What Could Cause This Batting Flaw? Player Hits Great in Batting Drills But Does Not Hit in Games

Have you ever had a kid that had the perfect baseball swing but sometimes has difficulty hitting live pitching? In drills, the player simply kills the baseball. Every soft-toss rep is a line drive. Every front toss rep is a line drive with power. The player is perfect in every drill that your team but has difficulty hitting live pitching. The player often struggles to hit in games although he has one of the best swings on the team. What could cause a player to perform perfectly in practice but have a difficult time hitting the ball when a pitcher is pitching from regulation distances? This article discusses one cause of poor hitting performance that baseball coaches sometimes fail to detect.

Youth Baseball Digest: One Cause of Poor Hitting Performance that Often Goes Undetected Have you ever had a kid that had the perfect baseball swing but sometimes has difficulty hitting live pitching? In drills, the player simply kills the baseball. Every soft-toss rep is a line drive. Every front toss rep is a line drive with power. The player is perfect in every drill that your team but has difficulty hitting live pitching. The player often struggles to hit in games although he has one of the best swings on the team. What could cause a player to perform perfectly in practice but have a difficult time hitting the ball when a pitcher is pitching from regulation distances?

I am speaking from experience here. I once had a right handed player on my high school team that was absolutely a dream hitter in practice and a nightmare hitter in games and live inter-squad games. He would dominate every hitting station with his high velocity bat speed, precision bat control, and unbelievable ability to adjust to every pitch location with the perfect swing adaptation. However, when he faced live pitching he simply looked like "Ned in the First Grade". He would miss or be late on routine and average fastballs. He would be late or completely misjudge curve balls and when he should attack them.

I quickly realized that there was a problem and began to do some research. I soon found some definite performance tendencies. In day games, when he made contact, he almost always hit a ground ball to the second baseman. On ball he should pull, he nearly always got jammed. At night, he hit for 150 points less than in day games. With all these facts considered, we realized his cause for poor hitting. The cause was poor eye sight. We sent him to have his eyes checked. He had extremely poor vision in his dominate eye. He could perform well in our hitting stations and toss drills because they were all done at short distances. When the distance the pitch came from was increased, his ability to see and pick the ball up quickly was diminished. A new set of contact lens got him back on his "A" game. He quickly became as dominate in games as he was in drills.

So the moral of is that if you have a kid that is inconsistent from his hitting in practice to hitting in a game, make sure to have his vision checked. Poor eye sight may be the cause of his poor hitting performance.

I hope that you found this article to be informative and useful. I thank you for taking the time to read it. For more great articles on coaching baseball visit the Baseball Coaching Digest, Youth Baseball Digest, Little League Digest, and the Baseball Parent Guide. Good luck to you and your team. Have a great day, Nick

The CoachesBest Baseball Store has a great selection of 1400 Baseball Products. Check out the BatAction Hitting Machine baseball pitching simulator. This high speed training machine is 100% Guaranteed to raise Batting Averages and has a full year warranty.

Nick Dixon is the President and founder of Nedco Sports, a sports training company established in 1999. Dixon is also an active and full time high school baseball coach with over 25 years experience. Coach Dixon is better known as the inventor of the BatAction Hitting Machine, the SKLZ Derek Jeter Hurricane Hitting Machine, the SKLZ Target Trainer, the SKLZ Derek Jeter ZipnHit Pro, and the SKLZ Strikeback Trainer. Dixon is also a contributing writer for BaseballCoachingDigest, the Youth Baseball Digest, the Baseball Parent Guide, the Baseball 2Day Coaches Journal, and Blog4Coaches.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nick_Dixon

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Hitting a Baseball - Finding the Root Cause of a Mechanics Problem

Derek Jeter Baseball Trainers - HurricaneMachine.com
By Nate Barnett

There is nothing more frustrating for a hitter than having a mechanical problem with the baseball swing and not knowing what the issue is or how to find a solution. While I don't have the ability here (nor do you have the patience to sort through it) to discuss all of the root causes to the countless mechanical failures of a baseball swing, I will give you one for today. Of course, you will need to consult with your hitting instructor for more depth and practical baseball drills to help solve the problem I discuss.

