My 14 yo daughter htting off tee

[RayR]

I agree Tom. It would be cool if OH throws could be included with all the hitting clips

 

[Amy in AZ.]

I always ask to see the overhand throw, too. And I like for a hitter to warm up throwing the softball before hitting, when possible. I know the weather dictates staying in the basement, etc. though sometimes.

Here is my advice for everyone teaching a DD to hit. Throw down a piece of cardboard for home plate and use a yard stick or something for the batter's box. Then, place the tee, just in front of the plate. It may just be the camera angle that this young lady is shot from, but I think that her front foot should be closer to where the back foot is.

Good luck to her and have fun.

 

[cshilt]

I'd remove the sway too. She is almost going back too far and stacking up on the backside. It is a momentum based swing and when she adjusted the tee for low and away she struggled a little. You don't have to go backwards to generate power.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

I agree with Cshilt ... this is a 'momentum' based swing. Remove the sway.

I watched two Pac-10 softball games today. Didn't see any sway based swings. IMO, anyone relying on sway would be hard pressed to compete at that level.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

I also think she would really benefit from screwing the back foot in...

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

I'd remove the sway too. She is almost going back too far and stacking up on the backside. It is a momentum based swing and when she adjusted the tee for low and away she struggled a little. You don't have to go backwards to generate power.

Would seem to stress the importance of the weight shift.

 

[cshilt]

Would seem to stress the importance of the weight shift.

Yep. Don't pay a lot of attention to the upper body in the 1 inch punch, the point of it is the power transfer that occurs from the ground up. Howard uses this demonstration in his clinics and I can personally tell you that a lot of power can be transferred this way.

I hope Howard doesn't mind if I share this from my PM inbox. I don't get a lot of messages from H, but they're always pretty good:

Think back to the clinic, we pointed out as we load/ coil there is a tendency to roll over the outside edge of the foot or to transfer the weight to the heel.

Eversion is when the weight is on the inside edge of the foot and the baby toe can be moved.

As we pointed out the coiling allows the hitter to actually feel it in their glutes and you can actually see it when they do the Elvis move as the weight should be focused on the big toe and toe next to it and the FEMALE knee as a right handed hitter should move a little more towards the second baseman's playing position.

This is from a web site that supports what we have been saying for a long time..."The next technique is simple, and can be learned in about 5 seconds. It is powerful and can be used immediately...

Okinawa Shorin-Ryu martial artists improve their balance by learning to "grab the ground with their toes" prior to making a move. Sounds crazy doesn't it? But I'll prove to you that it works.

Stand in your normal batting stance again. Your weight should be evenly distributed between the balls of your feet and your heels. Most players never actually think about how this weight distribution affects their balance. But without good balance you cannot generate any true power. Now simply curl your toes downward and mentally and physically "grab the ground" below you with your toes. This is a very simple technique but when you curl your toes downward you will instantly "feel" more balanced and powerful. It's a subtle feeling, but it's there and you can feel it. Try it. Don't strain to "grab" the ground, just do it easily. You'll feel the increase in balance immediately. And when you swing the bat with this simple technique you are swinging with more balance in your stance."

I took this style of martail arts back in 1966! You have seen me striking people in the chest with this technique for a long time.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Yep. Don't pay a lot of attention to the upper body in the 1 inch punch, the point of it is the power transfer that occurs from the ground up. Howard uses this demonstration in his clinics and I can personally tell you that a lot of power can be transferred this way.

I hope Howard doesn't mind if I share this from my PM inbox. I don't get a lot of messages from H, but they're always pretty good:

Thank you Cshilt.

I hope people read what you wrote with an open mind. IMO, there is something potentially juicy in what you wrote.

I hope we have the opportunity to discuss more about preset conditions. In my opinion, we can do a lot for players in this area. Virtually everyone can establish a preset condition ... very easy to teach with some big payoffs ... and if we teach this area wisely, then we not only get hitters off to an excellent start, but we also make further teaching of mechanics much easier. I say this, because in my opinion, the setup goes a long way towards determining the resulting motion.

I perform a modification of the screw-in slightly differently than what is documented as simply clockwise rear 'foot' screw-in. I recently described this on the phone to a viewer here that seemed to grasp the wisdom in this approach.

Why I mention this is the feel I have is of the rear toes gently grabbing the ground ... but not until the screw-in. So reading your post was a bit of a surprise to me ... or at least for me, it was easy to relate ... since you are describing something that on the surface sounds very similar to a feel I get when I perform the screw-in setup.

Let me describe what I'm doing in this area and ask that you follow-up with comments and or criticism.

In the initial stance I like to have both legs bent and the body statically balanced between the legs. Further, I like to establish a springy type bounce to establish equal balance between the quads and hamstrings for what I consider a criteria for dynamic balance ... basically, I want to have opposing muscles "activated". At this point my toes are actually more curled 'upwards', so as to provide balance throughout the feet ... more weight towards the front, but enough distribution such that the heel is lightly touching. From here, I use the rear 'leg' to perform the screw-in ... which for me has the rear foot turn clockwise (for a RH batter) within the cleat/shoe. This is only a slight turn ... and unless you know to be looking for it, you wouldn't notice it. This screw-in, being performed with the rear 'leg', also slightly sets up the rear hip for the upcoming coil. During the screw-in, the weight on the rear foot is felt more on the 'inside' portion of the foot ... AND ... it is this screw-in that gives me the feel similar to having the rear toes gently grabbing the ground.

So if this is the grabbing of the ground that you are speaking of ... then 'yes', I feel it and acknowledge it.

If you are speaking of something different, then I’d appreciate further clarification.

 

[crankermo]

Guys and gals please take a look @ my DD's swing @ the 3:15- 3:20 mark and let me know what you think. I think it's one of her best but I can't slow it down to see. Looks to me like she coils into the back hip pretty good and she's connected pretty good also. Please let me know what you think.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Crankermo ... are you referring to the video posted in your original post, or is there an updated video?