Looking for drills to keep shoulder from opening up.
- Thread starter canyonjoe
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FiveFrameSwing
Banned
The front shoulder does turn left (for a right handed hitter).
Certainly powering the swing by first pulling 'out' with the lead shoulder would be an issue. If the first move of the front shoulder is 'out', as opposed to 'up', then that suggests a lack of resistance. If the first move is 'up', then the following 'out' may be perfectly fine.
Would help to see video.
There are plenty of drills that folks use to attempt to keep the front shoulder in ... the issue IMO is knowing that the lead shoulder does not stay in.
Certainly powering the swing by first pulling 'out' with the lead shoulder would be an issue. If the first move of the front shoulder is 'out', as opposed to 'up', then that suggests a lack of resistance. If the first move is 'up', then the following 'out' may be perfectly fine.
Would help to see video.
There are plenty of drills that folks use to attempt to keep the front shoulder in ... the issue IMO is knowing that the lead shoulder does not stay in.
Sometimes , the front shoulder opens early because the hitter picks up her rear heel too early at the start of shifting weight forward. This directs her rear knee in towards the plate which gets the hips and shoulders opening up too early. If the heel stays down/low at the start of weight shift for a short while then the knee is directed straight ahead and the hips and shoulders do not want to open until later. Opening the shoulder early is not a problem if the back foot/leg/hip are used correctly to shift weight and control the swing timing unless the hitter is fooled by an off speed pitch.
Here is a drill I found about five years ago on here. I think it was a Howard Carrier drill, but I can't remember and didn't write down who contributed this. I've used it and it does give the hitter a feel of staying inside the ball. LOTS of deep tee work will also help with pulling off the ball. Good luck!
"Shoulder Flying Open Drill:
Go get some PVC about 1 inch in diameter. Cut it to the length of her bat. Tell DD to hold the PVC like she is holding the bat in front of a tee. Put a softball or a wiffle ball on the tee. Your choice.
You stand directly across from DD on the other side of the tee. Tell DD to take her bottom hand off the PVC and stick it straight out to you arm fully extended. She will need to be tilted to do what you request.
Stick your hand out and tell her to put her hand right against yours palm to palm, finger to finger. Tell DD to swing under both your arms with the PVC and hit the ball. Make sure you are far enough away that she doesn't hit you. Have been hit a couple of times because I got too close.
If DD pulls her hand off yours when she swings then she is opening up too soon during the swing. Watch the back arm to make sure she is getting it into the slot correctly and not right beside the body. There should be 3 to 4 inches between her back elbow and her body when she comes around the corner with her swing.
This is a Olympic team drill developed by Candrea to stop opening up too soon or as some say pulling off the ball. Of course they use real bats but kids are not that strong to swing a full sized bat. That is why you use the PVC.
It works. Give it a shot."
"Shoulder Flying Open Drill:
Go get some PVC about 1 inch in diameter. Cut it to the length of her bat. Tell DD to hold the PVC like she is holding the bat in front of a tee. Put a softball or a wiffle ball on the tee. Your choice.
You stand directly across from DD on the other side of the tee. Tell DD to take her bottom hand off the PVC and stick it straight out to you arm fully extended. She will need to be tilted to do what you request.
Stick your hand out and tell her to put her hand right against yours palm to palm, finger to finger. Tell DD to swing under both your arms with the PVC and hit the ball. Make sure you are far enough away that she doesn't hit you. Have been hit a couple of times because I got too close.
If DD pulls her hand off yours when she swings then she is opening up too soon during the swing. Watch the back arm to make sure she is getting it into the slot correctly and not right beside the body. There should be 3 to 4 inches between her back elbow and her body when she comes around the corner with her swing.
This is a Olympic team drill developed by Candrea to stop opening up too soon or as some say pulling off the ball. Of course they use real bats but kids are not that strong to swing a full sized bat. That is why you use the PVC.
It works. Give it a shot."
FiveFrameSwing
Banned
CJ ... maybe this is what you are after ......
R
RayR
Guest
Turn the barrel - with direction.
FiveFrameSwing
Banned
When I have a hitter "pulling off the ball" or "slicing", this above is one of the first things I look for.
FiveFrameSwing
Banned
What are these numbers based off of?
Not much help here for you. It would be based off of whoever posted the drill originally thought was important - I'm not sure the intent of that statement from the original author.
R
RayR
Guest
Yes - the spacing is relative to pitch location.
