When to start the load.

[HOF86]

As you like putting words in peoples mouth, nowhere did I say that forward movement stops with toe touch or at release point of the pitcher, what I want a hitter to feel is the beginning of the front side resistance at toe touch more than forward movement. IMO forward movement needs that resistance on the front side to complete a good swing or as us country folk say one is not any good without the other.

You are quick to criticize, but I rarely see any useful alternatives to your criticism.

I agree , that is not what I read it to mean.

 

[MarkLin]

In softball as a hitter prepares to hit a softball, they need to establish a trigger as a timing mechanism as well as a preparatory movement to drive the ball. This begins with what most hitting coaches refer to as the “negative move” or “load.” Holava states, “During the negative move the hitter begins to shift her body weight in to the back leg as well as separate her hands from her starting position to a load position towards her back shoulder. When loading your hands, it’s important to move your hands back on the same plane to get into this strong attacking position. We want to limit any up or down movement to give us the best opportunity to hit the ball squarely.”
Each hitter can get to this position in their own way, but getting there is a key element to hitting with ultimate power. “Like the stance, hitters can have their own special flair to getting into this position. However, it’s important that all great hitters reach this strong position in time to drive the ball. You need this load in order to gain momentum and power to drive the pitch. It’s very difficult to do that if you tried to start your swing from a stationary position. Think about trying to throw a softball right from your shoulder, without any windup it’s very tough to get any velocity on the ball.

 

[HOF86]

huh.................

 

[nanotech14]

MarkLin, I see you have no thanks, so figured I would give you one. Also I use to have my dd at home practice doing a negative move or walking away from the hands for 15 mins. a night before bed.

 

[SBFAMILY]

If you wait for the pitcher to release the ball to be at toe touch you are at the pitcher's mercy! I teach my kids to time the pitcher while on deck, because every pitcher is different.

 

[PEPPERS]

For a general guideline, I tend to agree with this ^

For the 10U girls I'm working with, getting to toe touch at release point would mean the batter will be frozen at toe touch for a long time against a majority of the pitchers we see. That pause is not a good idea.

That said, the timing of the stride will sometimes need adjustment due to the speed of the pitcher and the individual hitter's tempo.

In my original post the toe touch is a reference point not an absolute and is stated so in the post, even in college ball you see pitches from the 50’s to the high 60’s. A 10 YO toe touch at release is not usually what you want to see, what you want to see IMO is adjustability to the speed, style of the pitcher and athleticism of the batter. To make it a successful at bat you only have to be on time once per bat.

I like to see a swing that looks slow, smooth, deliberate and effortless, the speed is in the barrel of the bat. No jerky motion or too long from load to contact or the batter trying to muscle the bat through the zone. If you have seen the homerun by Bustos posted here a few times her swing looks effortless, but you can tell her bat speed is off the charts. Timing plays a big part in her success JMO.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Adjustability to speed is not best realized with a goal to “be at toe touch around when the pitcher gets to her release point.” For a hitter that strides, the "reading of the pitch" takes place during the stride ... from the pitcher's release up to the point of commitment.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Getting the front down early, or out of sequence, is simply a bad idea.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

It's pretty basic. You time the arm to stride, and time the ball to swing.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

As the pitcher releases the ball the hitter is striding towards the pitcher .....