step-by step instruction basics

[SBFAMILY]

I worked with many that age the the clinic this weekend. with CB and Howard. Think of building a house. You start with a foundation, before you worry about a roof. In the first 2 hours we work on the bottom half of the body. Unless you have the feet and legs working correctly, the top 1/2 of the body will never work correctly. Balance and after watching kids throw for 1/2 hour, very few can throw correctly and how do we expect them to hit! Few understand weight shift. So at this age, I would work on throwing so they understand hitting I would only do drills that you can show them and let them feel what needs to happen. One I like doing first is the Big Zone. Show them what happens to the sweet spot on the bat, as you measure it. 1. If they cast. 2. If they swing down on the ball. 3. If the roll the wrist. 4. If they do not have a good first move. Kids can see it, feel it and you can measure it . They learn quicker.

 

[Mark H]

well most of the kids I work with have had little instruction and the cookie cutter approach might not be optimal but it might give me a base to work from. Do you have any video of the whip/uncocking of the wrist? your post and videos have taught me alot.

Photo 6 of 16, ULL vs. UNT Evans hit the ball as far as women twice her size because, among other things, she produced tremendous whip. Kind of a "Griffey like" longer radius she set with a relatively barred arm trading a little quickness for terminal bat speed I think. Note how the bat goes from approximately perpendicular to the lead arm forearm to approximately parallel to the lead arm forearm near contact right before contact. At the other end of the spectrum here's a hitter producing whip on an inside pitch. Photo 10 of 16, Fastpitch

 

[Mark H]

Just trying to help. My 10 YO can figure it out. I assume that you would tell them to feel where the bone stops to show them the waist and then show them where the leg bone meets the hip bone to show them where they should be bending. I have them pick up their leg to show the hip joint and where the bending is.

Either verbiage is fine mixed with the demonstration I think.

 

[straightleg]

Photo 6 of 16, ULL vs. UNT Evans hit the ball as far as women twice her size because, among other things, she produced tremendous whip. Kind of a "Griffey like" longer radius she set with a relatively barred arm trading a little quickness for terminal bat speed I think. Note how the bat goes from approximately perpendicular to the lead arm forearm to approximately parallel to the lead arm forearm near contact right before contact. At the other end of the spectrum here's a hitter producing whip on an inside pitch. Photo 10 of 16, Fastpitch

Boy she takes a big stride. Have to have very good timing to do this I would think.


Straightleg

 

[Mark H]

Mantle took a gargantuan stride. If it doesn't crash the system and it's working I sure wouldn't take it away. If they can't take a stride without the whole thing turning to mush I might take it away entirely for awhile or cut it down. Depends on the kid.

 

[Mark H]

Here's Mantle. Mickey Mantle - That Classic Swing
And here's another big stride on a hitter who did OK. http://home.mindspring.com/~rmk/dotair.gif

It's not what I'd teach with a blank slate young hitter but I sure wouldn't take it away from a successful hitter till it quit working.

 

[Hitter]

Yeah, I find the knees are a no teach if they bend at the hips by sitting.

Hopefully no one takes offense to what I will try and explain and it will be rather long. If I really like a particular cookie I will shop at the bakery and expect every time I buy from there it should taste the same. If it does not I would want to know why or what changed. If you go out to eat and it is your favorite steak house, it may look like a steak however it does not taste the same so send it back.

Balance is not posture in my opinion. Posture is what balance looks like. I have never heard a coach say to someone get postured in your stance.

I have done clinics with Crystl and friends of hers from Team USA for over 8 years and they are even surprised about how to achieve and test for this simple thing termed balance.

At clinics I will ask for a coach who wants to learn to come on down and teach me how to get balanced. I tell them I am gong to have some fun at their expense and is that OK? So I ask them to get balanced and then I push on their chest and back alternately to see if they rock back and forth on their heels and in 8 years we have not found ONE that could pass the test. So what you may find what looks like it is simple may not actually be. I have not heard anyone mention how they test for balance yet? So I step up the rhetoric and yell a little like I have heard other coaches do when the player does not get what the coach is telling them! They know we are teasing HOWEVER I get the point across as simple as this appears it is not as easy to teach unless you can get them to feel it! So we start again by having them bend the waist a little and then soften the knees next in that sequence. Most all want to soften the knees first and do not understand the difference. Once we get them balanced and each one requires a little more or less at the waist and knees they feel it when we push on their back or chest alternately and they do not rock on the toes or heels.

What I find funny is MOST male coaches do not understand the female has too have more hip hinge angle than males and while try to get them to stand taller to get balanced. The female spine is more erect to adjust for the additional weight during pregnancy. Our spines are tilted more forward and IF we choose to be lower it then becomes a style verses mechanics. The girls do not have much of a choice as we say no butt no balance.

If you walked into a room and sat us in what looked like a balanced position you would not know IF we were unless you tested us as described above would you?

At clinics we have them all standing on the floor at once and all the instructors work with each hitter to get them to feel it. Usually the ones that have trouble will bend at the waist and soften the knees and while they soften the knees they get their back more erect again and look like they are trying to sit down. We take a bat and put it under their butt cheeks and they will feel like they are sitting on the bat. The we repeat and increase their hip hinge angle by showing them the knees are going more towards the toes and then we test again and they GET IT! It amazes us that not one time in 8 years has a coach, high school, travel or college been able to explain what some feel is simple to do yet elusive to teach and that is balance and we consider it a foundation for our swing, running and throwing techniques.

