Letting go of top hand ?

[justwannaplay]

Hello All:

I was having a discussion with a few parents on the team I coach and the topic was :

Some of the girls go to hitting instructors and teach them to let go of the top hand while others are taught not to let go. I am curious to here from the forum as to which is perferred. Is it just for style or does it really have a purpose. Some say it prevents rolling over to soon and more follow through ?

Please if you have the time can you share a bit of your experience with this hitting style

Thanks
JWP

 

[Wellphyt]

Hello All:

I was having a discussion with a few parents on the team I coach and the topic was :

Some of the girls go to hitting instructors and teach them to let go of the top hand while others are taught not to let go. I am curious to here from the forum as to which is perferred. Is it just for style or does it really have a purpose. Some say it prevents rolling over to soon and more follow through ?

Please if you have the time can you share a bit of your experience with this hitting style

Thanks
JWP

I teach two hands on the bat; period. My experience has been if you start teaching players to let go of the bat after contact, the next thing you know is they will be letting go into contact. And then possible before contact. I would ask the instructor why they teach releasing the hand. Then I would compare that answer to reality.

I'm not up to speed on what Lau taught, but I seem to recall he taught to release the hand after contact. Here is an excerpt from a conversation between Williams, Boggs and Mattingly dealing with the subject.


WILLIAMS: All I've heard around the Red Sox for the last five years is to keep your head straight down all the time, and it's a terrible thing. Mr. Brett does it sometimes and gets himself all screwed up. You know why? There's no way you can complete your swing. These are the things I hear, though. Swing down. Let the bat handle go. Why do you think they let the bat handle go?

BOGGS: To get extension.

WILLIAMS: Nah.

BOGGS: And a follow-through.

MATTINGLY: If I'm hitting the ball the other way, I can't hold onto the bat.

WILLIAMS: Sure you can.

BOGGS: When do you let your hand go?

WILLIAMS: I never let my hand go.

BOGGS: I know. But when do Lau, Hriniak and the guys who preach it say to let your hand go?

WILLIAMS: Just at contact.

BOGGS: Wrong.

WILLIAMS: Just before contact, then.

BOGGS: Wrong. [He takes a swing. His hands separate after the imaginary contact, and his bat follows through.]

WILLIAMS: But that's not the way the Lau people do it.

BOGGS: It is, too. That is the proper way to do it. You do it. [Williams stands up and takes an imaginary swing.]

MATTINGLY: You're letting go somewhere.

WILLIAMS: You gotta let it go some-where.

 

[SBFAMILY]

One hand or two hands is style. No teach if everything else is ok.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Agree with SBF ... I'm fine with, or without, an early top hand release.

 

[batspeed]

They key for me is make sure they are not releasing to early or slowing batspeed preparing to let go. This is when video is key to pinpoint what is goin on.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

I teach 2 hands and finish high.

 

[softballphreak]

You can get more extension through the zone if you let the top hand slide off when the top arm can go no farther without folding.

I don't necessarily teach releasing the top hand but I don't try to change it, either, if they are releasing. The critical part is that they do not release until after contact.

When performing the Lau one-hand drill (the one that recent posters are calling the reverse hand drill) it is pretty obvious that the ball can be hit harder when the bat is unrestricted by the top hand. It is more than just style. Doing it correctly while batting can definitely be an advantage.

But since no two coaches seem to agree or understand it it is probably best left alone. It can be a great advantage, though, for those willing to learn it.

 

[Justanotherdad]

You can get more extension through the zone if you let the top hand slide off when the top arm can go no farther without folding.

I don't necessarily teach releasing the top hand but I don't try to change it, either, if they are releasing. The critical part is that they do not release until after contact.


I don't understand this. Whats the point of getting more extension through the zone if its going to be with one hand?
Also, Extension is down stream of the process of hitting a ball and occurs after contact.

 

[softballphreak]

True, at extension you would have already made contact. But the better the extension the better the hits seem to be (because of resulting bat speed I believe). The top hand does restrict the speed of the bat and the speed of the bat is more important than the muscle of the bat.

Don't doubt the pop you can put on a ball with a one-arm swing. Try it out with some players and I think you will be surprised at the extra distance some will hit it.

I use it mostly as a drill but some are successful with it as their swing.

 

[jacketsfan]

I had a player that did this, based upon her hitting coach's instruction. She let go early, and had the bat knocked out of her hand on contact.

I made use two hands while on our team, and she started getting hits.