radial deviation

[Mark H]

Hitter
I agree totally with a lot of what you say and do except for toe touch. I like for eveything to be settled and ready to explode at the k position. In fact this is when I want the front foot down and still. I want everything clear and settled to read the pitch and eliminate as much head movement as possible. No moving parts during the decision phase at all. With the proper load forward movement is instantaneous once the decision is made. I am guessing by what you mean when you say swing DNA you are meaning building a swing to a point where it is done without thinking about it. With the foot down early seems to eliminate getting out front with the offspeed pitches even if the heat is in the mid sixties

Would you say this hitter got her foot down early? http://home.mindspring.com/~rmk/ULL0002.mpg

Use the arrow keys to toggle back and forth frame by frame in quicktime. If you don't have quicktime it's a free download.

 

[straightleg]

MTS: We have built a neat Tool for training the Elbow, hands, bat. Hitter has posted it. Perhaps Chris or Dana can post a picture. Cshilt, is good at that. What it does is train the hitter to take the elbow first, without turning the shoulders. Then it has a traget for the hands, as the shoulder turns . Then the bat releases. It is great with kids because they can see and feel it.

This hitting device Hitter, SB, and Bouldersdad use at clinics to help understand handpath.



Straightleg

 

[Hitter]

Hitter
I agree totally with a lot of what you say and do except for toe touch. I like for eveything to be settled and ready to explode at the k position. In fact this is when I want the front foot down and still. I want everything clear and settled to read the pitch and eliminate as much head movement as possible. No moving parts during the decision phase at all. With the proper load forward movement is instantaneous once the decision is made. I am guessing by what you mean when you say swing DNA you are meaning building a swing to a point where it is done without thinking about it. With the foot down early seems to eliminate getting out front with the offspeed pitches even if the heat is in the mid sixties

The swing DNA is reading the plane of the pitch and speed of the ball as it is coming in so the mind can say we have seen this before so we need to tilt/turn react in a certain way. I have a fairly busy street in front of our house and point out to the kids when first learning how to drive being able to judge the speed of the oncoming car or how fast do I have to go to merge into the traffic flow is difficult. So we observe cars going by the house and guess speeds and they are way off in most cases. So it gives them some sense of what we are talking about. Would I have enough time to cross the street based on the speed of the oncoming car? When a pitcher is throwing I think it is educational for the hitter to guess the speed while someone is catching them. The glove speed radar unit has some variables when using it. For instance if you are reaching quickly to the ball you may increase the speed that it reads however for the most part it gives a hitter feed back as to about how fast the ball is coming across the plate.

Toe touch for me is based on each individuals athleticism. We really try very hard to get them to flow to the ball with a steady flow in their weight shift and my opinion is it becomes instinctive on each hitter exactly when to be there based on their ability. My kids run in a range of 7 to 31 if I include the big girl. However most are in the 12 to 23 range and we have about 70 plus we have put in or are in college presently.

When do you feel the weight shift stops or changes so they can be on time with the pitch? The heel coming down too soon for me causes everything to generally to be pulled as the front side appears to open too quickly and I would rather they be a little late than early. I try to get them to hit in a 12.5 window (we term it our window of opportunity) . We do all our tee work and drill work from the back corner of the plate using the lead foot being directly in line with the back corner. Then measure 4 inches forward and have a blue line on the plate. I use a Schutt Stride Rite and modified the crap out of it to fit my needs. The 12.5 inch window is forward of the 4 inch line. We try very hard to get them to swing in that window. Would you having the heel planted would cause you to be early or late on the pitch based on the window we described?

What do you recommend for a load or describe how you do it please?

Thanks Howard

 

[straightleg]

Reading this thread front to back i have a few questions............... are the guys here teaching kids?......... girls especialy?......... How does it work out talking to a 10 year old about scap loading. reading all the clinical and scientific data is fantastic ..but how in the world do you relate and transfer this information to a kid without melting her cortex. I know of one Instructor on here, That works with the best Female hitter in the world and hes pretty much her mouthpiece.
Ive had the pleasure and privilage to work with Hitter and Bustos for the last 5 years. First as a parent then as an instructor. let me start by saying she does not use a MLB swing especialy if she has to push what shes already pulled to get to contact...... do your selves a favor....... pick Howards brain about how to properly teach hitting to a female child or young lady........ There is a difference between that and teaching boys. Ive done countless hitting clinics with the 2 of them and the one thing above all else that remains constant is their ability to make it simple for kids to understand, feel and fix.
For a girl to get a womans perspective on how to hit is extremely important ... I diddnt realise how much so until a few month ago when my daughter got to spend some hitting time with the Barry Bonds of female hitters...... I sat back and listend to the conversation and was pretty much floored by it. This is the knowledge that her and Hitter have shared with so many countless other kids.......
Find their clinics get in front of Bustos and Hitter and bring them your questions . set aside petty pride about taking advice from a female and just try it......... I guarentee you it will be the best money you will ever spend to prepare your daughters for the next level

Tim

I have had the pleasure of working with Howard for 2-3 years. He has taught me so much and I pass it on to other girls. And of coarse still trying to learn all I can.

