Connector

[ifubuildit]

CB I can certainly respect that thought process and approach to helping a young female player learn. My question is with some of the current instructors who have taught those who are playing at that level such as Candrea now saying that the FP swing is the same as the MLB swing will the FP mechanics being taught change as well? More precisely, those who are coaching FP at the elite levels are evolving the thought process and it will not show in current FP swings IMO. As a coach just getting into FP the subject is somewhat interesting to me, as beginning young hitters down a path of muscle memory then changing it a few years down the road is a hard process.

Carters its going to be many years before that changes at the lower levels in softball. There are coaches out there who refuse to keep up with the changes in the game and are unwilling to accept that their are changes taking place around them. We have had at least 3 generations of coaches that teach 1. Take your hands to the ball. 2. Squish the bug. 3. Swing down on the ball. All of which create power and swing consistency issues. You cannot teach those who refuse to learn.

Dana.

 

[Mark H]

That's all true but I promise you if you go to the big baseball cage of your choice and walk down the line listening to the instruction, you will usually be horrified ime. It's not just fp.

 

[SBFAMILY]

Mark H how true. I did that last week. In the batting cages it looked like slow pitch softball . Many were still telling them to squish the bug. High School baseball coaches are way behind the times. I watched our high school coach after softball and just cringed.

 

[ifubuildit]

In an attempt to try to get this thread maybe a bit back on track here are a couple of more vids of the connector in use. This is one of my students who agreed to be filmed using it and his parents agreed to let me post it. While I realize its not a female he wouldnt agree to let me dress him in drag.

The vids are of him with the tee in tight and back away from the tee at the back corner of the plate. I will elaborate at a later time as I have to start lessons soon.

YouTube - Zack Feb10 007 (3).MPG
YouTube - Zack Feb10 007 (4).MPG

Dana

 

[mkral]

Build It
Great clip. You have your students go full swing and not just matrix to contact with the connector?? Cool!! I was going to run my girls just in slo mo to contact. Have you thought about running a loose fit band around back arm side so they could go to extention and the device wont fall to the ground. It's just a thought I had that I may do to the one I made. My device is not nearly as well built as yours. I am afraid if mine hits the ground to many times it will break =). But if I can get my girls to extention I thought that would be really good.
Thanks for sharing that clip of your connector and your student!! This is what it is all about showing, teaching, & learning.
Mike

 

[cartersball]

Carters its going to be many years before that changes at the lower levels in softball. There are coaches out there who refuse to keep up with the changes in the game and are unwilling to accept that their are changes taking place around them. We have had at least 3 generations of coaches that teach 1. Take your hands to the ball. 2. Squish the bug. 3. Swing down on the ball. All of which create power and swing consistency issues. You cannot teach those who refuse to learn.

Dana.

Agreed Dana, at the lower levels the change will be much slower. Baseball as Mark mentioned is a classic example of that. But the discussion point was that we want young girls compared to what the best young women at elite FP levels are doing rather than being compared to MLB hitters. I can see that view point as I stated, but my question was and still is if the coaches, such as Candrea are changing they how think the FP swing relates to the MLB swing, in terms of mechanics it will not be reflected in current swings at the level. At least, not for a few more years IMO. Are we endorsing beginning down one path of muscle memory, and a few years later changing that path thus trying to "break" what we have already learned? Or would it be better to stay atop the current changes in view and how things are taught? Some of us have gone through this experience with boys, as I have, and are now preparing to do the same with girls. It is easy to learn a habit than it is to break one, we all know that as coaches.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

In an attempt to try to get this thread maybe a bit back on track here are a couple of more vids of the connector in use. This is one of my students who agreed to be filmed using it and his parents agreed to let me post it. While I realize its not a female he wouldnt agree to let me dress him in drag.

The vids are of him with the tee in tight and back away from the tee at the back corner of the plate. I will elaborate at a later time as I have to start lessons soon.

YouTube - Zack Feb10 007 (3).MPG
YouTube - Zack Feb10 007 (4).MPG

Dana

I'm sorry, but I don't view this as correct either.

Leads me to wonder if it is the device or a misunderstanding of the initial action.

 

[Chris O'Leary]

I can see that view point as I stated, but my question was and still is if the coaches, such as Candrea are changing they how think the FP swing relates to the MLB swing, in terms of mechanics it will not be reflected in current swings at the level. At least, not for a few more years IMO. Are we endorsing beginning down one path of muscle memory, and a few years later changing that path thus trying to "break" what we have already learned? Or would it be better to stay atop the current changes in view and how things are taught? Some of us have gone through this experience with boys, as I have, and are now preparing to do the same with girls. It is easy to learn a habit than it is to break one, we all know that as coaches.

I'm not sure I understand the question.

I know for a fact [1] that there are other D-1 softball programs out there beyond Candrea's and Enquist's that have been teaching rotational mechanics for a number of years, and you can see the results in the swings.

You can also see this in which programs are having the most success.

[1] To my surprise, I shipped the second copy of my hitting DVD to a prominent D-1 softball program. They knew I didn't know diddly about softball at the time, but it didn't matter because they saw lots of overlap, at least when it came to the key concepts. There's a lot of stuff going on under the radar with programs trying to gain an advantage over others.

 

[Mark H]

[1] To my surprise, I shipped the second copy of my hitting DVD to a prominent D-1 softball program. They knew I didn't know diddly about softball at the time, but it didn't matter because they saw lots of overlap, at least when it came to the key concepts. There's a lot of stuff going on under the radar with programs trying to gain an advantage over others.

Yeah some of us would like the whole sport to get it. Some programs would rather only they "get it". Other programs are clueless but absolutely confident they "get it". My concern has been for the newbie moms and dads looking for help for their kid. I guess I could retire from worrying about that and just worry about the two college programs I really care about. Maybe. Haven't been able to let go of feeling bad for the kids getting taught stupid stuff yet.

 

[Chris O'Leary]

Haven't been able to let go of feeling bad for the kids getting taught stupid stuff yet.

That's a big reason why I put up with the stuff I do.