Posted by: Toby (oswegoponysoftball@gmail.com) on Thu Dec 20 12:22:36 2012

Jack,
Excellent point. I looked at Jessica Mendoza's swing and she also has
an upper cut on her swing. Here is the youtube video I am referring
too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qCrRTG17Hc


However, lets talk about the art of pitching in softball and the
release points. In baseball your typical release point would be around
the head ( height wise). In fastpitch softball the release point is
the hips and if you look closely the upward movement of the ball (on a
fastpitch)is immediately after the ball is released. After that it
stays on the plane and does not rise. Here is a link to the NPF vs.
Florida :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKOwC0WcyUc

I think with all of this you can see that although many of the hitting
instructors are writing and saying the swing should be more down ward
... video and evidence are telling us otherwise. Just my .02 worth.




> In this video of our series on Fastpitch Hitting Mechanics, we will
address the linear mechanic "Swing Down on the Ball" or it may be
referred to as the linear cue "keep the bat above the ball."
> ___________________________________________________________
> Linear "Do's & Don'ts"
>
> * <a
href="http://www.batspeed.com/messageboard/1277014.html">Introduction
– Why This Fastpitch Series?</a>
>
> * "Weight Shift" -- Don't "Spin"
> * "Pop Your Hips" - but - "Keep Your Shoulder In-There"
> * "Don't Release The Bat-Head To Soon"
> * "Don't Cast" -- "Keep Your Hands In-side The Ball"
> * <a href="http://www.batspeed.com/messageboard/1293183.html">�Get
Your Arms Extended�</a>
> * <a href="http://www.batspeed.com/messageboard/1286539.html
">"Swing Down" -- "Keep The Bat-Head Above The Ball"</a>
> * "Rise Ball" "Don't Hit Around The Ball" "Swing Through The Ball"
> ___________________________________________________________
> I will make the links above live as soon as they are available
>
> Hi All
>
> When we look at the path the bat-head takes, both linear and
rotational coaches agree the bat-head begins on a downward path --
bottoms-out at some point -- and then finishes high during the follow-
through. When the bat's downward path should bottom out and its'
trajectory in the contact zone is where they disagree.
>
> Rotational coaches believe it is more productive to have the bat-
head's downward trajectory bottom out farther back and be on an up-
slope in the contact zone. Linear coaches would disagree. They contend
a downward trajectory at contact is more productive.
>
> There appears to be 'two' main reasons why some coaches believe
striking the ball on a downward path produces better results. One
reason given is that swinging down on the ball creates "back-spin"
that causes the ball to carry farther. Since we cover the topic of
back-spin in our "bat/ball collision" video, I am now going to address
the other reason many coaches feel That 'keeping the bat-head above
the ball' is more productive for Fast Pitch hitting.
>
> These coaches would point out, that one of the main reasons why the
'baseball swing' does not work well in F/P, is because of the
trajectory of the incoming pitches. Due to the F/P pitchers' low
release point, the ball is on an up-ward, or "Rising" trajectory.
Therefore, for the swing plane to match the Rise ball, the batter
should 'keep the bat above the ball' and angling down to contact.
>
> This is the theory put forth, but is it supported by the swing plane
of the best hitters, or, is it just another linear "Truism"? To find
out, let us take a look at the plane of some of the better Fast Pitch
hitters.
>
> <a href="http://batspeed.com/media/Softball_swingplane.wmv">The
"Rise Ball" & The Swing Plane</a>
>
> One final point to ponder: If a ball rising in the contact zone made
the 'upper-cut' swing ineffective, Major League Baseball would be
packed with submarine style pitchers.
>
> Jack Mankin