Hitting Mechanics - The Myths

[Eric F]

Tip, when the instruction is wrong it's wrong. The more there girls understand, the easier it is for them to ignore poor instruction.

Agreed 100%. My 9yo has had to do this a couple of time recently with "squish the bug" and "don't drop the rear shoulder/swing level" coaches.

 

[Howe]

Agreed 100%. My 9yo has had to do this a couple of time recently with "squish the bug" and "don't drop the rear shoulder/swing level" coaches.

I've found some usefulness in the "don't drop the rear shoulder/swing level" cue. It's all to do with the explanation and/or perception of what is meant.

For example.
If I said the rear shoulder for most Elite hitters does not begin to work under until the hands GO, you might agree... (don't drop the rear shoulder) Meaning don't dip before commitment.

If I said that the hand-path (once the hands are already in the slot) should not intentionally take the hands down further or intentionally up, but instead, they should extend level, you may agree. (swing level) Meaning the hands should not consciously be manipulated down/up through the ball. The barrel will turn up through the ball though...

 

[Sweet Lou]

My 15yo DD was told this ^ recently by her HS coach. Dropping her shoulder isn't the issue, dropping her hands is. The same coach also told her "don't chop down on the ball", which is not at all in her pattern, but reinforced her hand drop issue. She's learning not to listen to him for swing cues.

You are right, the problem is dropping the hands. My DD has this problem too. But dropping the hands often accompanies dropping the back shoulder which is easier to see.

Excellent point on ignoring bad swing cues.

 

[Eric F]

I've found some usefulness in the "don't drop the rear shoulder/swing level" cue. It's all to do with the explanation and/or perception of what is meant.

For example.
If I said the rear shoulder for most Elite hitters does not begin to work under until the hands GO, you might agree... (don't drop the rear shoulder).

If I said that the hand-path (once the hands are already in the slot) should not intentionally take the hands down further or intentionally up, but instead, they should extend level, you may agree. (swing level).

I agree that there is a time and place for a lot of different cues depending on the hitter you're working with and what needs adjustment.

In the case of this particular coach giving tips to my 9yo, she believes that the shoulders should stay level (with the ground) throughout the swing, and so should the hands and bat. As a result, this coach's own 9yo DD has the worst DBSF, arm-powered, draggy swing on the team.

 

[lhowser]

Here is one:

Just leave them alone to swing naturally. Coaches coach a persons natural swing out of them.

 

[tjintx]

I agree that there is a time and place for a lot of different cues depending on the hitter you're working with and what needs adjustment.

In the case of this particular coach giving tips to my 9yo, she believes that the shoulders should stay level (with the ground) throughout the swing, and so should the hands and bat. As a result, this coach's own 9yo DD has the worst DBSF, arm-powered, draggy swing on the team.

Wanna, have some fun ERIC F. Have that hitting coach demonstrate the level shoulder swing by hitting off a tee with the ball set low. Video, the swing then show your DD and the hitting coach and ask for explanations Either the coach is going to tilt the shoulders OR the coaches swing is gonna look ridiculous. Either way, seriously inside joke fun for you and your DD and possibly an eye opener for the hitting coach.

 

[GunnerShotgun]

Wanna, have some fun ERIC F. Have that hitting coach demonstrate the level shoulder swing by hitting off a tee with the ball set low.

This is what I have told my daughter to say anytime someone starts talking about a level swing. Put a ball knee high (in the strikezone) and try and hit that with a level swing.

 

[Doug Romrell]

Wanna, have some fun ERIC F. Have that hitting coach demonstrate the level shoulder swing by hitting off a tee with the ball set low. Video, the swing then show your DD and the hitting coach and ask for explanations Either the coach is going to tilt the shoulders OR the coaches swing is gonna look ridiculous. Either way, seriously inside joke fun for you and your DD and possibly an eye opener for the hitting coach.

I would argue that it is generally the case that you're dealing with a very closed mind, one that thinks you are whacked out for not seeing things as they do. It still goes back to the question, "Why aren't they humble, open-minded students of the game?" There seems to be a lot of people who frequent this site, but it's relatively few when compared to the actual number involved in this great sport. I think that this is a shame.

 

[Eric F]

Wanna, have some fun ERIC F. Have that hitting coach demonstrate the level shoulder swing by hitting off a tee with the ball set low. Video, the swing then show your DD and the hitting coach and ask for explanations Either the coach is going to tilt the shoulders OR the coaches swing is gonna look ridiculous. Either way, seriously inside joke fun for you and your DD and possibly an eye opener for the hitting coach.

She's not a "hitting coach", just one of the team coaches in our league for this age group (10U) who was running a hitting station during a practice. She was also the HC for my DD's 8U All-Star team last year. She's been around the league a while, and I get the sense she doesn't have a lot of respect for me - I'm too new to the game to know anything. Exposing her flawed approach would be fun, but not a good political move on my part. There are a couple of other coaches who I have started down the path of enlightenment, however...

 

[Doug Romrell]

"Path of enlightenment." I love it! "Hey coach... How about joining me on the road of enlightenment? Or, would you like to just stay in that road you're on?"