on a proper baseball swing between every pitch. If that was not enough now the 1b coach surely knows how to be a better hitter.
Now the Firstbase Coach takes a Turn As Batting Coach
Not to be out done the 1b coach adds their baseball teaching and batting tips see if they can make the batter even more confused about their baseball swing. “Hey Freddy.” What are you doing? That ball is up here. You can’t help the pitcher out swing at all those different pitches. Now get that back elbow up and ‘load’ and let the ball travel. Come on now hit the ball!”
Baseball Parents Add More Tips for Batting
Not to be left out the expert bleacher creatures baseball parents start adding to the hitting drill. “Come on Freddy, Be patient and wait for a good one…don’t help out the pitcher.” I even heard a dad yelling through the backstop fence recently after his young hitter had just popped out to secondbase. “What are doing? That is pitiful! No way I’m going to spend all that money on a bat if you are going to swing like that! And he did not mean to be nice at all when he said it.
Baseball Swing:
You Cannot Think and Hit
The best baseball coaches know that less is better when it comes to teaching hitting technique during the game. The top baseball hitters want to have a clear mind when up in the batter’s box. They do not want any negative distractions or doubts in their minds. They do not want to think about hitting fundamentals during the at bat. When everyone is trying to tell the batter how to hit the baseball between every pitch this becomes a huge distraction and makes hitters bat more defensively.
Baseball Instructions and Batting Tips:
What Other Sport Coaches Between Each Play?
Do you see the tennis coach yelling hitting instructions to their players at Wimbledon? Do the swing coaches holler swing tips before Phil Michelson tees of? Ever see the basketball coach demonstrating the shooting stroke before the jump shot or free throws? We can go on and on. Nobody else in sports does this post swing analysis critique hitting clinic between every pitch except the volunteer youth league baseball coach and parents and much more harm than good is coming from it.
Swing-It!
That’s the Way to Swing It
So, that’s why we use professional baseball instruction techniques when trying to coach the skills of baseball. Do not coach during the at bat. The main tips on hitting coaching should be the role as a cheerleader. You are trying to help your batters to play baseball aggressively. I recently umpired 5 games in a travel tournament for 9 and under age. (I learn so much as an umpire about the youth baseball game today). Never during the whole five games did I hear one baseball coach or parent tell a young batter to “Swing-It” before a pitch, or ‘Get the bat ready!”. And only once or twice did I hear a batting coach or parent say, “Now that’s the way to swing the bat! Very rarely anything positive after a swing and miss or a foul ball—but Oh! there is plenty to gripe about. It is like if a hitter takes a cut and misses or fouls off the pitch –the adults think the batter automatically must have done something terribly wrong. And when the swing technique is so wrong—well I’m sure going to let my players know how to swing the bat the correct way. And the cycle continues….first with the 3b coach. Then with the 1b coach begins the scolding and finally the bleacher creature baseball parents add even more batting tips.
How to Improve Batting Swing and Hitting Skills
1. Never say anything that causes hesitation: Stuff like, “Make it be right there,” or “ It’s got to be perfect.” and “Be patient—don’t help him.” Or ‘A walk is a good as a hit.”2. Use a Complement Sandwich Approach: Baseball is a very difficult game to play well, especially hitting and the baseball swing. It is so easy to hammer on kids when they make mistakes. Always sandwich encouraging words around anything that comes as verbally negative. 3. Use Pro Baseball Lingo: “Come on—you can do it!” “Get the bat ready! Swing-It! And Let it Fly! Notice: there is no hitting clinic going on here between pitches.
Go to Hitting 101 Post Baseball Swing Ooo's and Ahh's
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