Pulling Head

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Mar 14, 2011
785
18
Silicon Valley, CA
Hey FP I appreciate what you are saying about the above posted clips. The reason the players are able to keep their head in with an over rotation or thrown shoulder is their hands.

Now before you think im insane lets look at it from a mechanical view of things. Both hitters achieved separation of the hands or walking away from their hands. Their hands therefore became an independent moving part of the swing.

Do a drilll and tell me your thoughts. Look at yourself in a mirror, face to face and look down at your shoulders. On the outside of your shoulders lets call it the shoulder plane.

First start with your hands inside of the plane of the shoulders then rotate letting your shoulder fly out and watch what happens. The head has to follow the shoulders. Why?........... because we let the shoulders turn the hands and made it one unit.

Now walk away from your hands and rotate and youll discover you can get alot more open and the head can still stay on the ball with a ton less strain on the head eyes and neck.

with proper separation you can rotate the belly button past the pitcher and still keep the head in there. Letting the shoulders turn the hands........... not so much.

Most kids i see hit only a very few at the college exposure level or heck even at the college level its self know the importance of separation or how to do it.

This is why I believe we see what we see from so many kids, as the shoulder comes out the head follows.


Tim

What a great post. There are other major problems with the swing you describe, but I didn't realize until your post that it affects the head in that way.
 
Mar 14, 2011
785
18
Silicon Valley, CA
Most kids are doing this to see where they hit the ball and stealing power away from the swing. We practice with a white rag stuffed in the T and make sure they can see the white rag at contact. In a pitching machine, I place a ball on the floor by the outside corner of the plate and make sure they are looking at it at contact and not watching where they hit the ball. I ask every student are you stronger with your head down or up? Bustos and Howard show them how to test this in every clinic.

Stronger with your head down? I've never heard that one, what does that mean?
 
Oct 11, 2010
8,337
113
Chicago, IL
Here is an experiment for you.

Have someone push your arm at the point of contact while looking up, and then have them push your arm while looking down at it. You will feel the difference in power.
 
Oct 22, 2009
1,532
0
PA
This is slightly off topic:

I finally broke down and bought a WhipHit, and used it in practice for the first time this weekend according to the instructions posted on the website (and this forum). I noticed doing two hand and front hand drills off the tee, that the girls who were pulling their front shoulder out too soon could not hit the ball off the tee with the Whiphit, though I'm wondering, does this have more to do with pulling the head out than the front shoulder??:confused: Any insight is greatly appreciated!
 

Jim

Apr 24, 2011
391
0
Ohio
This is slightly off topic:

I finally broke down and bought a WhipHit, and used it in practice for the first time this weekend according to the instructions posted on the website (and this forum). I noticed doing two hand and front hand drills off the tee, that the girls who were pulling their front shoulder out too soon could not hit the ball off the tee with the Whiphit, though I'm wondering, does this have more to do with pulling the head out than the front shoulder??:confused: Any insight is greatly appreciated!

It could be both (they are related). One of the best ways to begin the process of trying to keep the front side/head on the ball is to make sure that the hitter is in an athletic stance (slight lean in towards the plate where the weight is toward the balls of the feet and legs are engaged) This posture and athleticism should remain through the swing.

When the player starts on the heels or shifts toward the heels the front side and head are more prone to come off the ball.
 
Oct 11, 2010
8,337
113
Chicago, IL
Off topic more. I was told to cut an old garden hose to length to accomplish the same thing as the whipit. Have not tried it yet but seems like it would accomplish the same thing without spending any money.
 
Oct 14, 2008
667
16
This is slightly off topic:

I finally broke down and bought a WhipHit, and used it in practice for the first time this weekend according to the instructions posted on the website (and this forum). I noticed doing two hand and front hand drills off the tee, that the girls who were pulling their front shoulder out too soon could not hit the ball off the tee with the Whiphit, though I'm wondering, does this have more to do with pulling the head out than the front shoulder??:confused: Any insight is greatly appreciated!

Understand that a bat has a sweet spot about the length of a dollar bill and is much more forgiving than a whip hit that has a sweet spot of about a nickel. If your hand path is not spot on it will automatically give you immediate feed back.

Pulling the ball can be caused by 4 separate issues with the whip hit.

1) The front shoulder is flying out. It will be a dramatic pull. The head not being down and following the ball will also allow it but not as pronounced.

2) If the back hand is dominate and allowed to push the hands you will wrap the rope around the ball pulling it or slicing it to the pull side.

3) If the front elbow does not pull as hard as it needs to and allows the back hand to be dominate.

4) Is rare but I have seen it. The hips are firing out of sequence with the upper body and over rotating to quickly.


Tim
 
Oct 14, 2008
667
16
Off topic more. I was told to cut an old garden hose to length to accomplish the same thing as the whipit. Have not tried it yet but seems like it would accomplish the same thing without spending any money.

With a few simple tools and a little know how you can make a whip hit for less than 10 dollars.


Tim
 

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