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Step One For New Members

If you are reading this, you are in the main forum....where all the good discussion and exchange of ideas occurs.

Instructional threads are 'stickied' to the top of this forum page in an effort to get new members to see the work that gets done here. There are 5 different threads of a dad and his kid, going through the HittingIllustrated process. They are quite instructional. I think you'll be impressed with what you see. The kid's progress is amazing. One of them is now a D1 player who chose college after being drafted. Another is a DII college player. A third is his brother who is now in high school. The fourth is a current high school freshman. And the fifth is my son who is now out of college and playing amateur fastpitch softball. Take a look. The terminology is likely to confuse you at first. But do your best to understand.

Then, there is another forum titled The Second Engine, found just below this one on the main page, which consists of 18 threads that have been chosen as 'good reads' for new members to get 'up to snuff' on what is taught here.

It is my recommendation that you spend your first hour or so in that forum reading those threads. Then, come here to ask questions. We love it when clips of hitters are posted.

And here is a link to an Instructional Starter Pak. It has the basic information. There are many details that go with each step that are too cumbersome to put in the Pak.

Instructional Starter Pak

MAKE THE BEST USE OF YOUR TRIAL PERIOD
POST A CLIP OF YOUR SON OR DAUGHTER
I'LL GIVE YOU AN ANALYSIS AND A RECOMMENDATION.

If I were you, I'd concentrate on figuring out what the Hand Pivot Point and what the Rear Hip Pivot Point are....and how they are synced together to create the high level swing.

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Starting this material with youth hitters- system, progression

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  • #1

    Starting this material with youth hitters- system, progression

    Those of us that work with kids 10, 11, 12, maybe 13... Kids that have been at it a while but not really physically or mentally developed, and only so-so hitters: how do you systematically introduce this stuff to them?

    My younger boy is on a mediocre 12u team that is getting their asses handed to them mostly because they can't hit consistently, or at all sometimes. They need everything: better swings, vision, plate discipline. I have a good handle on how to help them on vision and approach, but they need a readers digest version of HI mechanics to at least get their foot in the door hitting wise?

    What's your specific set of concepts and starter drills? I think I have a set, but don't want to reinvent the wheel.
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  • #2
    I will start to answer my own question here, starting with simple hand/wrist/forearm pivot. Stretch and Fire. Laser. Gifs to follow.

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    • #3
      In my experience working with rec ball kids. Teaching barrel turn early leads to pretty ugly results initially. Most don't get a hint of hip rotation, and a pinwheel without a merry-go-round is hard to work with . Starting with coil seems to create postures with a ton of counter rotation and often uncoil to swing... It's a real challenge especially when kids nor parents have interest in working at home.

      Sorry for the uplifting post . Rant over...

      You should check our jsoriano's thread though. He's done an outstanding job at mass producing some of these concepts.

      Good luck!

      Comment

      • #4
        Makes sense, probably important to know what sorts of things can go wrong. Teaching hitting mechanics to rec ball kids is not fun sometimes. I am coaching middle school age kids, and my boys are 12 and 13, and plenty of travel kids just want to get spoon fed at practice.

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        • #5
          Originally posted by garvancarver View Post
          Makes sense, probably important to know what sorts of things can go wrong. Teaching hitting mechanics to rec ball kids is not fun sometimes. I am coaching middle school age kids, and my boys are 12 and 13, and plenty of travel kids just want to get spoon fed at practice.
          1. the barrel path
          2. the load
          3. put it together

          Here's a kid I just started working with. Great kid...not the most athletic, but she takes instruction pretty well and does what I ask her to at home and is getting no outside interference from her head coach or dad.

          The 'before' swing they sent me before our first lesson
          https://youtu.be/WmnztPRPZvw

          Some stuff we worked on during our second lesson.

          1Legged stop swing with arm bar (1Legged stance could be better):


          1Legged stop swing w/o arm bar (1Legged stance could be better):


          No stride, load&half swing tee:


          No stride, load&half swing soft toss:


          Happy Gilmore:


          Work in progress.

