Posted by: JCAZ (joeteg@gmail.com) on Tue Apr 17 14:18:21 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

Mason, you are correct in that without video it is very hard to diagnose. It takes a long time to change a swing and there are a huge
number of degrees between a pure linear swing and a pure rotational
swing. My oldest still tends to bounce between the two a lot. He is
much more a victim of my lack of understanding in his early years and
is constantly fighting his old muscle memory and habits.

I would suggest getting some video of yourself. This is by far the
best way to understand what you are doing at the plate. I video both
my boys as much as I can. It really helps. Put it on youtube and
post the link here. I am sure you will get insight into what you are
doing.

This stuff does work! Take it a step at a time. Changing a swing is
not like flipping a light switch. It takes time and focused practice.
I would suggest you get Jack's DVDs if you haven't done so. They are
well worth it in understanding and developing the swing.

JCAZ