Deltoid / Rear Hip Iso Drill Revisited

[FiveFrameSwing]

Rear hip thrust is fine, but if it mis timed does it help coordinate the swing?

I'm all ears.

Personally, I'm not overly excited about the thrust action shown here.

I'm always interested in timing issues. Please elaborate.

 

[RayR]

This clip is what I am getting at. It is not so much that both heels are on the ground - it is more about the rear knee beating the hands.

I like your players swing - I just think she needs to get the timing down (something almost all fastpitch players have an issue with) as she is leaving power on the table so to speak.

But, the more I look at the clip the more I think the bat being on the deltoid is adversing effecting getting any separation to allow the lowed half to get ahead.

Thank you for posting the clip.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

No question, holding the barrel against the side of the rear deltoid is restrictive ... it removes the “walking away from the hands” portion of the swing, and without that the amount of hip/shoulder spatial separation downstream will be impacted.

Your point about the rear knee is interesting. This is an area of her swing I'd like improvement on. I'll try your cue of the knee beating the hands and see what comes from it. Appreciate the input.

 

[mkral]

I will work on it. I appreciate the video's. I will work with getting the barrel to the ball as well. As I see it I can work on these pretty close together. Not at the same time on the same drill but they should have the same feeling of hip drive when they are taking the barrel to the ball.

Thanks again and you guys keep it coming.

 

[Wellphyt]

Epstein recommends putting the bat on the deltoid in his Torque Drill and Numbers Drill. Putting the bat on the deltoid totally removes the player's style from the process allowing the instructor to focus on the technique part of the swing.

I found that the bat on the deltoid is good for the Torque Drill, because it allows the player to really focus on how to work the shoulders correctly and feel for the first time what a tight hand path feels like. It also helps the player discover the meaning of bat speed. Especially if they use a lighter weight training bat.

Unless the player intends to hit in a game with the bat on the deltoid, I recommend that the player get the bat off the deltoid when they start doing drills from their stance, as soon as possible. Once the bat is off the deltoid it is crucial that the player be taught how to get their hands flat correctly and sync it up with the shoulder motion learned in the Torque Drill. Combining the flattening motion with the shoulder motion (developed in the Torque Drill ) was very easy for DD. It took her less than 30 minutes to figure out how to combine everything into one seemless motion, starting in Epstein's #1 position with the bat held vertical.

If a player does not learn to flatten their hands correctly after they move the bat off the deltoid, they will have a tendency to put the bat back against the deltoid when they drop their back elbow to swing. I first noticed my DD doing this early last year, and have since noticed it with a girl on our team who was taught by her dad using Epstein's dvds. When a player does this they are basically doing a two part slot then swing type swing. At minimum, I would recommend that the player get the bat off the deltoid and into the neck slot when swinging off a tee from their stance. That way the bat ends up in the classic position seen in clips of hitters frozen in what Epstein calls the Torque Position. The bat in this position is just off the deltoid, it is not pressed against the deltoid. A small difference that makes a big difference as the hands turn the corner.

As a side note, Epstein recommends that players hit from the #1 position when hitting off of a tee, hitting soft toss, or hitting against a machine. I tend to agree with him. I have a very hard time hitting off of a tee using a full negative move/weight shift, live pitching swing. I get my DD onto wiffle balls as soon as possible so she can work in her negative move and weight shift with whatever changes we're working on.

 

[Tewks]

I will work on it. I appreciate the video's. I will work with getting the barrel to the ball as well. As I see it I can work on these pretty close together. Not at the same time on the same drill but they should have the same feeling of hip drive when they are taking the barrel to the ball.

Thanks again and you guys keep it coming.

Hip and hands... almost everybody says it, almost nobody does it. Focus on the two pieces, then focus on syncing the two pieces!

 

[mkral]

OK Tewks I WILL do that!!
On your barrel to ball clip you are still isolating hips first then releasing hands after they come around the corner and get close to contact, correct? I am sorry volume is junk on this laptop, at the inlaws
I will replay it when I get home.

 

[Tewks]

OK Tewks I WILL do that!!
On your barrel to ball clip you are still isolating hips first then releasing hands after they come around the corner and get close to contact, correct? I am sorry volume is junk on this laptop, at the inlaws
I will replay it when I get home.

In that video, it is one move. Rear hip goes as hands send barrel on its way.

 

[mkral]

OK DD's headphones work on this laptop. Great Clip!! I will be using that a ton. Great explanation and breakdown.
Dang I got a lot of work to do with all of these drills but I really think between the barrel to ball presentation and the deltoid drill done right I can get them on the right path. Getting the barrel flat has not been as hard as I thought but getting the bat on the plane has been. Some tilt well and some wont tilt at all and some to much. A happy medium needs to come out. I am going to try to get them to all start high and adjust down accordng to the pitch. I think it will be the fastest way to catch up tothe pitch. I got to believe if done right it will be natural and they will have one of those "Ah Ha" moments and get it.
Thanks Tewks.

 

[Chris O'Leary]

Th idea of the horizontal pendulum is a good one.

However, the hands do not follow the same path in the barrel to the ball scenario as in the hands to the ball scenario. If you take the hands to the ball, and push them away from the back shoulder, then the horizontal pendulum won't happen as powerfully.

IOW, the key is what the hands are doing, not as much what the back hip is doing.