Interesting Video on Front Hip

[ThundersDad]

Hey SB, Where's Crystal or Howard going to be giving clinics next? Any schedules? Also for anyone, what happens if my daughter gets up on top of her front leg instead of behind or up against the front side at the end of her swing? Will that rob her of some power? Maybe that's what someone meant when they said escorting the bat to the ball?

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Hey SB, Where's Crystal or Howard going to be giving clinics next? Any schedules? Also for anyone, what happens if my daughter gets up on top of her front leg instead of behind or up against the front side at the end of her swing? Will that rob her of some power? Maybe that's what someone meant when they said escorting the bat to the ball?

IMO the answer to your question is 'yes'.

 

[ThundersDad]

Thanks FFS, I have been working on getting her to use her backside more and don't spin down into the ground ( squishing the bug ) which she doesn't do, but we were looking for good use of the hips. I saw her from a distance yesterday in highschool practice and she was finishing up vertical on her front leg or straight. Also FFS, when she loads (coils) and stretches, should that be as the stride foot goes forward to toe touch?

 

[ThundersDad]

One more question, My DD has been preloading before striding, so I assume that loading and coiling as you are striding will result in more power? And does that load and coil to the back foot stay on the inside of the backfoot or up against it versus up on top of it? In other words, should it be the same as in golf, don't sway backwards and get outside of your foot?

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Thanks FFS, I have been working on getting her to use her backside more and don't spin down into the ground ( squishing the bug ) which she doesn't do, but we were looking for good use of the hips. I saw her from a distance yesterday in highschool practice and she was finishing up vertical on her front leg or straight. Also FFS, when she loads (coils) and stretches, should that be as the stride foot goes forward to toe touch?

Bold above ... 'yes'.

I'll try to put up some clips of this when I get a chance ... but basically the loading/coiling of the rear leg will take place going into what you are referring to a 'toe-touch' ... or what some refer to as the end of Fwd-by-Coiling ... at which point the press from the backside will intensify as the rear leg uncoils or shifts into what you would likely refer to as 'heel plant'.

What you describe ... the drifting onto/over the front foot ... was what Donny considered to be an issue with those that didn't 'coil'. Donny's fix for this issue was to 'coil' ... mainly because he felt that those that 'coiled' would naturally 'uncoil' ... and those that uncoil into 'heel plant' won't normally have this issue.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

One more question, My DD has been preloading before striding, so I assume that loading and coiling as you are striding will result in more power? And does that load and coil to the back foot stay on the inside of the backfoot or up against it versus up on top of it? In other words, should it be the same as in golf, don't sway backwards and get outside of your foot?

Well there you go ... don't do that. What does the Doc recommend in this area ... simplified down ..... load the rear leg and throw ... and for me anyway, the rear leg is always 'loading' or 'unloading'. No pause ... as to me, a pause represents someone cheating their load.

IMO, one of the biggest swing issues with young hitters is with respect to their timing ... and the idea from my perspective is to get them to the point where they will never cheat their load and never feel rushed. A hitter always has an option to load earlier and slower ... and they can learn to lengthen the portion of their swing during what you are referring to as the loading phase.

 

[SBFAMILY]

GotBustos.com » events Here you go. Quote" We say to our hitters, “Slow to load, soft to step on a flexed front knee and think you are sitting on that knee a little at toe touch. Our stride MUST always be consistent and under control."

 

[ThundersDad]

Thanks FFS and SBF, Does that load stay on the inside of the back foot? And will stopping the drifting forward or finishing forward limit the amouunt of ground balls hit, in other words shouldn't staying behind the front side produce more hard line drives? Seems to me that when she goes forward with her body that it results in too many weak ground balls that it appears that she mishit on top of the ball and not behind it.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

TD ... the notion of hitting behind the front leg ... or, trying to keep your head balanced behind the front leg AFTER you press/push into the frontside ... will serve to strengthen the block/push of the front leg ... and this will result in the barrel accelerating. This will point your daughter in the direction of hitting linedrives with greater authority.

As for the pressure on the back foot. I have data on both sides of this ... but my usual instruction is to attempt to keep the weight along the inside half of the back foot during the load/coil. You'll often hear/read people speaking of "sway" type issues ... and one form of 'sway' that people speak of is allowing the weight of the back foot to roll over to the back half of the rear foot. One way to think of this is that with the weight on the inside half of your back foot that you are more able to 'unload' on demand ... or that you are more in control of your 'unload'.

 

[Greenmonsters]

Thanks FFS and SBF, Does that load stay on the inside of the back foot? And will stopping the drifting forward or finishing forward limit the amouunt of ground balls hit, in other words shouldn't staying behind the front side produce more hard line drives? Seems to me that when she goes forward with her body that it results in too many weak ground balls that it appears that she mishit on top of the ball and not behind it.

When a hitter ends up out over their front foot or leg, not only do they lose power from an inefficient load, but their head moves too! This means they have to track a moving pitch while their head and eyes also are moving. This may explain some of your DD's weak groundballs/poor contact. Look at the model swings or any good hitter for that matter, the head barely moves after heel plant. Keeping the head still is another reason we encourage our OFs to sprint to the spot to catch the ball rather than drifting - the ball is much simpler to track when your head is still.