Posted by: daw (daw@bellevue-law.com) on Thu Sep 20 14:36:19 2007

> > ""Your shoulders should tilt to compesate for the angle of the ball and the height of the pitch.""
> >
> > Not only do they tilt to get on plane but that tilt is the launch of the swing. Along with the handle torque rearward.
> >
> > The shoulders laterally tilt at "go". The hips rotate.
> >
> > And this stuff about the circular hand path is suspect. MLB hitters try to keep their hands from going ciruclar. Of course...with the hips rotating they will lose.
> >
> > But if you teach shoulder rotation and a circular hand path you are giving poor advice.
>
> Teacherman,
>
> We may be misunderstanding each other, I hope. Let me see if I understand the statement you made, "if you teach shoulder rotation and circular hand path you are giving poor advice".
>
> So am I to understand that your shoulders do not rotate around a stationary axis? Also, your hands do not follow the circular path of your hips? If I am understanding your statement correctly. It appears to me that if your shoulders do not rotate and your hands do not follow a circular path, you are just lunging and pushing at the ball. In order to keep your shoulders from rotating you are just shifting your weight forward and in order to keep your hands off of a circular path you are just pushing them at the ball and to the best of my knowledge that pretty much describes linear mechanics. I teach for my kids to keep there weight back not forward and if there shoulders do not rotate it would be immpossible to stay back.
>
> Let me say that I do somewhat agree with you on shoulder tilt, depending on the definition of "launch of swing". I believe the front shoulder tilts down and in, as the front foot toe lands and turns out, the hips will slightly open. As the lead foot heel touches down the hips start to rotate. The upper body and hands will still be moving back. The rear shoulder will start to dip as the rear elbow starts to come down in the slotted position and the lead arm starts to move upward. The body continues to tilt back and the hips are rotating. The shoulders are then rotated with the lead shoulder pulled back to the catcher.
>
> The reason I teach pulling the front shoulder back towards the catcher is many of the kids I help have been taught to throw there hands at the ball. They get there hips rotated but they stopped there shoulders and just push there hands to the ball which shifts there weight forward. If they think about allowing there shoulders to come around they stay back and keep from pushing there hands at the ball.
>
> I don't agree with you on circular hand path. If you are not using a circular hand path then what is the alternative? The alternative is to throw your hands at the ball or the knob of the bat. Which will not allow you to stay inside of the ball. Allowing your hands to take a circular path that follows your rotating body will allow you to stay inside the ball.
>
> If I do not understand your statement correctly I appologize and if you fell I am giving poor advice based on my statements please give me your advice, so that I may be a better instructor. Because my ultimate goal is to better understand rotational hitting in order to become the best coach I can be to help the kids I teach. I'm willing to listen to anyones oppinion about hitting. Thanks for your comments and I look forward to your advice.


I've been out of town and just saw all these comments. Thank you for the replies.