Do THIS Now or Have a BAD SWING Forever! (2 Simple Hitting Drills to Start CRUSHING Baseballs!)
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2 Hitting Drills to Fix a Disconnected Swing (Pro Tips)

Do THIS now OR have a BAD SWING Forever! (2 simple hitting drills to start CRUSHING Baseballs!)

If you’ve ever watched a young hitter struggle, you’ve probably seen it: the arms fly out, the barrel gets long, and the ball ends up as a weak grounder or a lazy pop-up. Coaches yell “stay inside the ball!” but the hitter just can’t seem to figure it out.

That’s the curse of a disconnected swing – and if you don’t fix it early, it will haunt you forever.

I’m here with my good friend Matt Antonelli – former first-round draft pick, Major League player, and college coach. We were teammates together in pro ball, and he’s one of the sharpest hitting minds I know.

In this post, Matt breaks down two simple drills that will fix a disconnected swing for good. These aren’t just band-aids – they’re teaching tools that help hitters feel what a connected swing is supposed to be.

Watch the full video above, then use this post as your reference guide.

What Is a Connected Swing?

Before we fix the problem, let’s define what we’re aiming for.

A connected swing feels like your barrel stays tight to your body – everything working together as one unit.

The Ideal Feeling:

  • Lower body starts the turn
  • Upper body follows
  • Barrel works from the inside out
  • Everything is in sync

When you’re connected, your barrel stays right off your shoulder. You can release it to wherever the ball is – inside, middle, or outside – but you’re always attacking from the inside.

Key Cue: “I want to feel like my barrel can stay tight to my body and I can release the bat out to wherever the ball is.”

What Is a Disconnected Swing?

A disconnected swing is the exact opposite.

Common Symptoms:

  • Arms get away from the body (barrel works “out” instead of “from the inside”)
  • Rear arm drops early, causing the barrel to work way uphill
  • Upper body beats the lower body
  • Hitter “throws their arms” at the ball
  • Bat path gets long and loopy

What It Looks Like:

  • The hitter comes up and out of the swing
  • The barrel gets wide and around the ball
  • There’s distance between the barrel and the body

The Root Cause:

In most cases, the problem starts with the rear arm. Young hitters especially tend to let this arm drop behind them, which causes the barrel to drop and the swing to get long.

Why Is a Disconnected Swing Bad?

Problem

Consequence

You get long

Bat takes forever to get to the zone = can’t catch up to velocity

You get slow

Even with good bat speed, bat quickness is poor

Barrel works from outside-in

You “roll over” or hit weak grounders

Can’t attack the ball properly

Barrel isn’t slightly up and behind the ball

The Time Constraint:

You have less than 0.4 seconds to get the bat to the ball. A long, disconnected swing simply can’t get there in time against even 80 mph pitching.

You might get away with a disconnected swing as a 10-year-old. But there will come a point where you can’t play anymore. Fix it now.

The “Flagpole” Analogy

Here’s a great way to think about it from Matt (and I use this from the pitching side too):

Imagine you’re running with a flagpole. If you’re running forward, the flag is blowing behind you. If you whip the pole out to the side, the flag naturally wants to go that way.

Same thing with your swing. If your energy is pulling out away from your body, your hands will naturally work away from you – even if you’re trying to pull them in.

The takeaway: You might not even realize you’re doing it. That’s why drills are so important – they make you feel what’s right.

Hitting Drill #1: Connection Ball Swings

This is the first and most effective drill for fixing a disconnected swing.

What You Need:

Pro Tip: The connection ball is inflatable, so you can adjust the size. For younger players, just deflate it a bit so it fits snugly in their arm.

The Setup:

  1. Place the ball between your forearm and bicep (basically in the crook of your elbow)
  2. Hold it in place with your top hand
  3. Get into your hitting stance

The Execution:

  1. Start your swing slowly
  2. If you just use your arms – pop! – the ball falls out immediately
  3. To keep the ball in place, you must stay connected
  4. Your legs start the turn, your upper body follows, and the barrel stays tight
  5. The ball should stay in place until after contact

Key Cues:

  • “Everything works together”
  • “Barrel stays tight to my body”
  • “I’m from the inside”

What to Look For:

  • Good: Ball stays in through contact, then falls out naturally after
  • Bad: Ball falls out early – you know you disconnected

Why It Works:

This drill forces you to keep your rear arm in a strong, connected position. You physically can’t get disconnected without dropping the ball. It’s instant feedback.

Hitting Drill #2: Bat on the Neck Drill

Don’t have a connection ball? No problem. This drill works just as well and uses only your bat.

The Setup:

  • Place the bat across your neck where it meets your shoulder
  • Pin it in place with your chin/check

The Execution:

  1. Get into your hitting stance with the bat pinned on your neck
  2. Start your turn
  3. Keep the bat on your neck through your rotation
  4. The bat should stay in place until after you make contact

Key Cues:

  1. “Keep the bat on my neck through the turn”
  2. “Don’t let it come off early”
  • “Keep the bat on my neck through the turn”
  • “Don’t let it come off early”

What to Look For:

  • Good: Bat stays on the neck through contact
  • Bad: Bat comes off early – you’ve disconnected

Why It Works:

As a coach, you can stand right next to the hitter and watch the bat. If it comes off early, you know something is disconnected – whether it’s the arms pulling away or the body pulling off the ball.

Same as the connection ball, this drill forces the hitter to stay tight and work from the inside.

The Danger of “Stay Inside the Ball”

Here’s something Matt shared that really stuck with me:

When he was a 25-year-old professional player, he started getting disconnected. He’d roll over ground balls and the coach would say:

“Stay inside the ball.”

So Matt would try. And he’d roll over again. And the coach would say it again. And Matt would think, “I am trying!”

The problem? His swing was built to do the opposite. Telling him to “stay inside” didn’t teach him how. He needed a drill that would rewire his movement pattern.

That’s why these drills are so important. If you have a player who is disconnected, saying “stay inside the ball” 100 times won’t fix it. You need to give them a drill that teaches their body what it feels like to be connected.

Quick Summary – The 2 Drills

Drill

What It Does

Best For

Connection Ball Swings

Forces connected swing by punishing disconnection (ball drops)

All hitters, especially those who get long

Bat on the Neck Drill

Same concept, no equipment needed

Coaches who need a quick fix with no gear

A Word of Caution

Not every drill is for every player.

These two drills are specifically designed to fix a disconnected swing. If your hitter already has a connected swing, why waste time on these?

The right approach:

  1. Evaluate the player – identify their specific flaw
  2. Choose the right drill for that player
  3. Apply it with purpose

If a player is disconnected, use these drills. If they’re falling forward or have another issue, use a different drill.

Build your database of drills so you can match the right fix to the right flaw.

Thanks for reading! If these drills helped you or a hitter you know, drop a comment below or share this with a coach who needs to fix a disconnected swing.

See you in the next one.

– Coach Madden

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