The battle for dominance between a pitcher and hitter is one of the greatest one-on-one competitions in any sport. But once batters learn how the University of South Alabama baseball team trains, pitchers will have to fight just to stay in for the count.
“The more bat speed you have going through the zone, the farther you can hit a ball,” says Steve Kittrell, USA’s head baseball coach. “If you can swing [the bat] quicker through the zone, you can wait longer to see the pitch in the strike zone…you want to generate as much bat speed as possible, but at the same time, have great bat control.”
To maintain control in the batter’s box at all times, the Jaguars spend six days a week swinging bats. During practice, players take between 300 and 500 cuts a day. On game days, South Alabama takes a mandatory 40-minute round of BP, with most of the starters hitting an additional 20-30 minutes in the cage.
“[For] increasing bat speed, there are numerous drills that can be done,” says Alan Luckie, the Jags’ assistant baseball coach. “But there are a couple of fundamental things that we always like to talk to our players about first.”
View the video below to learn about the fundamentals of the Jaguars’ hitting routine. For South Alabama’s complete batting practice breakdown, head to STACK TV.

Photo:  usajaguars.com