We had a girl who did this and for her it is because she does not transfer enough weight into the front side. We had her do the happy Gilmore swing off a tee into a net. When they walk forward plant the front foot and throw a lot of weigh into the front side the leg has to firm up holding them back as they they rotate all of this energy. Most who do this don't understand how to rotate into the front side they just turn. That front foot needs to land more closed at the start as well.
Front leg issue in swing
- Thread starter kgertie
- Start date
Welcome to Discuss Fastpitch
Your FREE Account is waiting to the Best Softball Community on the Web.
We had a girl who did this and for her it is because she does not transfer enough weight into the front side. We had her do the happy Gilmore swing off a tee into a net. When they walk forward plant the front foot and throw a lot of weigh into the front side the leg has to firm up holding them back as they they rotate all of this energy. Most who do this don't understand how to rotate into the front side they just turn. That front foot needs to land more closed at the start as well.
Longball: We use a drill taught by Mike Candera called the walk up drill and Face the fire. Both help at what you are talking about above. One thing we have found doing research on bat speed. Step to the bucket or Step to the wall drill. I use a concrete Block . The front foot must step with a flexed front knee and the weight on the big toe with the heel up. This will cause imbalance and will keep the hips from turning early. We have found with computer measurments of BSI that we have gained bat speed. Then as stated by Mark above as the heel comes down and the back elbow goes into the slot position the front leg with stiffen up, going into the rotation part of the swing..
- Jan 29, 2009
- 25
- 0
I can't bring myself to read through 3 pages of replies, but 2 things stuck out to me on the photos.
Photo 1: Her heel never comes into contact with the ground. If we're building and transferring energy from the ground up, then the heel must be in contact with the ground to support this. TThe heel is one of the links to the ground underneath the front hip. The hip rotation should take the bend out of the knee, without the front heel on the ground, our front hip is powerless.
Photo 2: Supports the fact that she isn't using the hips to take out the bend. Her back knee is actually turned more towards the gap in Left CF, and yet the front leg is still bent. To me this is an indicator of her trying to squish the bug, or trigger with a turn of the back knee. She is trying to turn her hips with her back leg, and not trying to turn the hips with the hips.
As an example. If you were to have equal bend in both knees, and then suddenly spin your back foot and knee, you would find the back knee drop, which will help the front knee drop as well if it already has flex in it. I believe the bend she is putting in her front leg isn't caused by any sort of weight transfer, but by a sudden spin of the back knee or foot.
The bend in her front leg will not be taken out without 1. Front heel being on the ground and 2. Hips turning the hips, not back leg trying to turn the hips.
She is getting an artificial turn here.
Photo 1: Her heel never comes into contact with the ground. If we're building and transferring energy from the ground up, then the heel must be in contact with the ground to support this. TThe heel is one of the links to the ground underneath the front hip. The hip rotation should take the bend out of the knee, without the front heel on the ground, our front hip is powerless.
Photo 2: Supports the fact that she isn't using the hips to take out the bend. Her back knee is actually turned more towards the gap in Left CF, and yet the front leg is still bent. To me this is an indicator of her trying to squish the bug, or trigger with a turn of the back knee. She is trying to turn her hips with her back leg, and not trying to turn the hips with the hips.
As an example. If you were to have equal bend in both knees, and then suddenly spin your back foot and knee, you would find the back knee drop, which will help the front knee drop as well if it already has flex in it. I believe the bend she is putting in her front leg isn't caused by any sort of weight transfer, but by a sudden spin of the back knee or foot.
The bend in her front leg will not be taken out without 1. Front heel being on the ground and 2. Hips turning the hips, not back leg trying to turn the hips.
She is getting an artificial turn here.
Whap happens at contact is a result of what takes place prior to contact
The focus of the back hip moving forward or pushing the back hip forward while pushing the front hip back and straightening the front leg isn't a very good description of what happens.
You can make it a goal to straighten the front leg, and therefor make it a mechanic. Making rotation a mechanical process is well explained by the Mankin reference. Or you can you just let it happen, so while the front leg is important it is not a mechanic to be performed.
Some call it the rubber band effect, I prefer the slingshot analogy. The front leg will straighten and firm automatically in a good hitter. There's an old video clip of Alex Rodriguez talking about the rubber band effect. Alex is wrongfully said to hit with a bent front leg by many people.
It all depends on your understanding of the process. If you load correctly and unload well, the forces created and the kinetic chain events, will cause the front leg to firm or straighten. It's as simple as the saying, "You can't shoot a cannon from a canoe".
The front leg is not a mechanic to be performed. And depending on the hitter and swing can vary.
The fact that there is a front leg issue, is a good sign that there is something wrong further upstream. And anyone who forces the front leg action in an attempt to create more power, may in fact accomplish their goal. It is rather easy to see when someone is doing something unnatural with the front leg.
The Mankin reference is an unnatural way of creating rotation, it's based on being mechanical, or making the swing a mechanical process.
It has nothing to do with how they best hitters swing a bat, or create rotation. And is just another example trying to make a swing a mechanical process without having a real understanding of the entire process. And how people claim to be teaching "The rotational swing".
And while I don't think every instructor knows much more then some fathers. By the time you learn what is and isn't good information or how to apply the information, most kids will be done playing.
The focus of the back hip moving forward or pushing the back hip forward while pushing the front hip back and straightening the front leg isn't a very good description of what happens.
You can make it a goal to straighten the front leg, and therefor make it a mechanic. Making rotation a mechanical process is well explained by the Mankin reference. Or you can you just let it happen, so while the front leg is important it is not a mechanic to be performed.
Some call it the rubber band effect, I prefer the slingshot analogy. The front leg will straighten and firm automatically in a good hitter. There's an old video clip of Alex Rodriguez talking about the rubber band effect. Alex is wrongfully said to hit with a bent front leg by many people.
It all depends on your understanding of the process. If you load correctly and unload well, the forces created and the kinetic chain events, will cause the front leg to firm or straighten. It's as simple as the saying, "You can't shoot a cannon from a canoe".
The front leg is not a mechanic to be performed. And depending on the hitter and swing can vary.
The fact that there is a front leg issue, is a good sign that there is something wrong further upstream. And anyone who forces the front leg action in an attempt to create more power, may in fact accomplish their goal. It is rather easy to see when someone is doing something unnatural with the front leg.
The Mankin reference is an unnatural way of creating rotation, it's based on being mechanical, or making the swing a mechanical process.
It has nothing to do with how they best hitters swing a bat, or create rotation. And is just another example trying to make a swing a mechanical process without having a real understanding of the entire process. And how people claim to be teaching "The rotational swing".
And while I don't think every instructor knows much more then some fathers. By the time you learn what is and isn't good information or how to apply the information, most kids will be done playing.
