The Stay Back Batting Tee by Swing Buster

The Stayback Tee is designed to help teach and practice rotational hitting that can increase bat speed. The Stayback Tee helps the batter establish the proper axis to launch the swing. It virtually eliminates forward motion after swing initiation commonly called lunging. This enhances balance in the stride landing and allows the hitter to adjust to different speed pitches and maximize the power by leading with hips and turning into the ball. Made of solid metal construction with replaceable tee. Converts to left handed easily and adjusts to any size player. Designed with a safe padded frame so it can be used on any surface indoor or out. Breaks down in seconds, making it very portable. FREE Feature Training CD included.

Stay Back Batting Tee by Swing Buster - Click Here for More Info

StayBackTee.com

The World's Best Batting Tee: The Advanced Skills Tee

Baseball's Best Batting Tee: The Advanced Skills Tee is widely respected and is very popular with high schools and colleges. For more information on this great trainer...Click Here.

Good Baseball Swing Mechanics

I will now give a brief overview of 3 aspects of a solid batting stance, swing and finish.

1. The GRIP - knocking knuckles, (not fighting knuckles) should be aligned. This positions the bat's handle in the fingers and out of the palm. This allows maximum wrist quickness and hand speed.
Coaching Tip: Have kids check their grip by raising and pointing their index fingers. If they point in the same direction, they are aligned, if the point across each other, the grip is incorrect.

2. The BAT ANGLE at the start position. Keep in mind that the hands will move slightly back and away from the pitcher when the batter loads to the launch position. The bat's angle will not change during the loading process. The bat should be at a 45 degree angle over the shoulder. The bat should not be wrapped or tucked behind the head, this slows bat speed. The bat should be no more that 2 to 3 inches off the top of the shoulder.

3. The LOADING PROCESS is a simple and slight movement of the hands away from the pitcher. This is a movement that is so slight that many people do not notice it. The hands are the only things that move. If the batter is noticeably shifting weight, moving feet, and moving other body parts, too much movement is occurring. Most times this movement is no more than 2 to 4 inches. It may be more for larger players. LOADING is getting the hands to the launch position from which the forward swing motion starts. Different players use different loading actions. Some batters simply move the hands straight back and batters move the hands back and up at the same time. The loading process adds power, develops important timing and rhythm, and allows the batter's body to achieve a comfortable ready position from which to launch swing.

Pitching Machines; 2-Wheel, Arm Style, 1-wheel, and Air Projection

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Great Baseball Hitting Stations

Our practice has started here in ALabama. We are doing a lot of hitting station work along with some short batting cage hitting.

The stattions we used today were:

High Tee Drill: The batting Tee is placed on two cement blocked and raised as high as I can get it. This makes the batter work the arms and muscle groups. It is a great drill to work the top hand and to develop a soild swing.

Hands Back Hitter - The Hands Back Batting Trainer is a great teaching and practice tool. We had two stations with it today and yesterday. The kids work in pairs. Hit 6 and rotate. The ball is lauched and this mechanical tee launches the ball. The batter must keep the hands back.

Front Toss - A coach font tossed with location specific drill. Each batter hit a set of 8 on the inner third and outer third twice before goimg into the batting cage. A plate is used and the ball is tossed from 12 feet. A screen is placed at the target location to both sides. The goal is to hit line drives. The coach would vary speeds away to simulate a curve ball. The batter must hit the ball where it is pitched, show a sense of staying back, and excelerate through the ball!

Good luck, til next time, Nick

Advanced Skill Tee - The Absolute Best Batting Tee For Advanced and Beginner Players.

Our team trains daily on the Muhl Tech Advanced Skills Tee. The forward arm and outside barrier helps our players create a proper swing plane and stay short to the ball. These tees are extremely durable and the brush cup ball holder is a great idea, they have held up for years. I would recommend them to any baseball program.

Stan McKeever
Head Baseball Coach
La Cueva High School
Albuquerque, NM
2004 Collegiate Baseball America/Easton Sports Poll National Champions

"We bought 3 AST's last year after running across them at an opponent's field. Immediately upon seeing the tee, I noticed the bad habits that could be corrected with the simple design it employs. The AST has become an important teaching tool for Lafayette High Baseball. One pleasant suprise has been the durability of the AST. My satisfaction prompted me to buy 3 more for the upcoming year.

Coach Jay Domengeaux
Head Coach
Lafayette High School Mighty Lions - Louisiana


AdvancedSkillsTee.com

"Using the No-Stride Technique for a Good Baseball Swing"

"Using the No-Stride Technique for a Good Baseball Swing"
By Coach Nick Dixon

If you watched the College World Series on ESPN last June, I am sure that you saw, as I did, player after player, use the no-stride technique. The batters at the College World Series in Omaha illustrate how coaches now teach a wider stance and less front forward movement.

The "No-stride" technique is simply the process of swinging the baseball bat without taking a big step or stride forward during the swing. The front foot is the stride foot. The back foot is called the pivot foot. The "No-stride" technique is the best method of keeping the batter's head still, weight back, and eyes on the ball.

The batter's stance should be wide enough to insure a solid base and wide enough so that the batter can use a "soft or short" stride technique. It is best that the batter simply picks the front foot up less than an inch and puts in back down in the same place. There is little or no movement forward by the front foot. This is known as the "no stride" technique.

A wider base and shorter stride allow the batter to keep the head still and prevents the head from dropping during the swing. When a batter assumes a narrow stance with the feet close together, the batter must take a long stride during the swing. This long stride causes the batter's head and eyes to "fall or drop" during the swing. This is the reason that many coaches teach and preach a no stride technique. Of course, another reason is the fact that "long-stride" hitter's often cannot catch up with the velocity of many pitchers in the game today.

The optimum width of the feet would be slightly wider than shoulder width. The batter's weight should be on the "balls" of the feet and off the heels. The front foot or stride foot should be "placed softly as if it is on a carton of eggs". This softness allows the foot to be lifted and placed back down easily. The back foot or pivot foot is also important during the swing. The back foot should not "move or leak forward" but should turn up "shoe laces to pitcher" when the front foot settles into place during the swing.

COACHING POINT: It is recommended that all batter's use an even stance meaning that the toes of each foot are even when the stance is assumed. A closed stance is one with the back foot farther away from the plate than the front foot. An open stance is one with the front foot farther away from the plate than the back foot.

COACHING POINT: You may actually use a simple demonstration to illustrate how a long stride causes the head to drop and the eyes to move. Have a batter assume a narrow stance. As you face the batter, hold your hand palm down exactly even with the batter's eyes. Have the batter take a long stride while you hold your hand perfectly still at the level where the eyes were when the stride began. A long stride will cause the batter's head to drop and the eyes to drop also. This movement of the head and eyes makes it more difficult for the batter to "see and hit" the ball as it travels through the strike zone.