I am the Head Baseball Coach at Barbe High School in Lake Charles, LA for the past 23 years. My coaching staff was introduced to the Insider Bat by a coach from a visiting team during a rain delay at our tournament. We were talking about drills to teach kids to stay inside the ball and he said hey I have the perfect thing for you. Everyday during drill work, we use the Insider Bat and it has helped raise our kids understanding of how important it is to stay inside the ball. What I like so much about the Insider Bat is that you get immediate feedback. If you roll over, you miss the ball or pound it in the ground. If you dip you either miss the ball or pop it up. You must get in and stay in the correct hitting position in order to get the correct results. I would recommend the Insider Bat to everyone!

Glenn Cecchini
Head Baseball Coach
Barbe High School
Lake Charles, LA

• H.S. Baseball Coaches Assoc. National Coach of the Yr: 00, ’01,’06
• American Baseball Coaches Assoc Dist #8 Nat’l Coach of Yr: ‘00
• La. Baseball Coaches Assoc. 5A Coach of the Yr: ‘98, ‘00-‘06
• 5A State Coach of the Yr (voted by Sportswriters): ‘98, ‘01
• Dist. 3-5A Coach of the Yr: ‘92, ‘93, ‘95 – ‘08
• Southwest La. Coach of the Year: ‘97 – ‘00
• Ranked one of the Top 10 Baseball Programs of the Decade by Baseball America
• Co-Author of “101 Championship Drills”

“We have been using the insider bat and one of the main thing we like is the instant feedback you receive with each swing and the variety of drills that can be used with the insider bat. It really gives my players an understanding of keeping their hands inside the ball”

Head Coach Larry Turner
Head Baseball Coach
Owasso High School
Owasso, Oklahoma
State Champions 1987, 98, 99, 2001,03,04,07,08,09
State Runner-up 1997, 2000,05,06

“The insiderbat is the latest and greatest hitting tool I have seen regarding the extension part of the swing in both baseball and softball. It is an everyday tool in my individual and private lesson program.”

Coach Greg Riddoch
Former San Diego Padres Manager
Current San Diego Padres Mental Skills Coach

“The Insider bat is the most effective training tooI I have encountered in my career in regards to proper hand path to the ball. The instant feedback, the portablity, the muscle memory development, are all reasons every player/coach should own an insider bat. It is like having an extra assistant coach for the players. The insider bat is and will be a part of any program I am involved with in the future”

Coach Rod Delmonico
Tennessee’s all time winningest baseball coach (699+ victories)
Ranked 4th on the all time SEC coaching wins list
4 SEC Eastern Division Titles
2 SEC Conference Championships
Coached over 100 players that signed professionally
Managed the Netherlands in the World Baseball Classic in the upset over the Dominican Republic
Author of 4 books and produced 4 baseball videos
A feature coach at the MLB academies in Europe

 ”I highly recommend the insider bat. Very rarely do you come across a training aide that is easy to use and takes so little instruction. Immediately when the hitter picks up the insider bat his mind starts calculating the necessary swing path to hit the ball squarely.”

Don Slaught
President and Founder/Rightview Pro
16 Yr MLB Career
Former Detroit Tiger Hitting Coach

“This is a hitting tool that helps a batter become his own best hitting coach. It is an innovative product that helps athletes of any age learn and repeat proper swing mechanics. The products unique shape and flat hitting surface automatically puts the hitters upper body and arms in the correct hitting position at contact.”

Coach Doyle Wilson
USC Trojans Baseball
Hitting Coach

“The Insider Bat is proving to be a great personal swing coach for our athletes. It helps program every hitter’s swing path to be in the proper position at the right time to maximize his unique contact efficiencies. That’s a “home run” for player and instructor at any level of competition.”

