Fixing a Segmented Swing and a flat lead elbow...?'s

Welcome to Discuss Fastpitch

Your FREE Account is waiting to the Best Softball Community on the Web.

Oct 2, 2015
615
18
OK, DD3 is a 10th grader.
5'9", 175 lbs, lean and lanky looking.
She's pretty strong from lifting weights.
But she is very loose i the joints, so to speak.

She's a right handed batter.

Here's what we can't seem to fix.

Hinge angle, or the angle of the lead elbow.
Her lead elbow (left elbow) flattens when she swings.
Her lower body is very fast and rotates quickly.
But she seems disconnected or segmented at the waist.
Meaning her lower body strides forward, and when it twists and I swear her upper body stays motionless, like her waist is a ball bearing swivel.

Then what happens, is since her lower body has strided forward and twisted, her upper body is way too far behind.
And then her elbow flattens, with little or no hinge angle.
Trust me I've tried to teach her to tie her upper body to her lower body. She has a strong core.

What's a good practice routine or exercise for fix a flat elbow or hinge angle?
I've tried everything
The times she can keep a fair amount of hinge angle in her left elbow, the ball exit speeds are 10-12 mph faster than when her elbow flattens...

Ideas?
Thanks
 
Feb 16, 2015
933
43
South East
OK, DD3 is a 10th grader.
5'9", 175 lbs, lean and lanky looking.
She's pretty strong from lifting weights.
But she is very loose i the joints, so to speak.

She's a right handed batter.

Here's what we can't seem to fix.

Hinge angle, or the angle of the lead elbow.
Her lead elbow (left elbow) flattens when she swings.
Her lower body is very fast and rotates quickly.
But she seems disconnected or segmented at the waist.
Meaning her lower body strides forward, and when it twists and I swear her upper body stays motionless, like her waist is a ball bearing swivel.

Then what happens, is since her lower body has strided forward and twisted, her upper body is way too far behind.
And then her elbow flattens, with little or no hinge angle.
Trust me I've tried to teach her to tie her upper body to her lower body. She has a strong core.

What's a good practice routine or exercise for fix a flat elbow or hinge angle?
I've tried everything
The times she can keep a fair amount of hinge angle in her left elbow, the ball exit speeds are 10-12 mph faster than when her elbow flattens...

Ideas?
Thanks


IMHO.... It sounds like she is deliberately FIRING those hips and that is why there seems to be a disconnection in her swing. IMO the only deliberate firing that should be taking place is with the hands and everything else is a reaction to want the hands are trying to accomplish.
 
Sep 29, 2014
2,421
113
[MENTION=332]sluggers[/MENTION]....I know some kids don't want their videos all over the web and random people commenting but think of us as an online hitting coaching and analysis service...now i remind you this is free and some will argue you get what you pay for but lets be honest if multiple people see the same problems and agree then you can probably rest assured it's as good as you would get from most and better than a lot.

All that to say nobody is going to just throw stuff out there without seeing what you are talking about it's like reviewing a movie without watching it.

You know nobody is going to talk down or be mean to your DD she will get a very instructive and technical explanation about what we are seeing and how we think it can best be fixed...so convince her to be brave at lets see what you are talking about...preferably actual BP versus a tee and nice angle from the side but you know the drill.
 
Oct 2, 2015
615
18
IMHO.... It sounds like she is deliberately FIRING those hips and that is why there seems to be a disconnection in her swing. IMO the only deliberate firing that should be taking place is with the hands and everything else is a reaction to want the hands are trying to accomplish.

Thanks!
We'll try working on the hands.
 
May 24, 2013
12,461
113
So Cal
I'm a little confused by the description of her lead elbow "flattening" when she swings. Is her arm straightening?

The disconnect between upper and lower may be an issue with a lack of resistance in her back/scap.

Without video, I'm just guessing...
 
Last edited:
Jun 8, 2016
16,118
113
OK, DD3 is a 10th grader.
5'9", 175 lbs, lean and lanky looking.
She's pretty strong from lifting weights.
But she is very loose i the joints, so to speak.

She's a right handed batter.

Here's what we can't seem to fix.

Hinge angle, or the angle of the lead elbow.
Her lead elbow (left elbow) flattens when she swings.
Her lower body is very fast and rotates quickly.
But she seems disconnected or segmented at the waist.
Meaning her lower body strides forward, and when it twists and I swear her upper body stays motionless, like her waist is a ball bearing swivel.

Then what happens, is since her lower body has strided forward and twisted, her upper body is way too far behind.
And then her elbow flattens, with little or no hinge angle.
Trust me I've tried to teach her to tie her upper body to her lower body. She has a strong core.

What's a good practice routine or exercise for fix a flat elbow or hinge angle?
I've tried everything
The times she can keep a fair amount of hinge angle in her left elbow, the ball exit speeds are 10-12 mph faster than when her elbow flattens...

Ideas?
Thanks

Griffey had a pretty flat lead arm

fmljaa5.gif

7AYrCOG.gif

That in and of itself may not be an issue.

Here he makes a bit of an adjustment with hinge angle to keep hands inside the ball on an inside pitch. Note I doubt he is thinking about adjusting that way but a bit less of
a straight arm at contact is the result...
F5W65DH.gif
 
Last edited:
Jul 16, 2013
4,659
113
Pennsylvania

Griffey does a nice job on this pitch. Thanks for the gif [MENTION=14754]pattar[/MENTION]. I'm stealing that one :) In many cases the on line discussions will revolve around someone that is perfectly on time with pitches that are grooved or nearly grooved. I find a lot of value in watching gifs like this.
 
Jun 8, 2016
16,118
113
Griffey does a nice job on this pitch. Thanks for the gif [MENTION=14754]pattar[/MENTION]. I'm stealing that one :) In many cases the on line discussions will revolve around someone that is perfectly on time with pitches that are grooved or nearly grooved. I find a lot of value in watching gifs like this.

At the end of the day, a hitter has to know how to take THEIR particular swing and get the barrel to the ball on various pitch locations/speeds which they don't know are coming ahead of time.
I could watch Griffey swing all day long. I know Bonds was a better hitter but their is something about Junior's swing which is mesmerizing/soothing to me...lol. My 3 year old son does everything left
handed but hit and throw (I blame my DD since he watched her). I have another one on the way in a few weeks and I'll be damned if he isn't going to be a lefty hitter!! :cool:
 
Last edited:

Forum statistics

Threads
42,830
Messages
679,477
Members
21,445
Latest member
Bmac81802
Top