Drills for Developing a Power Hitter

with Randy Schneider,
former Ankeny Centennial (IA) High School Head Coach;
former Iowa State University Assistant Coach;
former 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

and Joe Yegge,
Montana State University Billings Head Coach from 2024 to 2026;
Missouri Western State University Head Coach from 2021 to 2024;
DePaul University Associate Head Softball Coach from 2019 to 2021;
2021 Big East Coaching Staff of the Year;
Kirkwood Community College Head Coach from 2008 through 2018;
8x ICCAC Regular Season Champions;
5x Region Championships, 5x District Championships, 2x NFCA Midwest Coaching Staff of the Year

Developing power hitters takes time and know-how. Randy Schneider and Joe Yegge team up to take your power hitting to the next level in this jam-packed video!

You'll learn how the body powerfully works through the swing process, followed by the techniques that help to improve repetitions without just mindlessly taking swings. The coaches conclude with an extensive laundry list of 30 tee and front toss drills to help solve your power hitting struggles. Every team can utilize these drills to win more games.

Mechanics

Before a player can become a great hitter, they must first develop a fundamentally strong swing. This video incorporates great technique for developing that swing, including:

• Medicine ball work to develop swing strength and bat speed.
• Band work to improve hand path and "feeling connected" in the upper half and lower half.
• Tennis racket work to feel bat lag and improve explosiveness through the ball.
• Frisbee throwing to enhance extension and finish.

From there, Schneider and Yegge show you how to develop sound fundamentals to improve success at the plate. They explain proper loading to gather strength and energy, attacking the front heel for optimal rotational/linear effort, and staying on plane to dramatically increase the ability to put the bat on the ball.

Learn about the speed/accuracy tradeoff and differential learning, and how incorporating both concepts into your practices will improve your hitters' performance.

30 Drills to Develop a Repeatable Swing

Power is the result of a repeatable and efficient swing that is built on body sequencing, and this video provides dozens of drills to provide exactly that. Drills are systematically broken down into segments:

• Lower half drive to take advantage of the biggest and most powerful muscles.
• Bat and hand path to increase the amount of time that the bat is working through the pitch plane and thus bettering the ability to put the ball in play.
• Extension and finish drills to become more powerful and maximize what the body has to offer.

Tee Drills

Coach Yegge shows you twelve tee drills that can prepare your power hitters to maximize their pop at the plate. These drills get players swinging faster and harder while also increasing percentage of powerful contact, resulting in more extra base hits. These drills will help your hitters with:

• Rhythm and feel
• Torque
• Bat control
• Bat speed

Overall, these drills will help your hitters harness the power from the ground and transfer that energy into their swings.

Front Toss Drills

Coach Schneider shows you how to tie it all together with front toss drills to help train the batter's eyes and body to make more solid contact. These front toss drills, like the slow load drill, will help your hitters work on their rhythm and timing. In the Slow Load drill, the hitter controls their load and loads gradually and slowly, before exploding to contact. This particular drill is helpful when facing a slower pitcher.

Discover the "Why" of Successful Swings

Coach Schneider provides lots of physics and biomechanics explanations to help you understand how to get the most out of any body type. Coach Schneider is clearly a "student of the game" and his ability to share what he's learned is terrific. You'll see what it takes to improve consistency and explosiveness through a better understanding of the biomechanics of the physical body.

Schneider and Yegge offer many drills to build your power game. This video will show you how to teach your hitters to be aggressive at the plate and do damage on offense!

49 minutes. 2018.