Posted by: Joe A. (Mgtsupport) on Sat Aug 19 06:28:11 2000

>>>sort of a "side" post in addition to my comments below....would you agree or disagree that the shoulders are yet another "conduit" through which energy is transferred ?...respectfully, grc.... <<<
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> Hi grc
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> I would respectfully have to disagree. Thinking of the shoulders as a ""conduit" through which energy is transferred" can be misleading. Energy for the swing does not travel like an electrical current. If that were so, energy would transfer through the shoulders whether they rotated or not. --- That was the point of the question. Energy for the swing can't jump like lightening from the hips (or whatever) to the bat. Far to many coaches leave the importance of shoulder rotation out of their teaching.
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> Jack Mankin
>
Jack,
The elements of a swing are like a link in a chain. Each link has three roles to play. One role is to accept the power ( or speed if you perfer) generated by the previous links. The second is to add its own power to the power received by the previous links. Three, to transfer the accumulated power to the next link, in the case of shoulders, the arms.

Jack, you are right, power does not flow like an electrical current. It is a mechanical action. Much as the gears in a machine, transmission?, transfer power to the next gear.

The large mussels of the legs and hips start the power moving. This power is accepted by and addded to by the the smaller mussels of the chest and shoulders. Then the arms then the hands. As the mussels get smaller the strength is lessened but the speed picks up.

If power does not transfer from the bottom threw the shoulders, why teach hitters to turn their hips? This adds movements and makes the swing more complicated. More moving parts means more things to go wrong. Why teach it if there is no benefit?

Joe A.