Let me point out the biggest lower body problem for hitters. I say the biggest problem in the sense that it does the most damage when trying to hit a baseball effectively.

The Problem: Hips floating forward

At the beginning of the swing, the hitter must begin to transfer some weight from the (presumably balanced) stance position onto his back leg. The weight distribution will then be roughly 60% weight on back leg, and 40% on front leg. Most hitters can do this step quite easily without a lot of baseball drills to assist.

The second movement a hitter makes is to begin to take some of the weight he has loaded onto his back leg and move it forward to create energy (this is the trigger process). At this time the back knee and foot begin to rotate towards the pitcher. This is when the hips floating forward problem begins for most hitters.

The weight that was originally placed on the back leg MUST remain there as the rotation occurs. You can see if this is happening by looking at the angle of the back leg. If there is a bend in the back leg at the knee (during contact with the baseball), there is a good chance this hitter is keeping his weight back. If the back leg is relatively straight when the hitter makes contact with the pitch, then the problem of hip floating forward has occurred. The only reason this happens is that many times younger hitters think they must move towards the baseball and begin turning their body with their rear hip and moving it forward towards the pitcher. This does nothing to create energy, and in fact, destroys the ability to create a quick and powerful swing.

Nate Barnett is owner of BMI Baseball designed to improve the mental game of baseball in athletes. Learn how to help your game by improving the skill of mental baseball

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nate_Barnett

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Baseball Hitting - The Movement of the Head is Critical

Article Title:
Baseball Hitting - The Movement of the Head is Critical


By Larry Cicchiello

It is very important to make sure your head is turned and facing the pitcher to ensure that you get a good view of the pitch that will soon follow. Your head should be totally relaxed and pretend that you are simply watching TV. Make sure both the front shoulder and arm are out of the way.

A good point of focus is the pitcher's cap because it's approximately the same height as where the pitch will be released from. The advantage is that your eyes will not have to refocus on the baseball and will be focused already.

What you do when the pitch is released is very important for being a successful baseball hitter. If your head remains turned toward the pitcher at the point of contact, you will be seeing the ball out of the corners of your eyes and this must be avoided. It will not work.

If your head is facing half way between the pitcher and the point of contact, you will see the ball a little better.

If you turn your head directly toward the point of contact, you will get the best possible look at the baseball and this is what you must do. It's a medical fact that you can not see an object as well when looking at it out of the corners of your eyes.

If it's a medical fact, imagine the importance when trying to see a baseball that takes less than a second to get to the catcher's mitt, may have movement on it and you have to decide if it's a ball or a strike! And all this happens in less than one second so you need to see the baseball as clearly as possible.

When it comes to baseball hitting, it is an absolute that you must turn your head if you want to achieve success.

Larry is the president of Larwenty Online Enterprises Inc. and also the author of "Excellent Baseball Coaching: 30 Seconds Away." If you are a baseball player or are involved in baseball coaching at any level of play or a parent who wants to help your child improve, you will be fully equipped! His baseball website offers several FREE baseball tips from his very informative and very fairly priced eBooks.

Larry's baseball website is http://www.larrybaseball.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Larry_Cicchiello

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How to Prevent a Hitting Slump - Eleven Baseball Hitting Tips For Players, Parents and Coaches

America's #1 Hitting Slump Breaker! The Hurricane Hitting Machine by SKLZ!
How to Prevent a Hitting Slump - Eleven Baseball Hitting Tips For Players, Parents and Coaches
By Jay Granat

Last week, I got a call from a baseball player who plays the outfield for a Triple A team connected with a major league club. The man was concerned because he has been in a hitting slump on and off for several seasons. He wants to make it to the major leagues and he feels that time is running out on him.

