Lunge/Weight Shift Problem

quote:

I was just curious to see if anybody has any drills for trying to stay back. I used to really "squish the bug" then when I tried to utilize my hips more I started lunging at the pitch. I feel like on fastballs I can square them up, but it seems like I am always way out front on any type of off speed pitch. I'm developing a trigger mechanism of a little knee jab to try and stay back. Thoughts? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Backstop32,

We have some very good drills on our team website:
www.gators-baseball.com. Use the (Hitting Drills) navigation link at the top of the page. They are in adobe format, so you should be able to print them out. Print the Hitting_Drills_0001.pdf these drills will cover heel/toe start and movement,and Hitting_Drills_0003.pdf there are four very good drills to help hitters stay back in this pdf.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the link Old School, I'll check it out!

Backstop,
Take a look at this clip.
Watch how he moves out but does not get "out over" his front leg. He moves in such a way that he keeps his weight in between his feet.
When he shifts he moves to the INSIDE of his front leg. As you shift, take care to not TRY (force) getting up on your rear toe. Let the final commitment of the swing and your hips rotation do that for you.

Put your cursor on Morneau's head.
When he reaches full foot plant his head stops translating forward and rotation is completed.

As a bug squisher, you will rotate, but as you said "will have problems with off speed". Then when you try to "get off your backside" you end up in a lunged position because your head does not stop moving when your stride foot lands.

This is tough to feel but "going forward while staying back" is a cue. The "how" is even tougher.
Here's what I would ask you to do;
1. Depending on where you have your hands and arms to begin with--- either feel them holding steady or slightly moving back as you start to shift forward.
2. While shifting,
Feel the majority of your weight staying on the inside of your back leg / on the instep of your back foot.
3. Land on the inside of your stride foot.
Swing.
If you execute this well you will complete rotation that may already be (somewhat) underway during the shift. Your rear foot will move up onto the toe. You may "fall back onto the heel",,, as you "recoil".

Here is one more clip where you can actually see the feet and hopefully what I'm trying to describe for you.

When you pick your foot up, make sure to think about bringing your knee toward your body and when you land, land on the inside ball of your foot, its almost like a braking mechanism. You'll still have your weight shift, but with a means of controlling it. You can see this applied in the videos above.

The reason for the turn in of the front knee is just one way to load the back hip and yes, it does work. There are others, some put more weight on the front side in the stance while starting slightly closed and then shift the weight back as they stride.

The front foot should land like you are landing on egg shells without breaking them or on broken glass with no shoes on and let rotation plant the foot.

A drill that will demonstrate what LClifton is speaking of can be done on a 2x6. Step up on the 2x6 with your back foot, and then stride onto your front foot while at the same time, hitting a ball off of a tee at the appropriate height. You'll learn a lot about controlling your weight, or as many say, controlling the middle." Note, the surface that 2.6 is placed on is critical to the drill. We put ours on hitting mats. If you do this on a concrete floor, you just might bust your butt.

I just wanted to say thanks to everybody for their great input. All of these posts are really helping me picture how the stride and weight shift should be done.

I've always felt that weight shift problems had to do with timing and striking the ball at the right point. There is really no quick fix for this, it's a matter of training your body to shift forward at the correct point and creating the proper muscle memory.

The afore mentioned "balance beam drill" is a good drill. Also, if you go to http://hardballcoach.com/?page_id=75 I have a video if Cal Ripken demonstrating a very simple drill that relates to this. The Ripken Instruction corporation is great at simplifying things and they are a great resource for any student of baseball or coach.

quote:

Hardball coach; I've always felt that weight shift problems had to do with timing and striking the ball at the right point. There is really no quick fix for this, it's a matter of training your body to shift forward at the correct point and creating the proper muscle memory.

Well said. The "when" is crucial.

Hardballcoach-

Those two videos are great references for me. They really clicked for me, and I feel that they really help visualize the weight shift back. Now if I could only just stay back....

i think the big key is that you have to seperate stride and swing.... the front foot has to land, with the weight still on the baskside, before you start your hands.

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before you start your hands

Gotta be careful with some cues.

When did the hands stop?

maybe i should say before the hands/weight start forward.