Posted by: Coach C () on Sun Jan 4 09:54:26 2004

hi all
> > >
> > > i experimented with my legs. i started with legs first and then the whole kinetic chain. and it worked! tremendous bat speed and power. at the beginning it was hard to time the pitch and it looked weird but once you get it down you start hitting like jeter. it is amazing. i cant wait to try against live pitching. i dont know if i will be able to time pithes this way but i have to try it. it feels good and connected now. i still struggle at times with keeping hands back as my body rotates.
> > > thanks for all the help.
> > >
> > > toti
> >
> > Toti,
> >
> > I always get concerned when people say they start with the legs, because normally it leads to a a quick hip and little connection to the ground with the feet. Do this.......have someone throw you BP...if you find yourself leaning on your front side or transferring weight to the front side when you take the occasional pitch that isn't a good pitch to hit, then the legs are not stable. You should have the feeling that the ball is coming to you and if you're doing that correctly you'll be near 50/50 when taking pitches. Contrary to popular opinion, I do not believe the legs are meant for driving, but rather for balance and resistance to the uppper body...torso/shoulders/arms and hands in that order. I feel my legs in the swing, when they stay connected to the ground.
> >
> > You may be doing all of these things now, but thinking that leg power will translate into bat speed is not my feel at all. I generate about 94 mph on a good day. My son is 11 and has got to about 72 mph. These speeds in and of themselves are not as important as where the speed is happening.........before impact hopefully, but the ball flight will tell us that. The power is in the torso!!! For me anyway!!!
> >
> > Your enthusiasm is tremendous.....keep it up laddy!!
> >
> > Coach C
> > CAN YOU TELL ME WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO START YOUR STRIDE, OR IS THIS A REACTION THING FOR THE INDIVIDUAL.
> THANKS
> DAN K
>
> > For me the stride happens when the ball is about half way to the hitting area......certainly it depends on the pitchers velocity. I don't even call it a stride... I call it "setting the feet." Stride length varies from 1 inch to 6 inches, depending on how hard I'm going to swing, so in my case it's about 4 inches. However, the farther apart I set my feet, the more my head will drop during the swing (which changes the bat level)....it's a trade off.

Coach C