Thread: Posture vs Balance - PCRW

Yes. It's a visual, but it works. Mike did this in Howards garage, he makes all his girls carry 2/3 of a softball with them to remind them only hit the inner 2/3. So, you know me, I had to try it on a T, to see if I could go a step further. If you hit the outer 1/3 it flys off the T like a wounded duck. Yet she hits a line drive with only 2/3 of a ball. It was an experiment that I just had to try to see if I could use it a a learning tool with younger kids.

Originally Posted by straightleg

I mainly help girls ages 10- 15 and once in a while they fall forward after contact.
Why is that?

Assuming you mean forward over the plate I'd say it's likely because they did a good job of lining up the angles on a lower pitch. Look through these clips. Analysis

And here. Fastpitch

And any MLB game when the pitch is down and away.

A good model.
Photo 10 of 16, Fastpitch
Photo 9 of 16, Fastpitch

All should keep in mind the postural adjustments for different pitch locations.

Originally Posted by SBFAMILY

Yes. It's a visual, but it works. Mike did this in Howards garage, he makes all his girls carry 2/3 of a softball with them to remind them only hit the inner 2/3. So, you know me, I had to try it on a T, to see if I could go a step further. If you hit the outer 1/3 it flys off the T like a wounded duck. Yet she hits a line drive with only 2/3 of a ball. It was an experiment that I just had to try to see if I could use it a a learning tool with younger kids.

As a drill to encourage keeping the hinge angle (the approximately 90 degree angle between the bottom hand forearm and the bat) as long as possible it sounds good to me. Just watch the kids to make sure they don't disconnect like this to hit the inside of the ball. Photo 18 of 31, Analysis

Interesting post Mark. Never seen that taught in this area. I don't think we could use our ball on a rope drills and swing like this and hit the ball. What do you think straightleg?

notice how good mechanics, including grip, setup, arm action,sequence allow torquing the bat handle early without unhinging the lead wrist.

this is an absolute KEY to the MLB pattern:


http://www.batspeed.com/media/PLT_THT_Mechanics.wmv

Understanding what happens with the lead arm hinge throughout the MLB swing is a good thing to review.

The problem with a "holding hinge" cue/emphasis is you can end of preventing the early torque necessary to set up and control an MLB pattern where you need a running start and enough upper bopdy resistance to rotation to control how the body stretches and fires.