Swing Plane and upright position at contact

[FiveFrameSwing]

Worked out fine (I am a Aerospace/Mechanical Engineering professor now) but I do wonder sometimes what those last 2.5 years in baseball would have been like if I had decided to keep playing.

Congratulations to you.

I see many ladies that end up going to college to play softball ... .... ... and several of them have good intentions of acquiring a particular degree that will help build a solid base to help them live a decent life ..... but despite the initial good intentions, what I frequently see, is that many of these ladies gravitate towards a focus on softball and make significant sacrifices relative to their degree. Their four years of college ball comes to an end ..... and suddenly they find that the base they just built wasn't much of a base.

 

[julray]

Video?? I wouldn't sweat it sometimes you might go backwards a bit when you are learning new stuff..kind of get caught between patterns. It is going to take some time.

No video, ... sorry. I sweating a little because qualifiers and championships are around the corner, maybe this would be better left until off season. Also she is 12 playing in a u14 age group. Next year she wants to make this team because they will be making a bid for the provincial championships and Nationals. I think she is on the bubble right now for making that team and she is notoriously performs poor in tryouts. What she does the rest of this season will likely dictate if she makes the team next year or not. Now I need to get her back on track, not saying she needs to revert back to her old swing, but I need her to get in the box and concentrate on hitting the ball, I think she is thinking too much right now

 

[_MIA_]

I think she is thinking too much right now

She cannot be thinking about her mechanics when she is playing in a game. Tell her to just go up there and try and hit the heck out of the ball. She can think about her mechanics when she is working with you and her team in practice.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

She cannot be thinking about her mechanics when she is playing in a game. Tell her to just go up there and try and hit the heck out of the ball. She can think about her mechanics when she is working with you and her team in practice.

Not quite. Outside of the batter's box, between pitches, think about your swing all you want ..... perform dry swings and build short-term muscle memory. If you are not doing that then you are not fighting hard enough for your team. As you step in the box those thoughts are cast aside .... you trust the short-term muscle memory you just built .... it is there, and ready to be used, while your focus is primarily on the 'ball' .... in fact, thinking 'ball ... ball ... ball ... ball ... ' can help keep a player in the present, focused, seeing more clearly, and eliminating stray thoughts from serving as an interruption.

We do think of our swing during the game .... just not in the batter's box.

 

[_MIA_]

Not quite. Outside of the batter's box, between pitches, think about your swing all you want ..... perform dry swings and build short-term muscle memory. If you are not doing that then you are not fighting hard enough for your team. As you step in the box those thoughts are cast aside .... you trust the short-term muscle memory you just built .... it is there, and ready to be used, while your focus is primarily on the 'ball' .... in fact, thinking 'ball ... ball ... ball ... ball ... ' can help keep a player in the present, focused, seeing more clearly, and eliminating stray thoughts from serving as an interruption.

We do think of our swing during the game .... just not in the batter's box.

Fair enough..I agree with that. But when I read she is thinking too much I am thinking of someone standing in the batters box...I guess I should have been more clear. Although
at the younger ages (for example my daughter is 7) it might be difficult to make the transition to a clear mind.

 

[Cannonball]

Too add to what FFS said, in the on deck circle, when my hitters first go out, I want them to do my version of the world greatest drill per Englishbey's drill. They do this for a time or two. Then, they try to time the pitcher but thinking about a "weakness" they need to improve upon. Mostly, it involves that initial phase where they try to point knob to the ball and resist on the backside. When they step into the box, I want my hitters thinking either "hit, hit, hit, HIT" or "hit, hit, hit, NO."

 

[Buttermaker]

No video, ... sorry. I sweating a little because qualifiers and championships are around the corner, maybe this would be better left until off season. Also she is 12 playing in a u14 age group. Next year she wants to make this team because they will be making a bid for the provincial championships and Nationals. I think she is on the bubble right now for making that team and she is notoriously performs poor in tryouts. What she does the rest of this season will likely dictate if she makes the team next year or not. Now I need to get her back on track, not saying she needs to revert back to her old swing, but I need her to get in the box and concentrate on hitting the ball, I think she is thinking too much right now

We are mid tourney season as well. Last weekend a couple of my players struggled to hit as they were adapting to some things we were working on. This past weekend the same hitters that struggled led the team in offense. Keep plugging away.

 

[Cannonball]

Here is something that might help some:



I do a kind of version of this drill that I think some here mentioned that they don't like. Anyway, I am doing it tonight in my lessons per some things the hitters I am working with tonight need to work on. I have my hitters use a whiffle ball bat. They stand close to a net, almost touching it with their lead side. I have them take their "stance' but with feet together. They then tip the bat until the tip touches the net. Then, they try to keep their hands in place and do what Bobby does in the drill ending with their barrel stop swing against the net. I created this drill a couple of years ago and I think FFS didn't like it and that is ok. I can't remember if I posted video of it.

BTW, I have shared a few drills that I do. It would be great if some others would jump in and mention some of their drills. I finally got our machine fixed after it being down for 2 or 3 years. So, I will now be able to do tee work, front toss and machines to simulate speed in my lessons.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Here is something that might help some:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkx7_-PUKz4

I do a kind of version of this drill that I think some here mentioned that they don't like. Anyway, I am doing it tonight in my lessons per some things the hitters I am working with tonight need to work on. I have my hitters use a whiffle ball bat. They stand close to a net, almost touching it with their lead side. I have them take their "stance' but with feet together. They then tip the bat until the tip touches the net. Then, they try to keep their hands in place and do what Bobby does in the drill ending with their barrel stop swing against the net. I created this drill a couple of years ago and I think FFS didn't like it and that is ok. I can't remember if I posted video of it.

BTW, I have shared a few drills that I do. It would be great if some others would jump in and mention some of their drills. I finally got our machine fixed after it being down for 2 or 3 years. So, I will now be able to do tee work, front toss and machines to simulate speed in my lessons.

I believe what Tewks is describing here is his understanding of what HI was teaching. He repeatedly speaks of "no pull" ... and yet in the recent video there is mention of the pull. Like a fine wine ... it get's better with age .

 

[FP26]

Depending what hitting people you follow, some will talk about three types of hitters. The "push" type which has been talked about excessively on this site and others. The "pull" type, which is considered different than a "push" but is still not ideal. And the the "elite" type which is the goal of so many.