Howard Drill

[FiveFrameSwing]

This is the only decent clip of her I've seen.

If this is typical, then I'd file this in the, "Don't try this unless you are a world class athlete," folder.

If I had a kid who did this and was still successful I wouldn't touch them, but there's a reason why basically no other good hitters do this.

Crystal is extremely strong .... and I believe that may be part of the reason she is such a stand out hitter.

Many colleges stress having their hitters lift weights.

Ted Williams, in an interview late in his life ... about 80yrs old at the time I believe .... stated that if he had the opportunity to go back and do anything differently, that he'd work more on being stronger.

There is another article I read (I'll try to find it), that stated that as hitters become stronger that their hitting mechanics can become better .... and don't cringe .... the article said that they could make better use of their hands as they become stronger.

 

[cshilt]

If I understand #3 ... "load to toe touch", then this is building in of stretch that some of us speak of. Makes perfect sense ... very important IMO.

If you go back to the original video of Howard's instruction of the drill you'll begin to understand the point of the drill. When he tells Casey to load during the "eeeeeeeee" part watch Casey's front knee. When he says "RRR" is when she is supposed to get to get to toe touch and finish the swing.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

It really should read...

...hands somewhere around the rear shoulder and no higher than the ear hole of the helmet.

Not a lot of emphasis is placed on where the hands are in the stance as this could be a style choice. They just want to avoid extremes as that sometimes causes mechanical issues later in the chain.

They do focus on where they hands are when the bat is slotted at step 3. They should be at (around) the top of the shoulder.

Got it Cshilt.

Thank you for the follow-up.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

If you go back to the original video of Howard's instruction of the drill you'll begin to understand the point of the drill. When he tells Casey to load during the "eeeeeeeee" part watch Casey's front knee. When he says "RRR" is when she is supposed to get to get to toe touch and finish the swing.

I like the verbal communication that Howard is doing in this drill. We do something very similar using "KaaaaaaaPOW". Losses something in the translation I suppose .... but it is very similar to Howard's video. The intent is pretty close to what you describe .... that being to build "stretch" prior to "fire"/"swing". We go a bit further and teach mechanics to enhance the stretch, such as loading back the hands at this point by bringing the elbow back as if you were drawing back on a "bow & arrow", sort of has the rear scap becoming pinched .... if that makes sense.

Again ... appreciate the discussions.

 

[straightleg]

Lest casual observers get confused about what a good swing looks like, let me make a few comments, and point out a few things, about this clip...

This swing is well above average and definitely moving in the right direction.

If you trim the clip and slow it down...

...you will see a number of very good things.

You can see her stay connected and pass through the Vertical V position (see Frame 24), she holds the hinge angle well, her alignment is quite good (and efficient), and she gets good whip.

Her back elbow does get a little far forward at the POC, but there are any number of explanations for that, including where the ball was tossed. I don't see ANY evidence that she pushes to get there or that she currently has a problem with an overly dominant top hand (because her hands turn the corner and she gets good whip).

If you put this clip up against this clip of Pete Rose...

...you would see that the two are essentially identical.

Finally, a comment was made about how this hitter's back elbow and front elbow move independently. However, this clip...

...demonstrates that's not the case. Watch how, as her back elbow drops, her front elbow rises. Some people call that maintaining the triangle, and she is clearly doing it.

P.S. Why do I care about this? I don't know Howard but I do respect him. I wouldn't hesitate to send someone to him. We would probably disagree on a few things, but the guy clearly knows how to get results and move hitters in the right direction. As a result, I find the attempts to nit pick him and his work to death to be highly offensive and disingenuous. It's purportedly being done in good faith, but you really have to wonder.

Thanks Chris



Point 25 - no way to push the bat from that position






Straightleg

 

[Chris O'Leary]

Point 25 - no way to push the bat from that position

Agreed.

Pushes usually happen sooner when you still have leverage.

Some of the openness of the elbow angle at the POC is probably just due to a lack of upper body strength (especially Bicep) and not being to apply enough centripetal force as the bat head comes around.[1]

Some Bicep curls might be in order.

[1] Steroids DO work, but not for the reasons people say. For one thing, they help build up power muscles like the Biceps which help you maintain connection longer which increases batspeed.

 

[straightleg]

One thing I see is her hands and elbows are abit faster that the shoulder rotation.

Getting her HIPS and and shoulders to turn a bit, while her hands stay back will help her with power. And be a BETTER connected swing.

Doing the Elvis move more and more I hope will help with that.



Straightleg

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

One thing I see is her hands and elbows are abit faster that the shoulder rotation.

Getting her HIPS and and shoulders to turn a bit, while her hands stay back will help her with power. And be a BETTER connected swing.

Doing the Elvis move more and more I hope will help with that.



Straightleg

SL, the benefit to getting your daughter to “rotate her hips ahead of her shoulders” goes beyond adding power, and includes enhancing adjustability. In other words … you are correct to desire to add this to her swing.

