To Swing Or Not To Swing

To Swing Or Not To Swing

By Joe Brockhoff

Visualize a bat swinging. The club head is moving and arcing 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.

So, whether coaching youth baseball or older, here's one of our baseball coaching tips: A better idea to teach would be-no arcing or swinging the bat to make contact with the ball. But rather, DRIVE the bat in a straight line to make contact.

In simple words, we do not swing the bat to hit the ball! We should DRIVE the bat to the ball in a straight line to get contact with the ball. We get contact, and then the bat swings! The bat should never arc until after contact. So a better explanation of a pro-type action is that the batter doesn't swing the bat, HE STROKES IT.

The hitter who uses this stroke, which we refer to as the "pro-stroke", sends the bat in a straight line to contact the ball producing better contact and distance.

You might say..."I've seen major leaguers start with their hands away from their bodies. So it must be good".

And the answer to that is -"Major leaguers make an adjustment. Before they direct the bat towards the pitch, they will pull their hands back to their bodies in the shoulder area. We usually don't see this, because it happens so quickly. But research shows that is exactly what they do."

This is what we call the "PRO STROKE" It is outlined in 8 Hitting steps, which we call The Super 8 Hitting System. Those 8 steps are: Stance, Coil, Stride, Drive, Contact, Extend, Extend Again, and Finish.

Former Tulane Hall of Fame Baseball Coach, Joe Brockhoff, fully explains his baseball hitting drills with the Super 8 Hitting System, completely demonstrated with videos and hitting drills to help you hit with more power and raise your batting average. http://www.LearnBaseballHitting.com/lcp.

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