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Jun 17, 2009
15,105
0
Portland, OR
So work on "arm slot"?
098f603d26628b9bc054726096e78aed.jpg


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This is not an upright-vee :D.
 
Jun 17, 2009
15,105
0
Portland, OR
Jcuevas ... a hitter begins working on their hand path from the very beginning of the torso-engine pull. The better they are able to pass through an 'upright-vee', the more aggressive they can be with their torso-engine ... and the more aggressive they are with their torso-engine, the more dependent they become on a solid 'hand path'.

I often refer to it as a "power-vee" because it is 'powerful' ... far from 'weak'.

A good 'hand path' will lead to frequent 'squaring'. It truly is something to work on perfecting.
 
Last edited:
Mar 13, 2015
202
18
Omaha, Ne
Jcuevas ... a hitter begins working on their hand path from the very beginning of the torso-engine pull. The better they are able to pass through an 'upright-vee', the more aggressive they can be with their torso-engine ... and the more aggressive they are with their torso-engine, the more dependent they become on a solid 'hand path'.

I often refer to it as a "power-vee" because it is 'powerful' ... far from 'weak'.

A good 'hand path' will lead to frequent 'squaring'. It truly is something to work on perfecting.
Heck yes! I know, you know what I meant from my posts.

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Apr 20, 2018
4,581
113
SoCal
So how do you teach this and what are some drills to work on the "power V" and would you need a camera to verify if being done correctly? Do you think going thru your swing in slow -mo and maybe eyes closed (matrix) is smart or is the proper swing to dynamic to do in slo-mo?
 
Jun 17, 2009
15,105
0
Portland, OR
So how do you teach this and what are some drills to work on the "power V" and would you need a camera to verify if being done correctly? Do you think going thru your swing in slow -mo and maybe eyes closed (matrix) is smart or is the proper swing to dynamic to do in slo-mo?

My thoughts on slo-mo are mixed.

Energy flow is severely curbed in slo-mo. To me the swing is about the flow of energy ... and you don't get that in restricted slow-motion movements.

It isn't uncommon for me to see someone perform a slow-motion mechanic that is functionally poor, and fortunately very different than their actual swing. For these people I recommend laying off the slow-motion work ... it risks them getting worse, and honestly, they look sort of silly telling the world that they think their swing should look like what they are advertising in slow-motion. These folks are demonstrating that they have a lack of understanding of the swing ... what they need is knowledge.
 
Apr 20, 2018
4,581
113
SoCal
You forgot to answer this part:

So how do you teach this and what are some drills to work on the "power V" and would you need a camera to verify if being done correctly?
 
Jun 17, 2009
15,105
0
Portland, OR
You forgot to answer this part:

So how do you teach this and what are some drills to work on the "power V" and would you need a camera to verify if being done correctly?

I don't personally need a camera ... but there was a time I used a camera for such work.

Passing through an "upright Vee" is a goal. It is a goal that is best tackled after one properly understands the torso-engine twitch. During the initial pull of the torso-engine there are multiple 'acts' happening ... the lower rear back is becoming arched ... the rear shoulder is becoming semi-retracted ... the top hand is going/staying up ... the forearms/hands are actively putting the lead-arm on plane as the lead-arm is itself being pulled by the torso-engine (due to the lead lat being moved by the torso-engine). With this in reasonable shape then its time to work on the hand path further downstream ... i.e., having a goal of passing through an up-right vee. That goal of course began as the top-hand tried to go/stay up during the initial pull of the torso-engine.




I have multiple drills that I use to go through this.

One drill is to perform a full speed swing and freeze it at the 'power vee'. For a hitter just coming up to speed with this ... this dry swing mechanic can be used to build short-term muscle memory just prior to facing a live pitch. It can serve as another dry-swing tool for building short-term muscle memory while in the heat of battle.

Another drill I do is with top-hand only swings off of front-toss. This requires a bit of an education. I've explained it here before. The caution is that one-arm swings can easily make a hitter worse. The goal of top-hand only swings should not be on obtaining line-drives, but on the hand-path ... and then confirming that line-drives are the result when two-hands are used. I alternate ... two good top-hand only swings demonstrating a good hand-path and then a reward of a two-hand swing in which the top-hand path is duplicated. I do this for about two buckets per hitting session with my players that are at a high level.
 
Mar 13, 2015
202
18
Omaha, Ne
I like using live 'check swings' with PVC pipe and game bat. It can be used as a 'drill'. I'll use front toss, hitting different locations or use 2 tees doing the same. I personally love using cameras to show/prove what they're doing during that movement/phase. It truly is just a 'check' for myself and DDs so I hate calling this a drill.
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