Posted by: tom.guerry (tom.guerry@kp.org) on Sat Oct 6 12:31:44 2001

ifferent trajectory out of hand .I assume this is why Tom says a more upright stance is called for is this right.Also since I never played fp softball I can't argue the reaction time and getting around on it first hand.I can only think that if Jack has counted less frames in a rotation hitter than a linear hitter to contact, that seems like cold facts rotation is quicker.The argument they have with rotation is the barrel must make the shortest path to the ball.Could it be these girls start moving their hands forward with the stride a little getting a head start on the ball.Last ques.how far is college fences could there be a correlation between short fences and pitch speed that allows for enough power for doubles and h.r. with a linear swing.I'm just grabbing at straws how their ideas could be conceivable but believe that the better ones are doing rotation to some degree for results that are overlooked.Where can I find some footage on internet like we had at setpro in slo mo but of great softball hitters.
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> RQL,
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> Shortest bathead path doesn't necessarily mean quickest bathead path. As far as the small size of the field affecting the need for power, that is an interesting area for discussion, but hard hit ground balls still find more holes than routine ground balls and hard hit line drives get to the gap quicker. As far as number of frames to contact, there is an interesting thread working over on eteamz fastpitch board concerning this and other aspects of the linear vs hybrid vs rotational.
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> Mark H.

RQL-

You are expeienced enough and have enough theoretical knowledge that you will know the right thing to do when you see the situation.A few more responses/theoretical fine points:

Upright posture tends to match pitch trajectory better in general with flatter trajectories more common and a higher strike zone than baseball.However,I would not go overboard since its easier to start low and react up when it comes to posture adjustment.If you are looking for something up,you would certainly want to stay upright to stay on top of the ball more easily.

Jack has demonstrated that the rotational swing is much shorter than the linear swing as well as much faster which means you are quicker to the ball with more power.Extension of the arms in the linear swing makes it long and cuts off transfer of energy from the lower body.The potential for increased contact with the linear swing makes it necessary to have a slower bat to keep it in the contact zone longer.It is important to try be conscious of these as two different styles.The rotational swing is a power/all out(still stay balanced/smoothly accelerating/body at 85%,hands at100%)swing,the linear swing is a placement swing.The more you try to swing all out the more you lose any advantage of the linear swing.The linear swing also does not match the trajectory of the pitch well.This means that the bat is cutting more across the path of many pitches than the rotational style where you match the plane of the pitch.Not only can this limit the contact zone,it also diminishes power since power is transferred less efficiently to the ball in the bat/ball collision.Remember,bat velocity is a vector(speed with a direction)so the more the bat matches the trajectory of the ball,the more of its energy gets transferred to the ball in the collision.This can make quite a bit of difference given the big ball/light bat.

Fences tend to be somewhere between 190 and 220.This is hard to get over consistently with the linear swing at the compression limit now taking effect(limiting hardness of ball)since a lot of things need to go right,most of which the player and coach don't understand well.These players do know that they have certain locations and velocities of pitches they can go yard with,but they do not have good plate coverage or understand the shape and timing of their swing well enough to get consistency.

Lau Jr. has a brief chapter on fastpitch in his recent book.He points out that most kids stride while they are swinging(no separation) and are top hand dominant(premature extension caused by pushing with top hand instead of tht).In other words,they use linear mechanics.He thinks this is bad.

You need to make a conscious choice of style,work hard and stick with it.That's the hard part.You will run into a lot of resistance because peoples' ideas are based on belief and not facts.That's the way the mind works.Unless they will work closely with you and you look at video together,you won't change anyone's mind.Ideas based on belief and not factual experience are held fanatically(look at the current world crisis).

Shawn and Terry Shaw have quite a few clips.Ask them if they are posted on the web now.You should also be able to find people who have the college world series or WPSL games on video.Just look through these frame by frame when you see an interesting swing.