Posted by: Thomas (twvanya@aol.com) on Fri Dec 15 08:10:23 2000

> I ordered Jack's tape and watched it. At first, I must admit, that I thought he was full of it. I almost sent it back. There were no experts in the tape confirming what he was saying and that made me skeptical. I picked up a bat and did some dry swings and his methods did not seem to work for me.
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> However, 3 days later I was was watching a golf show and they talked about "casting your hands." I remembered Jack equating the golf swing to the baseball swing. I asked myself "could I be casting my hands?" So, I took out his tape again and viewed it one more time.
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> After viewing his tape I took out my bat, then attached the "stroke maxxer" so I could tell how fast I was swinging. I then realized that I was casting my hands and that was robbing me of almost 10 mph of bat speed.
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> I have not tried Jack's method at the batting cages but I have had an epiphany. Power comes from torque generated by the wrists. Powerful arms are not needed. The swing should feel effortless. And once you feel the correct path of the bat, there is no doubt.
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> Now, I feel less stress on my back and arms while generating 15% more bat speed. I am looking forward to next season. I play softball and last year, by casting my hands, I could hit the ball well over 300 feet. I can't wait to see what I can do next year!
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> Thanks Jack
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As the saying goes "the proof is in the pudding". Until one actually tries the different theories and techniques described, how can a determination be made on whether they work or not?

I found this site and these techniques last spring just before my son's Little League season (11&12) began. Since he is tall but very slim, I knew from experience that he will not be able to "muscle" the ball. We had been using the classic linear methods with some success, but were both willing to give this "new theory" a try. I figured a few dry swings to get the feel of the swing and taking some bp at the ball field would be a good indication of whether or not there was any merit to all of this rotational stuff.

Well, as you can probably guess, my son continued using the rotational technique and never looked back. More than once he drove the ball deep to the fence and in his last game finally put one well out of the park on the 200ft. field.

To me, one of the best things about rotational is that it has been simpler for my son to understand. Using the rock on a string imagery helped him to see what the rotational technique was doing. We only have two "keywords" that he thinks about before he swings -- "hips and shoulders". With those words, he remembers to let his hips and upper body do the work instead of trying to use his arms for power.

To the skeptics I would say, "Just give it a try." You may discover you have found just what you've been looking for.

PS

Athough I enjoy reading the "technical" discussions that often take place; I always ask myself, "How can I use this to make my son and his teammates better hitters?" Sometimes there are practical things that I can implement and sometimes it's just information to help me know what faults to look for in the swing.

Waiting for Spring,
Thomas