Is it balance stupid?

IMO you are on the right track. Balance before, during and after the swing is a real good start. Lots of young boys and girls do not use their hips and lower body efficiently and they also have a tendancy to reach.

PG,
You know way more than I'll ever know.

But I've found a good way to use your hip's properly that was taught to my Son at an early age.

Was to put the Bat behind your Back, with your elbows wrapped around the bat, with the barrel sticking out on your swing side. Example: right handed batter barrel sticking out right side. Left handed batter, Barrel out left side.

Now soft toss pitches so that the batter has to use hip's to swing the bat. when the batter start's hitting the ball with power to the net.
Is when they have the proper hip action.
They will feel the power they could get out of there swing with proper balance and the proper rotation of there hip's.

I think you are right on with working on "balance" as these are the years it is developed.

Despite much marketing hype, balance cannot be improved much after the age of 15 or so. Working on it now will go a long, long way.

PG and EH are right on when talking about hip involvement and recruitment of the lower body. These neurological pathways are much, much easier to be turned on and developed at a younger age than later on down the road.

Interesting you mention they play other sports and that has made your teaching a bit easier.

Everyone out there with a young athlete...I beg you to allow them to play as many sports as possible. This will allow the greatest athletic development possible, muscle imbalances will not occur and there is a less chance of burnout.

There will plenty of time for specialization in a few years.

I've seen the drill theEH is describing, and agree that it's useful for demonstrating the hip turn (combined with proper footwork etc.).

As for balance, I took my son to a weekend camp at Georgia Tech last year. They were BIG on balance. One of the drills we learned about was using a balance board (a 2x6 elevated slightly by nailing several 2x4's under it) in conjunction with Tee work and soft toss. I started using it with our youth team and feel that given enough time and reps that it pays off.

Not to say this is the way to do it.

But with my son as a toddler, I noticed he was a little stiff in his action's. Still Strong, just kind of stiff.

So I enrolled him into a Gymnastic's Class at 3 yr's old.
He did that until he was 5 or 6yr's old.
And then into Kenpo Karate, For Balance.
Plus other Sport's just to keep him busy doing something active.
But those 2 thing's helped him to become more balanced in his approuch at the plate and in the Field.

EH,

I’ve mentioned this before, but I’m a big believer in the beneficial affect martial arts can have on a baseball player. There are areas to stay away from, but other areas really help balance, flexability, concentration, explosiveness, coordination, usage of the mid section, and even with injury prevention. Karate type training/exercises along with a good strength and conditioning program can do some amazing things. We’ve seen it, first hand!

Great call on gymnastics. Every athlete should have basic movements in their training program. I use tumbling drills with all of my athletes.

Something that hasn't been mentioned yet, that I really think can be detremental to a lot of baseball skills, it the ability to relax. I see so many kids that have the hardest time learning to relax their muscles, especially the shoulders, arms, etc. I work with a lot of young people as far as teaching pitching mechanics and this is the biggest problem I see in most kids. They really don't understand what it means to relax. They also don't understand how much relaxing can help them. Flexibility is another huge issue, but I'll leave that to another post. Good luck with the team Larry. Sounds like you have done a great job with your daughter and the team is lucky to have you spending time with them.

Old Pitcher: absulotely Relax is the biggest problem, not just with pitching but with hitting also.
I watch the hitter's all tight and wanting to kill the ball.
You have to be loose and ready at the same time.
That should come with lot's of TEE Work.

Do you understand balance in the swing?......The reason I ask, is because very few do........

quote:

Do you understand balance in the swing?......The reason I ask, is because very few do........

BlueDog,

You are right on when saying balance is huge. Both in hitting and pitching. Lot's of kids only think that balance is important at the leg up position while pitching, but it's just as important at the end of the delivery as well. You must have balance at the rubber and at the follow-through. You must have complete control of your body and balance is the most important part of that element. Another thing that hinders balance that I see a lot is at the balance position, pitchers want to put their weight on the side of their foot instead of on the entire foot. They don't realize how much this affects their balance. Heck, most of them don't even realize they are doing it! Balance, Balance, Balance. I tell my kids that have a hard time with balance to practice balancing on one leg while they're brushing their teeth. They get a kick out of that! It does help them though.

EH, IMHO that drill is better run off a tee, rather than soft toss. Just make sure the tee is high enough for the stance to be normal.

John, great call about playing other sports. Athleticism contributes to body awareness which is what helps players to make adjustments. I have always found it interesting that I can take a kid and ask them to make a change (maybe throw a pitch side-arm or step a certain way to field a ball), often just to see if they can. Usually the kid that can make these adjustments goes on to be a good ball player because they have good body awareness and are capable of making those changes. Many kids practice their swings or throwing year round and cannot adjust because they are not always well rounded athletes. Some kids have great swings, but swing on the same plan every time regardless of the pitch location. Old Pitcher also brought up a great point about relaxation.

Texan Thank's
Never tried it that way.
I could see how it would work better, faster.
In That the Batter can feel the Power the Hip's Generate.

The Soft Toss is still good for hand, eye, to bat Coordination.
But take's awile to get the Batter's to hit the ball hard turning there Hip's. the EH

I'm not sure any of you understand balance in the swing.......

Bluedog,
I know Balance when I see it.
But could not Explain it Very well if I tried!! LOL

quote:

I'm not sure any of you understand balance in the swing

Well why don't you enlighten us?

StyleMismatch, just what do you think a hitter should balance to?.....For example, does a hitter balance to the ground?.......To what degree do the legs play in the scheme of balance in the swing, IYO?.....

