Drills for Developing the Complete Hitter

Gordon Eakin, Hitting Coach for the US National Softball Team, shares over 20 drills to help develop every aspect of a hitter's swing.

Tee Drills
Coach Eakin delivers seven drills for hitters to use when working off the tee. His tee drills cover many skills, including body sync, hitting through the ball, and creating momentum in the swing. Eakin also introduces tee drills for proper inside and outside contact points, as well as taking the hands directly to the ball. These drills will develop a more fluid and rhythmic swing and guard against excessive movement, thereby making the swing more consistent.

Basic Drills
Proper weight shift and getting the body in sync are necessary attributes of a good swing. In this segment, Coach Eakin explains three drills, and a few variations of each, that he uses to create good rhythm and explosion in the swing. These drills will help develop leg strength, as well as ensuring the swing is in sync and timed correctly.

Hand Drills
To be consistent at the plate, the hands need to move to and through the ball, with no wasted motion. Coach Eakin introduces drills for developing the correct path of the hands to the ball. In order to hit the ball squarely, hitters must know and practice the correct contact points for inside, outside, and middle pitches. Eakin includes several drills to practice correct contact points with the ball.

Advanced Drills
In the final segment, Coach Eakin explains a few drills that he uses with his advanced hitters. Use these drills to teach your hitters how to make adjustments, develop leg strength, and make contact at the correct points. Each of these are crucial skills to successful hitting at the more advanced levels of softball.

Coach Eakin has had success as a hitting coach at every level of softball. He has guided BYU to the top 10 nationally six times in slugging percentage, six times in home runs per game, four times in batting average and four times in scoring.

Throughout the DVD, Coach Eakin explains his philosophies on hitting, as well as his thoughts on the use of drills to build the swing.

In this DVD, you will see many of the drills that have helped to make Eakin a successful hitting coach. Use Coach Eakin's drills to get your batters hitting the ball like the Olympians!

60 minutes. 2013.