Back to the Basics, My Friend!

So you’ve been flat out stinking it up at the plate lately. Your teammates have shared the typical unsolicited  advice, you know, all the “don’ts”; don’t over-swing, don’t take your eye off the ball, don’t over-think it, don’t under-think it, don’t screw it up and don’t wash your underwear!  You have tried all your reliable superstitious stuff; you’ve been careful to jump over the foul line at the end of every inning; you jammed to your favorite “pump up” song on the way to the park. You have tried every last bat in the bag. But still, here you slump in your “lucky underwear”, last one in the dugout, head in hands. The lucky batting gloves are in the garbage can after ending a 0/4 day by popping it up to the shortstop, a broken man.

Well, my friend, don’t allow yourself to sink further into a chasm of despair. Enough with the “dont’s” time to DO work! You need to take action, get back to the basics; a return to the fundamentals is in order. A great, great tool for doing just this is my old favorite; the batting tee. Nothing like it, nothing! You can buy a quality ATEC batting tee right here at OTC Sports for a great price, add an ATEC brush top to it and before long you’ll be well on your way back to launching missiles, damn righteous!

The tee can give you so much, it’s a giver! You can set it up with an ATEC catch net, also available at OTC Sports by special order, in the backyard, in the garage or even in the house when your wife is away, watch out for those collectable figurines, brother!  You can hit softballs or whiffle balls. You can go to a field, set up the tee at home plate, take a bunch of balls, and blast away at a variety of drills, not the least of which is going deep! Bombing balls out of the park off the tee may sound kind of hokey, but it is a blast! If you can’t find anyone to hit with, you can go alone and totally amuse yourself while you’re doing great things for your skill level. It sure beats sitting on the recliner with your hand in your waistband thinking about your last game!

How do you use the tee to improve? Perform some or all of the suggested drills below. Practice them. Practice them often. You’ll be shocked at the improvement you will realize.

Drill – Position yourself so that you hit the ball off the tee directly up the middle. After 20 or so good shots up the middle, go to right for 20, then to left for 20. This will be invaluable training for bat control when it counts in the game.

Drill – Place the tee and ball in different spots within the strike zone. Practice hitting, for example, the low and inside corner strike, the high and outside strike, etc. etc. This drill is great for teaching the hitter what he can do with a ball in a particular location.

Drill – Get warmed up, and then have one of your buddies’ video tape you hitting off the tee. You can then identify areas you need to work on via the video and set up a game plan to eliminate your weaknesses.

Drill – Work on technique. You can practice things like arm extension, follow through, acceleration, proper hip action and on and on. You get the point! Work on stuff! Try different things.

Drill – Radar gun work. If you should be lucky enough to have access to a radar gun, this is the ultimate fun. You set up your tee with a net and record your ‘ball’ miles per hour (off the bat). I do this at least twice per week. You get addicted because you set your record. Then you try to beat it. You can become obsessed! Awesome!!

Do not sell the tee concept short! It can do amazing things for your swing if you practice correctly and use the tee to improve. I can tell you from my own experience, it works. When I have had problems with my swing the tee has done the job, far more so than I could ever have hoped for. If you are wondering what the heck is going on with your own swing, chin up, my man! Put the tee to work and you will soon realize what a fabulous training tool it is when used correctly. Before long the sun will be shining, the birds singing and the ball will be flying over the fence, where it belongs.

Get to work! Good Luck, and SWING FOR THE FENCES!