First try SnF

[Al Oha]

Beside the differences in the effectiveness of both engines, is the key difference in the Kemp stills the bottom-hand elbow (action and location) in frames 3, 4 and 5?

The difference is how Matt Kemp's bat blurs by third frame. His hands do not look like they have done much. He is already in giddy-up mode, when our Matt has only just begun to push his bat. The question is how did Kemp get to that point. Kemp continues to coil his coil the moment his triangle turns: He feels his hip socket pull the elbow through and the bat head swivel rearward. Our Matt in contrast, turns his triangle, but cannot feel his hip socket engage because of the deficiency in the first engine. He makes up by using his arms and his chest to push. His giddy-up is out front. Teach has always made a point that stills can be deceptive. The dynamic frames where he shows Mini-Pronk posted earlier, are most instructive.

[RHC]

[mikecon]

Al, RHC, yes, I see this much more clearly now, thank you!

Is it fair to say that the 'fix' is essentially a better first engine + a more commited uptick/barrel-turn?

And that said, would I be wrong in saying that I think we were closer to this in Matt's first tries off the tee? (the vid in the first post in his pajama pants!) I think we need to go back to reps on the tee and softer front toss so that he can more easily focus on the engine(s) and avoid old habits.

Submitted for your further input... Matt told me he could more easily create more resistance when pulling 'up' as can be seen in his high top-hand elbow in that video. I asked him nonetheless to try to find the same resistance but to 'shrink' everything down a bit. Maybe this was a mistake? Can Teacherman or someone confirm for me what we might do to resolve the "scap plunge" and the other posture issues in that early attempt without weakening the first engine as we apparently did?

Looking forward to capitalizing on all of your great feedback and providing updates soon! Thank you all! (P.S. Matt is thoroughly enjoying learning the concepts, implementing the process, and reading along in the thread!

[Teacherman]

In this clip....



Watch the hands. Your sons has nothing until his hands move independently. That's because he's using his arms. He is getting a stretch....a kind of linear stretch. Leg pushing forward LINEARLY as the torso/shoulders pull back LINEARLY. It resembles taking a rubber band and stretching it linearly. One hand pulling left as the other pulls right.

What MUST happen is an 'around' stretch. The rear leg needs to be trying to INTERNALLY ROTATE as the hip/back/scap pull back 'around'. The stretch needs to be 'around' the rear leg.

I disagree that his shoulders are rotating. He is bypassing the shoulders. They They are pulling back....but pulling back by way of lean....so the hands can get through. Watch the stripe on his rear leg. It never TURNS. It is providing a base to stretch against....but linearly. Watch Stevens stripe.

My recommendation is to coil 'around'. Pull back 'around'. Around the rear hip socket.

Then, he needs to get a swivel. When you swivel the hands byt way of forearm rotation, they won't need to move forward to create energy. Their forward movement will be to adjust to pitch location not to provide power.

[Teacherman]

Watch the degree of 'belly button to the pitcher'....



A better hand pivot point and a better rear hip pivot point is what is needed.

He does have an understanding of the 'stretch feeling'. But it is getting done linearly instead of 'around'.

[Teacherman]

I think a clip of him doing this....



....will help him quite a bit.

There is no swing to it.
Just lay the bat on the shoulder.
Pull back with the hip/back/scap....against internal rotation of the leg.
And rotate the hip socket about the ball of the femur....as if you were hitting a pitch at your shoulders are head.

He MUST learn what that feels like in the hip socket.

[Teacherman]

It will lead to this feel....

[mikecon]

OK, I think I have a good idea of what we need to work on inclusive of the drill above.

Getting back to this for a moment...

Are you seeing/feeling 'around' in this? The 'pants stripe' appears to be doing what we want want, yes? I'm thinking we want to get back to this and 'burn-in' the associated 'muscle memory; at least with regard to the engine basics. Make sense?

We will work to get consistent with getting 'around' with his rhpp and getting a 'swivel' with his hpp.

Then, if all we've done is consistently duplicate the mechanics depicted above, I hope we can get into resolving "a bit of a scap 'plunge'" and the "things [he's doing] that may cause [him] trouble aligning bat and ball".

Will advise re progress!

Our profound thanks for the interest and guidance!

[Teacherman]

I find the violin clip very interesting. I agree with nothing that he was being taught, but, the comparison between the first 'go' move, before the violin movement, and the last 'go' move, in the full swing, is revealing. In the first move he shifts his weight forward then does the violin thing. In the second clip he does a good job of keeping his weight back, therefore his 'turn' starts better, it starts as a PIVOT in the rear hip, but eventually that forward hand movement takes over.

