Posted by: tom.guerry (tom.guerry@kp.org) on Fri May 10 08:38:59 2002

Is there any torque-related reason NOT to hold the knob of the bat in the palm of the bottom hand (to "lengthen" the bat and increase leverage)?
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> > I believe that there's more to batting then just swinging at the ball. Its all about the mechanics and every single movenment. My highschool sofball coach helped me to see that. By concentrating on throwing my hands in the direction of the ball as i swing, the rotation of my hips, my wrist action, and the locking of my leading leg as i stride, my hitting ability has increased dramatically.
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> riiight....

Megan-

Dan may be confusing you because you could be another poster here in disguise(just ignore that,it's a forum inside joke).

What I think Dan's comment means is that your coach is giving you party line linear mechanics advice which is the opposite of what is recommended here.The mechanics here are quite different and far superior,however,learning them takes a lot of hard work and dedication.Don't be too discouraged,though,because almost every kid nowadays starts off linear,and the ideas here can allow you to progress far beyond what you can achieve if you remain linear.

The reason linear is so appealing to your coach and most kids is that it's easier get a soilid hit at low levels of the game when you are a youngster.The problem is it's a very one dimensional swing.I like the way Mike Epstein describes it.Would you send a pitcher into the game with only one pitch?Not at higher levels.The linear swing is like having only one pitch.No ability to adjust to the different locations the advanced pitcher will challenge you with.Your coach is taking the short term give me some contact now appraoch which may be fine if your goal is to play for him in high school.However,if your goals are higher/longer than that,time is awastin'.