Was watching a camp very recently that had several college coaches, from major D-1 to D-111.
The camp is very good, so I hope what I'm about to say doesn't come across the wrong way. But for someone who is well-read in hitting debates that go on here, it was interesting to hear some of the things that I did. The following examples were not necessarily consensus opinions among the coaches (although I didn't poll them), but they were taught by at least one that I witnessed ...
-The door-knocker knuckle grip is the correct one, and players going to it may see an immediate power surge.
-Stride to a closed front foot. Three different coaches demonstrated or taught that.
-Keep both hands on the bat beyond follow through. (In other words, don't release one hand as the bat whips over the shoulder).
-Keep back elbow down. Arms should look kinda like this in the stance: /\. If the back elbow was pointing back, it got lowered.
-Knob to ball. (I saw this demonstrated by a coach using her arms. She's a young coach who just got finished setting all sorts of school records.)
I should add that the coach teaching the door-knocker grip is head of a good D-1 team. They were Top 25 for a time last season. I googled and found only one of her hitters in a stance. Naturally, that hitter did not grip the bat the way she was teaching it.
Will also add that I've almost never heard a college coach in a camp discuss coiling the hip or really anything advanced about the hips except that they are important in a female athlete. But I can't remember any college coaches really focusing on them. Not sure I heard any discussion of hips at this camp. Lot of talk about stance, hands, arms, driving the knee, extension.
Question -- How much swing tinkering should a college player expect from her coach? I recently asked a baseball player who starts at UNC, and he told me coaches don't mess with their swings, they take what you've got unless there's mutual agreement on a problem. Sounds like that is not the habit in college softball.
The camp is very good, so I hope what I'm about to say doesn't come across the wrong way. But for someone who is well-read in hitting debates that go on here, it was interesting to hear some of the things that I did. The following examples were not necessarily consensus opinions among the coaches (although I didn't poll them), but they were taught by at least one that I witnessed ...
-The door-knocker knuckle grip is the correct one, and players going to it may see an immediate power surge.
-Stride to a closed front foot. Three different coaches demonstrated or taught that.
-Keep both hands on the bat beyond follow through. (In other words, don't release one hand as the bat whips over the shoulder).
-Keep back elbow down. Arms should look kinda like this in the stance: /\. If the back elbow was pointing back, it got lowered.
-Knob to ball. (I saw this demonstrated by a coach using her arms. She's a young coach who just got finished setting all sorts of school records.)
I should add that the coach teaching the door-knocker grip is head of a good D-1 team. They were Top 25 for a time last season. I googled and found only one of her hitters in a stance. Naturally, that hitter did not grip the bat the way she was teaching it.
Will also add that I've almost never heard a college coach in a camp discuss coiling the hip or really anything advanced about the hips except that they are important in a female athlete. But I can't remember any college coaches really focusing on them. Not sure I heard any discussion of hips at this camp. Lot of talk about stance, hands, arms, driving the knee, extension.
Question -- How much swing tinkering should a college player expect from her coach? I recently asked a baseball player who starts at UNC, and he told me coaches don't mess with their swings, they take what you've got unless there's mutual agreement on a problem. Sounds like that is not the habit in college softball.
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