Great Age 8-9 yr. olds for Teaching Pushing & Dragging Bunting FUNdamentals
By: Bear
Great age to teach hitting.
For the short game, I teach
the "Bunts for BaseHits"
To bunt for basehits, I teach
placement of the baseball.
The expression I use to teach
bunt placement of the baseball is:
"Bunting: Perfect or Foul"
For team drills, all of the
children enjoy either the
'Perfect or Foul Drill' or,
'1,2,3, Bunting Game.
I use these drills to practice
and perfect these basic
bunting FUNdamentals.
To enjoy teaching these Bunting FUNdamentals, I use two terms:
Push Bunt & Drag Bunt
Push Bunt - A RH pushes the ball down
1b line.
Drag Bunt - A RH hitter drops (drags) the ball down the 3b line.
(For LHH, it's the opposite)
Most beginning bunters find it easiest to push bunts.
In my 1,2,3 Bunting Game, no points are
awarded for a bunt that is fielded on
(or near) the mound by a pitcher.
Most teachers of 'square' bunting mechanics
accept a bunt back at the pitcher.
Most teachers of 'pivot' bunting mechanics
teach push or drag bunting fundamentals.
'Square' bunting mechanics are typically
considered sacrifice techniques.
For hitting FUNdamentals, I teach
offensive styles of hitting, rather
than 'sacrificial' characteristics.
Of all the three types of hitters
that I 'evaluate', the mashers
are typically the best bunters,
while the 'speed merchants' are not.
I don't want 'my mashers' to bunt.
I want my 'speed merchants' to get on base.
cheers
Bear
ps. There are two schools of thoughts
for bunting locations when teaching
bunting for base hits. E.g. College vs Pro
psps. I am not an advocate of
a 'fastpitch' bunting fundamental
for baseball, that being 'slap bunting'.
I think it is an outstanding fastpitch
offensive fundamental that pressures
several defensive alignments. However
in baseball, it is simply a very weak
offensive baseball strategy that is
almost never taught correctly nor executed
with an high percentage (However it
looks great if performed properly.)