Posted by: flippinmad (flipmadchips@aol.com) on Mon Dec 27 21:18:10 2010

I'm back on an amateur wood bat team after years of soft toss homerun contests with my friends and I have seemed to pick up some bad habits along the way. Although I am hitting well and I dont seem to have a problem catching up to anyone's fastballs (some guys throwing mid-upper 80s). But after looking at some video of myself I have noticed the following things:

My stride is somewhat of a 6 inch leg kick. I have always been under the assumption that the stride was a mechanism to shift your weight to your back foot. So I think subconsciously I have a bigger "leg kick" to generate that power. But the more I read about the mechanics of a swing, it seems the stride is just a timing mechanism and at "toe touch" is when you coil.

I have also noticed that my hands are starting high, and they are inching down below my shoulders, which I guess is considered a "hitch." I noticed the 1st game, I was popping alot up, but since then I have been hitting solid. But I still notice my hands are dropping.

I would really like to know certain drills that will help to reduce my stride and still generate power and help from dropping my hands.

Like I said I seem to making contact, but I feel like I have lost my power over the years and I believe it stems from the bad habits I have picked

Im really trying to grasp the concept of the Rotational mechanics. I feel like my swing is flawed and I was not taught properly. As much as I read and watch, I cannot seem to pinpoint certain flaws that a hitter may be showing or flaws that i am displaying on my own. I just dont feel as fluid and smooth as some of these swings i have seen.