As youth coaches, baseball or softball, there is confusion about how best to teach hitting to young players. Should we teach them to stride, or not to stride? At HQ4 Baseball & Softball, we have worked with thousands of young players, so I will share with you what we have learned.

First, if a player is successful hitting, do not change him or her for the sake of changing! If a player is comfortable using a stride, and is doing it correctly, then there is no reason to change that. The old adage “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” applies well to hitting.

A stride is a timing mechanism, used to help time the pitcher and create a good rhythm for the hitter. The stride should be short and soft, so that the player keeps most of his or her weight on the back foot. The stride foot should be closed, so that the hips are not opened up too early. The stride foot should be down before the player starts to swing. The stride is not part of the swing, but rather, it is part of the load.

Our experience at HQ4 Baseball & Softball has been that for most young players, a stride creates problems more than it helps. The more moving parts you have, the more chance for problems. Players will stride very aggressively, shifting all their weight to their front foot as they swing. This has many negative effects, including causing their head and eyes to move toward the pitcher, speeding up the ball and making it harder to see the ball well. By shifting their weight to their front foot too early, the player eliminates the hip rotation and reduces the power generated by the torso with good rotation. They end up with their swing being “all arms”. Often the player will “step in the bucket” when they stride, pulling their head and eyes off the ball and causing their hips to open early. Of course, this makes hitting the ball very difficult.

When we encounter these types of problems with a hitter at HQ4 Baseball & Softball, we eliminate the stride in order to simplify the swing. We tell the player to widen their stance into a strong, athletic position. Get your feet where they would be after you stride, and start there. This allows for better balance and helps keep the head and eyes still. The load is accomplished by a slight shifting of the weight to the back foot, with the hands moving slowly as a result of this weight shift. Caution the player not to load too soon, or too quickly. The load is designed to start your bat moving, so the player should not shift their weight back and then stop. The timing of the load depends upon the speed of the pitcher. You want to develop a rhythm so the there is a slow shift to the backside, followed by a rapid movement forward with your swing. Hands begin moving to the ball while the hips begin rotating. Extend to the ball and through the ball, finishing in a good balanced position. The front foot should remain closed as much as possible throughout the swing.

We have found that most young hitters are more successful with this “no stride” technique because it is simpler to execute. As players get older and begin to face better pitchers, many coaches feel the stride becomes more important in order to develop the rhythm needed to be a successful hitter. If you would like more help with hitting, from mechanics to the mental approach, check out HQ4Baseball and Softball.com for training DVDs on these and other topics.