BVSA Teaches: Timing

On this episode of BVSA Teaches, Frank Ramppen talks about timing. Today, we will discuss the importance of timing in hitting. In a story shared by the speaker, Bobby had gathered around 60 players and front office staff in Japan to discuss the hitting philosophy and swing techniques. Thereafter, the discussion went on for two hours, and every aspect of hitting was covered. This ranged from bat position to load and transfer. At the end of the session, Bobby shouted, “None of it matters if you don’t have timing!” The players were startled but knew that Bobby was right. Even with the best swing, hitting is impossible without proper timing.

Teaching timing is a challenging aspect of hitting, and it involves repetition and various drills. Obviously, the goal is to make contact with the ball at the exact spot to hit it the hardest. It’s essential to teach kids that mechanical techniques like load, stride, and bat position are efficient. However, they must execute the swing at the right time to hit the ball in the right place.

To improve timing, coaches use different techniques like bouncing balls, dropping balls, throwing underhand, overhand, and curved pitches. They also use smaller balls and frisbees to create game-like scenarios for kids to practice timing. However, the bottom line is that teaching timing is a field, and kids must practice game-like reps to execute their swings and get the barrel to the ball at the right time.