Yesterday, I got a call from a mother of a college player who is also stuck in a slump. This parent happened to be a psychiatrist. Like many parents who call me for help, this worried mother said, "My son has a beautiful swing. He works with a top hitting coach. He is great in the cage, but terrible once the game starts."

This concerned and worried mother had even tried medication to help her son perform better at the plate.

Baseball players frequently call me when they are stuck in a slump. Fortunately, over the years, I have
developed many techniques, strategies and tools for breaking slumps.

However, it is useful if players can learn how to start the season with a positive and effective mental approach to hitting. Here are a few tips to help you get your baseball season off to a good start:

1. Learn the strike zone very well and swing at strikes.
2. Know what kind of pitch you like to hit.
3. Be aware of the count and the game situation.
4. Train your mind to think of nothing or have just one thought at the plate.
5. Practice relaxation techniques.
6. Learn how to stay calm, focused, confident and relaxed at the plate.
7. Learn how to stay in the present and the here and now. The most important
pitch and swing are the next ones.
8. Watch the pitcher carefully from the dugout.
9. Try to hit the ball into the gaps. You will naturally pull some of these for homers.
10. Keep accurate records on all of the pitchers who you face. Record what they threw, what you did and what you learned about hitting against them in the past. This is extra work, but these data will pay big dividends for you.
11. Once your swing is mechanically sound, you need to master the mental aspects of hitting.

Jay P. Granat, Ph.D. is a psychotherapist and the founder of http://www.stayinthezone.com

He has written several books and developed several programs to help people perform to their fullest potential at sports, at work and at school. Dr. Granat, a former university professor, has appeared in The New York Times, Good Morning America, AP, ESPN, Golf Digest, The BBC and The CBC. His books include Zone Tennis and Get Into The Zone In Just One Minute. He is also the author of How To Get Into The Zone With Sport Psychology And Self-Hypnosis, How To Lower Your Golf Score With Sport Psychology And Self-Hypnosis, 101 Ways To Break Out Of A Hitting Slump and Bed Time Stories For Young Athletes. Golf Digest named Dr. Granat one of America's Top Ten Mental Gurus. He was recently featured in a documentary film on long distance running. Dr. Granat writes a weekly column for three newspapers.

His new program for baseball hitters 101 Ways To Break Out Of A Hitting Slump and a free sport psychology book is available at http://www.stayinthezone.com/shop-stay-in-the-zone.html?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=21

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jay_Granat

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Baseball Tips on Hitting - Hitting Against Power Pitchers

Article Title: Baseball Tips on Hitting - Hitting Against Power Pitchers
By Larry Cicchiello

If a hitter is a real good fast ball hitter who has very quick bat speed, he should not change his hitting style and should get up there and take his normal swing. On the other hand, not all hitters have that quickness in their swing and they should make adjustments to increase their chance for a successful at bat.

Against some flame throwers, many very good hitters cut down on their stride or even omit it completely, especially with two strikes on them. There is nothing wrong with conceding a little bit to a pitcher. The only goal is a successful at bat and it's not important how you achieve that success.

For those hitters who have trouble against "flame throwers," they should remember that it's not necessary to take any stride at all or to swing the bat hard. Some hitters, especially younger hitters, do not get this message. They quite often over swing and take this long, looping swing that is very late on the pitch and have very little if any chance at all. Unfortunately, this sometimes happens over and over again and is quite frustrating for a hitter of any age, whether it is a younger player or an older player. Younger players will not have fun on the baseball field if this continues to happen. If a young player continues to strike out three times a game, in no time at all he will lose interest in playing baseball in the future.

The name of this game, from a hitter's point of view is to get the "sweet" part of the bat on the ball. If you swing the bat so easy that it won't crush a grape, but can somehow manage to get the sweet part of the bat on the ball, you will get your share of hits. If you do the same thing against a power pitcher, you will get more than your share of hits. It's not important how weak a swing you had at the pitch and the weakness of your swing will go totally unnoticed. What will be very well noticed is how you hit the ball extremely hard against a flame thrower who has been striking out a lot of batters.

