Over Rotating and falling back
- Thread starter richard
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What do you mean by falling back?
If you transfer weight into a firm front side (leg), there may be some ''fall back'' action after contact that is commonly seen in good hitters. Some call it the 'kick stand' action. Not sure if that's what you mean.
If you transfer weight into a firm front side (leg), there may be some ''fall back'' action after contact that is commonly seen in good hitters. Some call it the 'kick stand' action. Not sure if that's what you mean.
Without seeing a video, when I have players who do this, I tell them to hit out from their body, not around it. When a hitter doesn't resist with the shoulders as the front-side obliques pull, they open the shoulders too early/quickly and over-rotate, causing them to fall back/pull off the ball, etc.
You want the weight to be "caught" by the front side. A way for them to feel it is to have them get the weight onto the outside of the front foot as the back side hip is pulled to the front, rather than on the heel. As a coach, you can see immediately when the front-foot toes come off the ground that the hitter is over-rotating. When the front foot stays down because the weight is on the outside of the front foot, they've hit into their front side, and the front side has "caught" the back side's momentum.
Two Drills that will help develop the "out" and not "around" feel: Stretch and Fire and the Walkthrough/Happy Gilmore drill. Both emphasize transferring weight "out" or "through" vs. "around." To see these drills, do a search for them on this site's search bar at the top. There are many threads containing GIFs of both of these drills. Good luck!
Mike
You want the weight to be "caught" by the front side. A way for them to feel it is to have them get the weight onto the outside of the front foot as the back side hip is pulled to the front, rather than on the heel. As a coach, you can see immediately when the front-foot toes come off the ground that the hitter is over-rotating. When the front foot stays down because the weight is on the outside of the front foot, they've hit into their front side, and the front side has "caught" the back side's momentum.
Two Drills that will help develop the "out" and not "around" feel: Stretch and Fire and the Walkthrough/Happy Gilmore drill. Both emphasize transferring weight "out" or "through" vs. "around." To see these drills, do a search for them on this site's search bar at the top. There are many threads containing GIFs of both of these drills. Good luck!
Mike
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Both of these drills are doing well to help my 8yo DD learn how to drive forward - and keep her balance - instead of rotate...
With the "Kick Drill", I had my DD keep her rear knee up at the end of her swing and stand balanced on just her front foot for a moment. With this she learned to drive her right hip forward by pushing off the ground instead of spinning her hips. This helped her swing become a lot less of a rotation and more of a forward drive, which lead to greatly improved balance in her follow-through.
Kick Drill:
Walk up drill:
With the "Kick Drill", I had my DD keep her rear knee up at the end of her swing and stand balanced on just her front foot for a moment. With this she learned to drive her right hip forward by pushing off the ground instead of spinning her hips. This helped her swing become a lot less of a rotation and more of a forward drive, which lead to greatly improved balance in her follow-through.
