Wow

[fgold68]

hi everyone,

I am new to this site ( I made one post earlier about jon doyle) and i have one thing to say. Where have you guys been all my life? LOL

I have always been involved in coaching with my sons but I come from a small league (not a very good one honestly) and what I brought to the kids was simply a passion and keeping it to the basics (see ball, hit ball, run)

As my younger son has gotton older (he is now 15) I have tried to look into all kinds of different videos and stuff but there was always something missing, actually there was A LOT missing lol.

During the past year I have challenged myself to become a much better coach and honestly I have. I have learned so much more about team defense, organizing practices and that kind of thing. Now I am much more into the physical training part. We have spent the offseason with 2 or 3 boys working on speed. Well really we had to work first on general fitness but now we are more so working on speed.

As i mentioned I have found and am following jon doyle and he is a big proponent of rotation. Building strong explosive hips and abs.

He has been kind enough to answer a lot of personal emails about the training and how much is too much and practice organization

NOW I stumble upon your website, I am not really sure how I got here.

Now that I am here though I am reading reading reading but there is soooo much about the mechanics of a swing that I had no idea about. You guys really do have a wealth of knowledge (a little sucking up never hurt lol)


ok on to the questions.


Lets talk hitting mechanics. Heck I almost don't know where to begin.


Bat postion at start of stance. Is there really a wrong angle to hold the bat at? Is there a right (maybe not right but better) angle?

I am really understanding about how your front foot actually closes a little to load the hips and the concept of swinging from the middle.

I also see how the hips rotate first but it is there that I start to get confused.

I also have read and I understand about how the "level" swing isn't what I am looking for.

*****ok I have written and erased many questions, there is almost overload here mentally lol*****

Let me try to keep this simple and not get ahead of myself.

Obviously I will be working with the whole team but on the side of course I will be working with my younger son (chris) as much as he wants and trust me HE WANTS. He has good size and is really become very strong, not body builder strong but functionally strong. He is definately willing to put the work in.


So PLEASE someone give me some starter points. Can someone break a swing down, feel free to get specific but now too specific if you know what I mean,

Something like an outline of the different aspects of the swing. Now once I read this and understand it I can ask more specific things. I am not talking about tee ball things. I am not an idiot but I want the good foundation first.

If at all possible include little drills to reinforce some of these movements.
Time is not an problem, I do work a lot but I always find time for baseball. I am very willing to put in what ever time I need to and read what ever articles that are good.

ok I have already typed way too much already,

thanks in advance


frank

[fgold68]

Ok I have been reading so much more.

I want to make sure I am not coming off wrong. I am not just looking for handouts. I am more than willing to read whatever articles and/or get dvd's (within reason) I have already registered to steve's forum. I have not ordered the first dvd yet but really I prob will. I just want to see his forum first and look around a little more.


Really any help is appreciated

[fgold68]

I do have this from deezeldogg


I thought I was teaching rotational hitting until I found this site

I tried to create a step-by-step checklist of things to teach with what I was learning here, but I never completed it. It is buried somewhere on this site. Anyway, these are the things that I've learned the past few months that I am going to focus on with my team this spring:

Bat perpendicular to the spine
Shoulder tilt
Rear elbow tuck
Eliminate stride
Rear foot--no spin or "squash the bug"
Front foot lock
Proper bat path
No weight forward
Move the middle--start the swing from the center (hips and pelvis)
Hands with the hips, elbows flexed
Extension after contact
Hands above the barrel


I will start with this. and go from there

[kylebee]

Haha, three posts in under 30 minutes. There's a lot of good stuff on this site, and I just recently joined. I've learned a ton with regard to pitching, and I still have a loooong way to go.

The people here are very good, so I think you'll do very well. Try to get video and stills from your son, upload them to YouTube, and post them here for some analysis.

Welcome to the board!

[kylebee]

As for hitting, the idea of a "level swing" is a bad one, as you've undoubtably noticed. You want the swing plane to have a slight (but natural) uppercut at the point of contact, generating a high ratio of line drives (LD%) and fly balls to the outfield.

If you only learn one thing about baseball from the site, learn this: The majority of the power in all baseball-related activities come from the legs and the core, NOT the arms and the chest.

I don't know a great deal about swing mechanics (other than I like mine and that I hit for good enough power and contact for my liking), so I'll gladly defer to Baseball Love and others.

[Maxx]

I do have this from deezeldogg




Just remember, those are are key points of the "notes" I've been taking since joining in July. There are plenty of other concepts that may be just as important, but those are the ones that I felt I could implement quickly and easily and hopefully notice a vast improvement. I recently ordered Dixon's book and I'm waiting on it's arrival--you'll see lots of references to it. I haven't ordered Steve's DVD's yet--I may have to skip a truck payment to get them ;)

A lot of the notes I took were from Mark H and jbooth--they both seem very knowledgeable. Also, Jake Patterson has a very good book that he wrote for Little League coaches--you can google it or PM him.

Welcome!

[milladrive]

"Wow :D"

Well, I suppose this is as good a way as any to title a thread. This way, no one knows what it's about and everyone has to click it to find out. :p

Just kidding... welcome to the site, fgold68.

