What do you see g/b/u (good, bad, ugly) on my 14U's swing
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FiveFrameSwing
Banned
Yes, keep it simple.
From a simple teaching perspective, the 'swing path' can be thought to have the barrel cast/flailed/thrown into the 'Along' from an "upright Vee".
Around/short-to:
The "upright Vee" is thrown away as the barrel is thrown into the 'Along'.
Along/long-through:
FiveFrameSwing
Banned
The observation that the rear elbow becomes slotted is correct.
It turns out that the ‘vee’ in the rear arm is an ideal geometric shape for supporting the barrel. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that the rear elbow becomes lowered. The 'Around' doesn't just 'assume' that the rear elbow is lowering ... having a sense of 'Around' will dictate that the rear elbow lower.
I crack a smile when I read that four letter word ….. P …. P …. Pu ….. Pu …. Pus ….. Pus ….. Push!
Oh no ..... not that!!
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard that four letter word come up to scare someone out of a good swing.
Heck … I’ve seen it used to actively restrict/prevent the throwing of the barrel into the ‘Along’ and the resulting extension.
Push! That dreaded four-letter word. It’s the boggy-man that is used to restrict desirable arm and wrist action.
Let me ask you a question ....
What exactly did Ted Williams mean when he wrote in his book ... "The baseball swing is a hard push-swing. You are pushing right through the impact area".
Do you figure he made a mistake? Do you figure he used the word 'push' but meant 'release'? If so, why the adjective of 'hard'? Did he mean a 'hard release'? What the heck would that be?
It's a sincere question ... what is your interpretation of what Ted meant with this description? Keep in mind that he was very specific about 'where' in the swing he was describing ... into 'impact'.
Keep in mind that in Ted's book he speaks of a 'push' both negatively and positively.
My interpretation, based on Ted's acknowledgement, and comparison of his swing to others that he described as a 'push swing', is with the 'Around' that I've been talking about. William's said 'his' swing was different than those he described negatively as having a 'push swing' because his swing had greater 'arc' (i.e., the 'Around') ... and that is why 'his' 'hard push-swing' was not described in the same negative light. That is ... he didn't want the barrel placed out front and then simply pushed at the ball, but he instead had a preceding arc that flowed into what is basically a flail .... his 'hard push-swing' was simply just that ... the arm & wrist action that Bluedog has tried to explain ... the arm and wrist action into and through the ball, that should not be feared, but relished and enjoyed.
There is an energy flow that should take place down the rear arm. I'd think twice before attempting to restrict it by yelling out "push".
THATS A GREAT POST! positive, informative, great source material and a different look at it. thx
I think some get annoyed with the word because they picture pushing your arms with stationary squared up bat.
or they feel the arms should just extend on their own, like noodles, from whip, (corner)
Greenmonsters
Wannabe Duck Boat Owner
Just curious, who was the best hitter that TW coached?
FiveFrameSwing
Banned
Ted believed he was given two great pieces of advice early in his career. One of them came from Lefty O’Doul, who said “Son, whatever you do, don’t let anybody change you.”
Ted worked diligently on becoming a student of the game and took responsibility for his own swing development. In a sense, he was the best hitter that he ever coached.
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Could be that he talked hitting to every single person he sat next to at his games, or anywhere he was.
That would be some big time students
Greenmonsters
Wannabe Duck Boat Owner
Could be that he talked hitting to every single person he sat next to at his games, or anywhere he was.
That would be some big time students
While TW arguably was the greatest hitter who ever lived, IMO his descriptions and explanations of how he hit the way he did do not translate well to the hitting public or, for that matter, the MLB hitters he was paid to coach. I found/find his his mental game approach to be very helpful, but not so much the physical.
