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Developing Bat Speed by Underloading
By Mike Candrea and Jerry Stitt

Hitting has been called the most difficult skill in all sport to perform consistently well. Although good hitters come in all shapes and sizes, they al share several things in common. First, good hitters believe that they can hit. Confidence is the key psychological factor in hitting. Belief in oneself makes the other factors necessary to good hitting easier to accomplish.

Second, good hitters have the ability to see the ball early, big, and for as long as possible. Seeing the ball well allows for easier adjustments to speed, location, and trajectory of a pitch.

Third, good hitters generally have a smooth, quick swing that allows the barrel of the bat to be consistently on the plane of the pitched ball. A smooth, quick stroke will generate explosive contact with the ball. Seeing the ball well and hitting the ball hard and often will increase confidence and allow a player to work harder at developing the skills of seeing the ball well and of taking a smooth, quick swing at the pitch.

Players that have a smooth, quick swing also share another trait-strength, most importantly, in the forearms and hands. Strength can be developed through several means, the most common of which is resistance training, or weight lifting. Gradually increasing the amount of resistance in an exercise can increase muscle mass and will increase strength. Although it is advisable to build overall body strength, there are times when muscle mass can get in the way of quickness. Therefore, it is important that resistance training be sport specific. For softball or baseball, less weight and more repetitions are advisable in resistance training.

A second method of building strength is plyometrics, or explosiveness training. The most common use of plyometrics is for sprinting or jumping, but exercises can be adapted for practically any sport. Resistance and added weight are also used in plyometric exercises. Various bat speed drills using a heavy bat, donut, or weighted sleeve are a form of plyometrics. Any drills using a heavy bat must be done at, or close to, game speed for maximum effect. Using a heavy bat to warm up muscles and for stretching is good but does not necessarily increase bat speed. The feeling of the bat being lighter after swinging a heavy bat, then swinging a game bat, is only an illusion. It is probable that constant repetition with a heavy bat at much less than game speed will improve strength, but it is also possible that such practice will actually decrease bat speed.

A much less used, but nonetheless effective method of building bat speed is through the process of underloading. Underloading was first used by the Russians and East Germans for track and field. Running down inclines, being pulled behind machines, and using bungie cords are familiar methods that were used to accelerate muscle firing. The goal of underloading is to make fast twitch muscles work at peak speed. Using laser technology to measure bat speed, Dr. Coop DeRem from the University of Hawaii has proven that a program of drills using a lighter bat then swinging a lighter bat in batting practice does significantly increase bat speed. At the University of Arizona, underloading is used for both softball and baseball by performing drills using a bat that is lighter than the bat the hitter uses in a game.

The drills were developed because of a need for certain hitters to shorten their swing and/or quicken the route the barrel of the bat takes to the ball on the inside pitch. We started using a whiffle bat against a whiffle ball machine at close range. It worked well, but the biggest problem was that the whiffle bat was so light as to be unrealistic.

The next step was to develop a special bat to make the experience more realistic. We used a device made from a one-inch wood dowel, some pipe insulation, and bicycle grips. It worked very well for the drill against the whiffle ball machine and underhand toss drills. Bat speed increased as did the ability to shorten the route to the ball. Even through this bat was light and not balanced well it worked. You may have to experiment on your own or Louisville Slugger has helped us develop an excellent bat for underload training called the Underload Trainer.

In Part 2 of this article we will share with you a series of drills used in the underloading progression to increase your bat speed and allow you to hit the ball hard and often. See Part two Next Month.

Mike Candrea is the Head Softball Coach at the University of Arizona;
Jerry Stitt is the school's Associate Head Baseball Coach

The Underload Trainer can be purchased by sending a check or money order for $40 plus $3 shipping to: Southwest Camps, Inc., 11750 W. Martin Rd, Casa Grande, Arizona 85222

 
photoDeveloping Bat Speed by Underloading Part II, Drills
By Mike Candrea and Jerry Stitt

In this article we will introduce the Underload Trainer, a prototype bat made for us by Louisville Slugger. It is ideal for implementing your very own underloading program to increase bat speed, The following drills should help the hitter increase bat speed while hitting the ball hard and often. You can make your own version made from a one-inch wood dowel, some pipe insulation, and bicycle grips.

 

Drill #1

Dry swings. The fact is that a hitter will I take hundreds more swings against an imaginary pitcher and an imaginary ball than she/ he will against a real ball. In the dry swing drills, the internal rhythm and balance necessary for game competitiveness can be developed using the Underload Training Bat. Many dry swings are taken in the on deck circle or in the hole. It is a good practice to the Underload Bat when preparing to hit in a game.

