As you or your players approach the plate, it is easy to think about getting a big hit and being the superstar. We encourage hitters to focus on the fundamentals and come to the plate prepared. As the hitter

prepares, it is important for coaches to be able to recognize hitting mistakes. In the Dusty’s Hitting Handbook, he covers 10 Common Hitting Mistakes.

The first hitting mistake is Stance And Stride. It is easy for the hitter to have his back foot angled out or for the hitter to take too large a stride during his or her at bat. It is important for the hitter to feel comfortable at the plate. We recommend that the hitters feet be shoulder width apart. Remember, we ask our coaches to give the hitter a small shove to see if the hitter can remain balanced at the plate, while in his stance.

The second common mistakes is what is called the Dead Stop Hitter. The Dead Stop Hitter is defined as a hitter that makes no backward movement toward the ball to propel himself toward the swing. The hitter’s first movement is forward without any type of momentum toward the ball.

The correction for the Dead Stop Hitter is to create an inward turn. An inward turn provides extra power and momentum. You can learn more about the Dead Stop Hitter and the corrections for this mistake in Dusty’s Hitting Handbook on page 85.

What other hitting mistakes have you noticed for young hitters?