How do you teach the stride?
- Thread starter knightsb
- Start date
Welcome to Discuss Fastpitch
Your FREE Account is waiting to the Best Softball Community on the Web.
- Oct 25, 2009
- 3,339
- 48
Toe touch, to me, is the "when", the timing. What the front foot does is an effect. It just happens. But it is a great timing tool.
- Oct 25, 2009
- 3,339
- 48
For me,
The Mechanics are: Once the weight is gathered into the inside of the back upper leg by hip coil (or at least by "sitting down into" the inside of the back leg), the front leg leads the hips to eventual unloading/uncoiling by stepping onto the inside of the front foot on a flexed front knee, keeping the front side closed so the hips stay coiled and closed until you initiate the swing by planting the heel (no teach) and then uncoiling the loaded back side by driving the back hip into the front hip into a firm (but not rigid/locked) front leg/front side. That's a long sentence, but it's hard to break up because it's all part of one connected sequence.
The Thought Process is: "I'm trying to drive (transfer energy) the back hip (back side) into the front hip (front side), I don't want to overstride (3"-4" is plenty), and I want to hit into a firm front leg/stay tall on the front side."
I think you should show her lots of video from the "Model Swings" thread and see just how all of the great hitters posted there do it. While there is some degree of difference as to exactly how each of them stride, most have basically the same mechanics. Aside: Watch out for those Univ. of Florida hitters, you may want to gloss over them for now!
I agree with most everything except (3"-4" is plenty). 4" is nothing. More like 12"-18" if using the Ruth-type stride. Ruth's was longer. 3-4" would have a batter standing over their front foot with any kind of good forward shift.
Rhc,
I teach toe first to give the girls a definition between the two phases. By separating, the linear phase from the rotational phase, they can feel a trigger when to start the rotation by the heel plant. This is to prevent the hands and arms from moving too soon and breaking the kinetic chain.
I teach toe first to give the girls a definition between the two phases. By separating, the linear phase from the rotational phase, they can feel a trigger when to start the rotation by the heel plant. This is to prevent the hands and arms from moving too soon and breaking the kinetic chain.
I agree if you're using the Babe Ruth stride. I teach my kids to get their feet outside their hips in the stance. For me, then striding 3"-4" is enough to get the shift going into the front side. I'm more of a Ted Williams guy.
I'd love to see more models (other than the Babe) of this stride style, especially with college or Olympic hitters. I'm always looking for different ways of learning/teaching/thinking about hitting.
redhotcoach
Out on good behavior
- May 8, 2009
- 4,705
- 38
The thought in my mind is all about what do the kids think is stride? What do we, as their coaches and instructors, picture as stride. There have been some girls posting swings on here since last summer or so that I can remember seeing that they were taught or in the beginning of being taught to coil. Some of these girls coiled around there rear hip socket, then they reached their front leg out as a "stride" losing or at least loosening any coil they started. Look at the 3 examples of "stride" on here and think about what you see them really doing...here is what I see.
Gallo, He is in his stance. Then his appearance of stride is his femur/quad area coiling BACK, and his knee turning in and back is sending his foot a few inches forward. The rest of the forward movement is FORWARD WITH COIL. NO REACHING OUT. (in my mind, the text "getting out of the way, is the rear leg turning the coil forward)
Longoria. The easiest to see move of all 3. His appearance of stride as I see it: He lifts his front leg as he coils forward. NO REACHING OUT.
The toughest of the 3 to see what his is doing. The way I see it: His feet are together and he coils forward from that position. He does move his front leg forward, but look at where it ends up...it is no farther forward then any average hitter at go and the last several inches of forward movement of his foot are from his rear leg drive. He doesn't reach out loosing his coil. NO REACHING OUT
If the hitter wants to swing high level. If the hitter wants to take advantage of the coil and rear leg drive. The hitter can not REACH OUT with their front leg.
Gallo, He is in his stance. Then his appearance of stride is his femur/quad area coiling BACK, and his knee turning in and back is sending his foot a few inches forward. The rest of the forward movement is FORWARD WITH COIL. NO REACHING OUT. (in my mind, the text "getting out of the way, is the rear leg turning the coil forward)
Longoria. The easiest to see move of all 3. His appearance of stride as I see it: He lifts his front leg as he coils forward. NO REACHING OUT.
The toughest of the 3 to see what his is doing. The way I see it: His feet are together and he coils forward from that position. He does move his front leg forward, but look at where it ends up...it is no farther forward then any average hitter at go and the last several inches of forward movement of his foot are from his rear leg drive. He doesn't reach out loosing his coil. NO REACHING OUT
If the hitter wants to swing high level. If the hitter wants to take advantage of the coil and rear leg drive. The hitter can not REACH OUT with their front leg.
Last edited:
DD swings like that. Well... not like the Babe, obviously. I just got my first video recorder. If I can figure it out I'll post a video of her swing for feedback in the next week or two.
