Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Mon Jan 23 15:12:26 2012

>>> Im looking for ways to correct my daughters front elbow from dropping and pulling at point of contact. Ive tried the chest high tee and connectiion drill but still find with a video that she is pulling her front elbow and losing connection. Any drills or advice would help. <<<

Hi Reuben

I hesitate making suggestions on a batter's mechanics without a seeing a video of it. Too often, I may misinterpret what is being described. In your daughter's case, you state, "my daughters front elbow from dropping and pulling at point of contact." -- That indicates both good and poor mechanics.

We want the lead-elbow pulled back approaching contact, but we definitely do 'not' want it dropping below the swing plane until after contact. Instead of trying to describe the swing plane and the role of the lead-arm, I think video clips on these topics would be more helpful.

Note in this clip how Bobby's lead-elbow stays up in the swing plane all the way to contact.

Swing Plane -- Frontal View

The clip below discusses the role of the back-arm in the swing. But note the following 4 points regarding the lead-arm. -- (1) Their lead-elbows stay up in the plane through contact. (2) The lead-arm does not straighten prior to contact -- the bend in the elbow remains constant. (3) Shoulder rotation is pulling the elbow back approaching contact. (4) The distance between the 'back and front' elbows remain constant -- both accelerate at the same rate.

4 Good hitters -- Back Arm

To promote the 4 points above is some of the reasons I developed our newest training aid, the "Connector." The video below explains why it can help many young hitters improve their swing.

The Connector

Jack Mankin