 

  1. Wide stance-no stride. The hitter works from the stride position, driving the back knee toward the front knee, turning on the inside ball of the back foot, and firing the hands through nine contact points (i.e., high inside, high middle, high outside, middle inside, middle middle, middle outside, low inside, low middle, low outside). If the hands stay inside the imaginary ball the necessary "bat lag" and barrel whip will be felt. A variation on this drill is to swing with the eyes closed to better "feel" the rhythm and balance of the swing.
  2. Wide stance-no stride-barrel stop. Similar to #IA, except that the hitter attempts to stop the barrel at the nine contact points.
  3. Game stance-game stride-game swing. The hitter takes a game stance and imagines the windup and pitch "seeing" the ball out of the pitcher's hand and "hitting" the ball at the nine contact points.
  4. Perfect pitch-perfect swing. Similar to #IC, except the hitter takes ten swings at what she/he "sees" as the perfect pitch.

Drill #2

Underhand Toss (sometimes referred to as angle toss, soft toss, or side toss). The feeder stands at a 45-degree angle to the hitter, shows the ball out front to the hitter, and rhythmically brings it back and tosses it softly toward the hitter's front hip. Repetitions should be a maximum of 25 swings for any one of the drills. Regular softballs, baseballs, taped balls, polyurethane dimple bails, Decker cork balls (a small version of a baseball), whiffle balls, whiffle golf balls, or Kenko balls (a small version of an orange dimple ball) can be used. Smaller balls are good for concentration and improving eye hand coordination.

  1. One knee-one hand. The hitter is on the back knee, with the front leg extended out front. Start with bottom hand choked up on the bat, the top hand oil the chest. As the ball is tossed to the hitter, the hitter uses the one hand to swing the bat working to keep the barrel of the bat through the ball and moving in the direction of the pitcher. After approximately ten swings, use the top hand choked-up, working to keep the barrel through the ball and not rolling the hand over until after contact. After approximately ten swings, use both hands choked-up, again working to stay through the ball in the direction of the pitcher. A key coaching point in this hand isolation drill is to make sure the hitter does not rotate the torso too early, but uses the hands to take the barrel through the ball, and then rotates the torso.
  2. Standing-one hand. Similar to #2A, except the hitter is in a game stance working rhythm and stride, back knee drive, and hip turn. Key coaching points in this drill are to use the back side predominately even when using only the bottom hand, and to emphasize the back elbow staying close to the body when using only the top hand and when using both hands. The back elbow in creates better bat speed which in turn creates more bat speed through the contact points.
  3. Straight on-whiffle ball. The hitter takes a game stance with the back elbow against the net and closed at a 45-degree angle to the net. The feeder feeds whiffle balls at the hitter's front side, varying the height of the pitch. The hitter must get the bat to the ball as quickly as possible without getting the bat end hung up in the net.
  4. Off set-whiffle ball. Similar to #2C, except that the feeder stays in the same place and the hitter moves her feet so that the back elbow is still in contact with the back net, but now the feet are open at a 45 degree angle to the net. The ball is fed toward the midpoint of the hitter's body, varying the height. The hitter must drive the whiffle ball into the opposite net without getting the bat end hung up in the net behind. A key coaching point for drills #2C and #2D is not to allow the hitter to shift their weight forward to avoid hitting the net behind.

Drill #3

Straight on toss. (Head on toss). The feeder is behind a net about 12 to 15 feet from the hitter. The ball can be fed underhand just like a pitcher. The feeder will show the ball to the hitter, then pull the arm back to feed the ball at a speed that will not overwhelm the hitter. This method allows for the necessary rhythm and timing to develop. Again, a variety of different balls can be used. Repetitions should be kept at no more than 25.

  1. No stride-quick hands. Similar to the dry run-no stride drill, this drill is done from the stride position. The hitter drives the back knee toward the front knee, turns on the inside of the back foot, and fires the hands while keeping the back elbow close to the body.
  2. Game stance-game stride-game swing. The rhythm and timing of a smooth game swing is developed in this drill. A key coaching point is to watch for the barrel of the bat to consistently be above the plane of the ball from the start to just before contact.

Drill #4

Whiffle Ball Machine

  1. No Stride. Similar to #lA and #3A. The hitter is in stride position, using back knee drive, back foot pivot and quick hands inside the ball to get the barrel of the Underload Trainer on the ball.
  2. Game Stance-Game Rhythm. The hitter uses her game stance and develops a rhythm with the feeder of the whiffle ball machine and the ball so that the barrel of the Underload Trainer will consistently meet the ball out in front of home plate.

The Arizona Wildcat Softball and Baseball teams are proof positive that using the Underload Trainer in the above mentioned drills can Increase bat speed. Beyond bat speed, the constant repetition to these drills will improve the hitter's ability to hit the ball hard and to hit it often!

The Underload Trainer can be purchased by sending a check or money order for $40 plus $3 shipping to: Southwest Camps, Inc., 11750 W. Martin Rd, Casa Grande, AZ

Mike Candrea is the Head Softball Coach at the University ofArizona;
Jerry Stitt is the school's Associate Head Baseball Coach