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This site is supposed to be about softball, but I never see any threads on the game itself. In other words no one ever talks about how they develop hitters, or pitchers. How they teach fielding, throwing, base running, whatever. There are scores and people complaining about everything imaginable and airing their dirty laundry. I for one would like to see more discussion about the game and how different people teach, the various phases of the game. Who are your influences, just anything that has to do with improved play of the game itself.

 

I was fortunate enough to be an assistant baseball coach at Greene Central HS under Hall of Fame coach James "Rabbit" Fulghum. Coach Fulghum LOVES the game and has never stopped being both a student and teacher of the game. He has coached hundreds of highly successful players, many of which have had very successful college and/or pro careers. Each year, he held the Snow Hill baseball clinic and had top professional managers, pro players, pro scouts, college coaches, college players, and HS coaches serve as instructors and speakers at his camps to teach kids the fundmentals of the game. It was under Coach Fulghum that I, too learned the fundamentals and how to teach them. I have passed that knowledge along to my kids and their teammates when I could. Thanks for all your help, Shine!

 

Rabbit and his brother Raeford both have been great influences on the game of baseball and softball... Hall of Famers!!

 

ok I will follow up, lets talk hitting a little, what is your approach, what do you look for when watching your players hit. I like to see a little coil into the rear hip, hands at top of the rear shoulder, some tilt on the swing depending on height of the pitch. I want them to turn the barrel into the ball as opposed to driving the knob at the ball which seems to be commonly taught. I look to see a good finish. Just a few things a look at.

 

Stiksdad, of course there are quite a few "technical" things to look for, but I will leave most of that up to the experts to explain those it detail. What I look for in a hitter is getting in a good athletic position, slight load, and then "take the energy to the ball" with good bat lag that maximizes bat speed. I also check to make sure the batter is hitting AGAINST a firm front leg (not over it) with very little weight on the back foot at the moment of contact. I use the term "naturally" a lot when I teach hitting because I want the hitter to understand that they should put their body in natural, biomechanically powerful positions rather than contorting to do something that feels strange. I also explain how the act of hitting is similar to throwing or punching or slapping someone.

I was once at a coaching clinic where someone asked a college baseball coach what he thought of the follow through. He said, "@#$% on it! The ball is gone!" His point was that too many people get caught up in teaching a hitter what their follow through should look like and the kids practice swinging to a certain finish rather than hitting the ball. I believe that examining your finish gives you an idea of what happened in your swing. Check to see how you finish when you are hitting good and see how you finish when you don't. That may give you an idea of what adjustment you need to make in your swing.

Now as if I hadn't made enough errors so far, here comes the part that many will disagree with even more...I prefer to see the hands finish near shoulder level or slightly BELOW. Many people teach to finish with the hands high, but I have looked at MANY solid swings and HR swings in slow motion and the majority of them finish with the hands near shoulder level and below. I personally do not see how a hitter can consistently swing the bat on the plane of the pitch when their hands finish above their head.

 

hey I agree on your follow through thoughts, I believe it is a no teach, but I look at to tell me other things about the swing, I also agree I like the kids to stay athletic the box, I think there is a lot of over teaching sometimes, and we take kids out of what comes naturally for them, great points!