HANDS INSIDE THE BALL


HANDS INSIDE THE BALL
I use this phrase to teach the path I wish the students’ hands to take at the start of the swing. The “hands inside the ball” concept describes how the hands start in a forward path between the hitter’s body and the ball. Using this technique helps in positioning the hands and front shoulder, and in creating an arc that not only will cover the plate but help in keeping the ball fair. Example



FRONT ELBOW AND SHOULDER
I often look at the front elbow and shoulder as indicators of the hand path. Since I want to teach my students to keep the front shoulder in at the beginning of a swing, I also ask them to take the front elbow toward the pitch. Example I have no hard rule here, just the criterion that the shoulder does not rotate so early that it takes the upper body out of the swing. Example



HANDS DETERMINE THE SWING ARC
I often describe the arc of the swing as similar to a compass: we can adjust where the arc is drawn by the path our hands take at the beginning of the swing. Since I teach contact in front of the plate and we work to keep the ball fair, I want the arc of the swing to reflect the ability to contact and have the best angle of the bat to achieve both of these.Example