Leading bat manufacturers spend millions of dollars on research to have batted balls jump off the sweet part of the bats they manufacture. The hitter's chore is to just get that sweet spot on the pitched baseball. Hitter's should let the speed of the pitch do 90% of the work for them.

Against the flame throwers, the hitter who has trouble with the heater should keep it as simple as possible. Start the swing early and no need to stride at all. Throw the barrel of the bat down at the pitch. Remember, even if your swing is so easy that it could not crush a grape, the sweet spot of the bat and the velocity of the fast pitch will do 90% of the work for you. It's no guarantee for success but it will definitely increase your chances for a successful at bat.

Larry Cicchiello is the author of "Excellent Baseball Coaching: 30 Seconds Away." His very user friendly eBooks cover 320 topics on playing or coaching excellent baseball. ANY players, coaches or parents who want to help their child improve will be fully equipped! Some FREE tips are available at http://www.LarryBaseball.com/product/all

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Larry_Cicchiello

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Baseball Tips on Hitting - Problem Swinging Late at Pitches

By Larry Cicchiello

When looking to solve a baseball hitting problem, always look for the easiest "fix" first. Here is a list of some possible solutions if you are swinging late and not catching up to the pitch:


Make sure you are not using a bat that is too heavy for you. That's the easiest fix of all.
Make sure you are loading up early enough and giving yourself enough time to get the bat into the hitting zone. You never want to load up late so if needed, load up earlier. I've seen many 10 to 12 year olds going back toward the catcher when the pitch is already on its way. This makes hitting the ball impossible. Watch for this with younger players. I've seen it may times.
Many youngsters in particular, have the bad habit of loading up twice. You go back once, not twice. They load up once and then they make the common mistake of loading up a little bit more. You can't be going back toward the catcher when the pitch is on its way.
You are possibly taking too long a route to the ball. Be more direct when going from point A, where you are "loaded up," to point B, where you make contact.
The first movement after you are loaded up should be DOWN toward the ball and the bat should level out only at the point of contact. Many weak hitters have the bat parallel to the ground at the beginning of the swing and this is wrong and will present many baseball hitting problems for you.
Another possibility for being late is the bottom of the knob of bat is facing too far back toward the catcher. This will cause the bat to have to travel a much greater distance to get to the ball and make you late on your swing.
Possibly the bat is wrapped too far around your head. Again, the bat will have to travel too far and you will be late on the pitch.
You don't want to have your hands too far away from the body, which causes the front arm to straighten out too soon. This will cause a longer and indirect swing, causing you to be late on the pitch.
Maybe the bat is being held too much straight up and down. If you are doing this, try a compromise of half way in between straight up and down and parallel to the ground.
Maybe you are gripping the bat too tightly. It's a known fact that you can swing the bat more efficiently and quicker by NOT gripping it too tight. It's the same exact principle as a pitcher gripping a pitch tighter to slow down the speed of the pitch to fool the hitter. Gripping the bat too tightly will slow down your bat speed just like it slows down a pitch from the pitcher.
Remember, one of the best baseball hitting tips you will ever hear is to keep the front elbow pointing down at the very start of your swing and the swing levels out only at the point of contact!

Larry is the president of Larwenty Online Enterprises Inc. He is also the author of "Excellent Baseball Coaching: 30 Seconds Away." If you are a baseball player or baseball coach at any level of play, or a parent who wants to help your child improve, you will be fully equipped! His baseball website offers several FREE baseball tips from his very informative and very fairly priced eBooks.

Larry's baseball website is http://www.larrybaseball.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Larry_Cicchiello

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Derek Jeter Hurricane Hitting Machine
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HurricaneMachine.com - Links

---15 Reasons To Buy a Hurricane Trainer
---6 Questions Often Asked By Customers
---Message to Parents From Coach Nick
---Hurricane Hitting Machine Drills
---20-Minute Hurricane Batting Practice Workout
---Hurricane Hitting Machine Video Demo Clips

Baseball2u.com has a one of the internet's largest selections of baseball coaching and training dvds.