So I received my Insider Bat...Now What?

[dolphindan1]

I purchased an insider bat....just to try it out...gotta do something to get my son out of his slump...he hasnt been on base except for a couple walks in 3 tournaments...hitting the ball hard...flew out to CF...line drives to 1st and 2nd...

anyway...what do I do...tee and soft toss....

what do I need to look for in the flight of the ball....need tos be line drive up the middle right....

trying to get some input....

[glgto]

start on the tee then inside and outside on the tee.
after a few days go to soft toss. is your son a rotational hitter?

[dolphindan1]

No he is not a rotational hitter...

However I am slowly getting him to that...lots of reading and studying and fighting with him....LOL

I am only confused about one aspect of rotational hitting but thats another thread I guess...

Can I throw whiffle balls with this bat or strictly tee and soft toss....

What I am looking for line drives right up the middle right

[glgto]

yes first thing is on the tee line drives up the middle.
if they go left or down the wrist are rolling to soon, right then he is casting or arm barring.
my son was not rotational but is a much better hitter now that he is.
this insider will help this by keeping him inside once that is good then work on pulling the bottom hand. one hand drills are great with the insider but watch videos of rotational hitters. I would have a hard time explaining it. My son was best instructed with a power band and his bat. hold the band in the bottom hand and stretch it tight then feel the pull of the bottom hand through the swing. the hands and hips match the plane of the ball and if it is outside the torso must bend as well when comming through. you can cover more of the plate with this style and be more powerful as well.
check you tube there is plenty of video there.

[dolphindan1]

if they go left or down the wrist are rolling to soon, right then he is casting or arm barring.

is this opposite for lefties...my son is a lefty

[glgto]

down is same but left is now right and reverse

[dolphindan1]

I worked with him for about an hour today...tee and soft toss and and 1 arm drills...he hit real good except when he did top hand 1 arm....not real sure what that means...

all in all he hit lots of shots right back at the pitcher, usually from the knees to above the head....I am not sure how high these should go when they are hit...thats the one thing I am not sure how to explain....how to get the bat on the plane of the ball....switching over from linear...in linear he has been taught to swing through the seat belt...basically down at the ball...not sure how to tell him to get on a slight upward plane towards the ball...Any ideas?....I was thinking about getting the old zip and hit out...at least that has a string he follow on the path of the ball....

[glgto]

go to www.gowagsbaseball.com and order the dvd "why?" this explains it in the best way i have seen.
i gan see the bottom hand drills becoming an issue to transition to but give it time.
if you can get a yoga band or resistance cord try a rope and hold the other end just so he gets the feel of pulling start him out 180 deg stance and work back to normal stance in four steps. the hands and hips must match the plane "working under the ball" but hitting the ball just under center so it does not pop up. check out photos on the internet of good major hittes like howard, mauer ect and you will see pretty quick what i mean.
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19

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here or son or the kid early in his transition to rotational. not perfect but you may see something to help you.
you tube search rotational hitting also there are plenty of good videos.

[glgto]

last photo was a take sorry but you can still see he was pulling the knob towards the ball.
the middle picture is after he hit the ball not as the ball was comming in.

[dmac]

Our local high schools do a winter camp every year and this year both schools had a new toy, the insider bat. I talked to one of the coaches and he said it is the best $50 training device you can buy. They had it set up at two stations, one was soft toss and the other was tee work. I was happy to see my kid hitting the ball squarely just about every time. One of our players is bad about casting and then rolling his wrists over and he really struggled with it. We are going to pick up a couple of these before Spring.

[glgto]

I am not here hockin just anything. It has to be good and say wat it does and mean waht it says. it is probably the best baseball invention ever. other than the bat, glove ect.:D

[jayhawk]

There is a workout that was made for the InsiderBat at www.hittingillustrated.com. A professional scout made the routine. He is in the process of making clips to go along with the drills.
Also, there is someone who actually made adjustable weights for the InsiderBat. He goes into detail at the same website with more pictures. www.hittingillustrated.com
Go check it out and hope it helps you.

http://imagine.hittingillustrated.com/insider_bat/SANY0110.JPG

[wesparker]

For you guys who own insider bats, in your opinion--
If I bought a model 07, which is listed for 12 yr olds and up, would it also work for 7-11 yr olds?

[glgto]

yes it will work. if hands are to small they can choke up and not effect the use.

