Baseball Coaching Tips--How Coaches And Players Should Deal With Hitting Slumps
Posted: Wednesday, July 21, 2010
by Larry Cicchiello
Larwenty Online Enterprises Inc
Baseball hitting slumps are a very difficult time for any player. A coach, teammate or parent can be extremely helpful if they know the five things they should look for, right off the bat. No pun intended.
Very simply, a baseball hitting slump occurs because of something that you are now doing that is mechanically incorrect when swinging the bat (or) it can be something that you were doing correctly and now you are not doing it. In other words, either you have developed a bad habit or have gotten away from a good habit.
As a baseball coach, rather than focusing on the entire swing, focus on specific areas to narrow it down as to where the problem is. It's very helpful to divide a player into two sections, his lower half of the body and his upper half. Use a clip board and block your view of the player's upper body and focus solely on the lower part, to make sure the hitter's "foundation" is okay. If all seems okay with the lower half, block the lower half with the clip board and focuses on the upper half. Sometimes changing the angle that you are watching the batter will help also. When advising the hitter, always remember that visual is better than verbal.
Hard work, practice and several repetitions are the best remedies for curing a mechanical slump. Some hitters try different methods to end their slump as quickly as possible. Some try to hit the ball the opposite way. The theory is that they will have to wait on the ball and let it come to them, instead of being too anxious and not "staying back" on the pitch. Some try to hit the ball right up the middle of the field. The theory here is that usually, if you hit the ball up the middle, a lot of things have to be done properly, such as your timing.
Common Causes For Hitting Slumps :
1. Check your swing from Point "A" to Point "B." Point "A" is where you load up, cocking the wrists and the hips. Point "B" is where you make contact with the ball. Make sure that you are going A to B in a straight line. You must swing directly to the baseball! The slightest loop in your swing causes you to lose a fraction of a second. A fraction of a second is an eternity when it comes to hitting a baseball. The very start of the baseball swing is a downward movement and is not level at all. The back of your bottom hand faces the pitcher at the start of the swing and only at contact should you have one palm up and the other palm facing down.
2. Make sure that your front hip is staying closed and not opening up too early.
3. Make sure that your front shoulder stays closed until the pivot foot and hips open the front shoulder.
4. Make sure that your back shoulder is not collapsing and going lower than your front shoulder.
5. Make sure you are getting good pitches to hit. When in a slump, it is a very common problem to swing at bad pitches. The very natural tendency is to get a hit and have your slump be a thing of the past. Looking for that all important hit can easily cause you to be too anxious and chase bad pitches.
When you have figured out what the mechanical problem is, you can make good use of the "soft toss drill" so you can repeat the rediscovered proper way many, many times. You can get many repetitions without even being at the ball park and making good use of the "soft toss" will speed up the time it takes to get back on the right track. You can hit a hundred balls in no time at all.
One of the better baseball coaching tips to remember is that all players go through hitting slumps. Hang in there and get to work and you will get back on track.
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