We have a 2nd year 12U team and have used the TCB balls for a year now. What I've noticed with these balls is that they quickly separate out the kids with good mechanics from the kids that don't - the kids with good mechanics learn quickly how to make solid contact and drive the ball, and it has really benefitted them during games. The kids with poor mechanics may "learn" to hit these balls squarely, but it does not translate to driving the ball. These are the kids that need to spend extra time with a hitting coach on the tee fixing their mechanics, or they won't be successful - at best they are inconsistent hitters that spend a lot of time hitting weak pop-ups to the infield and not line drives. Don't be fooled for a minute that these balls will help any kid become a good hitter. It makes good hitters better, but the poor ones don't really benefit unless you can identify their flaws and work to fix them.
13 YO DD hitting video
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- Oct 25, 2009
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Excellent point!
I believe it will help good batters get better. What I also hope it's going to do is help those kids with various flaws recognize why those flaws hurt. You can tell them, you can show them video, etc., but when they actually apply some of their flaws to something like the weight ball I'm betting they will understand it better.
In my opinion the 2-lb ball will be a great tool. I can take two of those balls and set up a complete station. I can take six of those balls and work an entire team on the infield—safely. It's like a deflated basketball with no shock, and no missile coming back at the pitcher. I can work it on the basketball court, I can work it behind the bleachers, I can work it in the driveway. With a little imagination one can find many ways to help a kid understand their swing using this ball.
- Sep 29, 2010
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And that....is the true beauty of these balls. The ability to practice almost anywhere. I think FFS points regarding overly heavy balls are well stated and valid. I won't use the heavier balls, but I have nothing but great things to say about the smaller balls. One of the best tools for hitting to ever come out in my limited and humble opinion.
- Oct 25, 2009
- 3,335
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At least try the heavy balls. I think you will find they can be very useful. I'm definitely going to try the small balls when I can find some. At Walmart prices.
FiveFrameSwing
Banned
JAD, Softbalphreak, PASBdad ... thank you for the follow-up posts.
FYI ....
Standard softball: Weight = 6.5oz; Circumference = 12"
TCB: Weight = 425 grams = 14.9914 oz ~15oz ; Circumference = 10.0531" ~ 10". [Relative Weight = 14.9914/6.5 = 2.3x]
TCB Atomic: Weight = 900 grams = 31.7465 oz; Circumference = 14.765". [Relative Weight = 31.7465/6.5 = 4.9x]
FYI ....
Standard softball: Weight = 6.5oz; Circumference = 12"
TCB: Weight = 425 grams = 14.9914 oz ~15oz ; Circumference = 10.0531" ~ 10". [Relative Weight = 14.9914/6.5 = 2.3x]
TCB Atomic: Weight = 900 grams = 31.7465 oz; Circumference = 14.765". [Relative Weight = 31.7465/6.5 = 4.9x]
You probably would want a bat dedicated to this only so that you don't ruin your game bat.
- Nov 1, 2008
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Exactly what would be the forward-by-coiling action? The separation portion of the swing? The explosive portion would be when the upper body starts to rotate towards the ball?
FiveFrameSwing
Banned
Quickly ... Forward-by-Coiling can be thought of as the fueling of the stride forward through the action of coiling into the rear hip/leg. One way to think of it is coiling into a resistive rear leg ... the rear leg resists coiling, yet the rear hip still coils into it ... resulting in the rear leg being coiled/twisted, ... which creates a 'binding feel' that results in moving the body forward. The result is that the forward stride is fueled by this coiling action, which is reversed towards the end of the stride, leading to a powerful action that some equate to being similar to Bruce Lee's 1-inch punch.
This article covers the topic reasonably well ... Tiger's Transition :: Oceanic Time Warner Cable's AroundHawaii.com. Read the section on "Closed Hip Bump" ... which is basically Forward-by-Coiling.
Closed Hip Bump
Baseball pitchers and some very good hitters possess a move that I call the closed hip bump. For a brief moment, while the hips are laterally moving forward, there is actually a little bit of clockwise hip rotation. In other words, these athletes are still turning to complete the backswing while the lateral motion has started. Thus, there is movement in two directions at the same time.
Perry Husband, baseball hitting and pitching expert who appeared in the Fox Sports Network “Sport Science Show,” calls it “turning in.” Notice his hip position as he gets ready to stride forward. He doesn’t have a lot of hip turn at the start. Notice as he starts to pick up the left heel, his hips turn a little more. Then as the foot leaves the ground a little quicker hip turn occurs. It is now that he has ended his move right and will begin to move left on the next frame.
Look at the chair in the background on the side of his left hip for perspective. His hips might be turned say 30 degrees? He’s definitely started forward while still moving back We can see less of the chair behind his left hip yet his hips continue to turn in or clockwise. Hips are still moving forward as evidenced by the chair being completely hidden from view. But his hips have turned even more. Perhaps he’s turned his hips about 40-45 degrees now?Said in another way, he’s turned his hips in or clockwise about 15 degrees while his hips laterally slid forward. This is the key to the kingdom of power. Contrast that with opening or rotating your hips open while striding forward. That would be the complete opposite. Surely you’ll run out of rotation by that point and miss the sweetspot in time where impact occurs and maximum power applied to the ball by having your body in the mechanically optimum position. Hitters that do this are sometimes so over-rotated that their chest and belt buckle would be facing the mound while contact is made.
Just put yourself in that position and see how powerful you’d be. He’s firmly planted on the left yet has all his hip rotation ready to be used in the swing. If you look at his body, it looks like Tiger’s transition. He would be a great golfer if he wanted to.
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Tiger Butt View Transition
When looking from front view, as we are accustomed, sometimes we miss what’s truly important. From the front view we can mistake left hip rotation for lateral motion since the hips are narrower looking when turned than when square. But from the back view we can clearly see these distinctive moves. We can tell if he’s rotating or moving lateral very easily.
Watch as Tiger’s lower body begins to move forward as his arms and club are still completing the backswing. Notice the amount of closed hip bump occurs and how many frames it is occurring in. It isn’t a lot but what is there is so critical. And check out all the creases in his sweater. After the last frame of transition, he can just flat out rip it.
- Nov 1, 2008
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Ok, I get you now. I wasn't really placing very much emphasis on the rearward rotation. I was stressing more on the forward rotation of the hips. It's funny the little things that aren't apparent at first, but become glaring once you become aware of them. Thanks again, I'm hoping we'll have a chance to work on this some more saturday and get some more video.
FiveFrameSwing
Banned
I hear you AlabamaL. Take note that Miyahira refers to that setup action as "the key to the kingdom of power".
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