13yo Maddie

RichK said:

Wait, you've got multiple cameras on her! lol

Click to expand...

FP26 said:

I don't disagree with any of this, and honestly don't remember suggesting to "start the barrel by directly using the shoulders". However, I do feel that the front scap is activated or engaged in some capacity. It is a feeling I have been focusing on lately. And if the front scap is not engaged, I have the feeling of the barrel getting away from me. As though I have less control over it.

Click to expand...

bullethead said:

I think you're right. Swing is slower without. I kind of view it as more of a scrunch combined w/scap engagment Jerry Brewer talked about on his blog - I think it was called "micro moves - front shoulder" or something similar. I know one program where it is actively taught, you can see their players doing it on deck and in between swings, easy to see when they have bat in only the bottom hand and choked up

Click to expand...

bullethead said:

I think you're right. Swing is slower without. I kind of view it as more of a scrunch combined w/scap engagment Jerry Brewer talked about on his blog - I think it was called "micro moves - front shoulder" or something similar. I know one program where it is actively taught, you can see their players doing it on deck and in between swings, easy to see when they have bat in only the bottom hand and choked up

Click to expand...

FP26 said:

While I don't agree with everything on his blog, I do like reading his stuff. It's a shame he stopped posting. Here is another good look at what I am talking about.

Click to expand...

Eric F said:

I'm seeing the front shoulder working up (a reaction to the rear-side scrunch), and then pulling back. The pull-back seems to me like a lower-middle back action, rather than retraction of the scap against the spine. Am I on the right path with this?

Click to expand...

FP26 said:

I believe so. The actual names of the actions are still a challenge for me, at least until DD gets more involved with her PT classes IMO, it is more about stability in that area. If you do not have stability in the front scap/shoulder area at the proper time, other issues can develop. The reason I first agreed with the blog article in that the movement was retraction is because of the movement that sets this up to begin with. If you look at the beginning of the Ted clip, it appears to me that there is some 'protraction' in the front scap/shoulder area. This represents itself on this gif as the somewhat hunched look at his front shoulder. Just prior to when the stability occurs (same time you see "the front shoulder working up"), it seems to me that much of that original protraction is gone. As if the shoulder complex returned to a more neutral position. In order for this to occur, I made the assumption that moving out of protraction means you are doing the opposite of protracting, i.e. retracting. So while not pulling back against the spine, necessarily, there is some motion away from the hunched look. As I think about this more, I think a 'returning to neutral' is more accurate way to describe it than retraction.

Anyway, while I really don't focus on the front shoulder during instruction, it is something that I can look at to notice flaws. As an example, page through some of the threads that contain young hitters with bat drag or that dreaded DBSF In many cases, the hitters front shoulder doesn't return to this neutral position prior to launch. Is that a coincidence? I'm not so sure...

Click to expand...

if your hands stay that close to your shoulder your finite possible speed at the end of your bat is simply less than if you hand more separation all other things staying equal

Click to expand...