Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Tue Jul 25 21:02:11 2006

>>> This is Jim. As the girls going through their drills they look good. When we work the heavy bag we have good form and we talk about and try to develop torque. When we work the tee we look good. The problem is during game play. I've started to do a soft front toss from 25 ft. and aim at their front hip so they have to hit the ball out front. Again we look good doing that. To my eye it seems our hands are coming to forward past the bellybutton closer to the front hip not allowing us to get the bathead around fast enough. I also believe developing torque is an issue also. They don't grab the concept as well as I'd like. <<<

Hi Jim

The reason the better hitters can hit with power straightaway and to the opposite field is because their mechanics generate bat-head acceleration much earlier in the swing than the average hitter. Their bat-head has already attained good bat speed by the time it becomes perpendicular to the incoming flight of the ball.

Jim, I’m afraid tossing balls at their front hip will not encourage them to develop early bat-head acceleration. In fact, it probably will cause them to delay that acceleration. It may also encourage their back-elbow to slide inward toward their belly button during the swing, which also delays acceleration.

I will place below a couple excerpts on the use of the heavy bag and mechanics that generate early bat speed. After reviewing them, take a look at clips - http://www.batspeed.com/media/WhipHigh.wmv - & http://www.batspeed.com/media/TorqueHigh.wmv - They demonstrates the value of the CHP and how torque is applied to the swing.

Jack Mankin

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When you watch a good lumberjack swing an axe, you find that he has expended all his energy and his hands have ceased to drive forward as the blade sinks into the tree. It is the momentum of the axe that sinks the blade – not the hands continuing to drive the handle. The tree stopped the blade so we see no follow-through. But if the tree were not there, it would be the axe’s momentum that pulled the hands and arms around the follow-through – not the arms extending.

Practicing hitting the heavy bag with a bat uses the same principle as a lumberjack’s axe striking a tree – it is the bat speed generated before contact that counts. Continuing to drive the bat through the follow-through is wasted energy.
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The ball is only in contact with the bat for approximately 1/2000 of a second and the bat moves forward less than 3/4 of an inch. Therefore, any energy applied to the bat after contact has NO effect on the ball's flight and is wasted energy. Good transfer mechanics will deplete all bat speed-generating energy prior to or by contact. This is a major difference between average hitters and great hitters. The mechanics of most average hitters develops bat speed much later in the swing. These hitters continue applying forces to the bat well after passing the optimum contact point. That is why they have little power to the opposite field and many of their better-hit balls are pulled foul.

The purpose of using a heavy bag to absorb the bat's energy at the contact point is to train the batter to expend all bat speed-generating energy (rotational and torque) prior to or by contact. Good transfer mechanics and timing will have the batter depleting his rotational and torque energy as the bat-head reaches maximum velocity. -- Stated another way, all the energy has been sucked out of the system as maximum bat speed is reached.

Therefore, after all of the body's energy has been transferred into bat speed, the body and limb muscles are at rest. The hip and shoulder rotation is complete -- lead-arm pull and back-forearm lowering to horizontal (the "L" position) is complete -- the hand-path has slowed to a stop -- there is NO energy being applied to the bat -- the bat's energy has been expended into the heavy bag -- all motion has ceased -- all muscles are relaxed. Thus, you now have a frozen frame of the batters mechanics at contact.

This is not the case with weaker hitters. Improper initiation of the swing (for example, thrusting the top-hand forward) quickly places the batter behind the power curve and he or she is left trying to develop bat speed after the bat reaches contact. Striking the heavy bag with tense arms that are still driving forward can cause discomfort to the hands and wrist. I would advise taking it easy until the batters' transfer mechanics improve.
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