Drags back foot really far

[Dragoncoach]

Ive got a young hitter who was not transfering wt. now she is but she when she collapses the back side she drags her back foot clear around and up to the other in a semi circular path.I wouldnt be concerned execpt its pretty extreme as far as the distance shes doing it. Does this need to be addressed? if so how do I correct it?
Thanks Eric

 

[lhowser]

I hope Hitter or one of the coaches he works with chimes in because I know they could address this.

In my opinion it is a problem. To me this happens when you slide or shift the rotation axis over the top of the front front. It is also evident that the rear hip may not be adequetly rotating as you would see in Tewks "Rear Hip Isolation Drill" thread. I may be wrong but that is what comes to mind. On a better swing i think that rear leg and for after allowing the transfer of the barrel into the ball kind of catches and balances the hitting as the tend for fall with weight back onto the rear side a bit after swinging. Do you have a clip.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

You have to teach them to transfer their weight.

I learned this during pitching lessons. The kids aren't playing in school, anymore. They aren't allowed to jump rope, teeter totter, play hopscotch or hula hoop, so they don't learn about balance.

Many times I will say something like "rock back and forth like your stepping over a low jump rope." And they don't know what I am talking about. We used to call those "low waters." Two people swung a long rope and the girls would just rock back and forth sort of over the rope.

See how many can stand on one foot. You will be surprised.

 

[Dragoncoach]

You have to teach them to transfer their weight.

I learned this during pitching lessons. The kids aren't playing in school, anymore. They aren't allowed to jump rope, teeter totter, play hopscotch or hula hoop, so they don't learn about balance.

Many times I will say something like "rock back and forth like your stepping over a low jump rope." And they don't know what I am talking about. We used to call those "low waters." Two people swung a long rope and the girls would just rock back and forth sort of over the rope.

See how many can stand on one foot. You will be surprised.

Yeah, they have all but elliminated recess as my dds school! Sad thing is theyre trying to improve map scores, but there are so many studies out there that prove more recess=higher map scores and less kids on riddalin, something to do with coming back in to class with a more open to learning mind.("some things count that cannot be counted and some things that can be counted really dont count. Albert Einstein")

 

[Hitter]

You have to teach them to transfer their weight.

I learned this during pitching lessons. The kids aren't playing in school, anymore. They aren't allowed to jump rope, teeter totter, play hopscotch or hula hoop, so they don't learn about balance.

Many times I will say something like "rock back and forth like your stepping over a low jump rope." And they don't know what I am talking about. We used to call those "low waters." Two people swung a long rope and the girls would just rock back and forth sort of over the rope.

See how many can stand on one foot. You will be surprised.

Amy

We teach balance while standing in front of a mirror.

Most kids feel comfortable at 1.5 times the width of their shoulders plus or minus 2 inches. That is about is about 3,000 kids worth of data over 21 years!

Ask them to prepare to field a ball and measure their stance width. Then measure their shoulders width. Lets say it is 16 so half is 8 and add and it would be 24 inches plus 2 or 26 and minus 2 or 22 inches and I bet they are in that range. I then measure that using the bat graphics so they will always know.

Now with them standing in front of the mirror we point out the shape between their legs looks like a pyramid. Bend at the waist and soften the knees to allow the knees to be more towards the toes. Look carefully that they do not sit down or the core is not engaged. Many think it is only bending at the waist and when they soften the knees it is lost.

Place a bat just under her butt cheeks and she will either sit on it or you see her knees move towards her toes and she will not be sitting on the bat. Push on her chest and back alternately and she sound feel balanced on the balls of her feet. The shoes will be on the ground however ask her if she can feel the heel of her feet are off of the shoes?

Take her shoes and socks off and place a piece of paper under each heel and have her get balanced and you should be able to pull the paper out from under her heels.

Now have her soften the knees first and then bend at the waist and you will move her off balance. It is termed sequential core loading.

Look while in the mirror for her to lean backwards while loading and point out her head position. We teach a simple knee cock and then when they load I stand in front of them and brace myself and hold their shoulder while they pick up their lead foot. They usually want to lean backwards at first so talk them through it and when done correctly they will see the weight and feel the weight inside their back leg.

The final thought on transferring weight can be done by putting their left shoulder against the wall. Then have them get their feet directly under them and ask them to pick up their right foot and they will not be able to. They can not shift or transfer the weight as the wall prevents that from happening. We point out when walking that they must put their weight on one leg in order to transfer their weight and shift it.

The simple games played at 5 to 8 years old are usually missing for most females and balance MUST be taught to them.

I even use a 2 x 4 and ask them if they think I can lift them off the ground with one hand. Then I put the 2 x 4 on the ground with a small block of would under it and they stand on the other end and I push down and they go up.

We then point out the bat is a lever and how we grip it it will depend on how we apply leverage to the bat.

Then we show them how to use a $7 dollar hammer and how the wrist work.

It is all part of what they missed as young girls that most dads never bother teaching them in our opinion that most boys figure out on their own.

Balance for us is a key point in laying the foundation for hitting, throwing and fielding.

Thanks Howard