[mcp]

I think I am going to give one of these a try. My son just turned 12, and while he is a pretty good hitter, he has some flaws that show up at times that (I believe) this tool will help correct for good. Lately his swing has been getting long, and his top hand getting strong. I think this will do just the trick, because (hopefully) he will HAVE to correct himself, vs. me or his coaches telling him. I think the kids sometimes get overloaded with all the stuff we tell them to do. It also amazes me how kids develop glitches in thier swings from time to time, for no apparent reason. I know it happens at all levels, though you wouldn't think it shouldn't with as much practice as some folks get.

jayhawk, I went to that site....couldn't find the info that you posted on. Can you be more specific on where it is? I'd like to read up more on it.

Anyone else have any advice or opinions on the insider bat?

Thanks! :)

[glgto]

this should help with the long swing issue. one hand drills will help the top hand issue as well. I made a add on for an old bat that helped with that top hand issue.
find a handle and attach it to a bat so it looks like a police baton. from there have the kid soft toss with the bat or swing into a heavy bag. the handle eliminates the top hand from driving the bat. the other thing is stand beside them on a bucket or something and drop balls from about 6 or 7 ft the reaction has to be so quick the top hand cannot take over the batter must pull through with the bottom hand. that drill can also be done with the Insider Bat.

[jayhawk]

http://i46.tinypic.com/iqknc8.jpg

http://hittingillustrated.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=29

Its under "Hitting Drills"

[jayhawk]

glgto
Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Red Lion.PA
Posts: 165

great option

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this should help with the long swing issue. one hand drills will help the top hand issue as well. I made a add on for an old bat that helped with that top hand issue.
find a handle and attach it to a bat so it looks like a police baton. from there have the kid soft toss with the bat or swing into a heavy bag. the handle eliminates the top hand from driving the bat. the other thing is stand beside them on a bucket or something and drop balls from about 6 or 7 ft the reaction has to be so quick the top hand cannot take over the batter must pull through with the bottom hand. that drill can also be done with the Insider Bat.

glgto,

Reading and viewing the drills that were made by the pro scout, he disagrees with the part in red. Here is the drill where he uses the top hand. fyi

http://groundup.hittingillustrated.com/hitting/Drills/SB_tophandstopswing1.gif

[g-mc]

jayhawk, I went to that site....couldn't find the info that you posted on. Can you be more specific on where it is? I'd like to read up more on it.

Anyone else have any advice or opinions on the insider bat?
You have to be a member to view that part I believe. I signed up for the trial and they have some quality advice. We've been too busy with other sports at the moment to justify subscribing, but I'd say it's worth the fee.

After glgto first come on the scene praising the "non-sting" bats, I assumed the Insider Bat was just another gimmick, but it was cheap enough to try and if it didn't help I wasn't out much cash. I'll have to admit that the kids love it and I think it helps out quite a bit. It's pretty similar to Epstein's "paddle bat" (not sure what it's called)

We've tried hitting about everything with it in every drill I thought would be effective in improving their swing. The kids love to hit the mini whiffle balls pitched from our machine.

...just my two cents.

[glgto]

first thanks for believin in me. those bats are great just over priced now.
as for the parts in red. we attend a training facility which is ran by two guys that played in the pro system the ball drop drill is is used as soon as the reveiw the 3000 fpm video and see the top hand being to strong and yes it works. they also us this baton style bat so the rotational pull can be felt also I have used and seen them use bands to give this feel. In this drill the insider bat is not used.

[glgto]

see attachment

[jayhawk]

The pro scout is in Dallas, Tx at a ABCA convention. Here is what he posted:

Update

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At the ABCA Convention in Dallas and everyone loves the insider bat..that and the two pivot points!!!!!!!!

[al_dad]

Why is the insiderbat so expensive now? I remember it was $39.99 now it's almost double. I would buy it but at that price, I dont think so.

[glgto]

That was a pre season special.

[al_dad]

Gotcha, I guess I will wait till they run another sale.

[CoachV-NC]

quick testimony for those interested.

My 9yr old son, who plays on my 9U team, is on his 3rd week using the insider bat. His program for each session went like this:

200 swings with the AB (in increments of 25-using regular size wiffle balls)
**wiffle balls didn't last long. so were switching to tennis balls
***weird looks from the other parents..you know..the what the #!# is that thing look:)

2. bucket of ball with the regular Tee, bucket of balls with stay back Tee.