Style
\
The Dog will never enlighten anyone---all he does is answer questions with questions and with a condescending attitude to top it off

Read his posts--in lieu of offering advice he reads off questions for you to answer---Personally I have found that guys who do this cannot offer anything positive to anyone


Incidently I agree that balance in the stance is key especially early on during the development stage---the batter needs to be comfortable and I like EH know when I see it--and each kid is different when it comes to this

TRhit; can I send you an email? Let me know.

slobintoronto

send it to TRHit@msn.com

If TRhit agrees with you, I strongly suggest you rethink your position......You don't want him agreeing with you.......

Bluedog,

Answer the question.

The question is about balance - it is not about what others know or do not know.

Please dont make me take the gong out.

What was the question?.....

quote:

Originally posted by larrythompson:
My daughter plays on a 9-10 softball team. She probably has the nicest swing on the team. We have been working on it for several years. The coaches asked if I would work with the hitters, I guess based on seeing how my daughter swings the lumber.

Besides focusing on grip, placement of the hands, and alignment with the plate, the thing I have focused most on has been balance. Some girls are too upright, others are real spread apart. Most of these girls play s****r or basketball as well, so talking to them about balance has been easy.

Would the coaches out there agree that balance is the right thing to focus on at this age? Any other suggestions would be appreciated!

There you have it.

There was a guy, may still be around I don't know, who didn't have legs who could hit a golf ball a ton.....He would sit in a chair and swing away.....How could he do this?.......I would guess that this guy wasn't anyone around here's idea of being balanced.....Could I be right?......

Grip, placement of the hands and what most around here consider to be balance are not things I would work on with hitters.....

"Balance" in regards to hitting is basically body awareness and neuromuscular control throughout various degree of ROM.

Dog;

Nobody on here talked about grip with Balance
Quote:
Besides focusing on grip, placement of the hands, and alignment with the plate, the thing I have focused most on has been balance{Quote;larrythompson}

The whole thread has been about Balance, and how to achieve
a good swing with proper balance.

If you have a good way to achieve Good Balance and a proper Swing.
Please by all Mean's, Post It. the EH

DOG

What does golf have to do with baseball ?

Two different things--one hits a dimpled white ball on a tee and theother you are striving to hit a baseball coming at you with velocity

EH

Dont hold your breath waiting for the explanation--- the man simply cannot answer a question--he is a tap dancer--

Jon Doyle is saying something that is valuable information to you.......You people should pick up on what he is saying and try to learn from him........He is telling you that balance is how the body accomplishes range of motion......

Hitting is motion and balance is how the body controls the range of that motion.....

TRhit, hitting a baseball and hitting a golf ball may not have much in common.....However, in both you will be swinging some sort of club and hitting a ball in a predetermined (by the brain) spot.....It is motion which requires some control of the range of that motion.....The better controlled the range of motion is (balance), the more successful you will be at the event.......The better balanced the body is, the more power and consistency you will display in either event.

Again, I strongly suggest that you take advantage of Mr. Doyle's expertise in this area while you have a chance to.......This is an excellent opportunity for most all of you to learn some pertinent and valuable information pertaining to balance in the swing.....

BLUEDOG

You need to read more on the site and take off the blinders--Coach Doyle is a member of our staff and will be at our showcases--- please give me credit for seeing his talents and ability

I disagree totally regarding your comparison between baseball and golf and the swing--never the same when you are hitting a stationary ball vs a moving ball-- in baseball you have to be able adjust as the ball moves on each pitch-- in golf the dimpled sphere just sits there waiting to be hit.

TRhit, I'm not comparing hitting a golf ball to hitting a baseball.......

I am simply comparing the act of body movement in the two.....Both require range of motion and balance.....Kicking a football does, also.....

TRhit, I don't have as my intent to denigrade you in any way, as you do me......Understand this......I'm not a big believer in showcases as teaching venues.......I do believe showcases have their place.....To showcase players fine, but to teach, no.......

If a player wishes to learn body movement technique from Mr. Doyle, he should hire Mr. Doyle to teach him......As you like to say, one on one........Group settings are not the place to teach these things.....

Anybody care for a status report from the guy who started this thread?

Been focusing on proper base and body position. Last night we had our first game. Since the first year of kid pitch is a walk-a-thon, some of the girls never got a ball to hit. However, 8 of our 13 girls took very good swings at some time during one or both of their two ABs. Only 1 of 8 failed to make contact. 5 of 7 hit the ball squarely (my daughter one of them, yea!). Didn't see anyone spinning like a top or falling down after a swing. Was pleased, overall. We lost 12-10, but our team turned 3 double plays (pop up, catch runner off base).

Will keep working!!!

BLUEDOG

Again you go the other way---what do showcases have to do with balance in hitting a baseball---

Personally I am not a big believer in posters who answer questions with questions such as you are known to do---

Balance is key in hitting and balance for each individual is different

As for golf and football --yes balance is key just as it is in walking but we are talking baseball here . The art of hitting in baseball is unique unto itself thus I am opposed to using Golf as a comparison

While you broguht up showcases and teaching be advised that our staff teaches continually while on the field with the players--perhaps other events that you have seen do not do this but we do--

As Bon Jovi says--Have a Nice Day

quote:

If a player wishes to learn body movement technique from Mr. Doyle, he should hire Mr. Doyle to teach him......As you like to say, one on one........Group settings are not the place to teach these things.....

Dog,

Group settings are a great way to teach kids in a lot of aspects of training. They learn comraderie, and they can learn by listening to an instructor tell someone else something and apply it to their development. Another thing is, especially in things like core training, groups help push kids that aren't working their hardest. It's the whole TEAM concept really. Why do you think group instruction is not good? (Sorry TRHit, I finished here with a question, but I think it's a valid one!!)

OLD PITCHER

No problem--now let us see if the all Knowing DOG can give you an answer

??