Process+Anayliss

Language Arts Matthew Thomas Process Analysis 10/30/11

=How To Perfect Your Swing In Baseball= I have played baseball for a while now, about nine or ten years. Over the years, I have learned many different techniques to the different fundamentals of the game. Baseball is one of the games that you need to know and almost perfect the fundamentals to be really good. One of the hardest one to perfect is batting. After all of my years of playing baseball I have learned many different techniques to hit the ball better but one stood out the most. I am going to try to teach you this technique. First, what your going to want to do is line up your feet. The correct way to do this is to step in the box and spread your feet apart. Lay your bat on the ground in front of your feet, your feet should be lined up with the length of the bat. Then take your bat and lay the bat next to your foot closes to the pitcher. The top of your bat should be lined up with the opposite front corner and the tip of your shoes. After you set your feet, make sure you know where your feet are so you do not have to do that in a game. Next, you want to load your stance. This means to bring your arms back and ready for the pitch. Doing this correctly will gave you the most power possible for hitting the ball. The first thing you are going to want to do is raise your bat above and behind your head. Both of your elbows should be bent at a 50 degree angle. Your wrist should be at a 90 degree angle. Both of your hands should be level with your head. Also you are going to want your knees to be slightly bent. Make sure your weight is centered but for more power you can lean more one your back foot. All you need to do is wait for the pitch. How long you need to wait to start your swing depends on how fast the pitcher throws. Most players that are 13-14 year olds, pitch at about 60-70 mph. So if they pitch about that fast you are going to need to start your swing when the ball is around half way from the mound to the plate. It helps to have a long but light bat, so you can swing the bat more quickly. The weight of the bat differs but the average length for 13-14 years old is 32 inches. Now after you have made sure your feet are in the correct position and you have got your bat loaded, you need to actually hit the ball. So when the ball is around half way to the plate, you start your swing. First you pick your foot up and take a step. Once he step down, swing your hip and the bat at the same time. Make sure that the arm of the top hand on the bat stays close to your body. If it not you will have a lot less power and almost no control. After that, you just need to watch the ball until it hits the bat and hit away. This is definitely the easiest way to hit the ball powerfully and under control. If you play for a high school or college level team the coaches will teach you that this is the best way to bat. The St. Xavier baseball team, who went to the state final four are taught to bat like this, and they have some of the best players in the state. So just follow these easy steps and you will improve your swing for sure.