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Why is the Sink Drill One of the Best Batting Drills?
This batting drill for youth helps young hitters build a powerful, explosive swing with great hitting fundamentals and body movements.
This particular batting drill does one thing really well... helps players get the feeling of generating power with the legs by learning what it should feel like to build, hold, and finally release the tension in your backside... driving with that large glute muscle... which is the very first step to hit with power. It's an essential skill and must happen before the swing whips through the zone, when hitting the ball for power.
Baseball coaches are always looking for youth baseball drills to improve their players' hitting. Batting drills work because they challenge the players to lengthen their swings, which forces them to move more freely. This gives them a chance to develop more power in their swings, which in turn, helps to generate momentum.
Although a hitter who lacks entire body power will not hit the ball as far or as consistently as one using lower body power in addition to upper body power, they will be more consistent. This hitting drill targets building that lower body power, which in turn, improves overall baseball hitting mechanics.
It's a great idea to incorporate this drill into your game day practice or as a warm-up drill before hitting practice throughout your baseball or softball season.
What makes this one of the best batting drills?
When a baseball coach is teaching hitters the fundamentals of hitting, the stance, swing and approach all form one inseparable unit. A hitter’s stance(s) are the foundation of their swing, and the swing is their approach. Without proper form and execution, you’ll never develop a repeatable swing or actual approach.
This hitting drill for baseball players is important because it teaches young players how to use their lower half to generate more force/power in their baseball swing.
Step-By-Step Instruction
A Quick Note: For the purposes of these instructions, we will be focusing on right-handed batters, but if you are a lefty, simply use the opposite position than the one mentioned.
In this batting drill illustration and video, Rick uses the Tanner Heavy from Tanner Tees, a professional-quality batting tee with a reinforced metal shaft and claw-shaped heavy base for maximum stability on any surface.
Step One
A baseball hitter should start in a narrow stance, with their feet roughly a shoulder width apart and with their center of mass in a strong position.
Step Two
Raise your front leg and balance your weight on your back leg.
Step Three
Keep your front leg raised. While maintaining your balanced position on the back leg, sink down twice into the back hip/pelvis.
While sinking into your stance, focus on your body weight, drive your back heel into the floor and feel of tension in your glutes.
Step Four
Then stride forward and swing using that pent-up tension to generate power and increase bat speed.
Today’s Equipment
We are keeping it simple with the classic Tanner Heavy batting tee and practice Baseballs from Tanner Tees.
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For more of the best batting drills like this, please subscribe to the Tanner Tees YouTube channel or we can email them to you directly. Click here to get a jump start with 5 free hitting instruction videos from former MN Twin Doug Bernier
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