One of the most valuable fundamental lessons that I learned at a young age came from a little league coach. He had what they call a Little League Dynasty. His teams seemed to win the championship every year. I never had the chance to play for the man except for in all stars and during that short amount of time, I realized why his teams had so much success. He taught, preached, retaught, re-preached fundamentals.
The weird part is that I still remember his five step pitching fundamental and his five step hitting fundamental. He was teaching these fundamentals during the mid-1980’s and they still ring true today.
Below was his 5 step hitting process
- Get Loaded: Hands need to go back and the body needs to rock back into a load position. He believed that that load should start early. He always used the phrase “You can’t shoot a gun unless you load it first.”
- Get your foot down: He believed that getting your front foot down might simply be the most important part of the swing. You need to load early so your foot can get down early and your body and eyes can remain still enough for you to see the ball well. If your body has too much movement and your front foot gets down late, then everything else in the swing doesn’t matter because you will be rushed.
- Throw the knob at the ball: What he meant was in order to keep your hands inside the ball, throw the knob (bottom of the handle) at the ball. Invariably – by doing this your hands will stay inside the ball.
- Finish your swing: Always finish your swing – even if you are fooled. Finish your swing. You are not hitting to the ball – you are hitting through the ball.
- Keep a firm front side: Your front leg should remain firm throughout the swing. Your front foot should not slide open. If you keep a firm front side then the body and swing stays intact.
I look back at these fundamentals and I amazed that I still remember them so distinctly.
I hope you find these five steps helpful as you continue to improve your swing.