You make many adjustments as you rise up through the ranks of baseball. Your pitcher changes from a tee to your coach to someone your age. The base path gets longer and the mound moves farther away. But your biggest transition--hitting with a wooden bat--likely won't occur until you have really made a name for yourself in the baseball community.
Step 1
Practice swinging a metal bat with weights. The feel of a wooden baseball bat will be much different if you do not prepare for the transition. Swing through with your hands firing downward.
Step 2
Increase the weight of your bicep and tricep workouts. You may quickly adjust to the feel of the bat, but you still need to adjust to the added weight. Resistance bands can also help you rotate your hips faster.
Step 3
Wring the wooden bat handle with your hands. Wooden bats do not have the padded luxury that metal bats provide. Feel the bat in your hands extensively before you take hitting practice. If your hands get calloused, that's a good sign; your hands are getting tougher and adjusting to the new grip.
Step 4
Ask a friend to pitch soft toss to you. You will find that the ball cracks off of the bat instead of trampolining. Load up on your back leg to gain the extra power lost during bat transitions.
Step 5
Take your wooden bat to the cages. You possess the strength to swing the bat and are used to the feel of hitting, but you must re-develop swing timing. Progress from the medium to the fast-pitch cages as you become more comfortable with the wooden bat.
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