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          • #6
            outstanding post, thanks!!! great job!!!

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            • #7
              Originally posted by jsoriano View Post
              1. the barrel path
              2. the load
              3. put it together

              Here's a kid I just started working with. Great kid...not the most athletic, but she takes instruction pretty well and does what I ask her to at home and is getting no outside interference from her head coach or dad.

              The 'before' swing they sent me before our first lesson
              https://youtu.be/WmnztPRPZvw

              Some stuff we worked on during our second lesson.

              1Legged stop swing with arm bar (1Legged stance could be better):


              1Legged stop swing w/o arm bar (1Legged stance could be better):


              No stride, load&half swing tee:


              No stride, load&half swing soft toss:


              Happy Gilmore:


              Work in progress.
              Amazing that with the bat wrap she still able to swing over the wall Very nice

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              • #8
                I like that progression a lot, very helpful to see the videos!

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                • #9
                  Jsoriano,

                  I do have one question/thought. in the one legged swings if I don't tilt over rear femur I don't get that rear leg stressed feeling I am looking for. Hard to explain - feeling in the inner thigh.

                  Do your hitters mention that? Do you talk to them about it?

                  Comment

                  • #10
                    The tape in the box: I assume the rearmost diagonal is for the "corner". What is the diagonal coming off the front corners of the plate? Looks like the direction toward the opposite field.

                    I like that you have names/descriptors for the drills. I ended up here via PDS Baseball on Twitter, really liked their vines, but I don't know what they call anything there, and not sure the progression they teach there. I figured I would just go to the source.

                    Incidentally, my older boy's just got obliterated by one of the best 13u majors teams in our state. I was struck by how flawed their swings were, but what great vision, timing, and plate discipline they had. Those things need to be taught and learned alongside the swing. Our boys don't have it.

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by RayR View Post
                      Jsoriano,

                      I do have one question/thought. in the one legged swings if I don't tilt over rear femur I don't get that rear leg stressed feeling I am looking for. Hard to explain - feeling in the inner thigh.

                      Do your hitters mention that? Do you talk to them about it?
                      I think I know the feel you are talking about and I still get that feeling just maybe not as intense as with two legs. I've never talked to any kids about that. The kid in the clips her 1legged stance could be better with more weight over the rear leg...it was her first try. Here's me doing a couple of 1Legged swings.

                      Comment

                      • #12
                        Originally posted by garvancarver View Post
                        The tape in the box: I assume the rearmost diagonal is for the "corner". What is the diagonal coming off the front corners of the plate? Looks like the direction toward the opposite field.

                        I like that you have names/descriptors for the drills. I ended up here via PDS Baseball on Twitter, really liked their vines, but I don't know what they call anything there, and not sure the progression they teach there. I figured I would just go to the source.

                        Incidentally, my older boy's just got obliterated by one of the best 13u majors teams in our state. I was struck by how flawed their swings were, but what great vision, timing, and plate discipline they had. Those things need to be taught and learned alongside the swing. Our boys don't have it.
                        Correct...just lines in direction of gaps

                        Comment

                        • #13
                          Originally posted by jsoriano View Post
                          Correct...just lines in direction of gaps
                          Guys I have my son who has a nice hard swing but he pulls off the ball. He hits a ton of dribblers and infield fly's. When we are working he hits the crap out of it but I can still see how hes taking a hard right turn as a lefty...what can I do to get him to stop turning off the ball...its getting worse

                          Thank you

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                          • #14
                            Would need to have video to help with that situation. Likely head/vision problem when swinging under and popping up. Wrist roll over is a possible cause of dribblers.. Need video.
                            Last edited by garvancarver; 05-22-2017, 05:21 PM.

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                            • #15
                              "...not the most athletic, but she takes instruction pretty well and does what I ask her to at home and is getting no outside interference from her head coach or dad."

                              What do you ask them to do at home?

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