Replacing bad "Keys"

When my kids were little I used to have a few.

"Throw the bat at the ball."
"Swing down and let the bat hit the ball."
"Hit the ball where it comes in." Same as hit the ball where it's pitched.
"Swing fast, not hard."

My kids would probably remember more.

"Quick hands"
"See the ball out front"
"Hit it where it's pitched"
"Keep your head on it"
"Finish your swing"

I send my son a weekly email. This was a part of this week's email:

"tension free"-- loose is quicker than tense

"control stride"-- step slow/soft, delay landing on off speed pitch

"segmented load"--lower body loads then moves forward. Upper body loads (rear elbow raises, front elbow/shoulder tuck in) when lower body moving forward. At toe touch, barrel tilted toward pitcher.

"segmented unload"--hips turn first, upper body moves forward but stays closed.

"torque hands"--as hips begin to turn, hands are dropping barrel downward and rearward (think of where barrel is on Bonds video when he begins turn...How did it get there? Rear elbow is slotting downward, front elbow is elevating bringing barrel lower and preparing for shoulder tilt)

"release upper body"--hips are already into turn creating tension between upper and lower bodies, barrel is lowered and ready to begin swing. As barrel has dropped, rear elbow gains speed bringing barrel down. Shoulders tilt and turn, and upper body rotation begins movement into swing.

"hands rotate barrel to ball"-- inside pitch hands hold load in barrel until hands more in front of plate, outside pitch has hands rotating to ball deeper in the zone.

If you do these things consistently, you can then forget about "thinking" about them, and just focus on recognizing the pitch and adjusting to it.

So, find time to practice them (you can do it with visualization and not even need a bat in your hands. Then, when you do get to the field, you will already have some muscle memory built in).

quote:

Originally posted by noreast:
So, find time to practice them (you can do it with visualization and not even need a bat in your hands. Then, when you do get to the field, you will already have some muscle memory built in).

Muscle memory is the most important thing.

How about...

"Don't go to the ball, let the barrel feed to it."

"Don't hit the ball hard, if you hit it quick, you get quick & hard."

"Drive your back knee under your head." (This doesn't work for everyone, but it keeps the hitter back and the hips firing in many cases.)

"Hit the front of the baseball, through the back of the baseball."

"Compress the ball."

noreast is one smart dad.

Thank you , Chameleon.

I am only smarter because I have enough sense to follow the road you've paved. I've studied it, tested it, and now preach it. It serves as a mental checklist. When something doesn't feel right, go down the list in order, adjust, and go.

As a bonus, you get the satisfaction knowing you've played a role in improving a D1 player, and tick off a few others around here who question the "internet guru" (their words, not mine..lol).

Keep up the good fight.

Noreast, I agree, that is a great check list.....

And, Chameleon, do keep up the good fight......It matters!!!!