Posted by: BHL (Knight1285@aol.com) on Tue Feb 3 16:02:53 2004

I need some advice on getting my players to stop "squishing the bug". Their weight is back on their rear foot too much while their hips are rotating. This spin seems to be killing their ability to drive the ball. They must be driving their energy into the ground, instead of up and out through the bat.
> > > >
> > > > Any advice on how to get these players out of this habit?
> > >
> > > Hi Rocket,
> > >
> > > One of the best ways to initiate hip rotation is to open up the front foot 45 degrees and land on the ball of that foot. Then, concentrate on doing the following things:
> > >
> > > 1) Drop the front heel (do not squish the bug)
> > > 2) Lift the back heel off the ground slightly
> > > 3) Turn the back knee down and in slightly
> > > 4) Turn the back hip around the imaginary axis (i.e., the spine)
> > >
> > > Once your players can master these items, they can concentrate on dropping the front heel to cause automatic hip rotation, without thinking about items 2, 3, and 4. Squishing the bug is acceptable, as long as it is a proactive--rather than a reactive--movement.
> > >
> > > Sincerely,
> > > BHL
> > > Knight1285@aol.com
> > >
> > > P.S. This should fix your problems. If not, read the material again on this site, and look through Mike Epstein's search engine at mikeepsteinhitting.com. Both sites show ways how to avert your problem. Good luck, and keep us all posted!
> > >
> > > Hi Rocket,
> >
> > In an earlier post, I said that "squishing the bug" is proactive. That was a typo, since what I meant was "squishing the bug" is a reactive movement triggered by the proactive movement of dropping the front heel. Sorry for the error.
> >
> > Sincerely,
> > BHL
> > Knight1285@aol.com
>
>
>
> Should you actually tell you hitters to take their back knee down and in during hip rotation, or is it something that will happen naturally as a result of the front foot driving back?
>
> Thanks for your help.

Hi Again,

If a person can get proper back leg rotation by dropping his front heel, I would advise you to forego the cues. However, if the front heel drop does not trigger hip rotation, I would suggest following these cues to assist rotation. Eventually, these cues will become natural, and hip rotation will be triggered by the front heel automatically. This is essential, since the front heel drop triggers hip rotation. Hope this helps.

Sincerely,
BHL (i.e., The Black Hole Lexicographer)
Knight1285@aol.com