Posted by: Mark H. () on Thu Feb 6 05:55:26 2003

Jack,
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> I had a recent discussion with Mike and can provide validity to both your interpretation of the swing based on video analysis and his based on video analysis.
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> I have spend the last year researching swing mechanics (analyzing over 10,000 athletes of all ages) and have come to some astonishing conclusions.
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> Number one is that athlete are doing exactly what they are being doing taught, whether it is right or wrong.
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> Second, is that athletes are not being taught correctly. (Something I am sure you have seen from your work. More importantly, the instructors are looking at the results of a specific action and forcing athletes to emphasize that result. Instead of looking at the cause of the action and teaching to the aspect of the swing.
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> I am not saying that over 10,000 coaches out there are wrong, just that they have focused on the wrong theing. Our technology (3D-skillcheck, which can be found at www.skilltechnologies.com) has allowed us to identify specific physical characteristics in the swing including hip, torso, arm/hand, and bat angular acceleration. Identify joint angles (accurately, no guessing as is the case with video), and much more. I can tell you if what an athlete does or a coach teaches is efficient and in the best interests of the athlete based on the physical strengths and weaknesses of the athlete.
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> You and Epstein are both almost correct on arm position. The lead arm is not straight or bent to 90 degrees at contact. It has approximately a 15 to 30 degree bend at the elbow debending on the strength of the athlete, balance, and speed of rotation of the bat. People thing the athlete is swinging a 22 to 34 ounce bat of different lengths because that's what it says on the end of the bat. But as you begin to swing the bat, rotational forces begin to act on the bat at at varying points throughout the swing, bat weight increases to well over 100 pounds (force). This means that depending on the strength of the athlete, weight may be improperly distributed through one joint or another, causing the athletes to lose balance or extend prematurely at or before contact. Coaches who teach the athlete to extend at contact forces the athlete out of sequence and thus causing a potential loss of power.
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> There are many factors that go into the swing and believe it or not technique only goes so far. An athlete who is in better physical shape, with more athletic ability, balance, stability, and other physical strengths, will always produce better results that the other athlete (all other things being equal--vision, pitch, mind)
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> Zig Ziegler

Thinking about your elbow bend degree statements, I believe I end up in the same place you do but by a different route or emphasis. I want to see a tight connection from the shoulders to the hands that doesn't rely much on arm muscles to transfer the rotational energy from the shoulders to the bat. Too much elbow bend and the arm muscles can't transfer all the leg and torso energy without slippage in Jack's "transmission". But if you take the slack out of the front arm by "barring", then take the slack out of the rear connection by scap loading, you end up with just about the degree bend in the front arm which you specify (at least for my build).

Mark H.