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Make it easy NUMBER ONE. Too many coaches complicate things. Athletic base, shoulder width or a little wider. Back elbow down and relaxed, bat in the crease of the fingers, knocking knuckles with a little turn if a stronger grip is needed. As the pitcher breaks you load your hands and weight and get the stride foot down, about 60-40, 70-30. Hands must be back, bat 45 degree angle roughly but NOT wrapped around the head. Foot lands parallel, not open toward pitcher. Hands are back, FOOT is DOWN, now see the ball, Shoot the hip to start, knob to the ball, hands palm up palm down on contact, NOT ROLLING, and hit the ball. Load, Land, Shoot, Crush It. Don't make it too difficult.
How much more difficult should it be for a professional hitter ? The clinics, tapes, websites etc. all pretty much preach the same thing. I'm sure its much more difficult in the Bigs/Minors but most of that is based on speed and pitch recognition, which there are many
types of pitches breaking. I do notice many pros a lot wider. Your input is appreciated.
quote:
Originally posted by COACHBLU25:
On all these you see the hands are back and the stride is down BEFORE they start the swing.


Agree with this 100%...

I question weight dist and parallel front foot. Why do you teach contrary to what you see? (see SB clips) What I've been watching include Epstein/Mankin/***** etc. I don't agree with everything all the time but they sure aren't teaching "throw the knob" at the ball. Also, I'm not saying you are wrong....there is more than one way to hit... just ask Ichiro.
Last edited by troy99
Hey COACHBLU25,

The main difference I can readily think of is the ability of the player to internalize the proper mechanics vs externalize. Any player can "see" why mechanics are good as in externalize. Can that player also take these visual cues and make it an internal part of how baseball related movements are performed? That is the difficult question. Here are some more questions to ponder> Can the player make the necessary mechanical adjustments in order to make it at the next level? Is the player coachable or stubborn? Is the player educable? Will player actually listen or is player acting in order to gain favor with instructor? That last question may sound extreme but will show quickly on field. Would rather see a player fail doing the right mechanics than succeed doing the wrong mechanics. Might sound confusing but would rather see player crawling before walking and eventually running. Sometimes takes time to undo something that took years to learn as in the example of a swing or pitching windup/delivery. Just food for thought for the serious coaches and players as well as fathers.

Let me try and explain from this angle> Muscle memory of doing the baseball related movements correctly is what I mean by internalize but also means to internalize the right way. This idea can be difficult for a player that has learned to react and use incorrect mechanics in baseball related movements because he has internalized also but incorrectly. Thats what I meant earlier in AM post when I said sometimes training devices are needed to correct bad muscle memories. I like to call these devices, "OLD DOGS NEW TRICKS DEVICES" LOL All joking aside, it is sometimes difficult to undo bad mechanics, especially as in pitching and hitting mechanics because it is so easy for the player to revert back to old habits in incorrect practices when the heat is on and the game becomes intense as in the case of hitting or pitching in live game situation.

The sooner the prospect catches the mechanical flaws, the easier it is to correct and re-train thought processes involved in muscle memory. The player will then be ready and have internalized the correct movements.

Perfect practice makes perfect, not practice makes perfect. A player can practice the wrong mechanics and actually make it more difficult to correct. Unfortunately, many players think because they are successful at lower levels they will be successful at higher levels without using proper mechanics and get rude awakening. Try to prevent that from happening with all I come into contact with by sharing the secrets of the successful former player, me Wink
Sincerely,

Shep hi
Last edited by Shepster
NY DAD, the school I mentioned in PM below>
That URL for the school I mentioned in N. GA is as follows: http://athletics.covenant.edu/?module=displaystory&story_id=176&format=html

As I mentioned, the Coach is former MLB LHP and Covenant College is lucky to have him and Shep learned a tremendous amount of pitching knowledge from him when I helped him out as associate. Highly recommend players to go there.

Sincerely,
Shep
Last edited by Shepster
Shepster,
Explain your info to a ballplayer and his head is spinning. I keep it simple. The front foot lands parallel and will open after contact somewhat.
Many hitters open too early which takes away some of there power and may shift the weight to the front too much. I personally do not like the Epstein method but follow Hudgens, Mallee,
Narron's style of hitting. As you said there are several styles. I did but a ROTATIONAL DVD and it taught premature wrist rolling. It was on its way back in an hour. We have to teach what works and what we believe in. I see results and thats what I get paid to do.
If you notice on the swingbuster demo,
the players foot lands, hands are back, then the swing starts. He does open slightly on the swing and I'm comfortable with that. The one thing to get in any hitters head is to get that stride foot down BEFORE the swing starts. Not enough coaches teach or preach this enough. Weak ground balls, check the foot first.
If you study many clips you will notice spatial relationships at points in time. These images help many people while others will argue their usefulness.