I bring this up thinking it may help him. If he can duplicate the weight distribution in that final swing, but turn the barrel rearward, to the point that that barrel turn TIGHTENS his rear hip socket, he may have a aha moment. I think his former instructor 'saw things' but didn't know how to produce them.

I guess what I'm saying is, if he can, get rid of the violin and replace it with the forearm rotation that LAUNCHES the barrel rearward, while keeping the lower body action he had in that final swing, he should advance forward.

I still would like to see him perform the upper cut drill posted above.

[Teacherman]

OK, I think I have a good idea of what we need to work on inclusive of the drill above.

Getting back to this for a moment...

Are you seeing/feeling 'around' in this? The 'pants stripe' appears to be doing what we want want, yes? I'm thinking we want to get back to this and 'burn-in' the associated 'muscle memory; at least with regard to the engine basics. Make sense?

We will work to get consistent with getting 'around' with his rhpp and getting a 'swivel' with his hpp.

Then, if all we've done is consistently duplicate the mechanics depicted above, I hope we can get into resolving "a bit of a scap 'plunge'" and the "things [he's doing] that may cause [him] trouble aligning bat and ball".

Will advise re progress!

Our profound thanks for the interest and guidance!

Yes. The 'around' is much better in this clip. Working from this clip the first thing I would ask him to do is to try to get his hands in a spot such that the pivot about them and the pivot about the rear hip is aligned. In this clip, his hands are too far back. The arms have to pull them forward before they can work WITH the rear hip to TURN the barrel.

A quick lesson is to rest the shaft of the bat in the neck slot, right against his neck and shoulder, and ask him to leave it there and TURN it off his neck by JUST pivoting in the rear hip and pivoting the STATIONERY hands. No forward arm action.

[Teacherman]

George Brett did something very similar....



He pivots his hands and his rear hip socket to get the barrel to fly out of the neck slot into contact.

It is quite simple to see. What you may not notice is the constant pulling back of his hip/lowerback/scap, against the rear leg's internal rotation, creating a bind in the hip socket, making the rear leg do the work, to cause that sudden release.

[mikecon]

Yes. The 'around' is much better in this clip. Working from this clip the first thing I would ask him to do is to try to get his hands in a spot such that the pivot about them and the pivot about the rear hip is aligned. In this clip, his hands are too far back. The arms have to pull them forward before they can work WITH the rear hip to TURN the barrel.

A quick lesson is to rest the shaft of the bat in the neck slot, right against his neck and shoulder, and ask him to leave it there and TURN it off his neck by JUST pivoting in the rear hip and pivoting the STATIONERY hands. No forward arm action.

Yes, very clear and straightforward explanation and goal, got it, thank you!

The excessive distance of the hands from his hip was apparent from the beginning. However, he was telling me that this is what gave him the feeling he was completely stretching the system all the way to his scap, so I let it go. I think it was OK as a first step because the 'suddenness' and power of the resultant swings was so evident (he could hear the difference of bat-to-ball crack, too!) and it got him believing this was something to invest time and effort in. I have to help him feel just as fully stretched with hands and rear hip better aligned as you note. For me, if I keep my hands no further back than my armpit, I get much more scap sensation when my my back elbow is lifting/pulling upward but I'm not sure this is a good thing.

We will get you a demo of executing both the 'uppercut' drill (or the 'Kevin Love' drill from the Fathead on the wall ) and the "lesson" noted in bold above.

Matt and I will discuss your 'violin' observations', as well.

We are on it and very excited to show in practice all this great guidance!

[mikecon]

Drills as recommended...

Uppercut:

Drill 2, front:

Drill 2, side:

[mikecon]

Holding off on reps until confirmed he's burning in the desired movements.

Drills as recommended...

Uppercut:

Drill 2, front:

Drill 2, side:

[Teacherman]

Good idea.

He is two hipped and two legged.

And....he shifts his weigh forward.

We need him to be onelegged. Weight remaining back for this drill. Meaning....he needs to coil JUST HIS REAR HIP....around the ball of his rear femur....and unload as follows. The hip CONTINUES TO COIL....it NEVER uncoils.....this forces THE LEG to drive the system. When the leg's internal rotation takes over....it will turn the hip. The hip remains in a state of coil until follow through.

Your son is driving with his hip.

It MUST be the leg....driving against a constant and continuous coiling hip.

P.S. When I say coil JUST the rear hip....obviously the entire pelvis will move. BUT....the action....the work....must be in the rear hip socket only.