I understand your frustration in terms of trying to get your daughter to rotate her hips ahead of her shoulders during a live game-like swing. I’ve seen the issue several times. I’ve seen coaches, and supposed hitting instructors, frustrate themselves trying to solve this issue. The reality is, it is an easy issue to rectify. LC gave you the answer already in this thread.

I viewed your Youtube videos in which you had Casey performing an “Elvis” move in conjunction with holding an elongated bar across her shoulders. Based on your verbal instruction, your intent was to get Casey’s hips to rotate ahead of her shoulders. You were attempting to get this to happen via brut force and willful desire to make it happen. IMO, you are repeating the same failed mistakes of others.

It is now September. That Youtube video took place back in February. I may be mistaken, but I seem to recall you working on this issue back when you were visiting HI and BBD. My point is, that the issue you are trying to rectify has gone on for a while now … and all the forced Elvis moves aren’t going to address this issue if you don’t correct the real issue.

It’s a simple matter of getting the Kinetic sequence correct …. At which point you can stop with the brut force approach of trying to make it happen …. Since it will instead happen naturally and without conscious effort on Casey’s part.

If you get a chance, re-read LC’s response to you. Follow what LC recommended, and this problem will go away … quickly.

Best wishes.

 

[Wellphyt]

SL, the benefit to getting your daughter to “rotate her hips ahead of her shoulders” goes beyond adding power, and includes enhancing adjustability. In other words … you are correct to desire to add this to her swing.

I understand your frustration in terms of trying to get your daughter to rotate her hips ahead of her shoulders during a live game-like swing. I’ve seen the issue several times. I’ve seen coaches, and supposed hitting instructors, frustrate themselves trying to solve this issue. The reality is, it is an easy issue to rectify. LC gave you the answer already in this thread.

I viewed your Youtube videos in which you had Casey performing an “Elvis” move in conjunction with holding an elongated bar across her shoulders. Based on your verbal instruction, your intent was to get Casey’s hips to rotate ahead of her shoulders. You were attempting to get this to happen via brut force and willful desire to make it happen. IMO, you are repeating the same failed mistakes of others.

It is now September. That Youtube video took place back in February. I may be mistaken, but I seem to recall you working on this issue back when you were visiting HI and BBD. My point is, that the issue you are trying to rectify has gone on for a while now … and all the forced Elvis moves aren’t going to address this issue if you don’t correct the real issue.

It’s a simple matter of getting the Kinetic sequence correct …. At which point you can stop with the brut force approach of trying to make it happen …. Since it will instead happen naturally and without conscious effort on Casey’s part.

If you get a chance, re-read LC’s response to you. Follow what LC recommended, and this problem will go away … quickly.

Best wishes.

I can relate to the part highlighted in red. What SL is working on with his daughter is similar to the path I took with my daughter. The result will very likely be disconnection and bat drag.

My daughter would always get great separation. Her heel would plant, her hips would trigger, and then her hips would grab her shoulders. Just like everybody says it's suppose to happen. Even though she supposedly had the sequence down correctly, she still had bat drag and a really bad push.

The problem was that I was teaching her "forced separation". If a hitter consciously holds their hands back in an attempt to get the hips out front, the hands will get left behind when the hips grab the shoulders. The hands will then have to catch up to the shoulders and the result will be bat drag and a push.

The answer for us was for my daughter to learn how to send the barrel rearward into heel plant. Even though Bustos apparently doesn't mention this move in her clinics, I see this move in her swing. IMO she performs this move from a handset position very similar to Jeff Kent's. Jen Yee also performs this move. Because Yee performs the move from a vertical bat handset similar to hitters like Williams, Bonds, and Pujols, it is much easier to see because it takes more movement to flatten the barrel when a batter starts with the barrel pointing straight up compared to a batter starting with the barrel pointing over their shoulder or tapping their pony tail.

IMO, learning how to send the barrel rearward into heel plant is very important for girls because they tend to have weaker hands, wrist and forearms. Girls really benefit from this move because the barrel is already moving and getting up to speed by the time they initiate their swing. So they don't have to deal with starting the barrel from a dead stop or starting the barrel via a sudden change in direction (load hands back and jerk forward).

What we discovered is that when the hands start the barrel rearward into heel plant the hips naturally get out in front of the hands because the hands are unable to move forward while they are busy turning the barrel.

 

[straightleg]

If you put your curser on her back elbow at the start of the swing, it goes around the corner.

I have asked her to do dryswings in her bedroom to load straight back. I have seen this and talked with her on the subject.
She has not done enough reps to change her load straight back verses going around the corner.


Another thing that does is take your hands out over the plate abit before you go straight and you end up hitting less with the sweet part of the bat.

Or as Howard says your bat in not in the big zone as long

It also screws abit with keeping a tight hand path.

It is up to her to fix it. I can tell her, she has to practice it.



Straightleg