Posted by: tom.guerry (tom.guerry@kp.org) on Fri Feb 7 10:04:24 2003

Teacherman you must agree there is a weight shift it just is not as pronounced as baseball due to the reaction time required to contact the ball. Most top fp hitters use very little foot movement and tend to weightshift to the front foot that either replants or pivots ala Paul Molitor. He hit very much like fp players with very little leg movement/foot movement and uses it as a trigger for the start of the rotation. This may not generate the greatest bat head speed but will generate a more consistant bat head speed throughout the swing. I would rather have a swing that would go from 0 to 100 in .15sec and maintain it throught the swing then have a swing that goes 0 to 130 but does not achieve this speed till .2sec later. I try to teach the good girls swing all the time but I find that prior to -10 bats most but not all girls had problems because of excessive bat weight. If most major mens teams with 180-220 pound players are using 26-28 ounce bats, and not to sound sexist, but most girls who do not have the muscle mass should be using lighter bats so that the bat is a part of the swing not what rules the swing. This of course is IMHO.
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> > > > > dave
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> > > > Dave,
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> > > > What does "the weight shift is not as pronounced as baseball." Are you saying that the swing in softball should be different than baseball? If so Why? In both games a pitcher throws a ball and the batter tries to hit it. The skill to do this is the same whether the ball is big, small, thrown overhand, or thrown underhand. The important element is being able to have the swing "quickness" necessary to get the barrel on the ball. This swing "quickness is not generated with a "weight shift" type of swing. We could be in the middle of a "play on words" but the swing quickness necessary to hit comes from the rotation of the body around a stationery axis. Can you stride and shift weight before you rotate? Yes. ssAs long as you stop the weight shift when rotation begins. Does that weight shift help the rotation? Maybe. But is it the key element to having the quickness needed to hit? NO. The rotation is the key element. This girl does not shift hardly any weight at all. She rotates around a stationery axis!! That is what the coach should be pointing out. To look at that swing and claim that weight shift is one of the keys is exactly what Epstein is talking about when he asks "Do We Teach What We Really See? And, it's a great example of coaches giving bad advice.
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> > > > And I must ask...What is the relevance of a consistent bat speed throughout the swing? Is a consistent 40mph swing good?
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> > > Teacherman-
> > > I believe the weight shift mentioned in the video comparisons is brought up because the 'bad' swing girl simply collapses on the back side and never shifts any weight. The 'good' swing girl has a subtle but correct weight shift that loads and balances her body before rotation. Your points are good. The wacky coach is pointing out differences between the two swings he chose to compare, IMo
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> OK I may be very critical about the goodgirl swing but, IMO she is missing one component of the rotational swing, in that she limits her hip rotation and potential power. What I see is the fron hip rotating some, but not to the point where it is rotating around and back towards the catcher (Someone from batspeed.com tell me if I'm wrong in this assement). I really like the rest of the swing in that her shoulders get great rotation with the front shoulder pulling back towards the catcher. i think she would make a very good contact and singles hitter.
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> The reason I'm making this point is that in 18U gold travel ball many of the hitting instructors profess "static hips" or limited rotation much like what this girl is doing.

I apologize for butting in.My software isn't letting me display these clips so my generalization may not be too relevant.For general "weight shift"/"balance" thoughts see my reply to Zig under the "bat weight" thread of all places.

Controlled weight shift whose forward shift has ceased at "launch" with the axis of rotation staying stable from launch to contact may be required of the desired quick rotational swing.I like the way Epstein describes the fell necessary to stop lunging which includes the sensation of weight shifting back to be carried over the inside of the back thigh at launch.Some associated cues are stride to balance and drop and tilt.

I see a lot of no-stride or minimal stride fastpitch swings where the hitter has been obviously taught to "keep the weight back".Typically this gives that funny stance where the upper body is leaning way back.I would recommend taking a kid like this(if you wanted to improve rotation):

http://www.collegesports.com/sports/w-softbl/stories/020103aau.html

Leah nelson,Stanford and show her a picture of a similar no strider in baseball,Pujols for example.While Pujols holds weight on the back side,he doesn't angle the upper body way back,he still maintains some of the "S" shape as seen from the other batters box.Then as he drops and rotates the front heel,by the time the front foot gets to 45 degrees(heel still up)he is in the stride to balance position which allows him to us the weight to stop lunging instead of getting a backside collapse/reverse pivot/excessive uppercut or a weight continuing forward later downswing.Both of these actions prevent good rotation because weight shift is not controlled and used to boost rotation/set the axis at the right moment.

Also compare this to Bonds who does take a (2 piece) stride.His upper body stays forward as it is in the stance while he brings the stride foot in and back.This starts the center of gravity shifting forward which he controls precisely as the swing proceeds.Then he goes on to cock the hips,stretch,separate,launch,etc.with the axis set at launch.