I think its important to tell the whole story. Yes keep the front side closed (foot) but show the entire video. At the point of contact you want to keep the front foot closed. After contact as you follow through you are going to open up. If you are making a strong effort to keep it closed through the follow through you are going to lose a tremendous amount of power / you are going to be putting a tremendous amount of strain on the front knee.
quote:Originally posted by Coach May:
I think its important to tell the whole story. Yes keep the front side closed (foot) but show the entire video. At the point of contact you want to keep the front foot closed. After contact as you follow through you are going to open up. If you are making a strong effort to keep it closed through the follow through you are going to lose a tremendous amount of power / you are going to be putting a tremendous amount of strain on the front knee.
Coaches,
I don't have a problem with someone teaching to keep the front foot closed if they've had success with it in the past, but you don't believe you have to keep it closed to be successful, do you?
My son presently has his toes open at contact. He is driving the ball well, but this is in the cages. I want to change his toe a little bit closed , but im hesitant. I'll wait and see how well he does against live pitching. I would think the toes open would help bring more be more power to the swing, but difficulty covering the outside of the plate.
I think that front toe closed in important in that if a hitter's intent is to try to land open then they will be susceptable to "pulling off of the ball." I also think that thinking or practicing front toe closed creates a better link along the kenetic chain as that front knee lands soft, goes hard and then soft again. You do not have to have that fron toe open for the hips to activate. I believe it is also impossible in that during the follow through, that momentum built up is going to move that front foot to give the appearance that it is open OR you will notice the hitter, much like Pujos does, roll over on that front foot. JMHO!
quote:susceptable to "pulling off of the ball."
I think this is what the front foot closed is all about for those that teach it, but I don't see this problem with my students. If a hitter is taught to use his hips correctly, the position of the front foot is not that critical.
quote:Originally posted by powertoallfields:quote:susceptable to "pulling off of the ball."
I think this is what the front foot closed is all about for those that teach it, but I don't see this problem with my students. If a hitter is taught to use his hips correctly, the position of the front foot is not that critical.
If I look at this hitter:
At toe touch, what do you see? To me the appearance of front toe closed. Naturally, I can't argue that he rotates into heel plant. I'd suggest that while I can't read his mind or feel what he feels, his intent at lift was to land front toe closed. Of course I'm not mind reader and so take that for what it is worth.
quote:Originally posted by CoachB25:quote:Originally posted by powertoallfields:quote:susceptable to "pulling off of the ball."
I think this is what the front foot closed is all about for those that teach it, but I don't see this problem with my students. If a hitter is taught to use his hips correctly, the position of the front foot is not that critical.
If I look at this hitter:
At toe touch, what do you see? To me the appearance of front toe closed. Naturally, I can't argue that he rotates into heel plant. I'd suggest that while I can't read his mind or feel what he feels, his intent at lift was to land front toe closed. Of course I'm not mind reader and so take that for what it is worth.
Coach,
I actually like this hitter's approach. He loads/coils his hips and keeps them there until TOE touch, but he begins to open his hips into FOOT plant and ends up with a 45 degree front foot angle at foot plant. I believe Pujols keeps his front foot closed more on away pitches and opens it a little more on inside pitches. I just believe trying to keep it closed through contact is a recipe for knee problems later in life.
I think it only makes sense, to me, to do this since you are reading the pitch as you stride and have a pretty good idea of location at toe touch. Since you know your hips will need to open more on an inside pitch and less on an outside pitch, it only makes sense, IMO, to open or close your foot more accordingly. Then again, maybe it happens because of the hips opening to a different spot???
quote:Originally posted by TCB1:
A mid-size, highly reputable college with a baseball program that has a good coach who has been there for about 8 years. One of the reasons that I'm struggling with this, because they have a pretty solid reputation.
And I want to be sure that this just isn't my kids misinterpreting what they are being told at the camp before I tell them I disagree with what they're being taught.
Kind of a dilemma because one of the kids in particular has never been a strong hitter, and he now seems confident in his swing; I hate to say anything to him that will make him less confident, so I haven't messed with anything yet.
Why don't you call this coach up and ask him to clear it up? Just tell him your players are coming back saying something you are not sure of and want to clarify it. He's just like you and doesn't want these kids to leave there thinking something is right when it's wrong.
Since you are a local high school coach he would probably let you come watch practice. Then you can see exactly what is being taught to his players and take it back to yours.
quote:Originally posted by BlueDog:quote:I believe Pujols keeps his front foot closed more on away pitches and opens it a little more on inside pitches.
CoachB25 and Power, I filmed a hitter I'm working with yesterday.....I found this interesting, as I never really noticed before....
On pitches up in the zone, he was landing closed with his front foot....And, on pitches low in the zone, he was landing open with the front foot.....
We didn't discuss this, at all....He was just doing it.....Weight shift is something I monitor closely...And, his weight shift was equally as good....
It seems pitch location was dictating the angle of the front foot....
In one of those twilight zone moments, I noticed this tonight with my daughter and her friend. We have taken the balls we feed out of a machine and have mixed buckets so that no two balls are ever in the same location. I too have some of these adjustments on film and am hoping to look more closely in the coming days. Power, if you saw video of my girl, you'd see a very similar approach and swing. Similar but I'm not saying that she is MLB material. Far from it.
quote:Similar but I'm not saying that she is MLB material. Far from it.
Coach,
This reminds me of a Beverly Hillbillies episode with an ex Dodgers Manager. He was trying to recruit Jethro as a Pitcher and Jethro was telling him about Elly Mae having "great stuff" and Leo says, "yeah, but I doubt we could hide it in a Dodger uniform"! Anyway, I'd love to see her play sometime.
quote:Coach,
I actually like this hitter's approach. He loads/coils his hips and keeps them there until TOE touch, but he begins to open his hips into FOOT plant and ends up with a 45 degree front foot angle at foot plant. I believe Pujols keeps his front foot closed more on away pitches and opens it a little more on inside pitches. I just believe trying to keep it closed through contact is a recipe for knee problems later in life.
I agree with Power on this assessment. The only thing I watch for is that the hitter carries the hip coil to toe touch and then is starting to open his/her hips into a solid "block" at foot plant.
I don't really care about the final angle of the front foot.
I am a firm believer in the player being comfortable with himself in the batters box.
My sons frosh year in college they tinkered with his swing and he hit .268---he cam home and playing in the summer league he said "screw this" and went back to his comfy feeling in the box and tore up the league
He went back to college and convinced the coaching staff he had to be himself---the final three years he never hit under 300
My sons frosh year in college they tinkered with his swing and he hit .268---he cam home and playing in the summer league he said "screw this" and went back to his comfy feeling in the box and tore up the league
He went back to college and convinced the coaching staff he had to be himself---the final three years he never hit under 300
