First of all, we need to understand the concept that we teach in our baseball hitting, that is, in a physical activity, that activity always begins with the large muscle mass.  Having said that, let’s take the stride out of the feet, and put it in the large muscle mass and put it in the hips, the large muscle mass.  In doing this, there is less chance for feet to overact.

There is better chance therefore to control the stride.  Therefore, we recommend that you stride with the front hip, and let the feet follow.

Feet have a tendency to get happy, not only in over striding, but in striding in the wrong direction.  So you want the stride to be in the large muscle mass (hips) with a slight push towards the pitcher.  The stride is only about 6 inches.

Some hitting drills for baseball that you can do are the following:

1. Take the stride away completely for a while, by only lifting the front heel before the hip turn.  Keep a good base. When the front heel goes down, he should pivot toward the ball.  This should be only a temporary technique.

A good stride is better than no stride.  But no stride is better than a bad one.

2. Practice load and stride only using the proper technique, since this can be done any place.  Doing enough of these should overcome the long stride habit.

In a reaction skill, it usually takes 11 to 1 ratio of correct strides to incorrect. He must work on this over and over again because he has many incorrect strides to work out of his technique.

We use our Super 8 Hitting System “Tempo Drills” which repeats this technique over and over again.  This is a great way to reinforce the good habit.

Here is a question that we get over and over again:   Is hitting “Linear” or is it “Rotational Hitting”?

While most sports emphasize full linear action, most activities in the game of baseball are different.  It is a combination of linear and rotation.

Let’s put that in order for hitting according to our Super 8 Hitting System:

Coil (load):  SLIGHT INWARD ROTATION…initiated by the hips.  This picks up the front heel, and the weight collects on the backside.  This loading action is NOT a linear movement. (HANDS ARE UP and slightly cocked, NEAR BACK SHOULDER POINT)

Stride: LINEAR.  This is also controlled by the hips (large muscles), NOT THE FEET. (30-40% of the weight shifts to front side)   HANDS REMAIN IN PLACE.

Drive - Hip ROTATION.  Hips rotate 90 degrees for down the middle and inside pitches, and 45 degrees for outside pitches.  HANDS REMAIN IN PLACE AND ARE CONTROLLED BY THE HIP TURN.

Contact:  LINEAR.  Hands move in a straight line to the ball from the chin-chest area.

Extension to Finish- ROTATION

Note that the arcing of the bat occurs in front of the hitter after contact, never on the back or the side. 

 A more thorough explanation is contained in our Super 8 Hitting System, complete with eight DVD Instructional Videos.