Soft toss is a foundational training activity that can help athletes improve their swing. “It’s good for your time. It’s good for bat speed and it’s also good for getting your hips around and really extending and getting that power into every time you swing on the ball,” Pezzelle says.
By age 7 or 8, young baseball players have a bit more coordination, and coaches can start to go beyond the basics of how to catch, throw, field, hit and run the bases. Game-like situations help young players think on their feet, and to communicate and collaborate with each other. Baseball is a team sport, after all.
In general, players should take batting practice 3 times a week. The more advanced the baseball league, the more times players should be taking batting practice. Little League players usually take batting practice 2-3 times per week while Major League players take batting practice 7 times per week.
Weighted ball training is effective for increasing throwing velocity, but there is also a significant risk of throwing injury in high school and younger players and both appear to be related to increases in external shoulder rotation. Weighted ball throwing programs should not be used by skeletally immature athletes.
A few great exercises to improve core strength include:- Planks.
Sit ups/crunches.
Push ups.
Bench press.
Medicine ball rotations.
Yes, every ounce makes a difference. Two ounces doesn’t seem like much but I’ve seen it make a large difference. 1 inch in length is huge.
In short, choking up on the bat helps players have better bat control, increases their bat speed, and prevents players from getting jammed. Choking up on the bat is also a strategy many players use to put the ball in play when they have two strikes in the count.
You get your power from your legs. The swing starts from the ground up and your legs start the power that creates torque to hit the long ball. The core controls your whole body. The stronger your core is the stronger you are.