practice bat drag- before / after

OK, we have been working hard on her swing for a while now, specificlly on getting in an athletic position , & starting better hip rotation to fix bad bat drag & poor barrell path. today I feel she FINALLY had a breakthrough. The cue seemed to be to tell her to keep elbow separation the same through the swing (along with more rear hip rotation sooner. The first link below is her swing before the workout & the other two are at the end.

YouTube - LL before

YouTube - LL practicing

YouTube - LL after

I realize the swing isnt Pujols yet, butits coming- any suggestions on how to keep the swing intact on a moving target?

JC heir said:

I realize the swing isnt Pujols yet, butits coming- any suggestions on how to keep the swing intact on a moving target?

Click to expand...

Yeah, that's the challenge, isn't it? They can do so well on the tee, in slow motion and in drills. You can start them in the bat drag position and show them how awkward it is compared to hitting correctly. They can understand it intellectually. Then you video them on a moving ball and they're right back to it.

Unfortunately, I think it takes a lot of correct swings to overcome the bad habit. Thousands of them. But keep working at it -- it's worth it in the end.

JC heir said:

I realize the swing isnt Pujols yet, butits coming- any suggestions on how to keep the swing intact on a moving target?

Click to expand...

Part of the issue is that she's jumping the gun with her hands. They are moving before her front heel plants. She isn't letting her hips pull her shoulders around.

Also, have you been working on things like swivel, torque, and tipping the bat head?

I see what Chris sees and what might help is some negative movement. As the strides, a little negative movement. Therefore her hands aren't coming forward. Then as she plants the heel, the hips/shoulders/hands can start doing their things.

mrslug01 said:

I see what Chris sees and what might help is some negative movement. As the strides, a little negative movement. Therefore her hands aren't coming forward. Then as she plants the heel, the hips/shoulders/hands can start doing their things.

Click to expand...

Agreed....

It looks to me like an important step is to compare the path of that front arm/elbow to some of the clips of college players etc that you probably use as a reference. I think that front elbow has got to move up not just around as she rotates.

This Open Source Sports Analysis Software KINOVEA is free and will allow you to go frame by frame.

One of the things I have found helpful with my daughters and the girls I coach is to start her at the Point of Contact (POC) on the tee. Make sure that is an excellent position (By comparing it to great hitters out there) and let her know and see what that looks like. Then let her work backwords in slo-mo and forward to POC again in slo-mo until she feels the path.

I agree with what has been posted ......as to what lhowser said look at these pictures notice there front elbow is working up and then look at your DD.

JC heir said:

OK, we have been working hard on her swing for a while now, specificlly on getting in an athletic position , & starting better hip rotation to fix bad bat drag & poor barrell path. today I feel she FINALLY had a breakthrough. The cue seemed to be to tell her to keep elbow separation the same through the swing (along with more rear hip rotation sooner. The first link below is her swing before the workout & the other two are at the end.

YouTube - LL before

YouTube - LL practicing

YouTube - LL after

I realize the swing isnt Pujols yet, butits coming- any suggestions on how to keep the swing intact on a moving target?

Click to expand...

JC

It would be interesting to see her pulling on a rope and that is listed in another thread. Getting them to feel what it is you are showing them on video is only part of the journey. Getting them to feel it is the one foot in front of the other in the journey. If you could share the pulling on a rope from the side and front and back I think it would help her and a lot of others who struggle with what the elbows are doing. We break down what each elbow does separately first and then what they MUST do as a unit to stay connected. For example as a lefty, make a rabbit ears with the index and social finger of the top hand and place it under the lead hand elbow palm down. With the lead hand elbow resting on the back of the top hand repeat these words, where the elbow was (it was on the back of the top hand) the hand will be. Move the lead elbow forward so it stays in contact with the back of the top hand. You will notice the lead elbow went forward and ultimately will go forward and up like it is going up a ramp at a slight angle. We see too many start the elbow too high or just go up with the elbow.

