Timing is everything: Got a strategy for knee lift struggles?

[Spindaddy]

The knee lift is secondary to the hip/coil. It doesn't matter what the front leg does really. The knee lift is a style thing as compared to the coil that is really happening.

Here is a modified knee lift, not real high (more of knee tuck). Forget there is even a front leg and focus on the coil that is happening. It's the coil your really after.

I appreciate your insight. I agree lifting the knee is a style thing and the coil is more important, but the knee lift is the timing mechanism for her swing, not the hip coil, yes? It's possible her coil could be fine but if she can't time the pitch the coil doesn't matter. Am I off base for thinking the problem is in her timing and not her coil?

 

[Tango]

Read someplace talking about your stretch being your timing. I thought that made a lot of sense. May have been Tewks saying to try and time your stretch and none of the other stuff mattered. Seems to simplify things a little.

 

[Shawn]

I appreciate your insight. I agree lifting the knee is a style thing and the coil is more important, but the knee lift is the timing mechanism for her swing, not the hip coil, yes? It's possible her coil could be fine but if she can't time the pitch the coil doesn't matter. Am I off base for thinking the problem is in her timing and not her coil?

Josh Donaldson said the knee lift and hand stuff he does was his rhythm, and the striding action was his timing.

 

[Spindaddy]

Knee lift, step back, hand pump ect.....All 'styles' that a hitter may use to help with timing the ball in the air. Shouldn't the hitter chose their own 'timing style'. I don't like to teach a hitter a 'style'. Let your DD figure out what 'style' allows her enough time in and on her own time. That style doesn't seem to be 'allowing' enough time. Maybe, as your DD develops her own style she may return to it...maybe not.

Side note:

Man, talk about 'holding the hinge angle' and 'swinging around' the body.......

I agree my DD should chose her own timing style. Her instructor is open-minded, he's not a one size fits all type when it comes to the personal style parts of the swing. She's a pretty good hitter and can send it deep, but one of the goals of her instruction is obviously to help her hit the ball even farther, and one of the ways to do that is to use a knee lift to add some momentum forward at contact. At least that's how I understand it.

That said, yeah, her big knee lift doesn't seem to give her enough time to get on time, but maybe the more she uses it and experiments with when to initiate the knee lift, it might end up working for her. We've only had a couple play days and one tournament, so maybe some more patience will pay off. Or not!

 

[Spindaddy]

My DD has recently gone to a tap-back. She wasn't even aware she was doing it until I asked her about it and showed her the video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7eL2zUHpsg

I like the look of her tap-back. It's just a few inches or so. It's what I was expecting my DD would choose when her instructor first initiated a backwards food movement into her swing. To go immediately from a swing with no backwards move at all to using the big knee lift I think was maybe too much of a jump for her, but that's what she chose then and she still says she likes it.

Just curious, in the second clip of your DD's swing, she holds her tap back a bit longer than she did in the first and third clips. Do you think that was because of the pitch - maybe offspeed? Or maybe she was making an adjustment for starting her tap-back a little too soon?

 

[4 girl's dad]

I won't even mention the bat 'draggy' thing going on.

Can you point out which frame/frames you’re referring to?

 

[Shawn]

I agree my DD should chose her own timing style. Her instructor is open-minded, he's not a one size fits all type when it comes to the personal style parts of the swing. She's a pretty good hitter and can send it deep, but one of the goals of her instruction is obviously to help her hit the ball even farther, and one of the ways to do that is to use a knee lift to add some momentum forward at contact. At least that's how I understand it.

That said, yeah, her big knee lift doesn't seem to give her enough time to get on time, but maybe the more she uses it and experiments with when to initiate the knee lift, it might end up working for her. We've only had a couple play days and one tournament, so maybe some more patience will pay off. Or not!

It is started very early. Think slow and easy, early.

 

[RichK]

I agree my DD should chose her own timing style. Her instructor is open-minded, he's not a one size fits all type when it comes to the personal style parts of the swing. She's a pretty good hitter and can send it deep, but one of the goals of her instruction is obviously to help her hit the ball even farther, and one of the ways to do that is to use a knee lift to add some momentum forward at contact. At least that's how I understand it.

That said, yeah, her big knee lift doesn't seem to give her enough time to get on time, but maybe the more she uses it and experiments with when to initiate the knee lift, it might end up working for her. We've only had a couple play days and one tournament, so maybe some more patience will pay off. Or not!

Be careful with an instructor -- and instruction -- that talks about using forward momentum (and often launch angle) to generate more power/home run power. When a hitter like that reaches a level where pitchers can actually pitch it will be relatively easy to get her off-balance. Nothing wrong with forward-action but it shouldn't be a power generator. Power is best generated via proper sequence, working upper against lower (stretch/coil) and squaring up the ball (hands/bat path).

 

[Eric F]

I like the look of her tap-back. It's just a few inches or so. It's what I was expecting my DD would choose when her instructor first initiated a backwards food movement into her swing. To go immediately from a swing with no backwards move at all to using the big knee lift I think was maybe too much of a jump for her, but that's what she chose then and she still says she likes it.

Just curious, in the second clip of your DD's swing, she holds her tap back a bit longer than she did in the first and third clips. Do you think that was because of the pitch - maybe offspeed? Or maybe she was making an adjustment for starting her tap-back a little too soon?

If I recall, that pitcher was pretty slow. It looks to me like she was waiting. I'm not sure exactly what trigger she uses to start the tap-back movement, but it's probably related to something in the pitcher's movement.

 

[Eric F]

Be careful with an instructor -- and instruction -- that talks about using forward momentum (and often launch angle) to generate more power/home run power. When a hitter like that reaches a level where pitchers can actually pitch it will be relatively easy to get her off-balance. Nothing wrong with forward-action but it shouldn't be a power generator. Power is best generated via proper sequence, working upper against lower (stretch/coil) and squaring up the ball (hands/bat path).

I agree with this ^^^.

Interestingly, I have heard coaches from one of the top college teams talk about the importance of forward movement for maximizing power. Not surprisingly, the same thing has been echoed by former players from that program, including one who hit a whole lot of HRs during her career.