Brandon's Journey Continues

[tom.guerry]

Richard-

As far as practice/no stride vs game/stride, we know about the Nyman game is different situation from practice thing, but beyond that, the best overall approach is from the experience of swing instruction in golf, in my opinion.

I will start another thread to explain more, but some key things to consider are fact vs feel, exaggeration and using a MIRROR.

Video is good for analyzing what you are doing after the fact, but you need to be able to see what your positions look like as you feel them to really get the carryover. This requires a good coach and/or a mirror.

[Teacherman]

Today...

[swingbuster]

Richard

I am getting convinced looking at him and his improving muscle mass that he can play.

I still think he must move the COP of the lead foot and the COM with it to get more rotatry power and more back side release

The Glaus clip of the rear foot should be Brandons ultimate goal. If he gets there and that doesn't help then I am very wrong and very surprised

[Pronk]

The swings are definitely the best looking I've seen him take.

I need to study up on what Tom and Donny are talking about with lower body. Have you ever messed with a wider stance?

We have started with the toe up at hand break ala Michael Young, in just learning it Thursday and though he hit well tonight, I am guessing that he is at a bit of dead start in the toe up. Michael Young gets it up early, but then does something with it. Brandon seems to be doing it all as one smooth move. My plan was to get it up early, and have them learn the Edmonds/Pujols coil (cheated with a little turn in of the back foot). Brandon is getting the stretch here.

[Teacherman]

One of the biggest mistakes we made over the last 6 years was tyring to eliminate movement and just put him in a position to hit from. The idea was to reduce to the base swing so that timing issues were reduced. During this time, Brandon's biggest complaint was "I can't get started".

Fact of the matter is, timing issues were larger because of the dead start.

When we first tried to work in movement, we found even larger timing issues. Very confusing. Very frustrating.

Only recently, when the running starts in opposite directions (upper v lower) was discovered, did we figure out how to move, how not to pause, how to keep moving and control it so that the barrel can be released on time.

In other words, how to time. Not saying he's got it down. But he does have the basic understanding from which to improve.

Donny said it best a few days ago......forward momentum can not store energy. You either are moving or not. If you move to soon, and slow or stop and then try to get going again, you are toast. If you move too late so as to not have to slow/stop you are toast. Now and then you are just right but the pitcher will make sure that doesn't happen very often.

The winding of the rubber band, working the upper v the lower is how it's done. You can start that, hold it, delay it, release it before full wind, and still hit the ball well. A large timing margin of error is built in.

I said it earlier and I'll say it again because it seems to be an issue with Brandon and my student Jordan. They want/wanted to load/swing with the 1:1 ratio of load to swing.....KaPow. They want to do that because they aren't used to starting early. Once they figure out how to start early and not have to slow/stop the journey is down hill from there.

The KaaaaaaaaPOW. The 2:1 or 3:1 (whatever) ratio of load to swing, of winding to swing makes the huge difference.

Those of you that were around when Brandon was in high school, I would talk of the benefits of his mental thought riiiiiiiiiiightNOW, with right being the load and NOW being the launch. It worked pretty good. However, he wasn't winding the rubber band back then. Now that he winds, the benefits of riiiiiightNOW are even greater. He has the ability to control the energy and release the energy as needed. Before, while it helped, it didn't offer the margin of error that winding does.

[Teacherman]

Another point that goes with the above is that the stride is part of and at the same time as loading.

A mistake we'd make in the past when trying to work in movement was we'd load, then stride, then swing. That ain't right.

The load and stride occur simulaneously. The stride is the load.

Even with the no striders, they shift forward as they load. They don't load, then shift, then swing.

[Teacherman]

Loren,

This view is from the right side of the L screen (pitcher's right side) so that I don't have to look through the netting of the L screen when watching clips. So it would be the view from the ss side of 2B.

Do you see something appear over his rear shoulder?



This was his last swing of the day and he crushed this one. May have left the park in center field depending on the size of the park.

He said it felt like....."I kept my hands back longer and got better separation".

[swingbuster]

THere is adjustability " margin of era" build into both halves of the body in what you described.

We talk about the lead leg fanning as the rear elbow "appears where you showed it"; at the TOP OF THE LOAD CYCLE. That is ideal but when the lead leg fans the torso is continually torquing even if the elbow is coming down...whether prematurely or just as an inside pitch adjustment

The ability to use that lead thigh to maintain the hip turn momentum
" horizontally" reduces the NEED to try to maintain the linear momentum as much.

That lead leg adduction IS still a momentum that can be applied to the pelvis. So stretch and the application of the running start back and the running start forward are momentums that can be maintained without pause even when linear push momentum cannot.

There are potential power and assurances of steady and constant hip turn gains to be had between back leg push and lead leg extension and it is the seamless integration of active lead leg adduction sandwiched in

The momentum back, the stored stretch, and the momentum forward can replace some of the need for forward ( push) momentum

Linear forces can be reduced to basically form the new balance center and allow the back side push to uncoil the hips to the point that lead leg adduction can take the baton and then pass it to lead leg extension.

[tom.guerry]

It makes sense that the narrow stance is preferred when you focus shifts upstream to prepare for the swing.

When it's time to unload,however,there needs to be a wider base whch is what his body knows in the game.

That's why a STRIDE is so useful. You can start narrow, synch more easily and end up wide enough to drive the swing.

[Stealth]

Loren,

This view is from the right side of the L screen (pitcher's right side) so that I don't have to look through the netting of the L screen when watching clips. So it would be the view from the ss side of 2B.

Do you see something appear over his rear shoulder?



This was his last swing of the day and he crushed this one. May have left the park in center field depending on the size of the park.

He said it felt like....."I kept my hands back longer and got better separation".

Not much to add...........by far the best swing I have seen of Brandon.

[dmac]

Very good!! The load and swing are much better and the young man looks like he is in much better shape too. Good job Richard and Brandon. Keep working and try striding in practice so that the game approach will be the same as the practice approach.

[Lclifton]

Loren,

This view is from the right side of the L screen (pitcher's right side) so that I don't have to look through the netting of the L screen when watching clips. So it would be the view from the ss side of 2B.

Do you see something appear over his rear shoulder?

This was his last swing of the day and he crushed this one. May have left the park in center field depending on the size of the park.

He said it felt like....."I kept my hands back longer and got better separation".

I absolutely see it.
That last little move is all I felt was missing in the game swings.
Taking it from practice to the game will be a piece of cake for him.
He DID keep his hands back longer because they (the rear shoulder) finished its load---making the POW much more POWerful.

[Teacherman]

http://www.hittingillustrated.com/Br...ndn031907a.gif http://www.hittingillustrated.com/Br...ndn031907d.gif http://www.hittingillustrated.com/Br...ndn031907f.gif http://www.hittingillustrated.com/Br...ndn031907k.gif

[Lclifton]

Where is Brandon.?
One step closer is my opinion.
How did he hit?

[Lclifton]

I have a question. How long does the belt line stay "tucked"?


Would this have an affect on the rear knee?
Would he have the "re-coil" into / onto the back foot with a longer "tuck"?

As I hold my fingers about an inch apart I say "It's that close."

I'm impressed, truly.
With what I saw in the blue shirt clips (upper body wise)
and then these (lower body--hip coil, carry) (First clip)

For what it's worth--Syncing those two is what would be my goal.
Very nice work, very nice.