Posted by: Gary Mullican (Muckk@cox.net) on Fri Jan 10 09:49:28 2003

Clipped
>This post, which is going to cause alot of debate, is the talk
> about balance. Now, we have a pitcher who can not
> maintain proper balance through his throwing motion even
> though he throws 100 mph. The problem is core strength, ergo
> the postural muscles. So, if young hitters have a problem
> with the positioning of their body through a swing, a good portion
> of that is core strength. Of course you cannot rule out genetics.
> If a kid has terrible balance and postrue and can't make
> adjustments the ability might not be there. Most hitters can get
> into the position to hit if they work on it but don't kid yourself,
> todays youth is the most uncontioned in the last 20 years and
> that is a fact from our medical community not just from me.

Fine post on a facet often overlooked. While many componets factor in a students ability to properly perform the correct mechanics associated with pitching /hitting, the strength necessary to preform these mechanics is often given little attention. Although I provide individual training programs for my students, ( I'm the fastpitch instructor at John's facility) many times the students fail to follow through on the conditioning.