Cannonball
Ex "Expert"
- Feb 25, 2009
- 4,887
- 113
No, I have not taken the tee away and had them hit front toss with that pad still on.
I wanted to give you an idea of what are some of the things I am looking for in the evaluation. Here are some, but not all, of the swing flaws I'm looking for in that initial evaluation:
- Hips not fully rotating
- Chicken wings
- Not fully finishing on back toe - note, doesn't have to be all the way forward on tip but does have to have a sense of not spinning.
- Stride issues – over stride or no stride
- Weight shift
- Arm swing
- Rising on the swing
- No control of the middle – spinning, weight on front foot or leaning forward,
- Timing
- Tilt – both pelvic and lateral
- Weight shift
- Two part swings – this might be something like getting the front foot down early and having the momentum of the swing stopped then started again.
- Swinging around the ball
The ability to be coached is really important and I have told some parents before that I don't think that their child could benefit from my/BB's instruction. So, now, after the assessment, I can have a sense of what the individual needs to do but also, how their makeup will work into our drills work.
Side note - BB was here this morning after having a very early private tryout for her 14U (8th graders) Elite Team. I bet she was not here 5 minutes before we started talking hitting and she was up demonstrating some stuff she had seen in a hitter recently. (Not the one from today.) As some of you have seen before, it is sometimes difficult to determine "style" from potential swing flaws. I sat there thinking that this is pretty neat with her talking about something I have loved talking about so much and now, we are equals as coaches talking about this stuff.
PS, I wanted to add this. It is so important the the hitting instructor and the hitter have an ongoing dialogue. I need to know that the hitter understands what is being taught.
Teach them how to fish and they'll never go hungry.
I'm just a guy who is a nobody who once was almost a somebody.
"Are you a storyteller, Thomas Covenant?"
Absently he replied, "I was, once."
"And you gave it up? Ah, that is as sad a tale in three words as any you might have told me. But a life without a tale is like a sea without salt. How do you live?"
... Unconsciously, he clenched his fist over his ring. "I live."
"Another?" Foamfollower returned. "In two words, a story sadder than the first. Say no more -- with one word you will make me weep."