I watched a great Johnny Miller seg the other night. For Miller , he knew his position at impact and no matter how he took the club away( in his mind) he felt like he could arrive back to that point of impact. That would not work for me personally but it defined Miller. Obviously he was doing many other things correctly and his stellar career was short. Got the yips putting they say

One place in time I see in baseball is the rear elbow being at the top of the load cycle when the front side touches down. This indicates that the shoulders have turned back in a connected position just as the true swing or hip rotation begins. It is a simple concept but rarely seen in youth ball.

You must start somewhere in the teaching process and this is useful in our hands. There are other key points in the swing that can require focus too.

THese key points will be provided almost immediately Smile
Last edited by swingbuster
COACHBLU25,

On the original board (now closed) you wrote:

______________
The upper body and the hands are not acting as one unit. What we call “Hands and body are better together.” This young man extends his hands toward the ump and then begins the swing. In turn, this lengthens or straightens the right arm. In my opinion, this could make his swing “longer.” I believe that this alters his swing plane. What would I then recommend to change it? I’d suggest that this young man change his spine angle and do what we call “getting the eyes over the plate.” I’d also recommend that this young man trigger by keeping his hands and upper body as one unit and slightly rotating his shoulders inward loading. In doing all of this then, the tell tale sign of the adjustment is that this young man’s swing plane should improve and his balance would be significantly better at finish. Note, in the video, he really rolls over that front foot and is not balanced.
__________

I realize your post was directed at Linear but wanted to make a few comments regarding your assessment of son's swing.

Do forgive me if i butcher the terminology here:

Was my understanding that reaching back (not shoulder turn) as you stride/step is referred to as scapula loading which creates torque in generating batspeed. This is something i notice most all MLB hitters do. Re lenghtening of lead arm and long swing comment. Take a look at the following Griffey and Bonds clips and note lead arm / hand position at toe touch which appears very similar to son's at toe touch.

Griffey: http://www.youthbaseballcoaching.com/images/Baseball_Clips_1-t0015.jpg

Bonds:
http://www.hitting-mechanics.org/HMOFTP/bonds10alr.gif

Again it is my understanding that most major league hitters will launch hands from just off rear shoulder. Re front foot rolling, don't really know the cause/effect and consequence of this yet (still learning) but do take note how Bonds' front foot rolls pretty good in the clip.

I am just a dad trying to study MLB hitters as well as seek the opinions of the hitting gurus on these boards to best help develop my sons swing. However, it gets pretty confusing when coaches talk about having a long swing and/or bat wrap (barrell position).
I only say this because we have heard these comments from a few college coaches and just don't understand where this comes from when in fact most MLB hitters have what these coaches consider to be flaws. Are they saying that MLB hitters have it all wrong or that only MLB hitters can succeed with such flaws. I just don't get it.

Let me take this opportunity to thank all that contributed their comments/opinions as we head back to the cage to work on swing plane/finish. Will post another clip after we get some more work in. Thank you.
quote:
Shepster,
Explain your info to a ballplayer and his head is spinning.

CoachBLU25,

Definitely know what you mean about the "majority" of HS players and limited cognitive ability or probably better described as lack of focus, too spread out in teenage interests. I too Coached HS Varsity team in 1991 and found it very difficult to teach at that level because my standards were so high. Did manage to get team to State HS playoffs for the first time in five years but did not return the next year, signed Elementary 5th grade teaching contract and scouted to stay connected which has worked out even though I believe I have reached pinnacle and ready for something much more complicated Smile

Do what you can CoachBLU and I will try to help where I can without complicating too much because Shep does understand, believe me applaudeLike my good friend in the burbs of Chicago, beenthere done that w/ McDonald's Happy Meal and all the trimmings. chef

Sincerely,
Shep
Last edited by Shepster
Everyone needs to remember that "dumbing someone up" with technical garble is great when you have a difficult/arrogant parent that does not think you know anything. Unfortunately, a lot of us get caught up in that same strategy with all players/parents and the problem with that is the majority of hitters need it to be kept simple. I respect everyone's opinions on this board. I do agree with Coach Blu that sometimes we hitting coaches can make it too technical. Shepster, I think you have a great knowledge base and are very valuable on this forum, so I wish you wouldn't get so defensive when someone asks it to be simplified. The key to teaching (and you should know being an elem. teacher) is that you have to change your teachings with every kid. Be specific with some kids and explain how it all happens and be as generic as possible with others and keep it simple.
One of the greatest coaches I have ever had the privelige to work with is Denny Dixon here in North Texas. The guy is a master of keeping it simple and "tricking" a kid into doing what he wants done. It is amazing to watch. Unfortunately without being in person, we have trouble keeping it simple on the web.
I cannot agree enough with the KISS principle.

Although I can certainly respect in-depth analysis and breakdowns of a swing to the minute detail, the large majority of young hitters will not understand this. It will only create more confusion and a decrease in performance, in my experience.

