Posted by: george stanley (saint_george13@yahoo.com) on Thu Feb 14 17:35:25 2008

> i have been "popping" for a while now, where i stride once and then i stride again when the pitch is on the way and my front foot opens up, causing my weight to go forward and be late on the pitch. is this a result of striding to early or just a bad habit, and is there any drills to correct this?

HEY LUKE!!
THE "DOUBLE CLUTCH" ALA SAMMY SOSA WHERE YOU PICK UP YOUR FRONT TOE AND THEN PUT IT BACK DOWN, THEN START OVER AGAIN IS NOT THE PROBLEM.. RATHER WHATEVER YOU ARE MARKING AS THE POINT IN THE PITCHER'S WINDUP AS YOUR LIFTOFF POINT IS SIMPLY A LITTLE TOO LATE.. PICK AN EARLIER
PART OF HIS MOTION AS YOUR KICKOFF POINT .. GOING FORWARD IS A GOOD THING.. THAT'S HOW YOU GENERATE MOMENTUM THAT YOU CAN TRANSFER INTO TORQUE. THAT IS A GOOD THING, AND THAT IS NOT THE REASON YOU ARE LATE..

DRAW A LINE WHICH DIVIDES EACH FOOT IN HALF LENGTHWISE.. WHEN YOU PUT YOUR FRONT FOOT DOWN BOTH LINES SHOULD BE PARALLEL.. TO OPEN UP YOUR FRONT FOOT BEFORE TOUCH DOWN WILL DIMINISH THE TORQUE YOUR LOWER BODY GENERATES.. ONLY AFTER TOUCHDOWN WITH YOUR FRONT FOOT CENTERLINE PARALLEL TO YOUR BACK FOOR CENTERLINE SHOULD YOU BEGIN TO TORQUE.. DON'T FORGET YOUR LEGS ARE AT LEAST 3-4 TIMES STRONGER THAN YOUR ARMS... GET THEM IN THE SWING FIRST!! WATCH YOUR LOWER BODY DURING YOUR SWING... IS IS TWISTING, PROVIDING ROTATIONAL ENERGY TO THE UPPER HALF OF YOUR BODY, OR ARE YOU JUST SIMPLY STEPPINGG FORWARD AND THEN FIRING WITH JUST YOUR ARMS & SHOULDERS?? THIS STYLLE THAT IS ENDORSED ON THIS SITE DOES NOT RECOGNIZE THE INHERENT STRENTGH IN THE LEGS.. USE THEM TO GENERATES LOWER BODY TORQUE FIRST, WHICH WILL INCREASE YOUR UPPER BODY TORQUE.. KEEP YOUR HANDS BACK, SO THEY WILL BENEFIT FROM ALL THE ROTATIONAL SPEED YOUR ARE GENERATING WITH YOUR ENTIRE REPEAT ENTIRE BODY..
ONCE THE PITCH IS UNDERWAY, ARE YOU DROPPING YOUR HANDS, OR DOING A LITTLE CIRCLEHITCH OR DRAWING BACK YOUR HANDS BEFORE STARTING FORWARD? ANY OF THESE POST RELEASE MOTIONS 0WILL DEFINITELY MAKE YOU LATE! REMEMBER ONCE THE PITCH IS RELEASED YOU ONLY HAVE .41 SECONDS (ASSUMING 90 MPH)TO:
1. DECIDE WHETHER TO SWING OR TAKE
2. ACTUALLY SWING
3. GET THE BAT TO THE POINT WHERE THE BALL IS, AT THE EXACT MOMENT IT REACHES THAT OPTIMUM POINT ABOUT A FOOT IN FRONT OF THE PLATE..
IT'S ALL ABOUT TIMING.. THE TRAIN LEAVES AT A CERTAIN TIME.. EITHER YOU ARE ON TIME OR YOU ARE NOT.. THAT DOESN'T LEAVE YOU A WHOLE HELL OF A LOT OF TIME TO BE USING A 16" SOFTBALL WINDUP TO YOUR SWING.. RATHER ALL OF YOUR BODY PARTS & THE BAT SHOULD START FORWARD FROM THE GITGO..
YOU HAVE MY RESPECT WHEN YOU ADMIT YOU'RE LATE.. MOST HITTERS THINK THEY ARE MISSING PITCHES WHEN MOST OF THE TIME THEY ARE JUST LATE GETTING THERE..THEY ARE UNAWARE OF THE DIFFERENCE.. YOU ON THE OTHER HAND HAVE FIGURED THAT PART OUT. GOOD!!
BEST OF LUCK TO YOU!

GEORGE