How important is it to lock the front knee on the stride?

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Apr 30, 2018
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Here is my DD (11) hitting right side. She is keeping the front leg bent a little after the stride. How important is it to lock the front knee and when should the front knee lock if it is important?
After Harness.gif
 
Aug 20, 2017
1,474
113
It should lock when the front heel hits the ground. Its a byproduct of using the core/hips efficiently. She looks a little too wide at foot down which will cause her to not use the core/hips as efficiently as possible. I would start to clean up some of the rearwards movement during the load. She's got some pop! How is her timing?
 

BigSkyHi

All I know is I don't know
Jan 13, 2020
1,385
113
Interesting video. Notice more knee still bent when going opposite field. May just be bad eyesight from an old guy.

 
Sep 29, 2008
1,401
63
Northeast Ohio
The straight front leg is not an action. It is a RESULT of rotation.

1. Stand in an athletic position like in the batter's box. A little flex in knees, legs more than shoulder-width apart

2. Rotate your rear hip towards home plate while feeling like you are pulling back on the front hip (rotating it backward)

PRESTO...there is your "locked" front leg/knee

Your daughter loses this rotation because she collapses the back leg.

FOR STARTERS - try a little inward twist and a rotation like I described above and you will be well on your way.

P.S. Please compare what I described above to actual swings by top college athletes and MLB players. If you don't see what I am describing disregard it!
 

BigSkyHi

All I know is I don't know
Jan 13, 2020
1,385
113
Don't know if I'd be concerned about it at this time. The flexibility of young ones defies logic some times. ;)

Maybe set up the tee a various pitch locations and just let her swing away like the gent suggests in this video.



looking for the outputs expressed at the 2:30 mark of this video.



Bet she will figure out a lot by herself.
 
Apr 30, 2018
349
43
It should lock when the front heel hits the ground. Its a byproduct of using the core/hips efficiently. She looks a little too wide at foot down which will cause her to not use the core/hips as efficiently as possible. I would start to clean up some of the rearwards movement during the load. She's got some pop! How is her timing?
Her timing is pretty good. Her biggest issue at the plate is her "perfect" strike zone box. She gets upset on strike three when she thinks it is a ball and the ump disagreed! Sometimes I have to agree with her when they at the chin, but she has more trouble judging the low ones at the knees. She needs to swing and not let the ump make the decision for her on close pitches with two strikes. Can't complain too much though. Coach has her batting first on our 12u All-Star team. She has only struck out twice in 28 plate appearances with 7 hits and 7 walks. She is fast with great base running skills so she has scored 12 of the 14 times she has gotten on base.

Sent from my SM-G975U1 using Tapatalk
 

Strike2

Allergic to BS
Nov 14, 2014
2,044
113
Her timing is pretty good. Her biggest issue at the plate is her "perfect" strike zone box. She gets upset on strike three when she thinks it is a ball and the ump disagreed! Sometimes I have to agree with her when they at the chin, but she has more trouble judging the low ones at the knees. She needs to swing and not let the ump make the decision for her on close pitches with two strikes. Can't complain too much though. Coach has her batting first on our 12u All-Star team. She has only struck out twice in 28 plate appearances with 7 hits and 7 walks. She is fast with great base running skills so she has scored 12 of the 14 times she has gotten on base.

Sent from my SM-G975U1 using Tapatalk

She swings at that ball like it insulted her personally! :LOL:

DD's batting coach, whose opinions on hitting I take as if it came from the Burning Bush, teaches a softer front knee. He was a very good D1 baseball player, has been coaching for two-plus decades, and has long track record of developing some excellent baseball and fastpitch hitters. I've never asked him why, but will when I see him again. I know that you can find many MLB examples of a locked front knee, but I can find plenty of college softball examples, including the above video, of a softer front knee. It certainly doesn't hinder DD's hitting. From a bit of poking around, the most common explanation I've found is that a locked front knee can deliver more power, but it can also cause knee/hip injury, especially in girls. It makes sense if you think about it and go through the motion...with a well executed swing, LOTS of force is going onto the front leg. Locking the knee gives the greatest possible resistance, but also puts tremendous stress on it.
 
Apr 30, 2018
349
43
2. Rotate your rear hip towards home plate while feeling like you are pulling back on the front hip (rotating it backward)

I like what you said here about thinking about pulling back on the front hip versus pushing the back hip forward to generate the rotation. We tried that tonight and it was immediately noticeable in the feel of the rotation. It immediately straightened the front leg and I think it helped with the collapse dip that she had going on. I think when doing tee work and knowing I'm filming causes her to rear back a bit more that she does at the plate. I need to get the wife to film her and let her hit off the pitching machine so I can see how much of this tee work is transferring to hitting a pitch.

She swings at that ball like it insulted her personally! :LOL:

DD's batting coach, whose opinions on hitting I take as if it came from the Burning Bush, teaches a softer front knee. He was a very good D1 baseball player, has been coaching for two-plus decades, and has long track record of developing some excellent baseball and fastpitch hitters. I've never asked him why, but will when I see him again. I know that you can find many MLB examples of a locked front knee, but I can find plenty of college softball examples, including the above video, of a softer front knee. It certainly doesn't hinder DD's hitting. From a bit of poking around, the most common explanation I've found is that a locked front knee can deliver more power, but it can also cause knee/hip injury, especially in girls. It makes sense if you think about it and go through the motion...with a well executed swing, LOTS of force is going onto the front leg. Locking the knee gives the greatest possible resistance, but also puts tremendous stress on it.

I'll do some more research on the front leg, bent vs straight. Other posters pointed out that she was collapsing/dipping a bit. Thinking about pulling the front hip back seems to have helped that. Here is a swing from tonight.

Straight Leg.gif
 

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