Posted by: Dave (cdpaetkau@telus.net) on Fri Feb 7 16:41:16 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.
> > > >
> > > > dave
> > >
> > > Dave,
> > >
> > > 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.
> > >
> > > And I must ask...What is the relevance of a consistent bat speed throughout the swing? Is a consistent 40mph swing good?
> >
> > Teacherman
> >
> > My point was not that weight shift is the most important part of generating power or quickness in the swing but the fact that you need weight shift to initiate rotation. I explain it this way. If you had a very large globe which rotates on it axis in order to promote the faster rotation of the globe would you stand behind the globe to transfer energy to it to make it rotate or would you stand beside and shift forward as you start it rotating. Physics tells us that standing beside it will transfer more energy to the globe. Now think of your body as the globe. If you want to transfer energy to the ball via bat head speed you must have forward motion in order to get the bat moving. Yes you can be stationary to rotate but like the globe if you have no forward momentum it will take more energy to achieve this and will take longer to achieve this. As I have explained on a few occasions already fp players have less time until the ball is in the hitting zone then bb players and this should explain why teaching shorter strides and rotational hitting is required to produce a great hitter in fp.
> >
> > As for your sarcasm about bat head speed I think that comment is a little extreme. I have read that linear motion forward can generate slighly higher bat head speed, which contradicts your tests, then with no linear movement and rotational forces only. My point is that with less forward movement, leg stride, and faster application of rotational forces will produce a 'quicker' swing because the bat is at maximum velocity sooner and less of the time is spent in the linear movement forward. Like you said linear motion must stop in order for the transfer of energy to go into rotational forces which takes me back to my globe example.
> >
> > Hope this clears up my points.
> >
> > dave
>
> What "test" are you talking about? And again I ask "What is the relevance of consistent bat speed through out the swing".
>
> And, my point regarding the swing clip, is that the instructor picks weight shift instead of rotation to "define" the goodness of that swing. Poor choice of words probably because he doesn't know the difference.

The test is referring to the article on this site "crack the Whip" where stride length ala linear movement of the body is not resposible for increasing bat head speed. Have I interpetted this wrong?? Also the relevance of consistant bat head speed is in relation to lower body weight shift and bat head speeds. This is hard to explain but in essence is the time that it takes from the initial movement of the bat until follow through and its relationship to the speed of the bat at impact. When the weight shift begins the bat has already begun moving forward and is now in motion and therfore the longer the stride the longer the bat is moving at a slow velocity before the hands along with lower body rotation generate maximum velocity. A short stride/weight shift will iniciate quicker and more consistant bat head speed and puts the bat in a more consistant hitting position.
It is easier to show with diagrams and in real time video or demonstration.

As for the clip you are correct about the rotation and not weight shift. Weight shift is old school and many have problems relating axial movement in descriptions.