Posted by: Jim (jwelborn@lexcominc.net) on Tue Jun 21 20:24:23 2005

> Jim,
>
> I may be out of my league with fastpitch, but your post is a good one. There is a part of your post that I think needs a little clearing up.
>
>
> "Cuts with a real pitcher should be held to a minimum at first until you are sure you are swinging correctly. A coach who knows what a correct swing looks like, along with a video camera, are two essential ingredients that will help you. There is no point in taking live cuts if you are swinging incorrectly, as this would only continue to reinforce the bad swing."
>
>
> This seems to imply (to me anyway), that there is only "one" way to swing correctly. Don't you agree that there is no "Holy Grail" swing?
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> "A coach who knows what a correct swing looks like,..."
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> This can lead to a debate within a debate.
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>
>
> "...continue to reinforce the bad swing."
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> Which begs the question, - according to whose definition?



Ray,

There indeed is one correct way to swing. Jack Mankin has gone to great lengths to study, figure out the physics, and describe what must happen to create a powerful swing.

There are other authorities as well, who have reached the same conclusions based on their own research. One in particular is Coach Mike Candrea of the University of Arizona and the USA Olympic Softball Team. His credibility comes not only from his analysis, but also from his results as one of the most successful coaches in the game.

In our own high school fastpitch program, we have been teaching the rotational swing for three years with phenomenal results.

You are absolutely right about the "debate within a debate". There are coaches everywhere who are "authorities" on swinging a bat. Some of them have taken the time to learn what truely produces results. Many simply perpetuate the same old stuff that doesn't really produce hitters who are successful against good pitchers.

Anyone who is interested in an incredible analysis tool that is extremely useful in coaching young hitters should check out www.rightviewpro.com. It was developed by Coach Candrea and others, and is formatted for coaching baseball as well as fastpitch softball.

I would like to clarify my comment about live B.P. Live batting practice is an absolutely essential ingredient in becoming a good hitter. Players who have a sound (rotational) swing should, by all means, practice hitting as much live pitching as possible. No pitching machine can ever duplicate a live pitcher. However, if a player has flaws in his or her swing mechanics, it has been my experience that the flaws will not be corrected during live B.P. or batting in game conditions.