Dr. Tom House
USC Trojans Baseball
NPA

“I have been using the Insider Bat to work with College Players down to the Tee Baller. I have seen Dramatic results with their overall swings. This tool is so YES or NO in its teachings. Either you have a good swing or you don’t. Its simple to teach with and its simple to learn with. Most of my clients that have been using this, including my switch hitting 6 yo son, are making more consistent line drive contact and are so excited about this product. My nephew went from a Mediocre JV High School Hitter to the Lead Off Hitter for his Varsity Team in two months while working with the Insider Bat. I recommend every coach should use this tool with working with his/her players swings from the Highest level down…Simply Amazing!!!”

Todd Blyleven
Owner of “Blyleven’s Dugout”, Indoor Baseball Facility in Huntington Beach, CA

• 7 year Professional Player
• 7 year Major League Scout
• Professional Baseball Instructor since 1993
• Father, Bert Blyleven, played 23 years Professional Baseball

“The insider bat is a tremendous teaching tool to create the proper feel of staying inside the ball and releasing the angles we create in hitting. We use it for top hand and bottom hand drills! I love the elements of instant feedback and proper feel that it gives hitters of all ages!”

Mike Candrea
Head Softball Coach
The University of Arizona
NCAA National Champions – 1991, 93, 94, 96, 97, 2001, 06, 07
21-year Arizona Totals 1131-228-2
Olympic Head Coach – Team USA Softball

“I teach hitting from beginners all the way to professional athletes. The Insider Bat works with all ages and skill levels. Besides the regular baseball bat, the Insider Bat is the only hitting tool I use in our instruction here at Pro Way Baseball Academy. I fully recommend the use of the Insider Bat for developmental training and reinforcement of the total swing.

Coach Sid Holland
Owner/Instructor
Pro Way Baseball Academy
Houston, TX
Colt45Baseball.com

The insiderbat is a natural training aid for every level student. When the student first puts the insiderbat in their hands, they start thinking proper bat path. Amazing!

Leon Woods
MVP Hitting Solutions,C the Pitch

Former MLB all star, Gary Gaetti had this to say about the revolutionary new Insider Bat batting trainer.

“The innovative design of the INSIDER BAT and its simplicity of use, makes this device one of my favorite and useful tools for teaching hitters the proper set up, grip and swing path.

The INSIDER BAT is fun to use, gives immediate feedback and is challenging all at the same time. I recommend the INSIDER BAT to all my clients – not just for use at the batting cage, but also at home and on the road. Its light weight and size make it ideal for taking swings anytime, anywhere, even in a hotel room. I wish I would have had an INSIDER BAT during my playing days for those many times I needed to practice but was limited by space and time.

Try the INSIDER BAT today, I’m sure you will like it!”

Sincerely,

Gary Gaetti
(The G-Man)
19 Year Major League Career
Former Houston Astros Hitting Coach
2507 Games Played
360 Career Home Runs (Tied with Joe Dimaggio)
2280 Career Hits
1341 Career RBI

“When we got the insider bat, as a coach you want to do whatever you can to get your players better, but there are a lot of things out there that can be perceived as “gimmicky”. However, the insider bat was great because it is yields instant feedback, which really opens the door for teaching. In addition, its always beneficial to have drills in you daily routine that promote good mechanics, because at the end of the day the baseball swing can be like trying to fix a leaking pipe with a piece of gum, nothing is permanent. The insider bat can guarantee you that proper mechanics are being reinforced daily whether you are there as a coach or not.”

Coach Matt Mossberg
Ole Miss Baseball

“The Insider Bat has been extremely effective in getting my students to understand the importance of keeping their hands on the inside path of the ball in order to hit the ball on the sweetspot of their bat. Not to mention they have a ton of fun with the drills. It gives them immediate feedback and challenges them as well. I am so thrilled to FINALLY have a tool that helps my students understand the concept of keeping their hands inside the ball.”

Christie Ambrosi
2000 Olympic Gold Medalist – Team USA Softball
4 Year All-American at UCLA
1999 National Champion

The legs are a critical part of the baseball or softball swing. If you’re not using your “lower half”, you won’t hit with power or consistency. This is a good video showing how the head, hands and legs all need to work together to produce an effective swing.

