'Conceal the bat knob' ... Good objective?

Turn the triangle

Spartans21 said:

I've had a lot of recent success putting players in the neckslot. You don't have much of a choice except to turn it.............Usually a temporary move, some end up staying there.

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I think(know) teachman teaches this 0 slot/neckslot is the best way to learn to turn the barrel. Not being a member of the site, I'm not sure how a hitter transitions from this position to using the hands. Meaning how does a hitter get the bat off of the neck slot and into the hands. I'm just not 'sold' on the bat laying on the shoulder/neck slot. Reason being because I work so hard on getting DD to keep the bat vertical. I feel the bat on the neck slot the hitter does't get the separation and flows the shoulder rotation around. I hope you follow my concerns.

rdbass said:

I think(know) teachman teaches this 0 slot/neckslot is the best way to learn to turn the barrel. Not being a member of the site, I'm not sure how a hitter transitions from this position to using the hands. Meaning how does a hitter get the bat off of the neck slot and into the hands. I'm just not 'sold' on the bat laying on the shoulder/neck slot. Reason being because I work so hard on getting DD to keep the bat vertical. I feel the bat on the neck slot the hitter does't get the separation and flows the shoulder rotation around. I hope you follow my concerns.

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I'm following you RD. The way I teach it to my kids the bat is very much in the hands. When I set up in the neck slot position I'd say 90-95% of the bat's weight is in my hands. Very little of the bat's weight is just laying in the shoulder/neck area. I like it so much because of the angle/position it creates. I ask them to 100%,all in, torque the handle from there. Turn the barrel rearward. No lowering the hands, no other barrel movement, just snap to the ball........If there is enough coil/pullback, coupled with the barrel turn I think kids can bypass shoulder rotation.....

Picture this way - to get the barrel out of the neck slot you need to turn the barrel with your forearms/hands/wrists while keeping the scap pulled back. Sure, you can turn the shoulders but we know that is not the intent of the neck slot. Once the feeling is attained the handset and barrel can be placed elsewhere.

Worked today referencing the knob face. Helped some. Will experiment with the neck slot tomorrow.

Rdbass (or anyone) - Do you have a gif of the guy doing the turn-the-barrel-drill off the tee? Where he's exaggerating the turn and whipping the barrel around?

This is something we've worked on lately, getting more "handsy" with her swing. Tipping the bat before launch. Working more out front with her hands, instead if dragging the barrel through the zone. Front toss tip and rip. Trying to get rid of some slop.

Handsy yes, but because you are using the bigger muscles to power the swing. Hands turn the barrel, but by pulling the scap back and tilting in rear hip (with forward pressuring rear femur) you keep the swing out the arms and shoulders. The back, hips, glutes and core are used. The hands just get the barrel on plane.

All year I've been struggling to get the girls to buy into turning the barrel. This week in a tournament a few were struggling and I could see some were dragging their barrel into the ball. I made another attempt and one girl saw the results the next game because she focused on turning the barrel during warm ups. Most of the times I feel like I'm riding a wild bull when it comes to helping these girls with their swings but I like what you guys suggest just not sure I'm always transferring this knowledge the right way at the right time.

Consider that slotting the handle end inbetween the bottom two fingers can offer a hitter better bat feel & precision, by allowing the fingers to control more through the zone rather than choking off the bat end with the palm heel. Control should be a little better because you'll maximize your leverage of the bat. You can achieve more whip to contact as well.

Sometimes, non-natural hand paths can occur simply because kids can have tendencies to grip the bat too firmly to allow a more natural bat barrel path through the contact zone.

Watch Ask This Old House's Tommy Silva, or a Roger Federer forehand. The butt of the hammer, or the racquet, are similarly inside the palm with the fingers performing alot of the feel & precision.



Chris

CoogansBluff said:

DD done w/ HS ball, starts today on goal of further eradicating drop-barrel-swing-flat (DBSF).

Going to approach it from this direction.

When viewed from the side, the best hitters in the world will show less of the face of the bat knob once they have launched the swing.

Can't see Cabrera's bat knob.

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I like it never thought about that. For many kids it just doesn't feel natural to hit the ball with the barrel well below the hands.

Maybe you could say go from knob to the ground at launch over knob to the pitcher at lag to knob to the sky at contact. Basically turn the knob upward parallel to the pitch line.

However consider that part of that is also the trunk rotation. At launch the knob will turn a little to the camera but the trunk turn pulls that flashlight on the knob away from the camera and toward the pitcher and then up more. But as a cue turning the knob more vertical can work.