Posted by: Graylon (g_dunc@hotmail.com) on Thu Mar 27 20:40:13 2008

> I see the swing in 3 parts,the load which I find easiet to teach and several styles used to get there are all over the major leagues,next is the weight shift area which is what seperates hitters from swingers,and finally the swing itself where I have found alot of good swings and little hard contact.
> My focus is the point in the load that overlaps and the foot gets ready to raise for the strideright up til just after foot plant and the hips fire.I think this is the area that weeds out most from becoming a great hitter.This is the time when all decisions on the ball are made and timing is done deciding to swing or not and deciding on proper tilt.
> I see so many swings that are ruined by this point in the swing.You can set your timing for a fb but if you dont read offspeed early enough through depth perception or spin on the curve then you will usually weight shift to early and lose the balance point necessary to launch a smooth swing.
> I am picturing the upper body as like a ball that is on a stick which is the leg and all the weight is centered on a point at the bottom of the stick which is the instep of that rear foot,not the heel not the toe they help balance for the point on the instep.Now as we stride we move forward but we must move in such a way that the upper body resists gravity to let the weight fall forward onto the front foot and shifts the weight onto the front foot.This is the important time to stay loaded and decide when to unload,even as the toe comes down I feel the weight should still be back riding the inside of rear leg and when the hips fire they force the weight shift into a blocking lead bent leg that creates smooth accelaration,at this point you are just a swinger again and all important decisions are done for good contact.
> I am thinking this whole timing thing for setting for the fb could be hurting kids when in counts where they need to adjust or taking advantage of a hanging curve.See if you are setting for say 85 fb over and over like bp and along comes 76mph then you either swing well but early [the sweet swinging bad hitter]or you find ways to slow down where you land and collapse the front leg and let weight shift onto front leg before hip initiation,these are internal autopilots for the body based on info registering to the brain to late.I think that an internal plan for say looking for a ball out over the plate to drive up the middle but preparing that as you get that fb you are going to speed up that foot plant so you can quickly initiate weight shift and swing launch.If your body is in a coiled position staying on the inside of rear thigh and you then read offspeed you are in a more smooth transition to plant on time for the offspeed pitch in a decent balance to unload well.
> This is the fine line that makes hitting so difficult I am rethinking the clue trust your hands ,when referring to catch up to the fb,rather trust your foot to speed up by getting down quick enough to get the swing launched,any thoughts.


Personally I don't worry about the front foot so much. IMO the swing will get the front foot down. If you rush to get the front foot down, like on a good fast ball, you will tend to weight shift to early, leaving the hands behind and dragging the bat. Ride the back leg. If you do this on off speed the front foot may get down but your weight is still over the back leg and the hands will tourque the bat and a push off of the back leg will launch the swing. The hips ar still turning creating more stretch.

Graylon