Moving forward

[Cornbread]

Thanks Eric! My experience has been that even while teaching “forward to forward” girls seem to make more consistent “out front” contact. I’ve gone through the whole gather and go thing and girls gather too far back and never reach the go. I try to emphasize front knee up when Pitcher is at top of circle and down when pitcher comes down. I watch great MLB hitters that have very little gather. More of a posting up against a firm backside and moving forward into contact. I’m an old baseball guy. Most MLB hitters have weight forward at foot plant. You suggest this is bad for Fastpitch hitting?

 

[Eric F]

Thanks Eric! My experience has been that even while teaching “forward to forward” girls seem to make more consistent “out front” contact. I’ve gone through the whole gather and go thing and girls gather too far back and never reach the go. I try to emphasize front knee up when Pitcher is at top of circle and down when pitcher comes down. I watch great MLB hitters that have very little gather. More of a posting up against a firm backside and moving forward into contact. I’m an old baseball guy. Most MLB hitters have weight forward at foot plant. You suggest this is bad for Fastpitch hitting?

Let's start by understanding what "back" is. It's not having the weight shifted rearward of the rear foot, to be pushed forward with linear movement. The ground pressure in the rear foot during the gather/coil, should be on the inside edge of of the rear foot. The coil is into and around the rear hip and thigh.

This is an example of a fairly pronounced rearward gather, but her weight does not shift rearward past the back foot, and her forward movement is controlled by her rear leg. The swing shifts the weight against (not over) the front side...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7eL2zUHpsg

The tap-back works for her (she uses the tap-back as a timing mechanism). I don't suggest it for everyone.

Hitting is hitting - softball or baseball. The mechanics are the same.