COACHBLU25,
On the original board (now closed) you wrote:
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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.
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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.jpgBonds:
http://www.hitting-mechanics.org/HMOFTP/bonds10alr.gifAgain 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.