Posted by: Sandman (msanda@cox.net) on Fri Apr 1 13:15:50 2005

Hi Jack & Co.,

My son, Kevin (who will be 11 in late July), has developed some nasty habits that are affecting his ability to hit the ball w/ authority.

Here's a QT video w/ 5 swings (all from pitcher perspective; sorry, that's all I could get in the cage):

http://members.cox.net/dsanda/Indoor%20cage%20-%20Kevin.mp4

Symptoms:
- Counter-rotating shoulders far too much.
- Striding towards plate. (caused by #1?)
- Initiating lower-body rotation prematurely (during stride) w/ lead knee/foot.
- Hands too far from rear armpit and too high (above shoulder top) at launch.

Results:
- Ending up too close to plate - due to stride AND early rotation (bringing right hip too close to plate) - necessitating pulling in of the hands and dropping of lead hand/wrist so that bat head can find ball.
- Disconnection of lead arm to rotating shoulders/chest, resulting in chicken-wing follow-through.

The main changes I think are necessary are:
- Keep his lead shoulder still and maintain flex in lead elbow while he pulls his rear elbow back (towards 3B dugout), thereby pulling his hands in closer to his armpit/top of shoulder. (He tends to leave his hands far from his body, but probably thinks they’re “hidden” because he’s counter-rotated his shoulders to hide them?)
- Stride w/ a closed (or nearly-closed) lead foot, straight on the line his feet are setup on; I can put him on our Balance Board for this.
- As he strides to launch position, flex his knees more (IOW, sit).

I'm thinking that if he would not over-rotate his shoulders so much, he might stride straighter and not feel the need to open his knee/foot so soon. Also, if he would relax his lead arm more (maintain elbow flex), he could arrive at launch w/ his hands nearer his armpit - a better position from which to initiate a circular hand path.

Appreciate your thoughts,
Sandman