Backspin Blogger

Three Universal Swing Faults Let’s define swing fault and swing thought. Something  done “wrong” in a swing or swing mechanics is a swing fault A swing thought is what you think prior and during the swing... giving your body directions. Proper Hitting Posture Question: How many times do you see Major League Hitters lose their balance, fall over in the batters box, or fall out of the box? Not very often! How many times do you see young, amateur hitters lose their balance while swinging? Way too often! Proper Hitting Posture consists of: Keeping an “athletic” position throughout the swing A slight lean or tilt of the hitter’s body over the plate  throughout  the swing o         Feet as wide as the bat (after stride) o         Knees bent o         Upper body leaned over towards the plate Proper Hitting Posture allows the hitter to: Stay in the best possible athletic p...

I would venture to say that just about all parents of young athletes want the absolute best for their kids. That is not something I believe could become a legitimate debate. The debate begins when the subject of how to be a good parent gets mentioned. There are an almost infinite number of scenarios and angles to look at this topic... but just like in Hitting Mechanics, there are absolutes in being good parents of young athletes. Smiling Young Athletes 1. Remembering that it is their life, their likes, their "want to's" , their time, their dreams... not your life, your likes, your "want to's", your time or your dreams. We all want our kids to be good at what they do, enjoy what they do, learn from what they do and have and chase dreams. But here is the hard truth from 40 years deeply entrenched in youth athletics.Too many parents are living their own dreams through there kid. I'm not going to write a report on the psychology of this but by observation, i...

B ackside Release Question:    What does the back leg & foot do during the contact phase of the swing? 90% of coaches, players, etc, the answer would be pivot, squish the bug , rotate your hips, etc This is actually a swing mechanic MYTH that has been passed down from generation to generation without teaching what does what does happen. The back foot rolls up on the inner portion before rotating upward. The back knee moves  towards  the front calf creating the "L" in the back leg. Releasing the back side The back foot becomes almost weightless as it; rolls up on toe, slides forward or back, comes off the ground forward before planting for deceleration balance, etc... The one absolute is the it  becomes  close to weightless. This allows for full weight transfer along with  several  other elite,  synchronized  softball swing mechanics. Batting Tip: An easy teaching que is to have the hitter roll up on their t...

Extension and  Wrist Release  When discussing the topic of extension, most hitters think of extending the arms as the extent of extension. When in reality, that is only part of what creates “maximum extension . ” The forgotten or rarely mentioned element is the extension or release of the wrists. EXTENSION: I hear analysts always talk about the "big guys want to get their arms extended" ... true, and a circle is round. We ALL want to get are arms extended as this is a huge part of good swing mechanics. Let me bust a myth... hitters do want to get extended but it is extension TOWARDS THE PITCHER, not out in front of their body over the plate. WRIST RELEASE: Just like a golfers wrists do not rollover until well after contact, a hitter need to do the same thing. We call it wrist release where the wrist joints load and unload from side to side as opposed to rolling over. It is the last hinge to unload and bat will accelerate until wrists roll. WHY DO HITTERS WANT EX...

The Five Areas of Hitting Development Most hitters and coaches think that working on hitting is taking batting practice... they are correct but only partially. Understanding, addressing and working on all the components of being a good hitter is the only way to maximize any hitters potential. Each hitter is an individual and each has their strengths and weaknesses but going through this checklist may help identify both and get them on their way to marked improvement. The swing  The actual physical swing mechanics  Creating a “sound or mechanically correct” swing gives the hitter the best chance for contact and force(power) The phase we all work on the most The mental approach Ignored by most instructors(because of the lack of concrete ideas and it has the widest variety of opinions, thoughts and ways the element is applied) This can be anything from their approach at the plate to practice habits Vision, tracking, pitch recognition and decision making ...

The LAUNCH, or what I call POWER-LOAD position, is the point in the swing in which the hitter’s hand and body movements switch from going away from the pitch to towards the pitch. COMMON FAULT: If you do not get in proper “launch position”, your chance of maximizing each swing is very poor. Most young hitters land with too much weight on back leg, and hands  aren't  in proper launch position. WHY get into proper launch position? ·          Getting the hitter to the most powerful and efficient striking position possible. ·          Getting the hitter’s head and eyes in the best tracking position possible. ·          Loading is created by moving away from the pitcher (linearly) and turning the body slightly inward toward the plate (rotationally) .  LAUNCH SEPARATION  is making sure the hands stay back and the torso stays squ...

BASE Once the hitter has started the swing motion they need to establish a good base and get into a loaded position before the “launch” (the actual forward movement of the swing) takes place. A good base is having your feet about a bat s length apart, knees slightly bent and upper body slightly tilted towards home plate. FAULT: Most young hitters have too narrow of a base (distance between feet after stride).  WHY: Common teaching terminology or suggestion is to have the hitters feet slightly wider than shoulder width. This seems to be a natural position for young hitters. HOW TO FIX/KEY POINTS ·          After stride, feet should be approximately a bat s length apart. ·          Knees should be slightly bent. ·          Dynamic balance – balance throughout the swing.

None... period. #mythbusting

TIMING STRIDE This baseball swing mechanic, or softball swing mechanic,  is the movement of the front foot towards the pitcher or just a “lift” of the front foot depending on what you do individually. 1.     Length of the stride is directly related to how your base is in the pre-pitch position. (see base) 2.    Front foot must be down early or at the latest, on time … never late. 3.    The front foot should be down around the time the pitch is about ½ way s to plate. 4.   One major fault with many hitters is that they don’t get their whole foot down        early enough or not at all. Coach speak calls getting the whole foot down, “heel plant”, because some           just land on their toe. Make sure the whole foot gets down early. TIP: There are several different “triggers” … Chipper Jones uses a toe tap, A-Rod picks his knee up almost to his waist,...

A Proven Teaching Method As you read this, think about what we want in the end – a road map per say. 1.         You will know the  commonalities  of exceptional hitters.(Swing mechanics of the best players   on earth) 2.        You should know what the hitters do from head to toe and from the start of the swing to the end of the swing. This will be the model we use. Use the photos throughout as references for all the topics and concepts. The program is taught step by step . It is also the way it is best learned. *** One major problem I have witnessed over and over is “over-coaching”. It is very difficult to work on more than one thing at a time. Work on one thing, one technique, one commonality, one drill at a time. Then after a few workouts working on one technique, review the material, work on it a little and go to the next. Less is more sometimes. Less information at one time equa...

The Fast-Pitch Softball Study …why we teach, what we teach    As I was introducing myself to the Fast Pitch Softball world in 2005, I observed as much as I could. Living in Arizona , I was lucky to have some of the best programs in the country. High level recreational teams, high school teams, University of Arizona and Arizona State University -- all just minutes from my home. I was intrigued by several observations I made. Then, I just started asking questions, and more questions (examples below)and more questions to anybody who would listen I then started asking the “experts” some questions. The ”Experts” I am referring to were the coaches and private instructors who I had been told were the leaders in the sport. I was trying to get a picture painted as to how this sport paralleled the other diamond sport in as many aspects as possible. ·          What are the similarities? ·      ...