"Connector" Devices

coach james said:

I'm a fan of connectors. (We own the "perfect conextion") However, I don't like how it inhibits a full swing.
I bought a "reverse connector" (my terminology)
Its an elastic band connected to two straps around the batters bicep area. It forces you to stay spread and compact to contact without the mechanical bar holding you back while getting through the ball. It works by applying muscle memory into the equation. The elastic is trying to pull your arms together but you have to keep them spread with muscle. After a few dozen swings, its like magic. The arms automatically spread without even trying.
I found it on a site called baseball rebellion. The product is called the bat drag buster. I paid $30 for it but had I known how simple it was, I could have been made for under $10
It is IMO one of the best tools ever made for teaching a correct swing. We even use it in live BP with no issues at all.

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Investigating the idea of a "reverse connector", I came across a way-too-stretched-out elastic hair band in my house (free!) that turns out to be a perfect length to serve this purpose. Having to exert a small amount of outward muscular force to maintain the triangle makes the feeling really jump out. After trying it myself for a while, I had my 10yo DD give it a try, and immediately, she could "feel" the triangle better than she has before.

Thinking more about this, it makes a lot of sense. We're trying to get the hitters to maintain separation between their elbows. A rigid "spreader-bar" connector device requires/encourages inward muscle pressure, which is what we're trying to get away from. Teaching them the feeling of maintaining the triangle is more effective with an elastic band device because it encourages/requires different muscle use (IMO, YMMV)

Eric F said:

Investigating the idea of a "reverse connector", I came across a way-too-stretched-out elastic hair band in my house (free!) that turns out to be a perfect length to serve this purpose. Having to exert a small amount of outward muscular force to maintain the triangle makes the feeling really jump out. After trying it myself for a while, I had my 10yo DD give it a try, and immediately, she could "feel" the triangle better than she has before.

Thinking more about this, it makes a lot of sense. We're trying to get the hitters to maintain separation between their elbows. A rigid "spreader-bar" connector device requires/encourages inward muscle pressure, which is what we're trying to get away from. Teaching them the feeling of maintaining the triangle is more effective with an elastic band device because it encourages/requires different muscle use (IMO, YMMV)

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Thanks Eric. I am going to give that a try with some old exercise bands (inner tube type elastic I can simply tie a knot in), for the purpose you described maintaining the separation between the elbows.

Eric F said:

Investigating the idea of a "reverse connector", I came across a way-too-stretched-out elastic hair band in my house (free!) that turns out to be a perfect length to serve this purpose. Having to exert a small amount of outward muscular force to maintain the triangle makes the feeling really jump out. After trying it myself for a while, I had my 10yo DD give it a try, and immediately, she could "feel" the triangle better than she has before.

Thinking more about this, it makes a lot of sense. We're trying to get the hitters to maintain separation between their elbows. A rigid "spreader-bar" connector device requires/encourages inward muscle pressure, which is what we're trying to get away from. Teaching them the feeling of maintaining the triangle is more effective with an elastic band device because it encourages/requires different muscle use (IMO, YMMV)

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IMO what you want to learn/teach/feel is the building of structure along the forearms as you use your hands to turn the barrel.

FiveFrameSwing said:

IMO what you want to learn/teach/feel is the building of structure along the forearms as you use your hands to turn the barrel.

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If a hitter has a pattern of collapsing the elbows together (i.e. bat drag, arm bar), wouldn't this be a step towards building a better structure? (With proper guidance, of course.)

knightsb said:

I tried using some rubber gasket material from Lowes (below), secured it to the top of the Tee with Gorilla Tape. It worked for a few weeks, but ultimately tore. I ended up buying the Tanner Tee top and made the rest per TJ's instructions.

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What was TJ's nstructions?

gasket

knightsb said:

inde53546 said:

Finally remembered to pick up pvc for do it yourself connector. $9.00. Sweet. Now if I can figure out how to make a good tanner tee cone ill be onto something

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I tried using some rubber gasket material from Lowes (below), secured it to the top of the Tee with Gorilla Tape. It worked for a few weeks, but ultimately tore. I ended up buying the Tanner Tee top and made the rest per TJ's instructions.

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Same thing happened with us.

sbcowboy said:

What was TJ's nstructions?

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TJs instructions are in this thread.

Eric F said:

If a hitter has a pattern of collapsing the elbows together (i.e. bat drag, arm bar), wouldn't this be a step towards building a better structure? (With proper guidance, of course.)

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During the process of developing the structure, the elbows are coming closer together ... not further apart.

FiveFrameSwing said:

During the process of developing the structure, the elbows are coming closer together ... not further apart.

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I did not say the elbows should be going further apart. I'm talking about hitters who have an issue with their elbows getting too close together at the wrong time (bat drag, and a collapsed front elbow at contact would be examples). It's about teaching hitters the feeling of developing/maintaining the right kind of arm structure to support proper hand action. Additionally, the elastic band allows some flexibility in position during the swing that a spreader-bar type device does not, which I think is also beneficial.

I know you tend to shy away from gadgets, but have you tried an elastic band type thingy for yourself? The first time I tired it, it was immediately apparent how it highlighted the hands and arms as a connected unit. The way I feel it in my body, the feeling is translated more efficiently than a spreader-bar device. The hitter has to make the EFFORT to keep the elbows from collapsing, which brings it into focus more clearly.

EF … you are describing a device that actively applies a force in the direction that brings the elbows together. It isn’t like a hitter should resist that force to build structure. Instead, there is a compression-like action in the arms that builds structure, and that structure is what manages elbow separation … not an active application of force counter to what the rubber band would be applying. It is more a building of structure, that renders the rubber band ineffective in terms of bringing the elbows closer together … and not an application of pressure that would counter the rubber band. The elbows will come closer to each other initially as structure is established … and it is the building of that structure which restricts further decreasing the elbow distance, not a force counter to the rubber band.