R
RayR
Guest
Thought I would try the barrel turning explanation from a slightly different perspective...
But, before I do, a disclaimer that this is only about turning the barrel....there are other elements involved a good swing....hips opening before upper body, upper back muscles, etc....this is just about using the hands to get the barrel going....
Some say that you should make an angle with the front wrist and bat and try and maintain that angle and that when the shoulders get close to stopping their rotation the barrel will be catapulted around the hands....
I have been down the road of connection and IMO most kids just tend to over rotate and the barrel never unloads like people say it should....why? IMO because in the time it takes to swing a bat the precision needed is pretty near impossible unless you are a machine hitting a stationary ball....which is why you can pull it off somewhat on a tee....but with live swings you end up pulling off and hitting a lot of balls off the end of the bat....
Anyway....I have been a proponent of using your hands to apply pressure to the handle to get the barrel in motion early...as opposed to pulling the handle....
Here is K'Lee Arredondo....
Aside from her getting her hips open while the upper body is closed....she does a great job of getting the barrel to contact even with the front forearm....meaning the front forearm and bat are pretty much in a straight line....and the front elbow is above the hands which are above the barrel....
We all know casting is a huge problem in fastpitch....the hands get outside the front elbow as they drop as a first move before starting forward.....many balls are hit off the handle or the smart girls learn to swing earlier so they can get the barrel around and pull everything....but casting is simply pulling/pushing the knob with both hands in the same direction....
And so I have been advising my players and students to try and turn the barrel earlier so that we replace the hands casting move with a twisting/turning move of the hands....
This also, as I have mentioned, gets the barrel into motion earlier so that by contact we are lined up....
But, as with teaching anything, you have to come at the problem from different angles to get through to different personalities....for instance, my daughter likes to think of her turning the handle....and so with this in mind maybe this is an easier way to explain barrel turning....
The pivot point is between the hands....so if you think about turning something quickly you learn to turn it in a tight radius....if the pivot point between the hands is turned in as tight of a radius as possible....the net effect will be that the barrel will at first look like it is being pulled straight, but then quickly get into in arcish path....kind of the way a double pendulum looks
And if you notice the "hinge" angle in the double pendulum is at first closing and then opening....it is not constant....
So, if you apply this thinking to barrel turning....you are simple trying to turn the pivot point between the hands as tightly as possible....this prevents casting and gets the barrel "releasing" early even though it doesn't look to be....the hands are applying pressure to the handle in different directions...they are not pulling or pushing in the same direction....ever
Some say you can simply place the bat agains the rear arm and turn (deltoid drill) and this will do what I just described....it will but the radius is not as tight as it should be....the hands will still get outside the elbow too soon and since we are locked down we need to keep turning to get the barrel around because the barrel has not been allowed to build up any rotational energy....it is simple following a circular path around the body....the hands are never applying pressure to the pivot point....they just pulling the handle in the direction of the knob....
And even though it looks like K'Lee is just pulling the handle she is really turning the handle but since the hands are also moving forward there is a delay in turning movement...this is why the barrel looks at first like it is being pulled instead being turned....rotational energy is being stored....
This is not a stay in place action....and this is why the barrel looks to be sliding out of her helmet at first....
But, before I do, a disclaimer that this is only about turning the barrel....there are other elements involved a good swing....hips opening before upper body, upper back muscles, etc....this is just about using the hands to get the barrel going....
Some say that you should make an angle with the front wrist and bat and try and maintain that angle and that when the shoulders get close to stopping their rotation the barrel will be catapulted around the hands....
I have been down the road of connection and IMO most kids just tend to over rotate and the barrel never unloads like people say it should....why? IMO because in the time it takes to swing a bat the precision needed is pretty near impossible unless you are a machine hitting a stationary ball....which is why you can pull it off somewhat on a tee....but with live swings you end up pulling off and hitting a lot of balls off the end of the bat....
Anyway....I have been a proponent of using your hands to apply pressure to the handle to get the barrel in motion early...as opposed to pulling the handle....
Here is K'Lee Arredondo....
Aside from her getting her hips open while the upper body is closed....she does a great job of getting the barrel to contact even with the front forearm....meaning the front forearm and bat are pretty much in a straight line....and the front elbow is above the hands which are above the barrel....
We all know casting is a huge problem in fastpitch....the hands get outside the front elbow as they drop as a first move before starting forward.....many balls are hit off the handle or the smart girls learn to swing earlier so they can get the barrel around and pull everything....but casting is simply pulling/pushing the knob with both hands in the same direction....
And so I have been advising my players and students to try and turn the barrel earlier so that we replace the hands casting move with a twisting/turning move of the hands....
This also, as I have mentioned, gets the barrel into motion earlier so that by contact we are lined up....
But, as with teaching anything, you have to come at the problem from different angles to get through to different personalities....for instance, my daughter likes to think of her turning the handle....and so with this in mind maybe this is an easier way to explain barrel turning....
The pivot point is between the hands....so if you think about turning something quickly you learn to turn it in a tight radius....if the pivot point between the hands is turned in as tight of a radius as possible....the net effect will be that the barrel will at first look like it is being pulled straight, but then quickly get into in arcish path....kind of the way a double pendulum looks
And if you notice the "hinge" angle in the double pendulum is at first closing and then opening....it is not constant....
So, if you apply this thinking to barrel turning....you are simple trying to turn the pivot point between the hands as tightly as possible....this prevents casting and gets the barrel "releasing" early even though it doesn't look to be....the hands are applying pressure to the handle in different directions...they are not pulling or pushing in the same direction....ever
Some say you can simply place the bat agains the rear arm and turn (deltoid drill) and this will do what I just described....it will but the radius is not as tight as it should be....the hands will still get outside the elbow too soon and since we are locked down we need to keep turning to get the barrel around because the barrel has not been allowed to build up any rotational energy....it is simple following a circular path around the body....the hands are never applying pressure to the pivot point....they just pulling the handle in the direction of the knob....
And even though it looks like K'Lee is just pulling the handle she is really turning the handle but since the hands are also moving forward there is a delay in turning movement...this is why the barrel looks at first like it is being pulled instead being turned....rotational energy is being stored....
This is not a stay in place action....and this is why the barrel looks to be sliding out of her helmet at first....
