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Youth baseball coaches: squashing the bug is a bad habit

If you train youth baseball hitters to squash bug, you’ve only dug them down a hole. Squashing the insect involves a small muscle movement that reduces the power and speed of the bat. Some youth baseball hitters are taught to spin or twist their back foot to create more bat speed and power on the swing. Nothing can be further than the truth. Plus, it’s nearly impossible to hit outside or middle pitches with the sweet spot of the bat if you have a spinning back foot problem. A sure jump!

Why is the swing technique called bug squash still taught to youth baseball hitters?

Some coaches believe that hitters need to be on the balls of their feet at the point of contact. This is known and commonly taught as “squash the bug”, “squash the bug”, “squash the bug” and “squash the bug”. The coaches who advocate this swing technique are typically youth league coaches. This swing technique is not what great hitters do in the minor and major leagues.

Trainers who still advocate the bug swing technique typically do so for one of the following reasons:

1. Coaches often have big egos and believe that their methods are better than others.

2. The coach underestimates the potential and skills of youth baseball hitters.

3. They have never seen a video of professional hitters, in slow motion, frame by frame.

When watching live speed videos or still images, you will probably see what seems to crush the error. But when you look at it frame by frame, you will see that the error is not squashed until long after the point of contact. The heel that is lifted off the ground and the ball of the foot twists is actually the result of the body rotating about its center of mass or axis.

Yet another reason some coaches still advocate squashing the bug.

They believe it is an easy way to teach hip rotation to youth baseball hitters.

Some argue that many coaches underestimate what youth baseball hitters can do. No matter how you look at it or what the reasons are, teaching little league players the wrong swing techniques only sets them up for failure as they move into higher leagues of baseball.

Youth baseball hitters need to learn the correct way to hit early so that what they learn doesn’t have to be unlearned later. Most adults know how difficult it is to break bad habits.

In case you’ve been taught the wrong way to hit, here are some tips for unlearning the bug squashing technique.

Try swinging the bat while your back foot is planted on the ground. See if you can swing without moving your back heel off the ground. Keep practicing until you can. Also, it can be helpful to work on outside shots off the tee. This will help you kick with your heels and prevent your foot from turning too soon. Turning the foot before the point of contact greatly reduces the speed and power of the bat.

When players of any age learn the correct rotational swing technique, they will be able to hit balls over the outfield fence, even if they are the youngest kid on the team.

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