3. Bucket of Self-Toss (he loves this one). He gets in his stance and does a toss and hit using his "WOOD" bat.

4. Short session of soft toss with ABat and golf wiffle balls

5. Live batting practice with "WOOD" bat.

I want to explain the "WOOD" bat note.

His normal bat is a Combat 2 1/4 B1 30/18oz.

After a few thousand google searches, a few hundred, "honey it's midnight's", from the wife, I decided to have my son use strictly a wood bat for his batting drills. The bat is a $14 30" (doesn't have the weight on it, but i'm guessing 22-24oz) from Dick's.

He loves the idea of using a wood bat, but I set rules with it. He must swing with the same mechanics as he does with his AB and regular bat. Obviously, his swing was much slower using the wood bat, and after a few weeks of using the wood, I let him swing his B1 again:eek::eek:

I'll put it this way. There are quite a few more orders for the funny looking red thing (AB) that he was using, and we don't get those weird looks anymore:D

He has eliminated his wrist rolling, and the slight sweep to his swing.

I've never been the type of Dad\Coach who forced his kids (I have 3 sons) to practice during the offseason, but will tell you that letting them add "their" own fun drill to the practice made all the difference in the world in the fun component part of things.

I do not work for anyone with Insider Bat, and just wanted to pass along my experience of how this training device has fixed something in 3 weeks, that I have been tryiing to fix for 3 years.

Have a great 2010 season everyone.

Vince Farmintino
Wilmington, NC Myrtle Grove Optimist LL

[glgto]

THIS IS THE SAME RESULTS HAPPENING ALL OVER THE U.S. THANKS TO THE INSIDER BAT. I TOTAL UNDERSTAND THE WEIRD LOOKS BUT ONCE THEY SEE IT IN ACTION THEIR HOOKED. WE USE THE BAT A TOURNAMENTS TO WARM UP WITH USING SOFT FOAM BALLS AND WE GOT THE "LOOK" ALSO.:p

[tom2p]

Coach V-NC -
.
Yyou may want to consider another 30" bat in place of the 30" wood bat - or at least another bat as a supplement to assist in the move up to the 30" wood bat - especially when going from a -12 Combat. The move from a -12 Combat to a wood bat is *huge*.
.
An inexpensive 30-22 might be a good option - or maybe a used 30-20 DeMarini F2 or F3 .... something like that.
.
Both of my kids work with wood bats - but only after (first) spending some time with other bats to help/acclimate them to (eventually) swinging the (much heavier) wood bat.
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btw - my guess on the weight of the 30" wood bat is somewhere around 24-30 oz (and probably closer to 30 oz ?) .
.
.

[CoachV-NC]

Thanks for the tips Tom

I have a 30/20 B2 that would make a good fit for his workout also. I was a little nervous about him using the wood due to injury risk, but he stays very disciplined about not trying to kill the ball when he swings. The bat is 24oz. I do think his size (he's bigger than my 11yr old) and strength are the reason he's doing so well in regards to his power and bat speed increases while using this bat. Having start out the drills with the wood then finishing with the 30/20 might be a better option.

[tom2p]

Yes - agree - and might want to also start with the 30-20 - go to wood - and then finish with the 30-20.
.
We have had success with a similar approach - in BP sessions - begin with the standard bat and then move to progressively heavier bats (in steps) - and then down (in steps) and finish with the standard bat. We also use a similar approach when moving up in bat length. This is the way my kids move move up in bat weight and/or length.
.
Good luck !

[CoachV-NC]

Great idea. I will be trying the bat progression BP this week.

Thanks

[hellsredsled]

I sat here explaining the steps involved with the swing that need to happen to be successful. After 5 minutes my 7 1/2 & 5 year olds asked if they could just hit the ball on the tee!!!

With in 10 swings with the 'insider' they were driving the ball back up the middle instead of into the ground to 3rd or poping it up. It let them know to keep the hands palm up, palm down and lead elbow up instead of rolling over. I play adult baseball and have been on champion teams in NABA leagues. I use it and notice when I get out of whack. This aide helps a specific portion of the swing, not the whole swing. Nothing works the whole swing other than just swinging and applying everything you learned from all the different aids you have used.

Just get it, use it and have fun!! ;)

[CoachV-NC]

Quick question about tee distance when using the Insider Bat. I usually put the tee between the front knee and belly button, but how far away is the tee supposed to be from the hitter? Do you do the knob in the belly trick to set the distance? Just making sure that i'm not using it the wrong way.