SB swing -VS- BB swing

[FiveFrameSwing]

What CO didn't include in his post was that Torres switched hitting styles. He is amazingly fast and was being used more of a slappy-type hitter. There was basically a decision to stop punishing him for being fast ... and have him swing away. Much of Torres turnaround has to do with the capacity in which he was being used ... that, and a lot of hard work on his part and a true love for the game.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Not to get in this argument, but that is not what these video's show. This is the issue I have with Video's everyone can watch them and come up with a conclusion. Here is a simple way to test if your hitter is taking the hands to the ball. Stand behind them and hold the whip hit or a rope, instead of a bat. You hold the end. If they take their hands to the ball they will not be able to pull you foward. If they have a good first move and take the hand on and inside path to the ball they will be able to pull you forward. If they try to use a whip hit to hit off the T taking the hands to the ball they are never going to make contact. Why I like this device, you can use it for many different things.

SBF ... comes down to one's mental image of taking the hands to the ball. Do they do this with their "arms" or with their "body"? In other words, it could be that one's vision is that of a "connected swing".

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

What my son is doing in this clip...

...was largely inspired by looking at this clip of Joe Mauer about 1,000 times...

My son obviously isn't there, but he's moving in the right direction.

There's also no sign of FFS' mysterious "action that establishes connection" in this clip. Like Megan Bush, Mauer just lowers the bat into plane and then rotates from there.

CO, I don't have a problem with the Deltoid-like drill your son is demonstrating. I've already said I use it as a drill, and I explained why.

 

[Chris O'Leary]

What CO didn't include in his post was that Torres switched hitting styles. He is amazingly fast and was being used more of a slappy-type hitter. There was basically a decision to stop punishing him for being fast ... and have him swing away. Much of Torres turnaround has to do with the capacity in which he was being used ... that, and a lot of hard work on his part and a true love for the game.

Here's Torres throwing his hands at the ball and trying to get his front foot down early, which is what he was taught.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Has anyone told us what is the cause of bat drag yet?
The problem of bat drag has almost nothing to do with the hands.
This is proven by the side by side clip FFS provided to us.
It's also why I contend the 2 clips of CO's son are the same swing.

If you can understand Candrea's concept of creating space and the time to create space, bat drag will disappear.
I made a document (word) that illustrates this.
But as usual, I can't upload it.

Who can help me out?

BD

BD ... you can email me the document and I'll post it for you.

See PM for my email address.

 

[Chris O'Leary]

Has anyone told us what is the cause of bat drag yet?

There's certainly a strength component to bat drag. That's why it can sometimes just disappear as a hitter goes through puberty.

However, some of bat drag is caused by solving the problem of getting the bat head around in a way that works well, especially off of a tee, but that doesn't scale. Basically, using the tee reinforces a movement pattern that only works under certain circumstances. As the pitching gets better, you have to learn a very different way of powering the swing.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

In Shawn's use of your son as an example of "Bad Teachings" he specifically points out to issues with your son's lower half.

For the record, I believe that when working with a kid you should have a big picture perspective ... i.e. where they wish to go. Being productive at a certain level often doesn't translate into being productive later in life. You need to have a bigger picture perspective. The rear arm flapping mechanic below is unlikely to be productive as he tries to play at more competitive levels ... and hence the reason to address it.

 

[SoCalSoftballdad]

With the Thanksgiving holiday approaching, maybe you two can call it a truce for a couple of days and be thankful for good friends, family, and appreciate the differences of opinion in the wonderful world of fastpitch. Enjoy the Holidays!

 

[Ken Krause]

Seriously? You guys have nothing better to do with your time than get into another game of name calling and one-upsmanship? Now you are impacting my time, because I have to go through it and clean out all the garbage. Be aware I have a much simpler way of doing that in the future. It's called prevention. Your choice.

 

[Chris O'Leary]

The rear arm flapping mechanic below is unlikely to be productive as he tries to play at more competitive levels ... and hence the reason to address it.

Do you see the rear arm flapping here?

No.

You don't because in this swing he's getting his power from a different place and using a different mechanic (which is critical to getting rid of bat drag).

Instead of trying to power his swing by driving his back elbow forward to a position of leverage, which takes time and lengthens the swing, he instead is driving his swing much more with his core.

Of course, there's more work to be done, but changing where the hitter tries to get their power from is one important first step in getting them on the right path and away from bat drag.