1st year 14u - Swing mechanics what to work on

[fanboi22]

I've done some dry stride work with Marcela. Her movements are a bit better but who knows if that is just her getting older or what, it cannot hurt. I used to swing in the mirror all the time growing up, it helps you connect what you are feeling to a visual picture of what the swing should look like. That's why i like having the iphone out, we use that to review right away, it's not a mirror but is close to the time she did it so she can remember the feel, or at least what she thought she felt.

To be honest her tee swing isn't bad and if she could bring it to the game she would do ok. Thanks. That said, the things that are wrong with it are accentuated in the game swing because of the timing aspect. Totally agree, the biggest issue she has in my opinion. If you look at her game swing, her stride is much shorter. agreed, but even her tee swing gets short unless she really focuses on it. I think the reason for this is she isn't able to move out on time (so she has shorten her stride to get her foot down to hit) because of what is going on in her gather, e.g. she is trying to load her upper back during the gather (e.g. "engaging the scap") when your upper back muscles should be used when she is moving out. This seems to be my hang up with W=W, hopefully i am understanding it now. But I am not sure what she is trying to do, as i asked before, is 'loading her upper back' the same as twisting her shoulders/torso clockwise? I guess i dont care when she does it, i think she just has to stop. I think the greater of two evils here is that she needs to stop rotating the top half before launch. Her move out should be a linear move front shoulder down. IMO She is also getting a bit too far over the back knee which will also hinder her move out from a balance perspective. yes, depending on the clip some are better than others, again depending on focus she has. trying to get a good into back heal coil.

So now, because she isn't moving out on time, she isn't able to develop enough stretch to be able to whip the bat through. Marcela has had this issue a number of times for various reasons including the ones I mentioned above. Recently she hasn't been able to move out on time because she was waiting to see where the pitch was to move out. I'm hoping she turned a corner on this the last few games she played..we will see this weekend. In either case, not moving out on time hinders a hitter's ability to develop stretch in the body. Thanks, i just see more of the timing as a lower half thing and less what happens on top. If she gets to the spot on time, and the top half then cant get there, that is either posture, hand path as mentioned before, drag or other items. Not waiting for WW to reply but it seems that the shoulder load, twist, whatever people call it, is the thing that people think is causing the most issues. So keep a silent top half and then alter from there as needed i guess.

Thanks for the thoughtful reply.

See notes in the reply. thanks by the way.

 

[_MIA_]

See notes in the reply. thanks by the way.

If you think of "loading the upper back" as pulling back the bow, that should be done as she is moving out and not before. Some hitters will move their hands around during the gather depending on their handset but that is just to get them in a good position to load from as they move out. I've had Marcela modify her handset a bit to get them to a point where that doesn't need to be done just to simplify things for her.

 

[fanboi22]

If you think of "loading the upper back" as pulling back the bow, that should be done as she is moving out and not before.

Thanks, i do, i guess i see my DD moving her shoulders and torso. She is not pinching her scap 'loading her upper back' just twisting farther away from the pitcher. I assume this to be what W=W to be stuck. So there's no real load.

however i guess i dont see that happening before her stride, except for the fact that she is already partially turned/twisted before stride. Otherwise i didn't see much action before the move out.

 

[_MIA_]

however i guess i dont see that happening before her stride, except for the fact that she is already partially turned/twisted before stride. Otherwise i didn't see much action before the move out.

Look at the swing you posted in post 293. As she is gathering (e.g. moving back towards the catcher) she is "pulling back the bow"

 

[fanboi22]

Look at the swing you posted in post 293. As she is gathering (e.g. moving back towards the catcher) she is "pulling back the bow"

Maybe thats the confusion, i have not separate the 'gather' from move out. I don't want her to 'gather', ie as she sits into rear heel, that should start to move out. No need to rock back and forth. So anytime i see her front foot up, that to me is the 'move out'. HOwever, as somebody noted, she has a negative move to her move out, which you are calling the gather.

I see in the Josh Donaldson video a big leg raise, but his rear leg never moves back, so to me it is all a part of the move out. Is this something that i have missed. Or is it not wise to try and eliminate the gather and just go straight to move out? Again, maybe another misunderstanding i had with W=W' s terminology if he was saying she was pulling back during the gather, that makes sense. hmmmm.

 

[_MIA_]

Maybe thats the confusion, i have not separate the 'gather' from move out. I don't want her to 'gather', ie as she sits into rear heel, that should start to move out. No need to rock back and forth. So anytime i see her front foot up, that to me is the 'move out'. HOwever, as somebody noted, she has a negative move to her move out, which you are calling the gather.

I see in the Josh Donaldson video a big leg raise, but his rear leg never moves back, so to me it is all a part of the move out. Is this something that i have missed. Or is it not wise to try and eliminate the gather and just go straight to move out? Again, maybe another misunderstanding i had with W=W' s terminology if he was saying she was pulling back during the gather, that makes sense. hmmmm.

Some hitters gather without having a negative move (e.g. move towards the catcher) and some hitters gather contains a negative move. The type of gather is a style thing and just prepares a hitter to move out. If the gather puts the hitter in a position where it is difficult to move out on time and balanced from it is an issue.

Here is a hitter (Torres) who has a fairly large negative move:


I know there are some instructors that want no negative move at all but I don't think this is an absolute. Rhythm is a big part of hitting imo and for some having a negative move helps with this. Sierra Romero has a fairly large negative move as well:


Sierra does have a "hand load" (e.g. moves her hands back) during her negative move but it doesn't appear she is really engaging her upper back until she moves out.

 

[julray]

the legs and hands are doing that. He isn’t side bending more. It’s not done with the torso.

Seriously? You can’t see the angle at the waist differences vs pitch location in the stills I provided?

 

[julray]

your video is unavailable. Griffey didn’t have posture? how about these guys? Are they forward bending more or are the legs sinking them more buying time? Posture the same? I do prescribe to adjusting like Ted said, get into the legs more to hit the lower pitch.

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I’m not saying Griffey didn’t have any . Also a lot of hitters get into the legs more when they are fooled by something off speed.. Manny may be into his legs more on that pitch he is way out front on.. but his posture he is also bending at the waste more. For the record, I didn’t say the legs don’t play a role in establishing posture... I just don’t believe posture is preset.. how much lateral tilt will depend on pitch location which happens at heel plant/toe touch... the Betts and Miggy stills illustrate that quite clearly

 

[julray]

FB, the Casey Smith drills I referenced in regard to staying connected should be easy to follow.. that should fix the hand drag issue and it’s A practical Approach. No need confusing your DD with a lot of technical terms and jargon. Like I said earlier too much info coming your way and I understand how that can be stressful or frustrating. I would start with those drills so your DD can feel that movement... he’s so easy to understand that you could just show her the video and ask her to try with her own interpretation. Again JMHO. He also has tons of material on posture.

 

[julray]

I also agree with pattar and previously mentioned this, I believe she would have success with the tee swing in the game.... so I would work on little things right now.. less is more in this situation.