shift or coil ?

Your there SB. When the hitter loads his weight should be pretty much 60-40 back. t happens naturally and shouldn't be forced.


Sometimes I sits and I thinks, sometimes I just sits.

ric...devil in details..

the shift IS a coil..is you say shift you never get coil IMHO you get slide and maybe weight outside foot

Coachric and Swingbuster thanks for addressing this very interesting and often overlooked subject. My approach in the past relating to this subject was to teach starting at 50-50 and to use some different language to accomplish the ideas that you all have described. In an attempt to eliminate the word “stride” from the instructions I described it as widening the base as one redistributes body weight between the feet to a 60-40(b-f) % distribution( or other as desired)with focus of weight on inside of feet. While learning these movements the hitter and I were able to monitor the redistribution by using a platform I developed(configurable for different stride lengths, initial stance widths and desired % weight distributions between the feet) that tilted if too much weight was distributed to the front foot. It was very useful with some kids that struggled with the extent of the redistribution. The hip coil was incorporated in the movements described above - all happening in one overall coordinated move. What I observed is that at first some kids tended to get too much weight on the back foot at the end of redistribution which created other problems. The platform not only helped with accuracy but helped kids learn to reproduce a desired % weight distribution. I have used the platform with other weight distribution problems that hitters have or develop from time to time.

joof

I believe that, based on what he says in this article (which talks about golf but is completely relevant to hitting), Tiger Woods would use the term "coil"...

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/sports/tigerwoo...rtips6.3b42965c.html

Chris-

As you say much of the golf swing applies,moreso to low ball hitting swing.

In this article, Tiger is describing his "old"/Butch Harmon/"two plane" (arms load in different plane from shoulders) swing.His new/Hank haney/1 plane swing is different in some key ways.

This 2 plane/plane transition type of swing is also more similar to hitting.Some important points that are similar between 2 plane golf and hitting- Tiger quotes [my comments] :

"...turn rather than slide on the back swing...and shift weight to the left [forward] on the downswing"

"Make sure...hips turn rather than slide to right [on backswing]"

"Shifting the hips laterally to the right [backswing] kills your backswing. If your right hip moves outside of your right foot, you have to slide

- [tom's note-slide is somewhat different/inferior/wasted motion as compared to the "shift" or perhaps in recent hitting parlance,"carry"]-

back to the left just to hit the ball.It's hard to time that move properly."

[On sequence of the down/forward swing]:

"First you shift weight to your left [front] leg,

-[this is the "golden move or acceptable/necessary form of forward "hip slide", IF you do not shift weight forward/make positive move first,THEN with this type golf swing- less so in 1 plane swing- you will throw the club out of plane/over the top/"cast" when you turn the hips like heck - do not forget the necessary positive move]-

THEN turn your hips with all you've got. The shoulders come next.............if you've performed everything in order, they'll [hands will] deliver the clubhead into the ball along the correct inside [keep hands in/don't cast] path."

Swingbuster, when we shift or coil. I like coil as a better descriptor of these two, we believe we end up with a ratio of about 45-55. We attempt to be 50-50 at the beginning of what we call rotation and we believe it CAN be overdone. I know we use general terms but we want our hitters to feel "athletic" in this rotation and, simply put, there comes a point where if the rotation or coil is too exaggerated, they simply aren't as athletic. JMHO!

Another very useful quote(cue) from the Tiger Woods article is:

"A good thought is to keep your weight on the inside portion of your right foot, keeping the your right leg constant throughout the backswing."

This is of course in line with the teachings(stable back knee) of a number of pros and relates to generating the x-factor during the backswing. I try to use the cue I cited above in teaching kids to coil.

jimo

Good stuff CoachB25. I do know the devil is in the detail SB, but a detailed approach and show and tell training will help the hitter more than complicated terms IMHO. I know we can learn more of them and its sometimes fun to break down all parts of hitting, but we've got to teach kids with slow simple details that they can comfortably relate to and we'll only know when we see results.

good thoughts guys..I watch/focus on the rear hip in the cage somethimes. I believe the negative moves are all we can really coach and done properly they are all you need to coach.

Having the hands flat at impact has nothing to do with showing the kids where the hands are at impact. Getting there is a function of the loading patterns ect. You cannot force that issue