Posted by: Chuck (jcsherwood8458@sbcglobal.net) on Sun Feb 21 13:53:54 2010

Hi Jack,

As I've worked with my son recently practicing his swing off of a tee, it seems to me that in regards to THT, there's the element of force, but also the element of time. The hitter must not only apply rearward force with the tophand, but he must allow enough time for the bat head to sweep backwards and down before he initiates shoulder rotation. In the effort to generate maximum batspeed, I think the hitter may often tend to rush into the shoulder launch portion of the swing even as he applies THT. If the THT has not had sufficient time to act upon the bat, the bat will not be set up properly to achieve maximum angular displacement from shoulder rotation. When I get my son to allow the THT phase to work a fraction of a second longer, it seems to be more than compensated for by the increase in batspeed - a significant increase in batspeed. In short I would say that rushing causes a short circuiting of the swing that robs power and batspeed. Please comment on this - your experience, if you agree or disagree.

If you agree, do you have suggestions to help master this aspect of the swing? It is counterintuitive to a degree to not rush into the forward portion of the swing but rather to let the bat do more rearward traveling. Afterall, you're trying to drive the ball into the field in front of you. And it's even more complicated when timing a live pitcher is involved as opposed to simply hitting off of a tee.

Thanks,
Chuck