How to Fix an Uppercutting Hitter
One of the most common faults that you see in a young hitters swing is the uppercut. They want to hit the home run, so they start consciously swinging upwards. But instead what happens is the player becomes a pop up hitter – another batter fallen victim to dipping through their swing.
This happens when a player drops or “dips” his back shoulder too far back which allows the barrel of the bat to drop down below his hands when hitting.
This next drill will help players focus on the proper posture and swinging techniques needed to eliminate uppercutting and dipping when hitting.Swinging from this angle will cause the ball to pop-up high into the air.
Purpose:
The purpose of this drill is to force a player into a more upright position when hitting. If the player were to uppercut from this kneeling position he would lose his balance and fall backwards. The kneeling position forces the hitter to swing in a more downward motion.
Setup:
The player will be in his batting stance with the back knee on the ground (on a soft surface). A net will be set up to receive the batted balls. The coach will be soft-tossing him balls from the side, approximately 10 feet away.
Execution:
- The player drops down onto his right knee. His left leg should be extended out straight to keep his balance.
- The coach will feed him soft toss pitches.
- The player hits the ball into the net while focusing on maintaining correct posture.
- Complete 3 sets of 10 reps.
One Knee Drill
Coaching Tips:
- This is a high repetition drill so have as many balls as possible sitting next to you.
- The goal is to develop a muscle memory pattern to eliminate uppercutting or dipping.
Tee Chair Drill
Coaching Tips:
- Again, this is a high repetition drill so have as many balls as possible sitting next to you.
- The more often the correct motion is practiced, the more quickly the player will develop proper muscle memory.
Bad habits can be tough to break, but if you put the necessary time in, and find drills that can not only address but correct those specific problems, you are well on your way to repairing that swing, and you can start trading those pop flys for solid doubles.
