Stay Connected
In our previous article we talked about the “two for one” drill. That drill is used to stay connected and develop proper positioning. In this article, we are going to build off that and add in a drill for the lower body. When the drills are done together properly, the hitter will develop better rhythm, connection, and overall sequencing off the body. This will produce:
- Quicker time to contact
- More power
- Increased bat speed
- More control
- Increase consistency
There are many ways players can be disconnected or out of sequence with their lower body, but there are two that we see the most often. The first one is a player that doesn’t load and stride, but rather they load and reach. Instead of shifting their weight forward and falling onto their front foot, they load back and just reach their stride foot out. When they do this, they leave their weight back instead of shifting forward. This results in an overly rotational swing as well as loss of speed and power.
The second one is a player that strides onto a stiff front leg. When you shift your weight forward and land on your front foot, the leg of the stride foot should be slightly bent and in an athletic position. This allows the hitter to release kinetic energy and utilize the fast-twitch muscles to perform explosive movements. When a hitter lands on a stiff front leg, it causes a hitch in the swing and slows down the movement because they cant utilize the lower body properly or efficiently.
Introducing an extra step or two as shown in the video above will help hitters be more athletic, rhythmic, and explosive to put them in the best position to make solid contact. Give it a try and let us know what you think.
