Sports
Baseball Stretches: Lateral Duck Unders, Lateral Run with Cones
Two drills to help improve hip strength and explosive speed, as well as quickness and hand-eye coordination.
Baseball season is under way and our Chicago teams have been disappointing through about 1/3 of the season. When you look at any major league team, school, or little league team there are a few things all teams need: pitching, hitting and to be tight fundamentally.
Good base running is a key part of baseball fundamentals and speed is a must. A good base runner may not always be the fastest guy on the team, but the guy who gets best jump. The same goes for a fielder. You have to not only be fast, but be able to turn from a neutral position and get to the ball. Here are some drills to help improve hip strength and explosive speed, as well as quickness and hand-eye coordination.
Lateral Duck Unders:
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If you have a rope or stick the can be used like a limbo pole set it up at about shoulder height or slightly lower. This isn’t a necessity. Start with your feet slightly wider than your shoulders. Squat down and take a step laterally. Stand upright, then immediately squat back down and return to the starting point. For an additional challenge, try jumping at each end of the exercise. Think of the steps a base runner takes just before he steals or as the ball comes off the bat.
Lateral Run with Cones:
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For this you’ll need some functional training cones, or saucer cones. If you don’t have these cones some plastic or styrofoam cups work just as well. Set the cones or cubs on the ground in a line. Space them out a few feet between them. The object is to run along the line laterally picking up the cones and stacking them. After you’ve reached the end of the line, return the opposite way placing the cones back in place. Do this several times fast and have a coach or friend time you. This is great of fielding work, especially for infielders who need to be quick with ground balls.
These are just a couple of fun, new ways you can train for baseball. Sprinting speed, think home plate to first base, will be improved not only from running but in the weight room. Don’t forget to work your posterior chain to help with speed. So work your lower back, glutes, hamstrings and calves.
