Rose olored Glasses and The Elephant in the Room

[Wellphyt]

You know FFS and the rest of the Hitting Illustrated posse are losing an intellectual argument when they dig up a clip of your kid from 18 months ago in a pathetic attempt to discredit what you teach. They’ve been doing this for years. What they teach doesn’t hold up against critical thinking….so they shoot the messenger. So FFS digs up an old clip of my dd….totally out of context….in an attempt to discredit what I teach. As you will soon see….that was a big mistake.

The one thing you can count on from the folks at HI is that if you don’t agree with what they teach, your kid’s swing will never get a fair analysis. Everything at HI is agenda driven.

It’s especially frustrating to read comments about your kid’s swing from others who don’t understand or teach the high level swing. HI teaches a Centripetal Force swing. That’s not what I teach. The swing I teach is much harder to teach because it requires the precise synchronization of various moving parts. Getting the synchronization right against live pitching is especially difficult.

After doing some thinking over the weekend about what transpired here last week, I’ve decided to use this as an opportunity to compare what I teach to what FFS, crankermo, rdbass, redhotcoach/rich and others at HI teach. It’s an opportunity for me to give a rebuttal to a very biased and one-side critique of my dd’s swing by the folks at HI.

I also want to remind everyone that FFS….along with crankermo’s blessing….are the ones that thought it would be a good idea to compare swings. They’re the ones that got this started. I’m not the one that initiated this comparison.

However, if you’re going to take a cheap shot at my dd I’m going to push back….with facts….and I’m going to push back hard. I’m sorry that the kids have to get caught up in the middle of this….but like I said I’m not the one who started this. This was FFS and crankermo’s idea.

 

[Wellphyt]

I would encourage any impartial readers to make a list of all the members here who have been saying that crankermo’s dd’s swing is high level and my dd’s swing is not. You may want to keep this list handy when reading advice about how to teach the high level swing.

Remember….crankermo’s dd is being held up as a shining example of what HI teaches. She is the latest poster child for what they teach.

 

[Wellphyt]

Before I get started with the comparison I would encourage you to do a simple exercise to better understand how my dd’s right leg affects the look of her swing in the clip FFS posted.

Stand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart and pointing straight ahead. Turn your right foot (RH batter) inwards as far as you can so that your right foot is pointing towards your left foot. As you do that….look down at your right foot, and in your mind’s eye, pretend the right foot is pointing straight ahead like your left foot….even though it’s not. Now flex your knees….bend at the knees. Your right knee will point inwards. That’s what you are seeing in my dd’s rear leg.

Her right foot is pointed toward the plate in her stance, but her leg bone above the knee is max internally rotated. As soon as she bends at the knee….which she does a lot in the drill we were doing in the swing FFS posted….her knee points inwards….even though she actually isn’t doing anything to turn it inward.

When the surgeon did her surgery, he did the upper leg bone first. When he sawed that bone in half and lined it up, he said that her foot was externally rotated to the point where it was almost resting on the operating table. He then sawed the tibia and fibula in half….and realigned those bones so her foot was pointing straight.

I’m not looking for sympathy….but it’s important for you to understand how her right leg affects the LOOK of her lower body.

 

[Wellphyt]

jbooth and I have been saying forever that rear leg IR causes SQUISH THE BUG.

How many times have you heard FFS, rdbass, redhot coach/rich and other HI followers deny that they don't teach SQUISH THE BUG? They have said over and over again that jbooth and I just don't get it....we don't understand what they teach.

They also deny that they don't teach kids to drive their rear leg down-and-in.

Well crankermo's kid is the latest example of a very long list of HI hitters that SQUISH THE BUG



Just in case you can't see it....lets blow it up some more. Then lets compare what my dd does.

 

[Wellphyt]

Here is a close up of crankermo's dd BUG SQUISHING



If you put a bug under her toes....the poor bug doesn't have a chance.

Also notice the rear knee turning down-and-in as she SQUISHES THE BUG

 

[Wellphyt]

Here is a close up of my dd's back foot. My dd is doing what I teach.




No BUG SQUISH. You can't get any more high level than this. I wish boardmember were still around. He would love this rear foot action.

A 14 yo girl with a crooked leg....matching the rear foot action of the best MLB hitters.

 

[Wellphyt]

Compare my dd's rear foot action to Hamilton:



Is it possible to get a closer match? And unlike crankermo's dd....my dd is swinging at a pitched ball.

 

[Eric F]

The swing I teach is much harder to teach because it requires the precise synchronization of various moving parts. Getting the synchronization right against live pitching is especially difficult.

Why is this beneficial? It seems to me that making a swing more complex and more difficult to get right - especially against live pitching - is counter-intuitive. As it is, there are many variables to deal with as a batter. Adding complexity would minimize the odds of hitting the ball well. Granted, a well-balanced, consistent, powerful swing is already a complex coordination of movements, but adding more complexity seems to build in more opportunities for failure.

So FFS digs up an old clip of my dd….totally out of context….in an attempt to discredit what I teach.

Do you have a more recent clip of your DD's swing that is a better example?


(Note - I'm not taking sides in this beef you have with the HI guys. I'm just a dad trying to educate himself about hitting so I can be a better help to my own DD.)

 

[pstein]

Is Jim Edmonds swinging in a circle/ does he have centripetal force only?

I will be impartial until I see your daughter's swing again. At that time, I will make my judgement. Based on the one clip I have, your daughter has sequence issues.

However, I will respect your wishes and not make a complete judgment until I see another clip.

Also, I don't think anybody is taking a shot at your daughter. I think people are taking shots at the material you're providing.

Now that I've edited for the 4th time, nobody is actively teaching "drive the rear leg down and in." It's not "the elvis move" that some teach.

 

[PGSAKen]

Im not a fan of any hitting style that is a "cookie cutter" approach.