- Oct 2, 2017
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Do guys think there is any benefit to the old suggestion. Get that elbow up (Rear)?
Elbow up
- Thread starter clemenslee1
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- Apr 17, 2019
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I teach it to beginners, encourages scap load, imo. Is it a must have once a good foundation is laid, maybe not. You have to mind that they're not scrunching the shoulder to the ear.
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- Sep 29, 2014
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It depends...is the back elbow down?
Someone had a montage of like 20 elite hitters at toe touch....just look and see if their back elbows are up.
I do think once the solid foundation is laid though it becomes fairly natural and a no teach unless it really jumps out at you and honestly it probably will cause it just doesn't look right when you think of what a elite swing looks like.
Someone had a montage of like 20 elite hitters at toe touch....just look and see if their back elbows are up.
I do think once the solid foundation is laid though it becomes fairly natural and a no teach unless it really jumps out at you and honestly it probably will cause it just doesn't look right when you think of what a elite swing looks like.
- Apr 17, 2019
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- Oct 2, 2017
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The red above is what I'm looking for. My DD has done a fairly decent job of getting better sequence. But I notice the elbow is slotting a little early. She is not elbow dragging. Out of 60 swings at the last session, I don't think she elbowed dragged but one time. It just seems to slot early. If all that make sense. Trying to get her to feel the continual loading of the scap into the launch position
How is her tempo? Does she have enough time in the load/stride process to maintain scap load longer before she launches?
- Oct 2, 2017
- 2,283
- 113
Tempo seems ok to me. You can look at the last swing on front toss on the Allie 9yr thread. So she should, have enough time I would think.
No scrunching. Relaxed shoulders. McCutchen seems to have a little scrunch going on above.
IME, the "align the knuckles" cue is a big culprit in promoting the elbow down / bat drag-type of swing. At the beginner levels (5-8YO), encouraging them to start with the elbow up often leads to actual contact within a swing or two. Bending the knees, elbow up, and higher hand position are usually the 3 "quick fixes" that have worked the best for me during t-ball / coach pitch games when you only have a few seconds to help each batter succeed during their AB.
For Allie - I think it depends on what you're trying to accomplish vs. what she's doing now. I explained it to my son's TBall parents this way - when we were kids, it was elbow up. Then it switched to elbow down. Now it's sort of moving its way back up, but what nobody tells you is WHY any of this matters. Look at the pictures referenced above (also see posts by efastball), which shows many good hitters of the last few decades with their elbow UP at toe touch. If they're a beginner, yes, I'll encourage them to start with it "up". Otherwise, I treat it more as a style - "I don't care where you start from, as long as you get to [here] at toe touch / launch".
IIRC, Allie already starts with her elbow fairly high - but is she getting to launch / TT with her front shoulder down as well? If her front shoulder has already worked up, then mechanically, I would expect the elbow slotting and rear shoulder working under the front to immediately follow. There's a couple PVC drills I've seen (Antonelli, Canyonside Cages, and Justin Stone, + others) that might help Allie better see what her shoulders are actually doing. Front shoulder down longer --> back elbow up longer --> longer scap load. (disclaimer - not trying to devolve thread into whether the scap can even get loaded, or if it's ever unloaded, etc.).
For Allie - I think it depends on what you're trying to accomplish vs. what she's doing now. I explained it to my son's TBall parents this way - when we were kids, it was elbow up. Then it switched to elbow down. Now it's sort of moving its way back up, but what nobody tells you is WHY any of this matters. Look at the pictures referenced above (also see posts by efastball), which shows many good hitters of the last few decades with their elbow UP at toe touch. If they're a beginner, yes, I'll encourage them to start with it "up". Otherwise, I treat it more as a style - "I don't care where you start from, as long as you get to [here] at toe touch / launch".
IIRC, Allie already starts with her elbow fairly high - but is she getting to launch / TT with her front shoulder down as well? If her front shoulder has already worked up, then mechanically, I would expect the elbow slotting and rear shoulder working under the front to immediately follow. There's a couple PVC drills I've seen (Antonelli, Canyonside Cages, and Justin Stone, + others) that might help Allie better see what her shoulders are actually doing. Front shoulder down longer --> back elbow up longer --> longer scap load. (disclaimer - not trying to devolve thread into whether the scap can even get loaded, or if it's ever unloaded, etc.).
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- Oct 2, 2017
- 2,283
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