FiveFrameSwing
Banned
What drills to do to improve my daughters succes at the plate
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Looks like all back all forward... You want hips forward, hands back. Like most swings it comes down to a swing sequence.
That slow motion swing I posted of my daughter shows the hips going while the hands are back....
SL
- Jun 18, 2010
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"The better you see the ball, the faster you can pick up the rotation, the better hitter you can be," Red Sox outfielder Darnell McDonald said. "They said Barry Bonds used to pick up the rotation as soon as the ball left the pitcher's hand. That's pretty good."
FFS, how do you pick up the rotation on the ball with soft focus?
Does Your Hitter's Focus Matter?
The only reason I mentioned the soft/hard focus drill DD and I do is the OP mentioned his DD taking her eyes off the ball. Try it, like most advise you'll get on these hitting forums, take what you like, discard the rest.
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- Jun 18, 2010
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A lot depends on our environment. Outside I soft toss from around 25' behind a screen. I have been soft tossing TCB Hole balls and Jugs lite flights in our garage from about 12'. I drill I picked up from Earlywine was to shout out a number 1, 2, or 3. 1-fast, 2-medium, 3-slow. I should out the number then vary the speed of the soft toss. We have been doing this drill to work on her ability to adjust to pitches of differing speeds.
FiveFrameSwing
Banned
Knight, what you are presenting here is old-school advice that hasn't been challenged enough ... so I can understand why it persists.
If you are truly interested, then consider purchasing the DVD "For Your Eyes Only ... Building The Complete Hitter". In that will be an explanation of why a soft focus needs to be retained.
- Jun 18, 2010
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My DD was having problems concentrating and "seeing" the ball. We started doing the soft focus/hard focus drill and she claimed she started "seeing" the ball better. It is possible that she is doings something other than hard focus.
I know when I hit off the pitching machine, I try to see the ball as it comes off of the wheel for as long as I can to contact. I call that hard focus, perhaps I am misusing the term.
I have recently read where some mark the ball with different color spots, and have the hitter call out the color. Do you see any value in such a drill?
edit: For Your Eyes Only ... Building The Complete Hitter, thanks for the suggestion.
Is this it?
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FiveFrameSwing
Banned
It sounds like this will be foreign to you right now ... but hopefully it will lead you to search for the truth.
A hard focus will inhibit seeing movement.
One of the posters at BBD seems to understand that. Bluedog recently wrote "Movement and speed is recognized by not looking at it....Look elsewhere and you will see it...."
Bluedog is correct ... albeit he made the statement in what was meant to be a thought provoking comment.
Collapsed lead arm ....
The lead elbow should retain some bend at contact and come up as the rear elbow comes down. Think about "turning the triangle"...
Level shoulders at contact .....
We aren't seeing enough lateral tilt. Lateral tilt of the torso adjusts to match pitch height. Lower pitch = more tilt. Lateral tile happens in conjunction with turning the triangle (see clip above).
The drive of her lower body doesn't finish, and the swing is powered by her arms. The lower body and back provide the power for the swing, and the hips should fire before the hands. Again, in the clip above, we see that the hips are moving before the hands, and hips finish facing the pitcher. Try thinking about having the rear knee beat the hands to the ball.
Your DD is clearly very strong and fast. Once she gets the proper swing mechanics dialed in, she's going the be very dangerous.
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FiveFrameSwing
Banned
Knight, I posted the following over at BBD in a thread titled "Vision".
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The task of a hitter’s eye movement is to keep the oncoming baseball on the fovea … the center area of the eye that provides the sharpest vision.
The fovea is a small dimple in the middle of the retina. It is the center of the eye’s sharpest vision and the location of the most color perception. Since the fovea provides the sharpest and most detailed information, the eyeball is continuously moving, so that light from the object of primary interest falls on this region.
Instruction in-line with this is to have the hitter draw an imaginary line from their nose straight out. That becomes the hitter’s visual bull’s-eye. The notion being to keep the baseball on the fovea.
This does not mean that hitters should have a hard focus on the ball. That is not the job of tracking the ball. The job is to keep the fovea on the ball.
Good rhythm can help lead to a relaxed open focus level on the pitcher. On the other hand a rigid setup can lead to a hard visual steer.
Let the eyes lead the hands to the target. Breath with ease and rhythm. Try to see the movement, without physically looking at the movement. Trust the eyes and expand their visual field when searching for moving objects.
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The task of a hitter’s eye movement is to keep the oncoming baseball on the fovea … the center area of the eye that provides the sharpest vision.
The fovea is a small dimple in the middle of the retina. It is the center of the eye’s sharpest vision and the location of the most color perception. Since the fovea provides the sharpest and most detailed information, the eyeball is continuously moving, so that light from the object of primary interest falls on this region.
Instruction in-line with this is to have the hitter draw an imaginary line from their nose straight out. That becomes the hitter’s visual bull’s-eye. The notion being to keep the baseball on the fovea.
This does not mean that hitters should have a hard focus on the ball. That is not the job of tracking the ball. The job is to keep the fovea on the ball.
Good rhythm can help lead to a relaxed open focus level on the pitcher. On the other hand a rigid setup can lead to a hard visual steer.
Let the eyes lead the hands to the target. Breath with ease and rhythm. Try to see the movement, without physically looking at the movement. Trust the eyes and expand their visual field when searching for moving objects.
FiveFrameSwing
Banned
Knight ... let me leave you with this ... a clip of Manny working on a drill to help promote having a soft focus.
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