Private hitting lessons for fastpitch softball in Pennsylvania

Hitting lessons for fastpitch softball

Hitting can be simple, but all too many times, I hear it over and over again being made entirely too complicated. Hitting is timing. Oh but by the way, let’s not forget about the hitters hips getting around, let’s not forget about the hitters shoulders and chin alignment, let’s not forget about the girl seeing the ball all the way in, let’s not forget about taking her hands high through the zone, let’s not forget about positioning of feet in the box, etc. And those are just a few examples of the physical aspects of good hitting. There’s also the mental approach and thinking about pitch selection, thinking about swinging at your pitch, not the pitcher’s, and expanding the zone only when she needs to. If you get my drift, you understand quickly that there’s a lot to good hitting, but it’s my job as a private hitting instructor to simplify it all.

The way I see it, there are three primary phases to great hitting.

1. 1. The training phase. This is where Tee work comes in huge. The hitting Tee can be your best friend, and this is where you can think/study mechanics and perfect your swing. Front toss and live pitching are also critical in this phase, among other hitting techniques and drills.
   2. The preparation phase. This is where you study the pitcher. Get your timing. Learn the only zone that matters… the umpire’s zone. This is where you plan, and all work is done before you even step a foot in that box. Is the pitcher a 1 or a 2? Ask the batter that just struck out before you.
   3. The execution phase. This is where you forget about mechanics, forget about the many hours of Tee work, forget about what the third-base coach is yelling at you to do… this is where you execute and let your muscle memory you attained from phase one just kick in, and you see the ball big.

I’ve studied, coached, and taught hitting since 2008. I teach and instruct on hitting out of Southeastern Lancaster County in south-central Pennsylvania and can be found giving lessons in the summers on the fields in and around Willow Street, Wakefield, Quarryville, Smithville, Strasburg, Holtwood, Gap, Safe Harbor, Paradise, and Shenks Ferry. I’ve learned and studied strategies from the best hitters and hitting coaches in the country, including Crystal Bustos and Sue Enquist. My approach to hitting and teaching all the aspects of crushing the ball to hitters is successful because I find ways to communicate all the complexities of hitting and bat control in simple ways. Where the hitters can take philosophies, run with them, and eventually mold them into their own hitting style. The fundamentals are key! And those fundamentals of hitting don’t really differ all that much between baseball and softball. Success is on the power line, much like pitching. It’s not brain surgery; it’s mostly physics.

I train hitters from kids just starting out all the way up to more experienced hitters in high school and in college. The attention shifts slightly from mechanics they should’ve learned and have perfected at younger ages to the eyes to recognize spin and start taking advantage of identifying the type of pitcher they’re going up against and even identify tendencies of the catcher behind the plate. As the girls or the female athletes get older, the approach becomes more mental. The battle between a pitcher and hitter at game-time is not that much different than playing chess. And if you can think a couple moves ahead, then you will be hugely successful staying ahead of the competition and staying behind the ball, especially in clutch situations when your teammates are on base and need to score.

Bat lag is important! here’s an excellent hitting lesson video

As a hitting coach, my lessons are based on simplification and correcting the few things. Most girls do a lot of good things with their natural swings. There’s really only a few key mechanics that matter in a good swing, and the more I can simplify that, the more quickly my hitters will crush the ball and get on base. I don’t push for a focus of batting average, but do focus on On Base Percentage (OB%), because — if you’re not getting on base, you’re not doing your job. Again, much of what makes a hitter successful goes well beyond the swing, and I teach all aspects that help hitters just hit better, more consistently.

Hitting lessons for softball near me?

Hitters coming from Coatesville, Lancaster, Ephrata, West Chester, Pike Creek, DE, Reading, PA, Newark, DE, Columbia, PA, Pottstown, PA, Brookside, DE, Elkton, MD, Elsmere, DE, Phoenixville, PA, Wilmington, DE, and Havre de Grace, MD can usually make it to Gap, Pa in about 1/2 -1 hour.

Hitting lessons for all ages, including 8, 9, 10, 11, 12-year-old girls playing recreational, fall ball, and travel ball

Common problems in girls of this age can be hands need to come down or up to start, weight needs to come back, bat angle is wrong, straight up and down, the warm-up swing should really be working on the weakest spot (this is a more complex philosophy dealing with pitch callers but needs to start young), head position is not strong or is moving or not correctly aligned, the heads lifting up, has a ‘caveman grip’, using poor or no extension, the hands are dropping, all creating bad muscle memory on several levels –- muscle memory is vital and the longer you let it go doing it wrong, the harder it will be to correct.

I’ve been calling pitches in fastpitch softball for about 10 years now. Over the years, I’ve learned how to quickly identify and take advantage of weaknesses and bad mechanics in a girls swing, whether they drop their hands or even the barrel, whether the grip is wrong, whether they’re standing too tall, or her stride is too long, etc. So naturally if I can identify these improper hitting mechanics in the game, then I can actually look at my hitters swing and develop a plan and drills to correct those same weaknesses so that my hitters can go up to the box and not have any weak points or spots for other pitch callers to take advantage of, and these girls will hit consistently. If you have something wrong with your swing mechanics a good pitch caller or good pitcher will quickly recognize and then find that pitch, call that same pitch three times in a row and I’ve seen girls not even be able to hit it, because they can’t make in-game adjustments when it’s a problem with mechanics.

Private softball hitting lesson costs?

How much do hitting lessons cost? My hitting lessons cost range depends on the number of players, location of the field, and whether the instruction will be indoors or outdoors, but sessions usually go a 1/2 – 1 hour long. In the off-season, when we are using the indoor facility, the hitting lesson prices are priced a bit higher to cover the cost of the facility on top of the lesson.

The initial hitting session is really focused on introduction, dynamics, seeing the ball, getting a video or two so I can form a plan based on her strengths and opportunity areas, and then just let her swing away and have fun hitting a bucket or two of balls.

Are hitting lessons worth the money? — YES!

Does your daughter struggle at the plate, striking out and walking away back to the dugout with her head down? Or does she actually make contact, but the ball goes directly to the shortstop as a weak grounder, not leaving the infield? Does she consistently pop up to the infielders or pitcher? The good news is that these are more common than not, and the great news is I can help with all these common hitting issues.

Call today if you have any questions or would like to schedule an appointment for a hitting or private pitching lesson: Dennis (717) 964-8736

If I don’t answer, leave a message, and I will call you back. You can also contact the hitting coach here. I usually respond within 24 hours.