Week 3 Facility Practice — Hinge: Slow & Controlled Load

Last updated Sep 17, 2026

September 17, 2026 · Mike

Practice Length: 1 hour

Primary Focus: Slow and controlled load: last week we did a static version of hinging — this week we're doing the movement portion with a SLOW and controlled load. Separation/Rubberband: as the lower half moves forward, the hands work back; at toe touch the hands stay back in a good position, creating stretch between the hips and shoulders — that's where the power comes from. Cues: hands behind shoulder; talk about stretching both sides of the rubber band.

Equipment: 6-8 tees (5 Tool provides 3 — bring extras). 1 bucket dimple balls, 1 bucket smash balls (or another dimple), driveline balls (or regular), 2 buckets regular balls.

Start	End	Min	Activity	Organization / Setup	Key Coaching Points	Coach Notes
5PM	5:15PM	15	Tee Work Warm-Up	Warm-up with band: build on last week, maintaining a good hinge, moving forward while keeping hands back — feel the resistance of the band. Tee movement of the day: hook 'em drill x10 & 10 swings middle. Make sure wherever the front foot lands, the tee is slightly out front.	Make sure they're looking at a pretend pitcher, then eyes transfer down. We want repeatable habits — we'd never stare at contact in an at-bat.
5:15PM	5:23PM	8	Hack Attack Auto Feeder: Slow	Slower than average pitching. Keep hands back with a slow, controlled load.	7 swings and out. As many times through the group as possible in the 8 minutes.	Ball: dimple.
5:23PM	5:31PM	8	Hack Attack Coach Fed: Fast (Tennessee Drill)	Very fast adjustment station. Only 3 pitches and out.	3 pitches and out no matter what, as many times as possible in the 8 minutes. The goal is to adjust each time and get the ball fair by the time the station is over.	Ball: dimple or smash balls.
5:31PM	5:39PM	8	Bounce Drill — Nothing Pull Side; Middle to Right-Center Gap for Righties	Use cones as a visual — make it a game. Only get a point if it's middle-right. Compete against the group.		Ball: driveline balls.
5:39PM	5:47PM	8	Hook 'Em Drill	Control the forward move, keeping hands back.	First 7 swings drill. Next 7 swings bounce-drill regular swings. Third round: regular front toss.	Ball: regular balls.
5:47PM	5:55PM	8	Bunting Standards with Bunting Bat	Bunting for Dollars.	Eyes behind, face connected to the barrel. Aim where we want to bunt it — NOT the sweet spot. Start at the top of our zone.	Ball: bunting bat.

Aggressive mentality. We hunt pitches. Attack pitchers' mistakes. Swing to do damage.

Today’s focus: Hinge — movement & separation

Last week was the static version of the hinge. This week adds the movement: a slow, controlled load as the lower half moves forward while the hands stay back — creating the stretch (the “rubber band”) between hips and shoulders that the power comes from.

Homework for the week

Send in a video of the last 5 of each swing:

25 hook ’em drill
25 hands-back pause
25 bunts
25 middle-out

Make sure players understand their contact points with the tee, and keep looking at pretend pitching with eyes transferring down at contact.