Posted by: Coach C () on Fri Jul 4 09:26:03 2003

Far be it for me to say what feels right to someone else is wrong. Straight up-----there is more than one way to hit a ball, but as for me I don't care for the phrase "crack the whip". Again this is only my feel.....I'll try to explain.
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> > Crack the whip implies that the wrist will roll. I tried to work it out, but I see know way of cracking the whip without empasizing the wrist snap and putting the brakes on the the follow-through. In my swing I want there to be no emphasis on the follow through. I guess you could say I take half swings, without putting on the brakes. Understand that the wrists do roll, but there is no forced effort, or no special moment when the bat is snapped into the ball by the wrists in a whip like fashion. I've stated before that my feel is that the ball gets in the way of my swing and not me hitting the ball.
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> > A better swing thought for me is "there is no follow through" and as long as I don't put on the brakes it happens naturally. For me the whip takes place when the torque of the trunk throws the arms into the ball.
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> > I grew up cracking the whip and it served me well, but today those swings are reserved for situational hitting only, not hitting the ball where it is pitched.
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> > Respectfully,
> >
> > Coach C.
> >
> > I think the illusion of power is always in the hands.
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> I like a lot of what you say. I like the "no follow through" analagy. But, as far as the whip is concerned, your thoughts seem to indicate the wrists or hands would be the handle of the whip. And if that is the case, I agree with you. But, what if the body turn is the handle for the whip? And this whip energy goes out through your arms and hands to the bat.
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> > This may sound strange, but another swing thought for me is that there is no speed in the forward swing. All speed is generated in the pre-launch/coil. For me....it let me feel the power in the coil shoulder/trunk turn and not in the hands. My hands just keep me on the right plane. This probably wouldn't work for some, but it's the only way for me to stay tension-free.

One last thought......over the years I've got every book on hitting there is and very few say the same things, but the one thing they all agree on is tension-free. I took that to heart and found a system that works for me. In my opinion if everyone focused on that one aspect they would develop a great, repeatable swing. Mechanics are wonderful to discuss, but mechanics with tension rarely are repeatable. We can all agree on that.

Thanks,

Coach C