Step Timing in Hitting

[tigergrowls]

When is the best time to get the step foot down? My DD in general is in mid step at the pitcher release point. She consistently gets it down before the ball gets to her though.

I have heard it is better to have the foot down by the time the pitcher releases the ball though and would like some feedback.

Thanks!!

 

[Filthy McNasty]

She should go to toe touch as soon as she prepares/decides to initiate her positive movement.

 

[softballphreak]

If she's consistently getting to toe touch before the ball gets to her that's good. If it ain't broke don't fix it. Too early is not as bad as too late but right on time is great. In a perfect swing she would maintain movement from start to finish.

 

[FPMark]

If she is hitting the ball with authority between left center and right center, don't try to change it. If she is hitting everything opposite field, she needs to start earlier, pulling everything foul or down the line, later. When to get the front foot down is different for each individual hitter, and also depends on the pitcher.

 

[D.G. OutLaws 16u]

I have heard it is better to have the foot down by the time the pitcher releases the ball though and would like some feedback.

If her foots down and shes still waiting for the ball to reach the hitting zone it makes sence to think all her momentum is gone.
Shouldnt it depend on how fast the pitches are coming in?

 

[quincy]

You do not want a stop in the batter’s motion. That is why good change ups are so fun to watch. You can see the batter stop, try to regroup then go again. The batter misses the ball by a mile. Too slow of a change up they regroup and hit it hard, too fast of a change up they just pause slightly, never regroup, and hit it hard.

Even for a specific batter you cannot have a general rule based around all the different pitchers. This is one of the reasons why it is important for the batter to try and get their timing down in the on deck circle.

It is OK for the batter keying on a location in a pitchers motion but it will change pitcher to pitcher/ and individual to the specific batter.

 

[Wellphyt]

The question you ask is an age old question that hitters have been trying to figure out since the game of baseball was invented. I agree with others who have said that it will vary from pitcher to pitcher. As others have said, you can't be late getting the front foot down, but you also don't want to be so early that you have a pause after heel plant.

The way I tackle this issue, is I focus heavily on teaching the concept of balance. When you swing a bat against live pitching, it becomes very clear that learning to maintain balance after the front foot gets picked up helps with timing.

I don't want to get all technical here, but basically when a hitter picks up their front foot to stride, if they maintain pressure against the ground at the back foot in an outward direction, and offset that pressure by keeping their front side closed (coiled around back hip), they will be dynamically balanced. Meaning they will be able to move their center of mass in space with their front foot off the ground, without leaning back over their back leg or lunging forward onto their front leg. In other words they are able to keep their head basically centered between their feet or over their belly button, with only one foot on the ground.

Remember, we are only talking about trying to gain an extra second or less, of balance time. It doesn't take much. When a hitter learns to increase their "balance window" they have the luxury of picking up their front foot a little early which eliminates the feeling of having to rush their sequence. They can load a little slower, and then explode into the pitch. Easier said than done I know. This is my main focus right now with my daughter. I'm trying to get her to slow down her load...increase her "balance window"...and then explode into the pitch. IMO it's harder with girls because they don't seem to balance as well as boys. And I'm not talking about "falling over the plate" type balance, I'm talking about dynamic balance after the front foot gets picked up.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]