First High School Hit!

Nice swing...and, yes, it is a big deal.

Thanks redbird5. I appreciate it!

Jason

I think I remember saying you would get busy soon playing three sports , being in the mix for QB ,and something about your daughter and Homecoming too.

Watch out for the guys throwing 85....it will get you stratching your head

His swing looks good

Donny

tom guerry,

I have removed your post from this thread. If you were actually interested in helping my son it would be different, but you've proven over the past couple of years that you aren't.

Thanks for understanding!

Jason

Nice swing there Lil'Flipp. Congrats all the way around!! It is a big deal and thanks for sharing.

Tim

Flipp-

Sounds like fear to me.

I have your son's best interest at heart. He needs counter-detailing to keep him away from from bad info. You don't appear to know how to tell the difference.

Best of luck.

His hip rotation is late. Release of the barrel is sluggish. Little to no separation is created.

He IS turning the barrel in his hands, however. Glad to see it.

The lead elbow juts to keep the hands in the zone as he resists shoulder rotation.

He will struggle with timing.....big time.

You can not generate enough momentum to generate the necessary swing quickness with the hips still closed at 'go'. They have too far to go, with too heavy a load to pull and they move too slowly. If the hips are still closed the only momentum you can create is linear...and it can't be stored. You are subject to the stopping/starting/slowing of that linear momentum as you deal with the pitchers arsenal and it simply can't work. If the hips have to turn 90 degrees at 'go', you're in trouble. They can't move that quick. They're powerful....just not quick enough.

Proper use of the hips is not defined by "how much distance they have to turn at "go", over which they can create force", but instead, is defined by "the amount of stretch they create against the upper body which can be stored and released at the right moment", the "stretch and fire" release mechanics.

This 'stretch and fire' to release the barrel, is the only way a hitter can create adequate quickness to deal with high level pitching.

The hips must have a running start as the upper body loads against them.

This hitter's hips are closed at "go".

Take a look at this guy's hips. I missed the "yes" by one frame. Should be one frame earlier. However, look at his hips at "go" compared to your son. Bond's hip line points to between the 1st base coach and 1st base dugout at "go".

The kid's hips are still in line pitcher to catcher.

FlippJ,..we'll take that kid on our team anytime anyday!!
A freshman who makes contact like that? Hellooo,...
come to Kansas babah!

Sooo glad you got that on tape!! You will treasure it in years to come!!
Nice hit lil' Flipp!!!

Thanks for the kind words shortstopmom!

quote:

Originally posted by Chameleon:
His hip rotation is late.

I agree. This is actually an issue with his pitching delivery as well.

Jason

FWIW

When the lead leg goes out and the heel gets to a distance in front of the batter and then plants closer to the batter that is a sign.

The most miserly weight shifter of all time Bonds never did that on any clips

http://www.hittingillustrated.com/forum/showthread.php?t=42

You can close the front foot but it must accept weight to block a shift IF a shift is occuring. If the weight stays back the heel WILL draw back. If the heel draws back you are back foot hitting. If there is no draw back you ARE shifting...it is that simple to define but harder to fix.

If you are back foot hitting you hips are not in synch and ahead of the unhinge and widening the torque angle near their potential.

You do not get the last but important bit of x angle stretch that attains the highest possible bat speeds.

The bump forward to the front foot in time with the loading upper body establishing the new balance center and rotation around the front hip is pretty important.

My son battled that for a long time. Two planing fixed that some for him as he yielded more shift but his playing time ran out before he could ingrain it all.


As a general rule there is LESS shift in a one plane swing but there is a certain amount REQUIRED to couonter balance the launch and put enough weight on the front leg to power the hip turn to completion.

He does get the hips done before contact which is a testimony to his hard work. He is not off by much.

quote:

Originally posted by swingbuster:
He does get the hips done before contact which is a testimony to his hard work. He is not off by much.

Picking his leg up and moving forward has been an issue for Brandon for a few years. I actually tried to get him to lift the knee like he is in the clip posted several times over the winter but he couldn't without falling over. It was actually kind of comical to see.

I know it's hard to tell in the clip posted but my son is NOT very coordinated right now, especially with his lower body. The issues are probably a combination of a lack of strength/flexibility and a lack of overall maturity. He turned 15 in January and he's kind of at an awkward stage.

With that said, I'm pleased with where he's at right now given the the goals we've established and the direction we've taken to acheive those goals. We're being patient and taking it one step at a time. Even with his inefficiencies he's still a decent player, and that tells me he has a chance to be pretty good in a couple of years.

Jason

P.S. He only plays two sports (football & baseball).

What triggers proper well timed weight shift has been in my sites for a while

Do you tell them to shift more?...doesn't work for me

Do you work on the low ball on the diagonal plane? does work

Do you shift for a purpose? get the hinge angle past the hip pocket before release as a temporary goal to see if that cue works for back side release

So you show them clips of the back foot and show them what it looks like when it goes laces to pitcher?

Do you move a tee out front and ask the kid to move the rotation forward such that the back foot drags?

Do you tip the barrel foward and coil the hips and hit a forward tee on the inside seam to coordinate the whole shimolly?

I learned weight shift in golf at age 51. I learned it after a tip that showed that I should maintain the hinge angle to past my lead pocket before letting it go. It made sense for me and I moved the axis far enough to actually do that for the first time in my life. My back foot released and my lead shoulder has leverage and I play well most of the time with half the effort. Swinging with the weight moving the wrong way makes power something that is very hard to come by

I hope that in time some of these things or something that you find will help solve this subtle issue. If you learn the best way it PLEASE LET US KNOW. It is robbing power in most of the swings I see and much more than most people know

Somehow..when the hips are coiling the head needs to be moving forward. That involves

1. back foot push OR

2 tall and fall

There is no other way to move the COM

One of the best swings I've seen posted in a good while. Keep up the good work.

deaconspoint,

I appreciate the kind words. Thanks!

Jason

Flipp congrats to your son! I know you are proud. I still remember my sons first HS hit. Its a special moment. Sometime this year or early next year he will be going for his 100th HS hit. It passes by way too fast. Enjoy every moment working with your kid it is a special time.

I don't know about all of this analysis, hips or otherwise, but I'll say the following:

1. Looks like he hits the inside of the ball. Probably the most important thing in hitting.

2. Looks like his head stays down on impact and hands stay flat without rolling until well after contact, probably the 2nd most important thing in hitting

3. Looks like this isn't his best swing from a timing standpoint as contact is made off the sweetspot, but if he gets a hit here, he will only hit it harder when he gets his timing right.

quote:

This is actually an issue with his pitching delivery as well.

Does he know how to fix it?

My son was once trying his one plane swing with NO weight shift.. That will not work in any model


The weight shift IS incorportated into the last bit of stretch. That last bit of widening of the x angle is not possible without the well timed shift IMO in conjunction with moving the COM to a point where there is greater lead side leverage ( PEAVY). That leverage is lead arm leverage but also lead leg PUSH leverage away from the pitcher

SO ...Shift is more about more stretch and more leverage and less to do about forward momentum per see.

Tom sayd keeping the rear elbow back longer can work.

I go upstream of that now and tip the ( hands) barrel longer which gets the rear elbow up later. In this case later equals longer in function

Also...the strongest muscle group in the body is the quads. When the lead leg quad is not weighed such that it can drive the hips around to completion continually torqing the torso, then you are severely weakening the swing.

Yeagers PUSH/ BLOCK/ PUSH ...the last push is the lead leg away from teh pitcher. You must get that power of THAT push to the barrel unhinge. Look at every great power hitter and that is a common factor.