As we move into our fourth week of “Balling on a Budget,” I might be hitting you with the most inexpensive and easily accessibly piece of undervalued player development equipment yet: a broomstick, dowel rod, or rake. A dowel rod is preferred due to its strength, but a broomstick or rake will do just fine, as long as the broom brush or rake head is removable.
A broomstick, dowel rod or rake can serve multiple roles in player development both on the field and in the weight room. The best way to describe the application of the stick is as an aid that assists with movement patterning, timing, coordination, and direction. It also has a few applications to specific skill performance. With multiple uses and effectively no cost – as you probably have a used broom sitting in your equipment shed – the sticks should be an integral part of your daily player development plans.
As a patterning tool, the stick provides great physical feedback when teaching weight room and on-field movements. As a teaching tool, I regularly use the stick to train hinge movements in the weight room and teach pitchers how to ride the slope of the mound.
Hinge movements, as shown in the video below, are a pre-requisite to developing proper movement, as they allow athletes to properly engage their posterior chain. Put simply, the posterior chain includes all of the muscles that run up the backside of your body, headlined by your glutes and hamstrings. In baseball, the posterior chain plays a major role in power development. By learning how to use these muscles properly, a baseball player can move into more advantageous positions in hitting and pitching through increased neuromuscular control.
The stick can also play a major role in exercise assistance. From mobility to strength, as well as everything in between, the stick can provide support in movement, act as a guide (such as with the hinges explained above), or even be used as an exercise implement. In the clips below, you can see various uses of a stick in multiple training types and exercises.
When it comes to patterning movements on the baseball field, the stick or rod can also be a key developmental tool for both pitchers and position players. As briefly mentioned earlier, the stick can be used to mimic the slope of the mound. In this specific drill (shown below), the pitcher is forced to feel the slope of the mound by controlling their rear glute slide down the broom stick. Before implementing this particular drill, I suggest making sure your stick is sufficiently strong before your butt ends up on the ground. Riding the slope of the mound encourages pitchers to produce force while moving forward and down the mound at the same rate, as opposed to old adages of “tall and fall” or “drop and drive.” As an aside, if you look closely, you may be able to pick up on the hip hinge trained in the previous video.
Another patterning drill for both pitchers and position players that encourages proper sequencing and timing is what I refer to as “stick throws.” In the video of “stick throws” shown below, the athlete (me) synchronizes the movement of his front and back arms to engrain a ferris wheel type motion as opposed to that of a merry go-round. I recognize that this drill is not for everyone, but I would suggest trying it for those struggling with glove arm synchronization or direction, or for those with arm path issues. There are a few nuances to this drill that I would be happy to discuss separately if you wish to exchange thoughts.
In a few more skill specific movements, the stick assists with kinematic sequencing through assistance in movement patterning. From a pitching perspective, the stick can be used as a brace to delay shoulder rotation/upper body movement in the pitching and/or throwing motion. As seen in the video below, by bracing one edge of the stick on a wall, the athlete allows the lower body to fire, triggering entirely before the upper half. This sequencing drill benefits the timing of lower body movements in relation to the upper half.
From a hitting perspective, I use the stick to teach proper kinematic sequencing and swing plane training. Much like the load drill shown and discussed in my post about tow straps, the “stick drill” serves as an initial introduction to the proper movement associated with the stretch of the swing. With aspects of proper movements, as well as direction, the “stick drill” (shown below) is a staple in our daily preparatory work before even picking up a bat.
Following the same theme of preparatory work, “stick swings” also serve well as a sequencing drill, in addition to honing in on swing plane and attack angle. When the player takes his arms out of the swing, making adjustments to body rotation as well as plane becomes significantly easier. In the video, the player must make adjustments to ball position through side bend and rotation, as opposed to reaching or manipulating the bat. I apologize for using a buzz word, but this gives us more “connected,” or better sequenced swings.
Typically, I would discuss where you can purchase the item discussed in this paragraph; however, something tells me you already have a broom or rake laying around that will suffice. If you do wish to take the plunge and splurge on some dowel rods, a six foot dowel rod will be right around $5.00 at your local hardware store.
With many uses – and I am sure I left some out – a broomstick, rake, or dowel rod can go a long way as a player development tool. Whether on the mound, in the weight room, or at the plate, a stick serves as a movement assistance tool with applications in patterning, timing, and direction. There is no reason not to apply the stick to daily player development protocols, and with one likely already in your equipment shed, this will definitely have you “balling on a budget.”
Adam Moreau, MBA, CSCS
Director of Player Development and Recruiting Coordinator
Eckerd College
419-250-7243
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