Have met Tim, SB Family, and Crystal at clinics through Howard.
Great people with a passion for teaching, and putting things into an easy to teach method for the girls and boys to see it, feel it and then fix it. I should add learn it so they can start to understand how to fix themselves when the hitting instructor is not around.

Howard has let me sit in his garage for multiple lessons and let me watch and ask questions.
Seen mothers get teary eyed when he has worked with their daughters.



Wanted to share this story since Howard mentioned it in an earlier post:

The guy who had a LD kid drove 7 hours from Illinios all night. Fell asleep at the wheel and bounced off a concrete divider with his family in the car. Thank God no one was hurt.

Made it to Howards house. Howard knew a mechanic so while he gave the guy's daughter a hitting lesson for the better part of a day the guys car got fixed.




Straightleg

 

[HittingGuru]

Would you say this hitter got her foot down early? http://home.mindspring.com/~rmk/ULL0002.mpg

Use the arrow keys to toggle back and forth frame by frame in quicktime. If you don't have quicktime it's a free download.

To me that is late. To a lot of others that might be a little early. I just like everything settled and still from release of the pitch untill the decision has been made to swing.

 

[Chris O'Leary]

To me that is late. To a lot of others that might be a little early. I just like everything settled and still from release of the pitch untill the decision has been made to swing.

Do you have any video of any high level hitters actually doing this?

 

[straightleg]

To me that is late. To a lot of others that might be a little early. I just like everything settled and still from release of the pitch untill the decision has been made to swing.

Mark H.

To me looking at in in Quicktime a wee bit late at toe touch/ heal plant per what the pitcher is doing.

What do you see?



Straightleg

 

[ssarge]

So, when Bonds says "You've never seen my top hand", I try to understand what he means, rather than just blow him off as someone who doesn't know what he's talking about, or down play it because it might not fit my methodology. IMO, many in the FP community are down playing some of the movements seen in video clips of MLB players, because the movements don't fit their methodology.

I don't believe that is happening on THIS thread. I've see some comments about female strength and physiology. I have not seen anyone marginalizing the mechanics of MLB hitters. I do see LOTS of people who disagree about what is happening in the swing - as always. That isn;t marginalizing the importance of it, though.

Respetfully, I think you are interpolating a LOT of mechanics into Bonds's trash-talking.

BTW, how did the other MLB hitters who went against Finch fare? (I think there were about 7 others). Where they all swinging within the MLB pattern, too? I have NO DOUBT they would all have hit her handily, given time to prepare, and actually caring about it. But how did they do at first pass with their mechanics?

 

[Chris O'Leary]

I have NO DOUBT they would all have hit her handily, given time to prepare, and actually caring about it. But how did they do at first pass with their mechanics?

Don't discount the funkiness factor.

At a minimum they'd have to recalibrate their timing and get used to a very different release point.

Sidearmers in MLB have the same advantage.

 

[ssarge]

Reading this thread front to back i have a few questions............... are the guys here teaching kids?......... girls especialy?......... How does it work out talking to a 10 year old about scap loading.

As has been stated on this thread already, no one actually does this, or would want to.

Scap loading (scapular abduction / adduction) is almost impossible to describe, in writing, or in person.

It IS fairly easy to put someone into the position though, and get them close enough that they can begin to experiment with it. When you do this, even 10 YOs have good results.

And it is important enough that making an effort to communicate it on the one hand and understand it on the other is crucial. IMO. Though you have correctly summarized the challenge. It IS hard to describe, and a lot of people who think they get it may actually not.

Proper loading - absolutely including scapular abduction / adduction - is absolutely essential for a typical-sized girl who wants to gain HR power. I don't know any other way to connect well enough so that the average size / strength female hitter can get that result. Some - relatively few - do it efficiently enough intuitively that they have "natural power." Others have to be taught. The good news is that they can be.

But again, NO ONE who actually works with kids would use this terminology, or attempt to describe it, including f-2-f. It can only be communicated through demonstration and through manually putting the hitter into the position.

Regards,

Scott