2013 Big Ten Tournament Champions; four straight 30-win seasons (2011-14);
former Head Coach at Loyola University (Ill.), 2007 Horizon Coach of the Year; 2x All American at DePaul University
Yvette Healy shares her blueprint for turning a right-handed hitter into a lefty slapper. Coach Healy demonstrates 20 drills and shares the key points of the tools a slapper needs to be successful: bunting, soft slapping, and power slapping.
Getting Out of the Box
Getting out of the batter's box quickly is one of the most important and most overlooked aspects of becoming a great slapper. Coach Healy shares three drills for developing first-step quickness out of the batter's box. These drills will help get your slapper closer to first base before the defense has a chance to react.
Bunting
If the defense is playing back, the slapper can catch them off guard with a bunt. Coach Healy explains bunting strategy, including the parts of the field that are ideal for bunting, and demonstrates four bunting drills. One of the drills is a three-part progression that isolates the skill initially without the footwork, and gradually builds up into the entire skill.
Soft Slapping
Another option to use against a defense that's playing deep is the soft slap. Coach Healy explains the strategy behind the soft slap, and the mechanics involved in its execution. She focuses on the importance of grip strength for handling the bat, which is critical to soft slap success. A number of drills are shared to perfect the soft slap, including several one-arm drills to promote forearm and grip strength.
Power Slapping
The power slap is used to drive the ball through the infield when the defense is playing in. Coach Healy explains a few key mechanical differences between the soft slap and the power slap, as well as strategic goals. She provides 11 drills to help the slapper get more power out of her slap.
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60 minutes. 2014.
SD-04678B: with Randy Schneider, University of Wisconsin Associate Head Coach;
2013 Big Ten Tournament Champions;
Former head coach at Valparaiso University, where he left as the programs all-time wins leader; 2008 Horizon League Co-Coach of the Year
Efficient hitters are successful hitters. Learning how and why it's important to keep your hands inside your elbows, stay connected with your hips and drive the forces through the ball are important elements of being efficient and powerful.
Randy Schneider uses his knowledge of physics and bio-mechanics to show you how to construct a scientifically efficient and powerful softball swing. Coach Schneider deconstructs the swing phase-by-phase, explaining the key points and the laws of physics associated with each phase. He also shares his knowledge of educational psychology, explaining the importance of how hitters are taught.
Stance
Get your hitters into a strong, balanced stance to deliver force into the ball. Coach Schneider opens with a discussion of key principles for the stance position. Referencing several of Newton's laws of motion, he explains how to harness the energy coming from the ground to put hitters in a strong position to hit.
Load
Another key factor in the softball swing is the athlete's load and negative movement. Coach Schneider explains how to use the load to create separation of the hands, which is critical for producing power. He demonstrates how to activate the hands to create a double pendulum effect, which helps hitters generate more bat speed, thereby increasing power and consistency.
Connection
Making an efficient connection move helps hitters stay in a strong position to create a transverse force. Coach Schneider explains how to start the swing with the back elbow to create a whipping effect, while driving and popping with the hips. The back elbow starts the swing and therefore can be the first mechanical part of the swing to breakdown causing the rest of the swing to be off time and balance.
According to Coach Schneider, understanding variables is an important part to teaching and coaching hitting. He explains differential learning and also discusses how to better prepare hitters by adding variables into your practices to make them more game-like.
Coach Schneider is the master of the physics and the bio-mechanics of the softball swing. With his thorough explanations and examples, you will be better equipped to teach hitters how to change the game with one swing of the bat.
64 minutes. 2014.
SD-04678C: with Randy Schneider, University of Wisconsin Associate Head Coach;
2013 Big Ten Tournament Champions;
Former head coach at Valparaiso University, where he left as the programs all-time wins leader; 2008 Horizon League Co-Coach of the Year
To maximum success, a great swing needs the correct sequence of movements. In this instructional and informative video, Randy Schneider offers physics-based drills that teach the key fundamentals of a bio-mechanically sound swing. Coach Schneider shares drills for each phase of the swing, as well as drills to train vision. He also shares his thoughts on differential learning to help structure practices to produce the most learning.
Stance and Load Drills
A strong stance is critical to putting the hitter in a good position to generate power using the ground. Coach Schneider explains principles of the stance and offers two drills to teach hitters how to get into a strong stance position. He also explains how to activate the hands with a load and demonstrates three drills to work on the load phase of the swing.
Connection and Contact Point Drills
Connection is when the forces of the upper and lower body are added together. Good connection and contact help the hitter stay on plane longer, giving them them the opportunity to hit more balls solidly. Because connection is so important to the swing, Coach Schneider shows two drills that work specifically on getting into a good connection position. He also shares six drills to practice moving from connection to, and through, contact.
Coach Schneider continues his presentation with a number of other drills he uses with his hitters, including vision drills that work specifically on seeing the ball well. He offers valuable advice for hitting change-ups, and shares a drill he uses to practice staying back on off-speed pitches.
The best way to teach any skill is to give players the feeling of proper movement. Coach Schneider shares 19 drills to help you give your hitters that feeling and to put them on track for hitting success.
80 minutes. 2014.