I have worked with kinesiologist and they explain it as sequential core loading and that it MUST be done in that order of bending at the waist first and then softening the knees next. To demonstrate this he had me soften my knees first and bend at the waist second and pushed me over or off balance. The certified trainers term it hip hinge angle and have no test for it! They tell you to jump off a box 12 to 18 inches off the ground and land on the balls of your feet and absorb the landing in your knees. I f done correctly you look the same. I want to point out I knew this long before I ever talked to Jim Dixon and bought his book.

Now you do the work and figure out why do they throw like a girl? No balance! Why are they tearing up their ACL's? They do not understand how to jump, land or cut correctly! Why are so many girls have back, ankle, knee, quad and hamstring issues? The hamstring is not as strong in females as it is in males because the knee flexes on the male prior to landing and it MUST be taught to females. The Q angle is larger because the hips are wider and where the ACL passes through the knee is narrower than a males which is more rounded. The cumulative effect is that over time this frays and between the ages of 18 to 24 years old the female starts to have issues from what happened to them from using improper techniques from when they were 10 years old. Google the PEP program and see what can be done using a cookie cutter approach to helping these girls save their knees so if they happen to be able to make to the next level they will be able to. It reduce ACL issues by 41% in basketball and soccer related knee injuries!

This is exactly why we teach them balance first, keeping the head down during contact, grip, how to use a hammer so they understand how to unhinge the wrist to release the barrel to the ball squarely just as if we are driving a nail.

With the help of a few friends on here we did a clinic in Columbus Ohio with about 180 kids over two days and we went around to the parents and ask if any one had any questions? Yeah I got one! We were just at xxxx college and they did not even speak about balance and they had us hitting off 2 x 4's! Why?

I will take a cookie cutter approach any day to leaving one kid behind that did not get it.

One final thought...We had a girls who ripped and about 16 years old that did not want to try the grip we suggested. I told her why do you lift as it is obvious you do? To hit the ball harder was the answer. Well if you will not open your mind why lift if that is your only goal and why you are lifting weights? I took her over to our nail simulator and show her how to use a $7 dollar hammer and them suggested to try the grip. After she hit the second ball she got the big smile and said I got it! The other girls at the station said, "Did you hear the difference?" Cookie cutter approach is not bad and I agree one size does not fit all however until you try and it how would you ever know what it FEELS LIKE! She came over after the clinic and said thanks for not giving up on me coach! It made my day!

Thanks Howard

 

[Mark H]

Usually the ones that have trouble will bend at the waist and soften the knees and while they soften the knees they get their back more erect again and look like they are trying to sit down.
Thanks Howard

I refer to it as the squatting in the woods position. I agree-tilt at the hips and soften the knees to accomodate. Lots of happy things result. Kids of both genders today don't know how to move that way. At 53 I'll get down in a fielding position with the glove on the ground, back straight and ask a teenager of either sex to hold the position longer than this old man. If they can even figure out how to move that way. If they can't figure out how to tilt at the hips enough to assume a reasonably athletic position for hitting they sure can't bend that way far enough to get their glove on the ground. Seems like we learned this stuff on the playground back in the day or we got made fun of by our buddies.

 

[Dragoncoach]

This all sounds good but when you say the grip what do you mean? please explain the hammer thing I think you mean hammer the bat into the ball with the wrist.Also will u guys be doing any clinics in the midwest this year?

 

[Hitter]

This all sounds good but when you say the grip what do you mean? please explain the hammer thing I think you mean hammer the bat into the ball with the wrist.Also will u guys be doing any clinics in the midwest this year?

We will be in Pittsburgh the first weekend in Feb. and Warren Penn. the last week of Feb. and Evangel U. with Catlin Lowe and Crystl the last weekend in Jan.

We have found that by teaching, especially the girls how to use a hammer we get better and faster results. They truly do not understand how the wrist unhinges or releases the bat barrel to the ball. At the clinic we just did in Columbus Ohio it opened up some minds of both parents, coaches and players. I made a nail simulator using a car shock and black iron pipe. However you can do it at home by taking a 2 x 4 and turning it on its edge and putting it in a vise. Take 16 P nails and start them in at least 1/2 inch and wear safety glasses. Ask the hitter to drive the nail and see what happens! It is too funny to see how each one tries to perform driving the nails. You will notice they try to move the elbow and hand and because of that they bend the nail BECAUSE they do not allow the wrist to move so the weight of the hammer head can be used and so the hammer head will strike the nail head squarely. Notice how they hold the hammer or the grip. Usually the bat / hammer is held in the back of the hand and the thumb is over the index finger not allowing the bat/ hammer to move in the hand so the weight of the hammer head / bat can be used to its full potential. We take a piece of Saran wrap and twist it like a rope and tie it around the index finger of the top hand so the bat will lay in front of that finger pad and lay it across the hand at an angle. By taking the thumb and pinching it against the index finger you will not be able to get the bat in the back of the hand and we do not want it there! In the bottom hand lay the bat across where the fingers meet the palm of the hand and allow the thumb and index finger to overlap if you choose to. The finger knuckles will not line up however the top hand will be off set slightly so the top hand knuckles will be lined up with my wedding ring. Test for it by using what ever grip you choose and bring the bat to contact and then have some one try to push the bat rearward with one finger. How far rearward where they able to push it rearward? Now try our grip and the bat will NOT be in the back of your top hand, it will be in the finger pad area or what we say our hands are behind the bat!

Now to compliment our swing have the hitter use the hand over drill by turning the top hand upside down on the bat so the back of the hand is facing the hitter with the thumb pointed down. Hit as normal however as you start to get to contact allow the bat to be pulled out of the top hand by allowing the lead arm elbow to lead and release the wrist or unhinge it and drive the ball up the middle. Try two or three swings and see if the hitter is finishing over the shoulder and a little higher and not hitting their back or shoulder at all. Then try it with both hands and please let me know how it works.

Thanks Howard