Posted by: Mason (mason.t.kibler@gmail.com) on Fri Apr 13 09:42:09 2012

I've been a follower of this site for years, and never really put a full effort into it, as it always 'felt better' to resort to old habits.

One thing I remember, clear as day, is that I had a few bombs in HS, and each one was smooth as silk, and felt 'clean'. I remember connecting cleanly numerous other times and the ball would barely reach the outfielders, let alone clear the wall by 30 feet. I never understood why, until I saw this site.

I'm 27 now, playing in an amateur league, and I decided this would be the year I'd train with your methods. I've been trying to train my brain and muscles into thinking this new method was normal, and feel like my mechanics are now correct, at full speed.

The problem is, I took on the field BP the other day, and the ball hardly went anywhere. My arms and shoulders feel very sore when I swung, almost like its an un-natural movement. When I keep my elbows apart, and maintain that 90 degree angle, my shoulders feel like they take all of the bulk, and it feels weak. My legs and hips seem to be rotating fine, but the "pop" just isn't there. In fact, it seems worse than last year when I'd "throw my hands" at the ball.

I know that without video, it's impossible to analyze, but maybe someone experienced something similar to this and can help. Basically my arms feel slow and weak, and it feels very awkward to have my elbows apart. I think I'm pulling my front elbow too far away from my body, instead of around it. It almost feels like at point of contact, that there is a tremendous amount of stress on my lead shoulder. Even holding that position stationary feels that way. I'm lost as to what I'm doing wrong. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Mason