Notice in all three videos the lack of extension as the bat barely clears her shoulder. We do a drill for the bottom hand called the hand over drill. Simply take the top hand and turn it up side down or with the thumb pointed down and the back of your hand is facing you. The focus is on the lead elbow making that good first move and pulling the bat out of the top hand and finishing over the shoulder. Think lead elbow leading and the knob inside the path of the ball and releasing the bat/ hammer on time to drive the ball up the middle because the tee is up the middle. It has been my experience that the females give up on the ball at contact because of neuro muscular skills or lack there of. When is the last time your daughter chopped a tree down or even used a hammer? Extension is a prime issue as is flex in the lead leg knee! Have her drive some 16 P nails and have her wear safety glasses. Put a 2x4 in a vise so the edge is up and see what happens? We use a different grip in the top hand verses bottom hand. We do not line up the finger knuckles as this causes wrist roll at contact and does not allow the bat to move in the hands, otherwise she would be finishing over the shoulder and not against it. The rope gets them to feel the pulling action of the lead elbow and usually they will hit the ball harder with the lead hand and you will hear the difference and they will get that smile. Then when using both hands they get a bigger smile. Focus on hitting the ball square at contact up the middle first which is why we mark our nets. If you hold the bat/ hammer in the back of your hand so the thumb is over the index finger you will bend the nails as the head of the hammer is restricted by the thumb and wrist and the wrist will roll and you will feel the bat moving away especially in the thumb area as you can not stay inside the ball long enough for good bat lag. Tie a piece of Saran wrap on her index finger of the top hand where the finger meets the palm of the hand and ask her to hold the bat in front of the Saran wrap and angle the bat across her hand so the top hand index finger looks like a hook and the thumb is near the bat however not in contact with the index finger. Bustos, Topping, Berg, Lowe all use this grip. See which grip is stronger by having her hold it her way and push the bat rearward slightly and see how far the bat moves before her grip can resist your effort. Then try our grip and see what happens. You will notice the bat is not in the back of your hand. repeat with her head tracking the ball as if hitting off the tee and then try it with the head up like she looking for where she hit it and tell me which is stronger please. It has nothing to do with static or dynamic balance either, been there done that.

Some MLB elite players use the finger knuckle line up and that is OK....Bustos does not and that is OK also! I have been there to see her hit a softball 465 feet and watched on TV at the Pam Am games to see her put it on a roof of a building that was measured 450 feet from home plate. I am working with girls whose technique is being learned and that hit the ball 200 plus feet so it is a work in progress and is not being copied to the elite MLB swing....NPF elite yes maybe that is a better model for our girls in my opinion.

We do not focus on THT or tipping and ripping or wrapping or wrist torque...tap the back of the helmet and separate the hands rearward slightly and make sure you touch all the bases!

Thanks Howard

Hitter,
That's a loaded post. Some really nice insight here, but I'm having a lot of trouble seeing what you're talking about with respect to grip (the whole saran wrap piece) and elbow resting in finger V part. Any chance you could post a picture or an illustration, or a piece of video showing what you're describing for those of us who are visual/spatial?

Dave D said:

Hitter,
That's a loaded post. Some really nice insight here, but I'm having a lot of trouble seeing what you're talking about with respect to grip (the whole saran wrap piece) and elbow resting in finger V part. Any chance you could post a picture or an illustration, or a piece of video showing what you're describing for those of us who are visual/spatial?

Click to expand...

Dave

I will see if Dana could take a picture as he is playing with it now. Look at Bustos if you can get a close up and her top hand index finger looks like a hook and the thumb is not contacting the index finger. There is also an old Easton poster, titled the Sydney Connection, with Berg, Stokes, Brundage and Douty at contact using the grip.

I use the Saran wrap because it is thicker....tear off a piece of wrap about a foot long, and fold it over, then twist it so it looks like a plastic rope. Tie it around the index finger and it will be in front of the finger pad of the index finger. Some of my girls use a rubber band like they tie their hair back with. They put it over their batting glove and this helps remind them the bat stays just ahead or at the finger pad and keeps the bat out of the back of the hand. The Easton Turbo Slot gloves are designed to do the same thing however most people do not read the instructions and they rest the bat on the glove. If they would pinch the pad by taking the thumb against the index finger it prevents the bat from getting in the back of the hand and puts the bat at the index finger pad or in front of the hand. As described in the thread try this and have someone push the bat rearward and then try your grip and see if you can feel the difference. If you swing a hammer and allow the thumb to be over the index finger you restrict the movement of the hammer head to release and hit the nail squarely thus bending the nail in most cases. With a bat we have found you strike the ball at an angle to allow driving to the ball and through the ball and you will hear an audible sound in the bat and ball collision.

In my opinion as we are transitioning to bat lag IF the bat is held too tightly it restricts the bat from going into bag lag smoothly and you loose control of the bat and inhibit the knob to move or stay inside the path of the ball. Get an old bat and hold it in front of the hitter and the knob of the bat becomes the nail. Start with your back hand and try to nail the bat and feel what it feels like in the back of your hand ? Now with the finger knuckles lined up? It should feel restricted and you may find you loose control of being able to get the hammer head ti the knob of the bat smoothly. Now try it the way we described and see what you think and how it feels. Now repeat using the bottom hand and allow the thumb to touch the index finger while holding the bat where the fingers join at the palm of the hand and think elbow knob of the bat and release the hammer head to the bat. Then try a few swings and let me know what you think.

One more observation you may make...as you go to bat lag just about where the elbow is passing the back shoulder and the hand is stacked over the elbow or what we term staying strong on the backside. IF the shoulder does not start to turn and tilt you will notice the baby and ring finger will start to come loose off the bat. IF you start to turn a little more as you are making this movement the fingers stay on the bat. I have noticed the hands coming loose more with the girls than with the boys.

Thanks Howard