"Bat Speed" Drill

This drill comes from Nick Berzins our February 2004 Drill of the Month Winner.

Equipment: JUGS Instant Screen, Batting Tee, and 2 Dozen Poly Softballs

This is a hitting drill, which teaches a fast swing that is level at the point of contact, reinforces keeping the head stationary and focused on the ball during the swing, and helps develop a proper swing.

Setup: Set the batting tee in front of the JUGS Instant Screen. Set the tee height to the belly-button level of the batter. Put one poly softball on the tee. Balance a second poly softball on top of the bottom ball. The batters sets up so that the tee is even with the front foot following the stride and the point of contact is out front.

Drill: The object is to hit the bottom softball into the JUGS Instant Screen with a swing that is fast and level at the point of contact. To generate the required bat speed, the batter must move the hands back to the launch position; do the stride; do the hip rotation; move the hands and knob of the bat directly to the ball; extend the bat head through the ball; and follow-through with the bat giving a noticeable “thump” on the back. When this is done, the batter’s eyes should remain focuses on the point of contact, watch the top softball drop straight down, and stay on the tee. Repeat the setup and drill again.

Coaching Tips:

• Put the bottom ball so that a solid part of the ball is facing up and put the top ball so that a hole is facing down (the hole sits on top of the solid part of the bottom ball.)
• Make this a competition to see which player can do the most in a row and who can do the most total.
• Sit on a bucket next to the tee. This is the best place to put balls on the tee and to watch the swing mechanics. Coaches can focus on the path the batter’s hands take to the ball. This will be where the swing commonly breaks down and results in both balls flying off the tee. These are common problems.
  • The hands and bat drop initially and then come up to the ball resulting in a swing that hits the tee or drives the bottom ball up through the top ball; and
  • The arms extend behind the batter resulting in a slow sweeping swing that does not generate the speed required to cleanly drive the bottom ball out from under the top ball.
• If the batter is having problems, take the balls off the tee. Have them do a very slow motion swing where you control the motion of the hands and the bat to the tee. Repeat this a few times, and then allow the batter to do it on their own a few times getting faster each time. Then resume the drill with the balls on the tee.