Drill 3 Standing Squat

During a sacrifice bunt as mentioned before core stability is important.During a squat core stability is also a key to performing the exercise.A standing squat  is an exercise  that  will work out your quads and hamstrings along with abs and core.Begin by standing with your feet a step outside of your shoudlers.Keep your arms up as if you were holdign a bar bell and sink your rear end into a sitting position while placing most of your weight on your heels.When you reach your deepest postition explode up and through to a full standing postion and repeat untill fatigue settles in.

Drill 2-Walking Lunge

During a Sacrifice bunt core stability and balance within your legs are very important.The walking lunge is a good excersise to prepare for  solid blance during a bunt.You begin by standing with feet shoulder width apart straight up.Lunge foward with one leg into fully flexed postion.Be sure to keep your body straight up and stable from the waist above.Push up and through the leg that is flexed back to the standing postion and repeat with the opposite leg.Continue this action untill you feel fatigue in your legs and even push a little further.

20 Terms

1.Momentum –product of motion, measured as the product of a body mass and its velocity.

2.Impulse-Product of a force and the time interval over which the force acts.

3.Distal-the point furthest from the point of attachment to the body.

4.Plantar flexion-the movement that increases the approximate 90-degree angle between

the front part of the foot and the shin, as when depressing an automobile pedal

5.Balance-Ability to control equilibrium

6.Posterior -Further back in position of or nearer the rear or hind end.

7.Flexion-the joint angle decreasing

8.Extension-movement of a joint whereby one part of the body is moved away from another

9.Trajectory –the flight or path of a projectile

10.Velocity-measurement of the rate and direction of change in position of an object

11.Bending-asymmetric loading that produces tension on one side of a body’s

longitudinal axis and compression on the other side.

12.Acceleration -the rate of change of velocity over time

13.Potential energy-energy by virtue of a body’s position of configuration, calculated as the product of weight and height.

14.Type 2A Muscle fibers-Fast twitch muscle fibers

15.Combined loading-simultaneous action of more then one form of loading.

16.Axis of rotation-imaginary line perpendicular to the plane of rotation and passing through the center of rotation

17.Magnus force-lift force created by spin

18.Stress –distribution of force within a body, quantified by force divided by the area in which the force acts.

19.Static Equilibrium-a motionless state

20.Lift-force acting on the body in a fluid in a direction perpendicular 

Form and Placement Drill

This drill focuses on two aspects of bunting,your form and your placement.Muscle memory plays a large role in this drill.You continuously place your self in bunt position with a wide base and tension is placed on your quads and hamstrings.Also within this drill your arms are flexed anteriorly when the bunt is being put down.Muscle memory is the key purpose of this drill  and it should be repeated over and over to gain a positive improvement in your bunting form and skills.

Step 1

First of you want to set up the drill by placing two items down the third baseline about 10 to 15 feet.Place one object on the line and the other 5 feet off the line towards the mound.This will allow the ideal space between the objects in which you should place the bunt for it to be a "good" bunt.This drill is designed to work on bat angle and ball speed and positioning of the bunt.

Step 2

Get your body in the bunting position as shown in Phase 3.From this position you must be able to get the bunt down .Most importantly during this drill is your bat angle.In this drill the main focus is to angle the bat  head towards the third base line.The ball should be tossed at average speed from about 10 feet away during this drill to allow it to be as game like as possible.

Novice

Expert

Phase 1 Prep-Pre stance

In phase 1 it is most important that you are comfortable in your initial batting stance.From here is where you must gain your  momentum and lead up to your impulse off of the pitcher, so that you can get the bunt down in a proper fashion.This phase is the preperation phase for countless occurences inlcuding preperation for combined loading, the batter envisioning the axis of rotation and envisioning the action of magnus force.It is very critical that while stepping in the box you are prepared for all of the previously discussed actions so that your body is most comfortable.

Phase 2 Hands getting in position on the bat

Phase 2 is when your make your first step towards the bunt position.When the pitcher is in his set you should begin to slide your top hand distal in comparison to the bottom hand on the bat on your way to the "square" position.Pivot your posterior foot into plantar flexion at the same time.Begin to apply stress on the front leg in the direction of the pitcher but still maintain static equilibrium.

Phase 3 Getting the bunt down-Squared up Position

Phase 3 is the critical phase of getting a sacrifice bunt down.The squared position is when the action occurs.The position of your feet is important to you as a player,it is only important to you for the fact that as along as your comfortable enough to square your upper body and bat to the pitcher then that is the position you want to be in.Your body should be at a complete balance,your upper body should be straight up, chest posterior to your front knee which will be in full flexion while bending in the distal to you pivoting leg.Your arms should be in position to reach full extension  towards  the pitcher allowing your hands and bat to be mobile enough to bunt any pitch that is a strike.Your head should be focused first on the velocity of the ball towards the barrel of the bat.Second you should follow the ball completely until you witness the trajectory of the ball off the bat.

Phase 4 Getting out of the batters box

Phase 4 is the follow through phase or the point of acceleration. After you see the ball trajectory off of the bat and down onto the ground you use all of your force and potential energy to make way towards first base with a strong first step and gain a lift down the line. Maintain a steady balance while your type 2A muscle fibers are activated.It is important that you dont watch the ball while running down the line for the simple reason that you can turn your sacrifice bunt into a base hit if you beat the play out.

Sacrifice Bunt