7 Absolutes of How to Hit a Baseball- Hitting against a firm front side.
Where Do You Look When Hitting a Baseball?- The Pitcher (Soft Focus)
The easiest way to practice batting alone at home is to buy a cricket ball with a rope attached to it, and hang it in a relatively open space at home. Then, perform the hanging-ball drill. You can also practice cricket batting at home with a short-ball drill or shadow-batting drill.
Your stance should be aligned to the pitcher with your feet, hips and shoulders on a line perpendicular to the rubber. A good way to test your balance is to get in your stance and have your coach provide a slight push from different directions. If you have good balance, you should not fall out of your stance.
Shadow batting can be helpful to repeatedly practice how you want to play a particular shot so you repeat the same action in a match; it helps reduce the number of mistakes you might make. “Sometimes I practice pull shots in shadows because I have a tendency to play in the air.
High Tee, Low Tee
The goal is to swing over the back tee and hit the ball on the front tee and nothing else. Practice swinging until your little slugger consistently swings over the back tee and connects with the ball on the front tee. If the swing follows the correct path, it will result in solid line drives.
With Shadow batting, the batter imitates a shot by visualizing a particular delivery (being bowled to him). In response, the batter hits a shadow shot with the right footwork and bat swing.
Get the focus and feel of watching the short ball and playing it with good intent. Practice your pull, cut, hook and defence. Build this up, to using hard balls again, slower speeds and then quicker over a few weeks. Use your positive self talk to re-inforce positive thoughts and feelings.
Use a deep belly breath or slow shrugging of the shoulders to relax your upper body. Remember, calmness in and tension out as you take slow breaths in between pitches or prior to stepping into the batter’s box. Listening to yourself take slow, quiet breaths is a great way to calm your insides.
A great way to keep a rhythm throughout your swing is to step or stride toward the pitcher. Learn how to add this technique to your swing while still keeping a balanced, relaxed approach to the ball. The majority of hitters take a stride when hitting, which helps the timing of their swing.
While bowlers worked hard to master this skill, batsmen are a step ahead and can hit those for sixes. To hit a six off a yorker needs an unusually high level of skill. Getting underneath the ball and getting the elevation for it to travel the distance is as vital as making a good connection.
Point the toes of your front foot in the direction that you would like the ball to go. This will align your body properly so that the ball goes in the correct direction. Keep the back foot still. It helps some people to lift their back heel slightly off the ground, for ease of pivoting.
Hold your hands in front of you, palms down. Your fingers on both hands should be grouped together, but for your thumbs, which extend to the sides to form the ‘V’ shape. The ‘V’s should be upside down – i.e. open end towards the ground. Maintain this ‘V’ shape as you reach for the bat.
Keep your eyes level until you begin following the ball down the pitch towards you. The same is true if you’re advancing down the wicket towards the bowler. As you make your movement, you should try to key your head and eyes level in order to give yourself the best chance to judge the line and length of the ball.