Posted by: Teacherman () on Fri Oct 31 21:45:55 2003

I took my son for a hitting private the other night and the instructor (a college player) told him NOT to stride, and to lock the front leg and NOT turn the front foot toward the pitcher during his swing. He has always taken a small stride and turned the front foot toward the pitcher.
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> I just viewed the clips at this website (thanks Nick) and almost every major league player strides and turns the front foot toward the pitcher during the swing: http://www.youthbaseballcoaching.com/swings.html
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> What should my son be doing with this front foot. He says it feels funny not turning it, especially after years of turning it.

Not a bad idea to learn no stride hitting. Especially if he's working on something specific. Adding a stride later is easy. Getting the basics of the swing down can be easier with a no stride approach.

My opinion on the front foot is the toe touches and then as the heel drops, which initiates the swing, the foot opens.