Help Your Players Isolate Their Upper Bodies in This Hitting Drill for Softball
Most hitting drills focus on swinging while standing on two legs. That’s natural. Your players will be standing upright during the game, so why shouldn’t they practice that way? That’s all well and good, but it doesn’t help your players in all areas. The one knee drill helps players isolate their upper body while reinforcing swing form, control and balance. You’ll need several pieces of equipment, and at least one player for this drill, although two is preferred.
A Look at the Drill
To perform the one knee drill, you’ll need to gather your equipment. You’ll need several buckets of balls (at least two per swing). You’ll also need a hitter, a bat and possibly a partner if you want to try soft tossing the ball (a good addition). If you don’t have a partner, or the team is involved in multiple other drills, a tee can be used, as can a soft-toss machine. A tee is a good starting point here. Once your players have mastered the stance necessary and have become familiar with the drill, change things up by adding pitches, either from a soft-toss machine or from a live partner.
The hitter should kneel on the ground with her back knee and her front leg extended out to provide balance. She will practice three swing styles here, one per round. For the first and second round described below, many hitters find it beneficial to choke up on the bat and tuck their free hand away (holding it behind the back works just fine).
For the first round, the player will mimic the moves in the bam bam drill that focused on using a dumbbell. Have her use only the bottom hand and lead with the elbow, before swinging through the ball. In the second round, the player should use just her top hand and should swing through the ball while ensuring a strong follow through. Finally, the third round requires that the player use both hands and adopt a perfect form while swinging.
Tips and Tricks
If you’re trying to improve the hitting skills of the entire team, break them up into pairs, each equipped with a bat and a ball. One player will soft-toss the ball while the other goes through each round of hitting. Once that player has done several repetitions, have the pair reverse their positions so both get to hit.
If players are not familiar with the bam bam drill, run them through that one first. It’s a simple enough maneuver and will help develop the compact swing style needed. It will also ensure they’re familiar with the grip necessary for the first round of this drill.
A number of other drills can be added either before or after the one knee drill. The tennis ball drill is a prime example of this (in addition to the bam bam drill mentioned above).
Unlike many other softball hitting drills, this one is very easy to do as solo practice so long as the player has a ball, bat and tee. It does require enough space to swing the bat, although using a softie or a whiffle ball in place of a standard softball will make it safer for indoor practice. Players with a partner can also practice this drill at home. If practicing on your own, set up in front of a bounce back screen or another elastic net type so the ball comes back to you after hitting.
