Backspin Blogger

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,...

TRIGGER 1. This is any movement that starts the swing. It serves as: 1.    A timing device 2.    A start to your loading process 2. It can be done many ways: 1.    Pushing your hands back 2.    Rocking your weight to the back foot 3.    Rotating slightly inward or taking front shoulder towards home plate. 4.    Front leg movement; leg kick, toe tap, knee to knee, etc. What is important is that each hitter has a trigger that sets the swing in motion, at the right time.

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? ·      ...

Finding your Number The three little bears... one was too hot, one was too cold and one was just right!  We can learn something from a fairy tale that may help us become better hitters. In very simple terms, we want hitters to hit the ball more often, harder and farther every day. There are many factors and variable such as swing mechanics, pitch recognition, timing and more... but I want to focus on something that can tie all those variables together and help the final outcome significantly.  Rhythm , tempo and pace are fairly common terms used to  summarize the overall swing as far as speed and control is concerned.  We teach a technique we call "finding your number" which is basically finding out which is the best tempo, speed and intent a hitter swings with. We teach using these ques... ·          Hitters in general, want to hit the ball often, hard, and far. All hitters are not home run hitters but the...