I feel in certain cases teaching hitting has become too systematic.

Let me follow that by saying I enjoy the in-depth breakdowns and small details that are discussed. I think they show a passion that many of us on the board share.
quote:
One of the greatest coaches I have ever had the privelige to work with is Denny Dixon here in North Texas.


CoachA,

Another great hitting instructor that Info mentioned in the past couple of days name is Dixon also, believe Jim Dixon was his name.

Know he had a son and wondered if this may be Denny that you speak of who does good job of adjusting teaching strategies to level of student. That is very key in the developmental teaching process when working at the level of the player in beginning stages especially with a raw athlete. Totally agree and vital in keys of success for eventual emergence of the "Exceptional Player". peace
Help!
I still cannot quite figure out whether my son uses a linear or rotational approach when hitting. He approaches the plate with a stance a bit wider then his shoulders. 60/40 weight shift. Loads with hands going back during pitchers wind-up. No real stride, trys to keep front foot closed. Throws nob of bat through zone, then uses top, palm up, hand to put barrel of bat on ball as his back hip powers forward. Front hip will open as momentum of bat through the zone dictates. Which is it?
I guess that from what you describe here he is more rotational. His center (core) stays balanced as he turns on the ball and rotates. Stiff front leg, slightly collapsed rear leg. The hands inside out and the knob to the ball part is what caused me to wonder if he was using a linear approach. If I can ever figure out how to post a video clip I will send it somewhere on this site for you to view. I just have him in batting practice but his swing is pretty much the same in a game, unless he has a hit and run on or protecting a runner.
He stays back on the ball also, letting it get fairly deep in the zone before he turns on it. He hits alot to the opposite field, with some power for a 160 pound 08. We are trying to get him to make contact on the inside pitch a bit quicker to be more versitile, able to pull the ball. I know that if he could turn quicker, hitting the ball out in front a bit more he would have a couple HR's by now. As it is his average is 465 after 15 games.
quote:
plane of baseball>>> baseball4direction>>>of>>>pitched>>>ball>>><<<hitter squares-up baseball7


How bout if I change plane to directional path of baseball? Squaring up to directional path, now that sounds better because that's more what I actually mean. Big Grin

Nice to have a good hitting discussion for a change Smile

Ryan Patterson ended up going 6-6 last night with 9 RBIs in his three HR night for Dunedin Blue Jays and broke total base record for FL STATE LEAGUE single game as well.

Pat Borders just got promoted to AAA Las Vegas Smile

Decided to take a night off from reporting to do some schoolwork and post a little here at HSBBW Smile

Peace,
Shep
Last edited by Shepster
Shep, the path of the ball holds the batter's attention only because it determines where the ball will be when the bat connects with it....

The predetermined spot where the ball will be when it is time to hit it is the deciding factor as to the swing plane of the bat.....The path the ball takes to get to that point does not affect swing plane.....

If the pitch is a 12 to 6 curve at the knees or a fastball at the knees makes no difference as to determining the swing plane....The swing plane on either pitch is such that the bat connects with the ball at the knees either way.....And, on a trajectory to hit a line drive, preferrably out of the park.....The preferred swing plane is the same on either pitch.....
Understand what your saying and agree since Info is in time-out he can't post/say Shep agrees with everything Big Grin

The angular path of the bat does change depending on location. This is not to say a great hitter has several different swings, same swing just different angles with bat connected to arms and hands with good lowerbody mechanics and technique, of course Smile

Don't you just wish all your students were as teachable and educable as ole boy Shep???peace
Last edited by Shepster
quote:
Originally posted by BlueDog:
Shep, the path of the ball holds the batter's attention only because it determines where the ball will be when the bat connects with it....

The predetermined spot where the ball will be when it is time to hit it is the deciding factor as to the swing plane of the bat.....The path the ball takes to get to that point does not affect swing plane.....

If the pitch is a 12 to 6 curve at the knees or a fastball at the knees makes no difference as to determining the swing plane....The swing plane on either pitch is such that the bat connects with the ball at the knees either way.....And, on a trajectory to hit a line drive, preferrably out of the park.....The preferred swing plane is the same on either pitch.....


I have to go home -- we just lost a 1-0 game where my kid threw a 1 hitter. I'm tired. However, wanted to ask a question here.

Bluedog, would you agree that this is what my staff/I refer to as "being on time." When that ball breaks or when that fastball arrives, the swing is the same. However, the timing is the key. ????
CoachB25, certainly....The swing is the same and timing is the key to hitting either pitch.....

That's why pitch recognition is so important.....On an offspeed pitch, the front foot stays in the air a little longer before rotation begins........

You can't and shouldn't try to teach timing, IMO.....However, teaching recognition of pitch location and speed is very important.....

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