TTB and Swing Adjustability

[Bobby Shirer]

In all fairness can you say their demo is a good representation of down to and up through, or does it show down to and down through?

Good points.
I see the difference as down and thru and the negative attack angle vs. any swing that has a positive attack angle, period.
When a pro says stay on top, keep the barrel above the hands, hands down to the ball, hit down . ... I interpret that as creating a negative attack angle. There's nothing to misconstrue, they never say down and then level, or down and then up. Then they demo the same thing.
But their game swings have a positive attack angle.
You're either creating a negative or positive attack angle.
The videos and stats back up that a positive attack angle is better.
So does the physics.
I believe if you practice what you want to do, you'll be better at doing exactly what you practice.
Period. Full stop. The end.

 

[TDS]

Or one can create a bandaid (2 pivot points) and claim a match when reality shows 2 different patterns.

One is swinging down to the ball while the other is turning the barrel behind and through the ball.

 

[james27503]

 

[james27503]

In all fairness, I went out and really tried to feel what the down to the ball chop swing put in the context of the correct body positions. After a bit of really exaggerating posture (in my mind) and really forcing just the idea of the chop swing from this position I was able to achieve the correct swing. Honestly, it blew my mind. I finally got it. After a bit I was able to think differently but produce the same swing. I was able to think"get on plan early", TTB and hit great. I then was able to think the chop swing but only the hand path as I got into the right positions and the swing was basically the same.

The differences were very interesting. The chop feeling was weird to me because it was a feeling of trust. Trust something based on feel vs understanding. I was able to do it but it didn't come natural for my brain, I really had to work on trusting something that did not compute.

It took me a couple of times switching back and forth to be able to do it correctly back to back switching mental thoughts. It was kind of like humming the Star Wars theme and then immediately humming the SuperMan theme. But after a bit I got it. This is a great thing for me as a coach, because now I understand the ARods and the Ted Williams, I can now apply either method based on what is working for the kid in front of me. The hard part now is going to be determining which kid needs what method. Truely a left brain right brain thing IMO.

 

[FP26]

In an attempt to quell some of the confusion, let's review what we have learned so far.

1) Here is an example of a hitter swinging "down and to" the ball. He is creating "out front" bat speed.

2) By comparison, here is an example of a hitter swinging "behind and through". He is turning the barrel in order to create early bat speed.

Hopefully that answers everyone's questions

 

[julray]

Based off what FP26 said above ... All the pros say down to, they practice it, they talk about the importance of it, they demo it etc etc. Why not follow the process the pros follow in regards to building a HL swing? The barrel will turn, no need to force it. The swing is a complex thing, I think we can all agree on that.. jumping to step 5, instead following steps 1-5 seems a little risky to me.. and opens the door to a multitude of potential problems. Generally speaking jumping right to the product phase is an error prone activity.

 

[FP26]

Based off what FP26 said above ... All the pros say down to, they practice it, they talk about the importance of it, they demo it etc etc. Why not follow the process the pros follow in regards to building a HL swing? The barrel will turn, no need to force it.

Teach your students based on what works for them. The goal is the same. We are all modeling after the same swings.

 

[julray]

Teach your students based on what works for them. The goal is the same. We are all modeling after the same swings.

I disagree, teach your students the fundamentals and it will work for them. It will give them better understanding and help them correct when something is wrong. And things will go wrong.

 

[TDS]

Teach your students based on what works for them. The goal is the same. We are all modeling after the same swings.

Yea, kind of reminds me of this guy forcing bat speed behind him by ttb .

vs this guy who allows the barrel to float behind him until the pitch calls for go.

 

[_MIA_]

Yea, kind of reminds me of this guy forcing bat speed behind him by ttb .

Just for clarity, what exactly did you disagree with in @FP26 's actual statement?