The Purpose of this particular drill, Stride, is that it helps assist players to isolate the stride and to be able to understand the important parts of the stride The equipment needed for this drill includes a bat as well as a helmet. The setup involves having a group of players with no bats or a it can be a setup with a batting practice station.
The game will begin when each player will be asked to get into his or her stance. The task of the coach will be to simulate a windup and then deliver an imaginary pitch to the respective player. The player will then be required to coil, stride, and then freeze.
The reason players take a stride or learn or practice the drill is to get their rhythm and timing right. So if he/she can eliminate the timing mechanism and still be able to get the rhythm from the pre-stride drill then they’ll have more success at being able to swing the bat and they’ll be more consistent. Stride does not give a player power, bat quickness or bat velocity, but just timing and rhythm. In the drill if a player feels like they’re not in a real strong position, then they have the option to widen out a little bit on the stance as long as she/he is able to stay within the length of the lever that they are using, or the bat they are using.
Things that players need to watch out for during this drill is that they need to put most of their weight back and make sure that they are not lunging. They have to have their hands still back. . Sometimes it can be seen that the players will tend to bend their knees or bend over during the stride and so it is important that they are in the same basic alignment. Lastly, they have to make sure their head is at the same height.
