Swing help!!

[FiveFrameSwing]

It's a 'tool' in the tool box to be applied to try and 'fix' a flaw a hitter may have,

Sure, it's an over-exaggeration drill that handicaps a 'spinners' spinning action. It isn't what you want. Coincidentally I had two such kids in back-to-back hitting sessions yesterday ... both from the same softball team ... and both taught what you described. The thing is ... some of these girls actually do what they are told .

The drill you describe makes a spinner feel handicapped. Their swing is suddenly shut-off when they can't turn their 'upper' and 'lower' leg as a unit. The hope is that they learn to use their upper leg against their lower leg. Hmmm ... you could simply tell them that .

If an over-exaggeration drill works for your hitters, then fine ... just be clear with them that you don't want them to achieve what you are asking them to do.

 

[rdbass]

Sure, it's an over-exaggeration drill that handicaps a 'spinners' spinning action. It isn't what you want. Coincidentally I had two such kids in back-to-back hitting sessions yesterday ... both from the same softball team ... and both taught what you described. The thing is ... some of these girls actually do what they are told .

The drill you describe makes a spinner feel handicapped. Their swing is suddenly shut-off when they can't turn their 'upper' and 'lower' leg as a unit. The hope is that they learn to use their upper leg against their lower leg. Hmmm ... you could simply tell them that .

If an over-exaggeration drill works for your hitters, then fine ... just be clear with them that you don't want them to achieve what you are asking them to do.

I never said 'glued'. I said 'try not to let the rear heel leave the ground...of course it will'. Doesn't sound like I said nor posted 'glued'.
Again never said a 'drill'.

If an over-exaggeration drill works for your hitters, then fine

Again, never said 'try this drill'. Also, I have no 'hitters' I have a DD as I think you know. I have never, ever, gave/giving a lesson. I'm just a dad with a DD.
It's for a 'feel' in an area that a hitter might or might not need.

The hope is that they learn to use their upper leg against their lower leg. Hmmm ... you could simply tell them that

Yeah, I see how that's working out on this site, the 'rag wringing'. I think I've said that before to a couple of posters. But, yet I've not seen it....
Added: Not sure about the 'upper leg against the lower leg' meaning.

 

[Buttermaker]

If you need to use 1 legged or rear legged drills to teach a hitter how to control the pelvis that's fine. But, understand you are(or at least should be) really teaching them how to create resistance across the pelvis(middle). You may be inadvertently teach them how to control the middle(pelvic angles), But most likely you will get rear hip extension.
If you understand what you want then doing it on 1 leg isn't required.

Isn't that what the pullbacks are about? What resists the pullbacks? What resists the rear leg?

 

[Buttermaker]

The lead leg external rotation that is taking place here is not caused by the rear leg.

Oh but it is. I can tell you in Judge's case there is absolutely no thought of the front leg.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Oh but it is. I can tell you in Judge's case there is absolutely no thought of the front leg.

What occurs without conscious thought does not need to be thought of ... and it should be the goal to get the rear leg action to take place without conscious thought as well.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

I never said 'glued'. I said 'try not to let the rear heel leave the ground...of course it will'. Doesn't sound like I said nor posted 'glued'.
Again never said a 'drill'.

Again, never said 'try this drill'. Also, I have no 'hitters' I have a DD as I think you know. I have never, ever, gave/giving a lesson. I'm just a dad with a DD.
It's for a 'feel' in an area that a hitter might or might not need.

Yeah, I see how that's working out on this site, the 'rag wringing'. I think I've said that before to a couple of posters. But, yet I've not seen it....
Added: Not sure about the 'upper leg against the lower leg' meaning.

I'm reading a tone of defensiveness. I think you know me better than that .... doesn't work with me.

When I see a kid instructed to "try not to let the rear heel leave the ground" they actually do that. They attempt to basically glue their rear foot to the ground. There should be no attempt to try to make the rear heel remain on the ground ... and being successful with that doesn't give a good feeling to many young developing hitters.

Thank you for clarifying that you "never said 'try this drill'". I suppose others should post such a disclaimer when they describe a drill ... here's a description of a drill ... don't try it .

"Not sure about the 'upper leg against the lower leg' meaning." .... basically, the lower rear leg serves as a post for the upper rear leg ... as opposed to a bug squisher who tends to turn the upper & lower leg together as a unit.

 

[Cannonball]

I will try this again:

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Thank you CB.

No bug squish here .....

What a bug squisher basically attempts to do is internally rotate their upper leg, with the lower leg turning together with the upper rear leg as a fixed unit (i.e., the upper rear leg and lower rear leg turn inwards together). Essentially their rear leg is spinning. It’s the wrong way to make the “hips lead”.

Here’s the thing … someone with this mechanic has a movement pattern in which they make both the upper and lower rear leg turn together as a unit. When you take a young hitter with such a mechanic and tell them to keep their rear foot on the ground, they often end up preventing the lower rear leg from turning … and since their movement pattern has the upper rear leg only turning inwards along with the lower rear leg, the upper rear leg tends to shut down and/or be restricted … and that is a bad thing.

What you want to teach a bug squisher is how the upper leg is used … and how the lower rear leg supports this action … how the lower rear leg is basically used as a post/platform/base for the upper rear leg … how the upper rear leg works against the lower rear leg … and how the upper rear leg ends up pulling the lower rear leg along (as opposed to spinning the entire rear leg as a unit).

In the above GIF notice how the upper rear leg turns in prior to the lower rear leg and pulls the lower inactive leg forward/turning ... the upper rear leg worked against the lower rear leg, and then pulled it forward ... there was no attempt to use the upper rear leg and lower rear leg as a fixed rotational unit.

 

[Cannonball]

I don't know why I can't see the image but I am glad others can. I can see it in FFS' reply.

As most of you know that have been around some time, I teach Elvis and my dd hit that way. I'll save boring you again with posting her video. I do believe in the front hip loading slightly and let me stress slightly inward before getting out of the way. I can get that done with the way I teach the Elvis move. When I see the video of the Yankee player (I know I should know his name but it escapes me right now. I'm a Cardinal fan.) I see a little bit of what I teach with the relationship of the front and back legs. I do believe in a lot of focus on that back hip. I do advocate using the very simple cue of driving the back knee downward toward the front ankle. I know that that cue is used by some SEC schools. Finally, and I know I bore most of you, if the load and unload is done correctly by what I teach, the hitter will feel it on the inside part of the back thigh. I'll get out of the way now and let you all discuss this. I'm an ex expert.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

We want to allow the rear foot to turn over, but we don't want to force it to turn over.