No stride?

[Momo'sDad]

I worked with some highly talented athletes as well and so, their athleticism had a lot to do with their success regardless of system that they learned.

I wholeheartedly believe this. When I received my first primer on teaching kids to swing a bat and hit, it was setup-raise-step-throw hands. As they get a little more advanced, we get them taking the knob to the ball. Lots of hitting coaches hate hearing that, but it works as part of a young player's progression. Once they're doing this, we really get them focusing on follow-through.

Now, I like seeing the step incorporated, but for those kids who aren't as athletic as others - keep in mind that I'm part of rec culture - then we don't worry about stride. I think it's a natural part of the swing myself, but everyone's basic body mechanics are different and it just doesn't click for everyone.

For the better athletes, though, it seems very natural to include the stride and even at 8u/10u, we can instruct the girls to shorten their strides when they're in protect mode.

 

[obbay]

MD- I'm not sure I followed what you said, but I think the stride helps the less athletic as well as the more athletic.

If you are saying 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it', then that's ok but I like to get the girls to progress whenever I can.

I have a couple U16s that need a good deal of work but as long as they're hitting and getting on base, I'm not going to mess with 'em.

 

[fastpitch5]

i will take the stride out of the sequence for players who are struggling with it and just go with the heel drop approach (heel straight up and straight down, more or less). they are still getting "the move" in. once they get that it is easier to work in the stride back in, imo. i did this with my own dd and son. my son is 9 and hits extremely well. he has worked the stride back into his batting routine with much success. my dd (11) on the other hand does better with the heel drop approach and hits ok - not great (she has casting issues). i acknowledge even with everything else being correct, the heel drop approach typically produces contact, not power, hitters.

i have also taken some grief b/c of this approach. my dd went to a camp last summer put on by the hs girls. the coach INSISTED she lift her leg. she gets ahead of herself when she strides, which usually ends up being too big of a stride. now she's worried about what the hs coach will think of her when she gets to high school, so she really wants to work the stride. for what its worth - a coach for a MLB team works out with his son at the facility we train out of. he took a look at her approach and said work with what she has, he would prefer she did what's comfortable and have moderate success (barring issues like casting, etc. that MUST be corrected, of course).

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

the coach INSISTED she lift her leg.

A lot of good things can happen when a hitter learns to lift their lead leg.

My stance on the 'stride' is that teaching it 'directly' can be a good way to ruin a swing.

When I see a kid being 'taught' a stride directly, I often see their mechanics impacted negatively in terms of what will work in the batter's box.

When performing an overhand throw, do you pay attention to the stride ... or do you simply put the rear leg in control of the lower body? I still haven't come across a kid that focuses on their stride when making an overhand throw ... but hundreds that are aware of their rear leg.

I'm not stating that the lead leg doesn't have a role, because it does ... and that role can be tapped into nicely without a stride or with a stride that is so small that you'd be hard pressed to consider it a stride.

For me, the 'stride' can be thought of as a 'result' ... a result of 'forward by coiling'. That is, I want the 'stride' to be a product of the coiling process ... and I believe many that teach a stride directly, do so at the expense of impacting this driving mechanism.

 

[Momo'sDad]

Obbay - For young, average athletes, I like to keep the stride in. But I'm seeing more well-below-average athletes coming out and for many of the ones I've encountered, the step makes things all the more awkward for them. It doesn't mean I don't want to teach that or to get them up to that level, but when telling them to lift that foot, many will step away from the plate.

This is the oldest group (10u) I've ever been with, but with the beginners, we'll have to employ many of the same principles as 6u/8u, but with luck, we'll be able to coach them up in less time than the younger girls. That's my hope anyway.

 

[starsnuffer]

I know a few organizations that teach this, along with a 60/40 weight balance on the back leg. It's sort of a pre-loaded condition. There is no real coil and stretch. The organization has had a lot of success placing girls in college programs along with 2 players on the national team, however, all of those girls were re-taught to hit once they were in college and now mostly hit what we would consider more conventional.

That said, I'm not a fan. I don't think kids are as stupid as many coaches think they are, and it isn't difficult to teach them how to have a great swing.

-W

 

[cshilt]

Well said starsnuffer.

 

[Wellphyt]

I know a few organizations that teach this, along with a 60/40 weight balance on the back leg. It's sort of a pre-loaded condition. There is no real coil and stretch. The organization has had a lot of success placing girls in college programs along with 2 players on the national team, however, all of those girls were re-taught to hit once they were in college and now mostly hit what we would consider more conventional.

That said, I'm not a fan. I don't think kids are as stupid as many coaches think they are, and it isn't difficult to teach them how to have a great swing.
-W

Agree with the part in "Red". The difficult part is getting them off of the couch.