11yo swing analysis

[FiveFrameSwing]

Megan Bush ...

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Amy Hooks ....

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Manny Ramirez ...

 

[Ivy's Dad]

Kelsey Bruder is another example of a minimum negative move ...

This is almost exactly how my DD hits. She consistently hits line drives to the outfield for singles. More coil would probably give her more power, but I'm concerned it might lower her hitting percentage (currently around 0.600) due to more strike outs and pop flys. Any thoughts?

 

[greg99]

Not wanting to change the tread but a few have posted about the OH throwing mechanics. Could one of you post a link to the proper form or start a new post in another section. Thanks

 

[Wellphyt]

I disagree. I had an entire group of 11 year old kids at a Bustos clinic in Cincinnati two weeks ago who picked up this concept very quickly.

I had a 13 year old on Sunday pick up the concept in two minutes. I suspect it will be a few months and take a couple of thousands swings before it shows up in her game swing. Same with my daughter. IMO weight shifting with the hips, both back and forward, as described by Williams, is not going to be easy for an 11 year old to master. I just don't want the dad getting frustrated or think that his daughter is doing something wrong if she doesn't pick it up right away. Parents and instructors also need to be careful not to take away a player's natural athleticism and or rhythm while they're learning.

I always look at hitting movements from the perspective of seeing them in live game swings. Sometimes it's better to allow a less efficient movement go; and then tighten things up as the player matures and the pitching gets better. To put it into perspective, Ted Williams went to a shorter stride part way through his career, because he felt it made him more efficient.

Glad the clinic went well.

 

[Wellphyt]

I'm sure this is due to my not fully grasping the concept, but I've heard variations of this comment said many times and have never been able to make sense of it. If you start in an "athletic stance" (feet wider than shoulders, knees inside feet, weight evenly distributed) you HAVE to shift your weight back to lift your front foot. She's got very good balance, having had a fair amount of martial arts and gymnastics training, so I'm confident she can do what is asked of her if I can describe it adequately. But, asking her to do a one-legged horse stance is not likely to go over well...

It seems that many of the girls in the videos start with much more weight back initially.

Like I said, this is an advanced movement. Once she gets it, the light will come on and it will click. However getting it to click, is the tricky part. IMO, the odds of her figuring this out on her own are slim. Which means you will need to figure it out first. In the meantime she can hit fine without doing a proper weight shift, especially at age 11.

I would recommend you pay careful attention to the relationship between your back foot and your front side the next time you throw overhand. When you break your hands and you begin your stride, your back foot is applying pressure against the ground. Your back foot is applying force against the ground in such a way that keeps your front side closed as you stride. If you exaggerate that pressure, the front side will close more. If you deemphasize the pressure, the front side closes less or not at all.

The same pressure you use to close your hips as you stride in the overhand throw, is similar in hitting. The main difference being that when hitting, you want to apply that pressure against the ground as soon as you lift your front foot to avoid swaying back. When you apply the pressure as soon as the front foot is lifted, the hips will immediately pivot back. This IMO is how you weight shift back without sway. Ted said he shifted his weight back with his hips. He compared the hip movement to a pendulum. Once the hips pivot back, the unload/uncoil/unwinding, is automatic.

Just my opinion of course.

 

[whatsup]

Just a couple observations as I try to digest the comments/suggestions given so far:

I find it interesting, having now watched lots of swing videos, that many (certainly not all) females seem to utilize a wider stance than their male counterparts. To the point that their knees are further outside their hips for much longer and, in many cases, at the point of contact, the rear hip is well ahead of the rear knee.

The suggestions given to widen the stance appear to be critical to limiting lateral movement when unweighting the front foot. Likewise, having the weight more on the toes, and lifting the front leg heel first while flexing the front knee, marching band style, as opposed to rocking sideways and lifting the whole foot seems to be important.

Still working on a way to exaggerate the feeling of rear hip loading. Best I've come up with is to stand on the back leg with the knee flexed. Then, keeping the back knee flexed, move the heel of the front foot to the front of the back knee.

 

[cshilt]

I find it interesting, having now watched lots of swing videos, that many (certainly not all) females seem to utilize a wider stance than their male counterparts. To the point that their knees are further outside their hips for much longer and, in many cases, at the point of contact, the rear hip is well ahead of the rear knee.

The suggestions given to widen the stance appear to be critical to limiting lateral movement when unweighting the front foot. Likewise, having the weight more on the toes, and lifting the front leg heel first while flexing the front knee, marching band style, as opposed to rocking sideways and lifting the whole foot seems to be important.

This is an important observation and a critical point as to why we place such importance on the stance and balance. Read this excerpt from a book on women's strength training:

See the skeletal differences between women and men
By Frederic Delavier


The morphological differences between women and men are the result of differences in the volume and proportion of similar anatomical features. Generally speaking, the female skeleton is not as massive; it is smoother and more delicate with impressions—hollows or bumps—that serve as muscle insertions or provide passage for tendons, which are less accentuated. (The more highly developed musculature in men marks the skeleton more.) The female thoracic cage is generally more rounded and not as big as in the male. Proportionately, the skeletal width of the shoulders is the same as in the male, but the larger muscular development of the latter makes it seem wider. The lumbar curve is greater in women and the pelvis is tilted anteriorly (anteversion), which makes for the sway-backed appearance often found in women. If the waist in women is longer and smaller, it is because the thorax is more constricted at the base and the pelvis is generally not as high.

The most important difference between the male and female skeletons is found at the level of the pelvis. The female pelvis is adapted for gestation: it is not as high and is proportionately wider than that of the male. The sacrum of the female is wider and the pelvic ring is wider and more circular to facilitate the passage of the newborn. As the pelvic ring is wider, the acetabula (the fossa in which the heads of the femurs lodge) are farther apart, which increases the distance between the greater trochanters and consequently the width of the hips.

Greater hip width in women influences the position of the femurs, which are often more angled than in men, giving them a slight X shape.

A wide pelvis with a significant angle of the femur can provoke genu valgum, accentuated all the more by the hyperlaxity toward which women tend. The legs then take on a typical X shape: the articulation at the knee is excessively solicited; the medial collateral ligament is overstretched; and the lateral meniscus, the cartilage-covered articular surfaces of the external condyle of the femur, and the lateral tuberosity of the tibia are subjected to excessive loads, which may lead to premature wear.

Pathological genu valgum is accompanied by medial collapse at the ankle and the disappearance of the plantar arch (flat foot), which may involve pain because of excessive stretching of certain muscles in the sole of the foot.

It is very important to take into account the individual morphologies and to remember that women are more often prone to genu valgum pathologies, whereas men more frequently suffer from bow-legs (genu varum). People with very noticeable genu valgum should therefore work out carefully, avoid training with heavy weights, and always perform the movements so as to avoid impacts that would aggravate knee and ankle problems.

See the skeletal differences between women and men

You can summarize that by saying that females have a larger hip angle which leads to instability at the knee and the knee is internally rotated.

You can see this in the video of your DD when she shifts her weight onto her back leg and her knee goes inside her hip socket.

 

[tom.guerry]

stretch and fire drill:

http://i794.photobucket.com/albums/yy225/mnbtds01/SNFcompare.gif