Posted by: george stanley (saint_george13@yahoo.com) on Thu Dec 13 22:31:29 2007

> > My sons high school coach teach the no stride batting stand.Can anyone tell me more on the no stride.
>
> There are four types of stride:
> Straight step
> Back then forward
> Tap step
> None (just a heal tap)
> The purpose of the stride is just timing. The stride is what the hitter uses to set his swing to the speed of the pitch. What a no step stride does is help speed up the swing process so the hitter can do better with faster pitching. Other than this the stride is one of those style elements in the swing that the hitter develops over time to fit their personality.
>
> Here is what one of the greatest hitters of all time (Ted Williams) has to say about the stride.
> Take Away, Back to Go Forward (Power Position)
> The take-away, or load, requires a hitter to move back before they can go forward. This puts the hitter into what I call the "power slot" position. The hitter's first move should be back, away from the pitcher. This can be done in several ways. Over the years, I have had the opportunity to work with some great hitters. Many of these hitters use different ways to move the weight to the backside. Paul O'Neill used a "high knee lift". Don Mattingly used a "sit to hit" approach, while Bernie Williams uses a "toe tap". The method that a hitter uses is irrelevant, provided their weight moves back away from the pitcher, to the inside of the back foot (pivot foot). The purpose of the take away is to overcome inertia and get momentum for the swing. It places the weight slightly to the backside, making it easier to lift the front foot to stride, starting the next phase of the swing.
> Stride to Hitting Position
> The stride can be one of the biggest contributors to swing problems. The stride should be short, soft, and slow. The hands and arms must stay back, near the launch position. The stride must be separate from the swing. You step to hit, not step and hit. The forward movement of the stride foot should be made toward the pitcher. Leading with the heel and landing on the inside of the stride foot help keep the front toe closed, assisting the hitter in keeping the front side closed. A good hitter has slow feet and quick hands. The term "walk away from your hands" is used to reinforce keeping the hands and weight back. A hitter can never get into hitting position too early. The Weight/Wait concept is used to remind hitters to "keep their weight back and wait on the ball"
>


> I hope this help

hi JK!
i have to disagree with the first part of your theory...the PRIMARY PURPOSE of the stride is to impart the forward motion your body should be generating.. which will increase lower body torque.. it is not JUST timing.. every physical action has a equal but opposite REaction.. so the stride has a physical effect on the batspeed, which in turn affects the timing..you are dismissing the PHYSICS equation force= mass x speed. the greater the speed with which your body goes forward, the greater the torque generated by your lower body, which is transferred to the upper body torque, then to the arm & hands, then to the hands, & FINALLY to the bat head.. to eliminate any opportunity to impart more force to the action will diminish your overall batspeed..hitting is very similar to throwing... you bend your back knee, & push off your back toe rather than flatfooted, as you will generate more forward force. according to that logic, to have NO step is to generate NO SPEED, THEREFORE NO FORWARD FORCE, therefore losing ultimate batspeed.. example:
force= mass x speed
force= 150# x 0mph (no step)
force= 0 (anything x 0 = 0)
how can your swing make MORE batspeed by not utilizing any forward motion? this defies the LAWS OF LOGIC & PHYSICS.. the less movement, the less force... hello?!?!?
so throw out the no stride.. it diminishes your bat speed.

then you throw in that stride is about style & personality...THIS IS MOTION MECHANICS PHYSICS!!! EVERYTHING YOU DO AFFECTS YOUR BATSPEED!!! style & personality cannot be implemented to increase your batspeed.. they do not relate to getting the bat WHERE it is supposed to be ON TIME...the specific style or personality utilized has an effect on batspeed.. either they increase or decrease batspeed..so the style & personality must be governed by their ability to increase or decrease batspeed... the worst part of batting instruction is getting hitters never mind style & personality... rather to think in terms of "what i do most often (5 swings out of 6) is NOT get a hit.. invariably i am late to the ball, resulting in popups, fouloffs, & complete misses.. so i must identify those parts of my stance & swing that SHOULD NOT BE ABOUT STYLE OR PERSONALITY, BUT RATHER IN TERMS OF WHAT AM I DOING THAT MAKES ME LATE TO THE BALL MORE OFTEN THAN ANYTHING?? style & personality are not on the stats sheet.. THE PRIMARY SPECIFIC GOAL should be to set up in the optimum stance in the optimum location in the box in order to put a good swing on the ball no matter where it is in the strike zone... this will limit the choices to just a very small area..it is not negotiable, nor open to style or personality differences.. the stance should be short-based,closed & straightaway, without a bias toward any specific pitch location.. & such that it allows you to come down on ANY pitch in the strike zone, so that means HANDS UP & BACK BEHIND YOUR LEAD SHOULDER. from that position your hands are protected from an inside pitch..if one hitter gets hit on the hands, it's one too many. ask vlad, adam kenndy, overbay, sosa (5 years ago) & countless others who lost their season.

the SECONDARY PURPOSE of the stride is the timing..to be in the same stance position with your feet EVERY TIME the pitch is released & starting your step at the same place in the the pitcher's motion, will put you on the ball at the same time more often.. draw a parallel to a ballet movement with a partner, whereby when the partner (pitcher) gets to a certain point in his movement, you must initiate YOUR movement in order to be in synch with HIS movments, OTHERWISE YOU WILL BE LATE!!!

unlike a lot of people on this site, i agree with your stride mechanics whereby you endorse keep the front side closed prior to touchdown.. lotsa people here want to open up the foot while it is in the air.. to do so will lessen the torque generated by the lower body..

george stanley