Bat Tilting Issues with Coach

[Cannonball]

Screwball, I guess "short amount of time is relative. We will have 21 practices before our first game. Those practices are for a minimum of 3 hours where we put 21 girls through intense practices. We will play 34 games in the regular season barring any rainouts and then enter the post season. We go from Feb. 28th until eliminated in May/June. You stated that you cant imagine tweaking a swing the daybefore a game and expecting much in the form of results. I can't imagine any coach worth their salt allowing a player to struggle and not coach them. In softball much more that baseball there is this growing notion that the HS coach doesn't know anything in comparison to the travel coach or private instructor. Personally, and I can't speak for anyone else, you will find few if any private instrucors that have studies the swing as much as I have. Also, I'll match what we do with any travel coach. I'd bet few of the travel teams practice as much during their season as we do. JMHO!

 

[Mr T]

The coach sounds like a believer in the 'level swing'. He doesn't understand swing plane at all.

Having just read "Positional Hitting" this is a very interesting topic for me. Is there a consensus on swing plane? PH advocates a level swing plane (for baseball).

I really like Chris O'leary's site. He will call pros out on advocating ideas that don't match what they actually do when video analysis is applied.

However, in this instance, playing Devil's advocate for the moment, I am not conviced by O'Leary. He continually uses the Pujols home run clip. He claims "this is not a level swing people". However, if you look from frame 11 to 12 it is not at all clear to me that this is not a level swing though the area of contact. It is not until Pujols extends hit right arm that the bat plane moves upward. And if you take a sec to think about it and swing, indeed the wrist roll/extension that occurs after contact will naturally bring the bat up.

 

[softballphreak]

Screwball, I guess "short amount of time is relative. We will have 21 practices before our first game. Those practices are for a minimum of 3 hours where we put 21 girls through intense practices. We will play 34 games in the regular season barring any rainouts and then enter the post season. We go from Feb. 28th until eliminated in May/June. You stated that you cant imagine tweaking a swing the daybefore a game and expecting much in the form of results. I can't imagine any coach worth their salt allowing a player to struggle and not coach them. In softball much more that baseball there is this growing notion that the HS coach doesn't know anything in comparison to the travel coach or private instructor. Personally, and I can't speak for anyone else, you will find few if any private instrucors that have studies the swing as much as I have. Also, I'll match what we do with any travel coach. I'd bet few of the travel teams practice as much during their season as we do. JMHO!

Amen! I can relate to that; and I coach both TB and HS.

We can only play 24 games in our state. Plus post-season.

 

[softballphreak]

Having just read "Positional Hitting" this is a very interesting topic for me. Is there a consensus on swing plane? PH advocates a level swing plane (for baseball).

I really like Chris O'leary's site. He will call pros out on advocating ideas that don't match what they actually do when video analysis is applied.

However, in this instance, playing Devil's advocate for the moment, I am not conviced by O'Leary. He continually uses the Pujols home run clip. He claims "this is not a level swing people". However, if you look from frame 11 to 12 it is not at all clear to me that this is not a level swing though the area of contact. It is not until Pujols extends hit right arm that the bat plane moves upward. And if you take a sec to think about it and swing, indeed the wrist roll/extension that occurs after contact will naturally bring the bat up.

Level to what? Level to the ground? No tilt or bat angle?

I can't recall seeing a level baseball swing if we are using the ground as a reference point.

 

[Dragoncoach]

Having just read "Positional Hitting" this is a very interesting topic for me. Is there a consensus on swing plane? PH advocates a level swing plane (for baseball).

I really like Chris O'leary's site. He will call pros out on advocating ideas that don't match what they actually do when video analysis is applied.

However, in this instance, playing Devil's advocate for the moment, I am not conviced by O'Leary. He continually uses the Pujols home run clip. He claims "this is not a level swing people". However, if you look from frame 11 to 12 it is not at all clear to me that this is not a level swing though the area of contact. It is not until Pujols extends hit right arm that the bat plane moves upward. And if you take a sec to think about it and swing, indeed the wrist roll/extension that occurs after contact will naturally bring the bat up.

try hitting from different tee heights and you will see the swing plane is dependant on pitch location but almost always your hands will be above the barrel at contact.

 

[ArmWhip]

"Level" to most people means horizontal or parallel to the ground and it also typically means in a direction parallel to the ground. I think that a lot kids drop their hands and the bat because they are trying to swing "level". Look at it from this perspective, you're an 8 year old playing tee ball, your hands and the bat are back up behind your head, over your shoulder. The coach is telling you to swing level, how are you going to get the bat from 'up here' to 'down there' so you can swing level? You're going to drop your hands and the bat down closer to the height of the ball and swing. Like a duckling imprinted on it's mother you're programmed with bat drag.

 

[coachdan]

I would have to agree with Quincy on that one!


I seen a LL coach do this about ten years ago. When I asked him why he did that he told me "It's easier for them to hit the ball the hands are already flat, the bat head is in the zone already. Since then I've seen this method a few more times, but never at the "High School" level!

You can hit with this approach but you will not have any power. If all you are looking for is to put the ball in play then sure that approach will work. If you are looking to drive the ball into the gaps you will have to try something different.

 

[Dragoncoach]

I think hitting this way is actually much slower than to have the bat angled at 45 across pony tail hole when facing pitcher, wrist cocked (knob facing toward catcher) at launch.