One of the most common complaints from players is a lack of power behind the plate. No matter which hitting philosophy you believe in, none of them will help you reach your highest potential if these top 6 bad habits aren’t stopped in your tracks. This is true of women’s baseball and softball. If you have any of these bad habits, managing them will automatically increase power and bat speed.

squashing the bug

If they taught you to squash the bug, you’ve gone into a hole. Smushing the Bug involves a small muscle movement that reduces power and overspeeds. Some hitters are taught to twist or rotate their back foot to create more bat speed and power in the swing. Nothing can be further from the truth. Also, it’s almost impossible for you to hit middle or outside pitches with the sweet spot of the bat if you have a problem with your back-spinning foot. A sure pop! This is the most important of these six diseases because it also disturbs the balance. This bad habit must be corrected immediately, but it is not easy.

Correction: Try to swing the bat while your back foot is planted on the ground. See if you can balance without moving your back heel off the ground. Also, it can be helpful to work on shooting outside off the tee. This will help you strike off your heels and prevent your foot from turning too soon.

bat wrap

This common bad habit plagues hitters who were trained in the “back nudge” theory. If his back elbow goes up as he regains his weight, the bat will begin to wrap around his head and alter the timing of the swing, which will ultimately negatively affect power and bat speed.

Correction: In your stance, immediately lower your elbow. If this doesn’t work and your elbow still comes up, return the bat to your top hand as you move your hands and weight back. This should help prevent the bat from wrapping around your head. You should work around this by practicing this technical fix until you are sure the habit has been broken. This disease will most likely keep coming back, so keep an eye on it and get it out of your system!

Rear leg collapse

This disease is quite serious and needs to be addressed. When the hind leg collapses, you lose all the power of your big muscles and your eyes and head sway too much. This type of dough jumps up a lot!

Correction: Stay as high as possible in your stance and when swinging the bat for power.

If that doesn’t work, do some swinging exercises where you swing only your back leg. If it collapses, you will fall swinging. Remember, stay upright and hit the ball!

head diver

This player was led to believe that if he sticks his head closer to the contact zone, he will see the ball better. This action causes your eyes to stray from the trajectory of the ball and causes you to lose your balance. It also blocks large muscles and prevents the production of power and speed.

Correction: Focus on pushing your back muscles. If you’re a diver, you try too hard to hit the ball with your eyes instead of letting your body bring your hands closer to the ball. “Hit your back” and keep your head behind the ball. It’s almost impossible to have any kind of power or bat speed when you’re not balanced. Once you touch the ball, remember that it’s okay to let your head move away from the ball for full follow through.

bent lead arm

If hitters swing up slightly and jump up often, you may notice if their lead arm is bending too much at the start of their swing. This problem is rare, but easy to fix.

Correction: All you need to do is focus on keeping your lead arm straight as you begin your swing. More advanced or experienced hitters won’t have this problem, but it’s something to keep in mind. Remember; only make adjustments when the ball is not flying as it should in batting practice. If you’re shooting rockets and your front arm bends a bit, who cares? In the swing, the lead arm will usually straighten out at first and then possibly bend on contact depending on the placement of the pitch (especially the low pitch).

Twister

The hitter who twists their upper torso while regaining their weight before swinging will have trouble hitting the ball. There is too much eye and upper body movement when the hitter has this problem. This causes the timing and path of the swing to become out of sync.

Correction: This is a rare disease that can be cured by religiously practicing weight gain without turning your shoulders. Your hands should move directly behind you without turning your shoulder much. That makes a big difference!