Posted by: Bryce (bsummers06@wou.edu) on Sat Apr 24 18:57:21 2010

> > > Jack,
> > > I often read your absolutes as a checkup for my son's (9 yr old)
> > mechanics and have a fairly good grasp of most of them. However,
> > absolute #10 confuses me, in that you state that the further away
from
> > contact the bat head is when the shoulders stop rotating, the
weaker
> > the swing. it seems to be related to the heavy bag drill, correct?
,
> > where we want the energy of the bat all used up at contact. but
> > wouldn't the shoulders keep rotating upon follow through? if I
take
> > dry swings and find the point where my shoulders stop rotating,
they
> > seem to point way too open to have the bat still in the zone.
also,
> > could you explain the heavy bag drill as it relates to this
concept?
> > any videos to show the concept in the archives?
> >
> > Steve,
> >
> > Perhaps I can clarify a bit as to how I understand Jack's
principles.
> > First, think about a very extreme situation, in which the hitter
has
> > completely rotated his shoulders to form and angle perpendicular
to
> > the flight of the ball, or square with the pitcher, and left his
hands
> > on his shoulders and bat head pointing at the catcher. At that
point,
> > the hitter would have to swing using his arms only.
> >
> > What I think Jack's absolute #10 states is that if the bat is at
ANY
> > point before contact with the ball and the shoulders have fully
> > rotated to be approximately square with the pitcher and the lead
> > shoulder has relaxed, the swing only gets weaker as it approaches
that
> > contact point.
> >
> > Another way to state this is that if the lead arm is not at the
105
> > degree point relative to the vector of the pitch (which
intrinsically
> > assumes that the shoulders are properly rotated) at the moment of
> > contact, the swing is less powerful.
> >
> > Also in other words, timing is everything. Just make sure your
son's
> > bat head is not lagging behind, and that his contact with the
pitch
> > occurs AS his chest comes to point right at the pitcher.
> >
> > Hope I've helped to clarify,
> >
> > Bryce
>
> Bryce,
> Thanks for the reply, and that makes a lot of sense and is easier to
understand when it's stated like that. I'm really glad you mention bat
lag, as one cue that helps him hit the ball harder is "focus on
getting your front shoulder back to the catcher." However, sometimes
it seems like he does almost too quicky, and he will let the bat lag
behind too much. It seems a good way to fix that is having him
concentrate on making sure he gets a good inward shoulder turn as he
starts to load up. What are your thoughts about correcting some bat
lag? I really like the "shoulder cue" instead of the "hip cue" because
it does more to eliminate the possibility of throwing his hands at the
ball, which a lot of younger hitters are still prone to do. Thanks
again for the reply,
> Steve

Steve,

Glad I've been helpful so far. As to your question: if there's one
thing I think we can all agree on, it is that rotational mechanics are
VERY difficult to master. Every piece of the swing fits in with all
the other pieces, and sometimes things just work out perfectly. That
in mind, I imagine that when you tell your son to focus on getting his
front shoulder back to the catcher, he sometimes neglects other parts
of his swing in order to do just that - I'm not saying it's bad
advice, just that he shouldn't change the rest of his swing in an
effort to satisfy that condition.

So what IS the problem with his swing at that point? I can see two
factors, of which I imagine both are somewhat responsible. First, the
lead arm. Check out Jack's "frame 3" of the batting mechanics again.
In that frame, the lead arm comes to a nearly straight position,
regardless of how bent it was at the beginning of the swing. While the
lead arm should stay relatively tight to the chest, the forearm must
swing outward in order to keep the hands on the CHP. The arm must work
synergistically with the shoulders to continuously increase bat speed
throughout the duration of the swing.

The second factor I see is his top hand. Lack of the THT at the
initiation of the swing doesn't let the bat head get on the proper
path soon enough - so when your son quickly rotates his shoulders in
order to get the front one back, he is literally trying to accelerate
the bat too quickly, and it gets left behind.

Hope that helps! And post back to let us know how your son's doing.

Bryce