Posted by: () on Sun Sep 7 06:14:35 2003

Hi,
> >
> > Today I went to take some swings in the cage. It says 75-80. Im wondering if thats an acceptable speed at the highschool varsity level, just speed wise?
> >
> > However, alot of the balls were going to the opposite field or smashed right into the ground. I think one reason is because im a little late on them, but could it also be that Im cutting my swing short?
> >
> > I just dont feel like im rotating 100%. It feels like right when i made contact, my swing slows down. I cant feel that great BAAM. Is this called cutting my swing short? Thx
>
>
> I assume you're talking about pitch speed at 75 to 80. That's too fast to work on proper mechanics. It's difficult to develop a rhythm with a pitching machine that fires balls, it normally activates the wrong muscles for hitting. See the ball before you stride!!! That's hard to do at the speed your hitting at. I normally hit at 40 to 50 MPH in the cages to work on swing mechanics. My focus is always the same, maintaing perfect balance, tracking the ball to the hitting area and executing a smooth repeatable swing. You would learn more about what a smooth repeatable swing feels like on a tee, than you would at those pitch speeds. Smooth repeatable swings work against 90 mph pitch speeds, because we develop timing with the pitcher. My personal opinion is that you are doing more harm than good. Don't let the notion of hitting the fastest speed in the cage make you think you're a good or bad hitter, it's got nothing to do with it. Hitting at those speeds are for weekend warriors, in my opinion!
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> Respectfully,
>
> Coach C

Right. Wheel machines are bad news. You can compensate but tee work or soft toss, front toss from behind a screen and then live pitching is the better path to take. If you can find arm pitching machines, they are a little better.