Front Foot ?

[batdragon]

I understand that during the stride that the weight should land on the inside portion of the the front foot just below the big toe (ball of foot).

I often hear different opinions on the angle that the front foot should land.

Should the front foot land:
1. Closed.
2. Open.
3. Parallel to back foot (neither open or closed).

If closed ... how much closed and why ? If open ... how much open and why ?

Some recommend open at a 45 degree angle to allow the lower body to open up. Some recommend Parallel or closed to help coil or maintain the coil during the stride.

Just looking for opinions.

Thx,
Batdragon

 

[Perfect Circle]

Just read today landing on heal triggers swing... ???

MIKE EPSTEIN
I have tremendous respect for Mike Epstein and think that he clearly and significantly advanced the science of hitting instruction.
Among other things, Mike Epstein correctly, and presciently, identified linear hitting as a flawed and illogical approach. As he points outs, why do hitting coaches teach their pupils to hit the ball into the ground when ground balls are what pitching coaches want from their pitchers? Similarly, Mike Epstein understands that the planting of the front heel generally triggers the swing. Also, while other hitting instructors seem to have hundreds of drills that they use and/or recommend, Mike Epstein has just a few key drills that are designed to address the most common problems. More >>>

 

[Perfect Circle]

She was pointing it where she wanted it to go... going to land on heal next time

 

[Greenmonsters]

She was pointing it where she wanted it to go... going to land on heal next time

Don't mess PC! For a righty, front foot should land w/ toes pointing at the secondbaseman. Always. Otherwise, how are ya gonna scroll? Assuming that the bat is perpendicular to the torso (for max power), the degree of hip rotation principally determines the direction the ball will be hit.

The stride foot should first touch down toes first i.e., on the pad of the big toe/ball of the foot with the heel slightly raised. The heel as a "trigger" refers to the lower body rotation being initiated after the front foot heel lands (after the ball of the foot has already touched down) and the front leg firms up/straigtens to provide the resistance. Do not land on the heel - you don't want to initiate the swing from an unbalanced position.

 

[Perfect Circle]

Don't mess PC! For a righty, front foot should land w/ toes pointing at the secondbaseman. Always. Otherwise, how are ya gonna scroll? Assuming that the bat is perpendicular to the torso (for max power), the degree of hip rotation principally determines the direction the ball will be hit.

The stride foot should first touch down toes first i.e., on the pad of the big toe/ball of the foot with the heel slightly raised. The heel as a "trigger" refers to the lower body rotation being initiated after the front foot heel lands (after the ball of the foot has already touched down) and the front leg firms up/straigtens to provide the resistance. Do not land on the heel - you don't want to initiate the swing from an unbalanced position.

Thx GM... I'll not pursue that one then... I think asking her to do that, made her aware of placement ??? You can see that the foot didn't make it around to where the ball was going... but she seemed to have control. I was calling SS & second. Second was easy...she had been putting them there for years

EP: What about bunting then... I looked at her bunting video's and it's always pointing to second... seems ball is always going towards first. Could it make any difference to trying pointing to SS to get it go towards 3rd? I guess I'm trying to get a Que.

 

[Greenmonsters]

Thx GM... I'll not pursue that one then... I think asking her to do that, made her aware of placement ??? You can see that the foot didn't make it around to where the ball was going... but she seemed to have control. I was calling SS & second. Second was easy...she had been putting them there for years

EP: What about bunting then... I looked at her bunting video's and it's always pointing to second... seems ball is always going towards first. Could it make any difference to trying pointing to SS to get it go towards 3rd? I guess I'm trying to get a Que.

Directional bunting is simply a function of bat angle (and I don't care about where the feet/toes point (or how they hold the bat) when bunting as long as they're in a good, athletic stance and can adjust the bat height by bending their knees). Lie a bat down flat on the ground in front of home plate and roll balls into it while changing the bat angle relative to the mound. The angle of the bat determines the direction the ball will go. When swinging, you rotate the hips less to hit the outside pitch to the oppo field and rotate them more to hit an inside pitch to the pull field.

Alternatively, something that might appeal to your perspective, a home schooling lesson involving basic physics and water wave experiments - angles of incidence and angle of refraction. A pool table and pool ball collisions also would be fun and educational. Just stay off the roof!

 

[shockcoach]

This is still one of my favorite swings.

[video=youtube_share;5LbONRTtpTE]http://youtu.be/5LbONRTtpTE[/video]

 

[Perfect Circle]

Directional bunting is simply a function of bat angle (and I don't care about where the feet/toes point (or how they hold the bat) when bunting as long as they're in a good, athletic stance and can adjust the bat height by bending their knees). Lie a bat down flat on the ground in front of home plate and roll balls into it while changing the bat angle relative to the mound. The angle of the bat determines the direction the ball will go. When swinging, you rotate the hips less to hit the outside pitch to the oppo field and rotate them more to hit an inside pitch to the pull field.

Alternatively, something that might appeal to your perspective, a home schooling lesson involving basic physics and water wave experiments - angles of incidence and angle of refraction. A pool table and pool ball collisions also would be fun and educational. Just stay off the roof!

I like it Thx GM