My brain got juiced from a lot of what you posted. I'll reply more later when I get home from work. :)

[fgold68]

while I was at work, I tried to search the site using "rotational hitting" but for whatever reason it didn't work, Now I am home and it gave me 6 pages of reading material.

It will take a while (I guess i have to go to bed sometime lol) but I will get thru it and post questions as I go.

Anyone with any tips feel free to let me know. I am open to a lot of ideas, will not follow everyone blindly but I am very open.


Hey milladrive like I said I am not an idiot ;)

[Jake Patterson]

Frank,
First and foremost as the moderator for BBF-101 I should have welcomed you formally to this site. There is a plethora of information on this site for hitting. Many of the contributors both current and past are extremely knowledgable about hitting. I think we have (Mostly) conscensus on the major aspects of the swing and only differ on the finer points. Guys here that can help- althought they do have varying positions on certain things- are Mark H, Chris O, J Booth, Steve Englishbey, and many others. There are others who teach swinging very different and I find them interesting, although I do not necessarily agree with their methods or views - they are Tom Guerry and Virg. Most are high school, college, or professional level coaches- professional meaning they do this for a living. To answer your specific questions

As i mentioned I have found and am following jon doyle and he is a big proponent of rotation. Building strong explosive hips and abs.
I spend more time on skills and drills than I do strength and conditioning at this age. Many at 15 are still pre-pubescent and growing into there bodies. I am trying to work with DDogg (Someone with a background in training) on developing a reasonable workout for the average teenager baseball player. My youngest son spent significant time "working out" and I am not certain what value it brought to his game. (BTW both my boys are now adults with the youngest now coaching teenagers)

He has been kind enough to answer a lot of personal emails about the training and how much is too much and practice organization

NOW I stumble upon your website, I am not really sure how I got here.

Now that I am here though I am reading reading reading but there is soooo much about the mechanics of a swing that I had no idea about. You guys really do have a wealth of knowledge (a little sucking up never hurt lol)

Because we never heard of him doesn't mean he is not part of the main stream. I attended the World Baseball Convention each year and run into guys I have never met or heard of before. the key is - If you feel comfortable with what he is teaching and you have tested that material against the very best -then I would stick with him. Siggy and Chris O'Leary have sites that will allow you to test what he is teaching against what the pros do. Bare in mind that there is a development process the players need to go through - the ole walk before you run thing.

Bat postion at start of stance. Is there really a wrong angle to hold the bat at? Is there a right (maybe not right but better) angle?/[QUOTE]
There are two aspects to your question pre launch and post launch- defining launch as when you begin the swing. I do not get to hung up on bat angle before launch. batters do a variety of things to keep themselves relaxed to include moving the bat and its angle around. The key is where they start the swing.

[QUOTE=fgold68]So PLEASE someone give me some starter points. Can someone break a swing down, feel free to get specific but now too specific if you know what I mean,

Go here and learn. John has done an excellent job putting together some of the very best clips while offering great analysis:
http://imageevent.com/siggy/hitting
I would also recommend Chris' site and Englishbey's

Steve has several great drills, but his site is a paid to participate site, the cost being his DVD. I have his DVD and find them very helpful.

Hope this helps
Jake

[Maxx]

Steve has several great drills, but his site is a paid to participate site, the cost being his DVD. I have his DVD and find them very helpful.


The public does now have access to certain parts of the forum.

[jbooth]

hi everyone,

Now that I am here though I am reading reading reading but there is soooo much about the mechanics of a swing that I had no idea about. You guys really do have a wealth of knowledge (a little sucking up never hurt lol)

ok on to the questions.

Lets talk hitting mechanics. Heck I almost don't know where to begin.

So PLEASE someone give me some starter points. Can someone break a swing down, feel free to get specific but now too specific if you know what I mean,

Something like an outline of the different aspects of the swing. Now once I read this and understand it I can ask more specific things. I am not talking about tee ball things. I am not an idiot but I want the good foundation first.

If at all possible include little drills to reinforce some of these movements.
Time is not an problem, I do work a lot but I always find time for baseball. I am very willing to put in what ever time I need to and read what ever articles that are good.

frank

I often use a key phrase I call "H.H.H." Hips, Handle Head Which means, that the sequence of trying to hit the ball is;

1. turn the HIPS
2. then bring the HANDLE of the bat around
3. then unleash the HEAD of the bat at the ball

Of course, there are many details as to HOW to effectively turn the HIPS, and HOW to bring the HANDLE around, and HOW to unleash/throw the bat HEAD.

I now focus the student on simply learning to set the 90 degree angle at the hands, set the hands back near the back shoulder, start by turning the hips, and then keep the hands back and cocked, as the shoulders come around after the hips start the swing.

The main goal is to get to that position of, hips turned, hands back and cocked, and the bat parallel with the plate. If you get to that point correctly, you're on your way to a good hit.

You have to get to the position below; but how you stand and what preliminary movements you make are personal style:

http://firstpickclub.com/images/bonds_approach1.jpg

Notice how you can clearly see the sequence in Pujols' swing below; Hips, Handle, Head

http://firstpickclub.com/video/apujolssep.gif

Also, click below to see various MLB hitters;

http://firstpickclub.com/backelbow.html

Also, click here

http://firstpickclub.com/Critical_swing_points.html