Quit Wasting Your Time With Side Flips - A Better Baseball Drill Option

By Jack Perconte

One of the most common baseball hitting drills is the side-flip drill. This drill involves a coach kneeling off to the opposite side of hitters and flipping balls into the hitting zone for players to practice their hitting. The more I worked with hitters over the past 20 years the less value I saw with this side-flip drill. It does promote players watching the ball and may help hand eye coordination, but does not promote a better baseball swing. Because balls are flipped from the side, balls are flipped slowly and often with a loop on it, so hitters can get away with having long, looping swings. Also, coaches of young players tend to flip balls in the same spot, in the batters' swing path so they are virtually hitting the ball for the player. There are better alternatives that promote an improved baseball swing. Obviously, a better alternative is having a coach flip balls straight at the hitter from the front like in a game and behind a screen, but this is not always possible.

Another great alternative I propose is that coaches get in the habit of using the dropped-ball drill. This is performed by a coach who stands to the side of the hitter and drops balls into the hitting zone after the player takes their stride. Coaches have the option of dropping the ball immediately or after a slight delay. Of course, coaches should not allow their hand to fall into the swing area nor stand to close to the batter so there is no chance of the coach being hit by the ball or bat. This dropped-ball drill promotes good hand eye coordination and most importantly a fundamental, compact swing. Players who have incorrect fundamentals and long swings will have trouble hitting the ball with any consistency. This drill also helps teach players how to keep their weight and hands back which is also crucial to developing good swing fundamentals. Additionally, this drill is more challenging than the side-flip drill and helps players develop bat quickness, which is another key to good hitting.

A slight variation to this drill can also be helpful to "shorten" players' swings. Coaches can set a batting tee slightly behind hitters at about hip high to make hitters come over the tee before hitting the dropped ball. This will definitely promote a quick, compact swing that is a goal of all hitters.

It is important to note that this drill can cause frustration as contact may be difficult at first. Usually, hitters will begin to make contact which is a great sign of improvement and a challenge most players meet.

Finally, the one positive use for the side-flip drill that was useful for developing hitters was performing the side flips with fakes. Coaches would go to flip the ball but had the option of hanging on to ball or releasing it. This method of the drill would help teach batters to stay back and remain in hitting position, but still react quickly when the ball was released. This method of the drill promoted positive results involving good hitting fundamentals.

Former major league baseball player, Jack Perconte gives baseball hitting tips and batting practice advice for ballplayers of all ages. His baseball hitting lessons advice can be found at http://www.baseballhittinglessons.com/baseball Jack is the author of two books, The Making of a Hitter and Raising an Athlete - his parenting blog can be found at http://positiveparentinginsports.com

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