Too much stride?

[ThundersDad]

How long or wide is too much? If the stride gets too wide doesn't that rob the hitter of power. My DD is hitting but in some pictures it looks to me like sometimes she is starting too wide in her stance and certainly finishing too wide. She still hits out of the infield, but not as many gappers to the fence. If she is too wide doesn't that restrict her hip turn?

 

[Mark H]

Too wide would be too wide. IOW, it depends on your kid and what you call too wide. Really need a clip to say something that means anything. Dot did ok with this stride. http://home.mindspring.com/~rmk/dotair.gif

Mick did ok with this stride. Mickey Mantle - That Classic Swing

Then there's Rivera. http://home.mindspring.com/~rmk/Riverasingle.mpg

Or Gomez. Photo 3 of 16, ULL vs. UNT

Smith. Photo 1 of 16, Fastpitch

Bagwell with the reverse stride. http://home.mindspring.com/~rmk/bagwell1.mpeg

So what is too wide for your DD depends on your DD.

 

[Wellphyt]

As a general rule, if the stride gets too long it can restrict the rear hip from coming through and the hitter will loose power.

I had a similar issue with my daughter. When she finished her swing her feet were too far apart. I finally figured out that the cause of her finishing wide was not her stride but her lack of weight transfer. Once she learned to pull her rear hip through correctly her finish narrowed.

In order to get away with a big stride like Mickey's, a hitter has to be able to have the strength and athleticism to pull their back hip through while keeping their weight back over their rear thigh. Check out how far Mickey's back foot travels forward during his swing.

The other thing that will help with weight transfer and reducing the width of the finish is the concept of one legged hitting...Or as Ted said "You have to go back to go forward".

 

[ThundersDad]

Thanks Mark and Wellphyt, After looking at the clips that Mark sent, maybe she's not too wide all the time. What if the front or stride leg doesn't straighten out, knee stays bent, does that mean that she has drifted forward too much with weight over that front leg? In some pictures her front leg is bent. Also, does that front leg create a wall to hit against with some pushback or resistance at the end? If we work on pulling that back hip through, what's the best way and still be able to stay back or behind her swing?

 

[Mark H]

Your swing description language means what it means to you. My swing description language means what it means to me and the two will have large differences unless we have worked together on this stuff extensively. To comment intelligently, we really really need to see a clip. Too much of a chance of sending you off in the wrong direction otherwise.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

Gosh, I have a DVD of Dot Richardson where she is teaching "no stride." I was surprised to see that big stride.

 

[Coach Lia]

yes,too wide inhibits hip rotation which leads to slower bat speed. If your daughter isn't able to rotate her hips fully than you may consider that as too wide.

 

[Cannonball]

Thundersdad, I started my dd out as a no strider. We had several things to work on. She did fine and had good numbers. Then, we began to add the stride in. She is very comfortable with a short stride. She lifts, not unlike Soriano, and then puts it back down again. Her thought when doing drill work is to show her back pocket to the pitcher. Another thought she uses is to go knee to knee and then put it down. Cues are simple good for the one doing them if they like and understand them. She likes those cues. I'm not a fan of some of the thoughts out there where people mimic any certain player. I do like thoughts like defensive position in basketball where you find your best athletic stance. Now, can you take that and apply it to a swing?

Any advice given are thoughts that I've used in the past. However, it doesn't mean that you or your child will get it. One thing is for certain, a stride can be a detriment to a good swing if a player can't control their body athletically. That would include here the comments about hips.

 

[ThundersDad]

Thans again Mark, Lia and Cannonball. Mark, not sure I know how to get a clip uploaded, but I do understand that is what is needed. Maybe someone can explain to me how to upload a picture or clip. Two summers ago my DD was one hopping hits off of the fence at 220 and 230, but last summer and this summer not as much, just more solid line drives in front of and between the outfielders. I guess that's not a bad thing though. One thing I do see is that she is late quite often in her decision process of pulling the trigger on her swing. I was just searching for that over the fence power that I know that she has, and we aren't seeing as much of. Thanks Cannonball for giving some of your thoughts, she likes the showing the back hip pocket as well. Thanks again everyone.

 

[Wellphyt]

In some pictures her front leg is bent. Also, does that front leg create a wall to hit against with some pushback or resistance at the end? If we work on pulling that back hip through, what's the best way and still be able to stay back or behind her swing?

Ideally the front leg should be straight at contact. However, the reality is that sometimes hitters get fooled on offspeed pitches and end up with too much weight forward and a front bent leg at contact. The only way I know of for a hitter to keep their weight back and be dynamically balanced with their weight centered over their rear thigh is to hit against a stiff front leg.

IMO the best way to learn to pull the rear hip through is to hit into a heavy bag with a focus on one legged hitting (rear leg). It also helps to put an object behind the back foot to make sure the hitter isn't collasping the backside and not getting any weight tranfer.