Hitting Mechanics

[Dark Angel Coach]

I wanted to start a thread on all the different approaches to hitting in baseball and softball.
1)Chop down on the ball.
2)Drive the knob to the ball and then whip the barrel to hit the ball.
3)Rotational hip first.
4)Barrel pointing away from the Pitcher.
5)Stride then?
6)No stride then?
7)Roll hands at contact
And any other theory on hitting.

Now explain what you teach and why?

[Dark Angel Coach]

Yes on the chop swing.
I saw a travel baseball team instructing their players to swing down on the ball!
And I have run across many players that have told me their Coaches are teaching them this.
They were hitting students of mine.

[Dark Angel Coach]

Most of the students I have instructed that had a Coach teaching them the chop swing were baseball players.
But I have a few softball players where their former hitting Coach was teaching them this.
One came to me because she was with the same Coach for 2 years and rarely hit the ball out of the infield.
I took a video of her swing and all her mechanics were very good except her chopping swing plane that was about a 15-18 degree downward swing.
I told her we will just change the swing plane and she would be hitting them to the fence!
Her Mom said she "has never hit one to the fence" she one hopped the fence the next week.

[slapperdad]

My daughter rarely hits one out of the infield, perhaps I need to find a new hitting instructor?

[Dark Angel Coach]

Let me know when you want to get a free lesson for your Daughter Slapperdad!
And Spaz that is a good point on the tilting of the hitter.

[Dark Angel Coach]

And every swing starts on a downward path, the chop swing continues downward through contact.
And that's why it makes no sense!

[slapperdad]

Let me know when you want to get a free lesson for your Daughter Slapperdad!
And Spaz that is a good point on the tilting of the hitter.

I'll keep that in mind DA, with the start to her season, I'm not even talking to her.

[Dark Angel Coach]

My Daughter doesn't talk to me neither
Slapperdad.
It's Mr D.A. C77 and I've been known to give some hitting lessons.
I do most of my research on hitting with Slow motion swings of High level softball and baseball players.
The swing is very similar in both.

I teach some kind of movement towards the Pitcher, then front heel plant starts the swing with the back hip leading the way.
Front arm should have and keep a bend in it until contact.
Front elbow will work up to just about eye level.
Hands, arms and shoulders should stay connected until contact when driving through the ball results in extension out front.
Also when the front heel plants the head no longer moves, the torso rotates underneath.
On the finish the hitter should have some tilt towards the plate and slightly back towards the Catcher.
I do slow motion video analysis of each student, and I also track ball exit speed off of a tee with a pocket radar.

[Dark Angel Coach]

And when I come across a Coach that teaches the chop or wrist roll I ask if there is a video online of a high level hitter swinging this way where I can look at it.
And of course they can never direct me to that because it isn't there!
So C77 you are right about Coaches making up their own style, instead of teaching what the best actually do.

[Dark Angel Coach]

I've had quite a few hitting Coaches tell me I'm teaching a baseball swing to my softball players.
One was teaching almost the same mechanics just without a stride to the Pitcher.
And another Coach who teaches the wrist roll, (yes, wrist roll at contact) just laughs at what I teach.
I've asked him many times where can I see that swing?
He's an old friend so I don't push it on him

In the time I've been doing the exit speed off of a tee.
I came to the conclusion that if a Softball player can hit consistently around 60-62 mph they have HR power.
Because the ones that do this have hit numerous HRs.
Top speed for a girl is a Sophomore who topped out at 73 mph
Boy's it's also a Sophomore and he topped out at 88mph with a wood bat.