Another solid video on hitting mechanics. I share this philosophy on the grip. Many people these days teach lining up the “door knocking knuckles”. This certainly isn’t bad advice and you could do a whole lot worse. However, as this video demonstrates, lining up the door knocking knuckles doesn’t provide the strongest hitting position. So, although it’s a preference thing, I like a slightly offset grip. Check out the video for more explanation.

Here’s another good video on mechanics. This one covers a common question…how to set up at the plate. This is critical and where many younger kids are taught incorrectly. A good setup will greatly increase your chances at the plate. Check out this video from Coach Robertson.

Here’s a nice video on some good fundamentals. One thing I particularly like is the timing of the load. Many players wait until the pitcher releases the ball to start their swing sequence…which is way too late. This video provides some good tips.

For a young baseball player, one of the most difficult parts of a swing to master is the stride. The stride, however, is one of the most important aspects of the swing because not only does it help with the hitter’s timing, but it also helps to generate power. Therefore, it is vital that a baseball coach helps the hitter to isolate each part of the stride and understand what the most important aspects of the stride entail.

For this drill, all that is needed is a bat and a helmet. This is a great way to start off a batting practice because you can coach the player before any balls are thrown. You can then incorporate balls into it once the hitter has mastered the stride, which will allow him or her to see the results of taking a proper stride immediately.

To start this drill, have the hitter line up in his or her batting stance, just like he or she would do in a game. The coach will then go into a windup and throw a simulated pitch. The player will then coil and stride, without completing the swing. He or she is to freeze once the stride has been taken to see where his or her body ends up during this process.

The first thing that you are looking for in this case is a proper distribution of weight. If too much weight has gone forward at this point, the hitter will end up lunging for the ball, which will lead to a weakly hit ball or a swinging strike. The weight will come forward when the hips are turned but during the stride, most of the weight should still be back.

Secondly, you will want to look at the hitter’s hands. At this point in the process, the hands should still be back and they should not have dropped. The hands will come through the strike zone as the hips drive through but at this stage, the hands should still be back.

The body should also remain in the same alignment as the original stance. Many players begin bending their knees at this point in the swing, which can throw the body’s entire alignment off. This leads to the player swinging through the ball, as he or she cannot readjust to make up for the bent knees.

The player’s head should also be at the same height, which goes hand in hand with not bending the knees. In addition, the back should remain in the same alignment, so you are basically attempting to keep the body as still as possible while you take your stride. The more movement that they player has, the more likely he or she is to end up misaligned, which will produce an ineffective swing.

Have your players repeat this drill until they are able to produce the exact stride that you want to see. Have the players step out of the batter’s box before each stride and receive a sign from the third base coach. That way, a proper stride will become a part of their routine and can be incorporated into every swing.

The stance is a critical element of the baseball or softball swing. Getting set up in a good fundamental stance will improve the hitters chances of success. Below is a video from Don Slaught of Rightview. He is a former major leaguer and shares some good thoughts on the setup and stance.

Here is a video with Josh Hamilton in a hitting clinic talking about proper hitting mechanics.  The sound quality is poor but you might find it interesting.

For those who are interested in understanding swing mechanics, you might find this video interesting. This is a video of a swing analysis of Manny Ramirez. It’s a bit long…around eight minutes but effectively highlights some of the key hitting fundaments by watching one of baseball’s best hitters.

Below is a link to an excellent softball hitting resource.  This was published by John Tschida , the softball coach at the University of St. Thomas.   Known for his ability to coach softball hitters, he offers this 24 page hitting guide.  The guide includes illustrations and pointers for each phase of the swing.  It’s a free download.  Click the link below to get it.  There’s an opt-in box at the top of the page if you want to join John’s list of softball tips.  Scroll down to the bottom of the page to find the download link for the hitting guide (no registration required).  

Softball Hitting Guide