Swing Suggestions - Video link

[jbooth]

Good point, but how can u explain Barry Bonds swing?

Could you elaborate on this? What do you mean? Are you saying he doesn't shift? Or, are you saying he is incredibly unique?

Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Billy Williams, Frank Robinson and Barry Bonds have nearly identical fundamentals. Except that Ruth took a long stride.

[rkbenn]

1. If (and only if) a little kid has poor rotation, I see it as a logical first step to teach him how to squish the bug. Once he is rotating correctly, then I would start working on weight shift.

2. The boy in the original post has an incorrect swing plane...down through the ball. This also creates a very small hitting zone and does not allow the bat any direct momentum into the ball. THis is why he may be grounding out a lot and hitting for little power.

3. Jim Thome once told me he would spend hours throwing up tiny rocks and smashing them over an imaginary fence. Like a fungo hit. Any kid who can throw a ball up and hit it into center field has the base for a sound, mechanical swing. The boy in the video would find this activity impossible. But workign on it would be fun for him and his mechanics would begin to improve along with his success at the drill.

Thank u swingcoach. 95 percent of the U9's don't understand the rotation. They do step on bugs...it's a good start, but of course not ideal. My 9 year old gets It. Cues...then take it to the next level. Just like pitching...start from the ground up.

[rkbenn]

After weight shift/momentum development, sure. Paul was right when he said you have to have some forward momentum to rotate well. You don't have to have a lot, but you have to have some. If you will watch elite hitters you will see the hips, or more, shift foward before/into rotation. It's not really arguable looking at video of elite hitters. I bet if you watch your better hitters carefully, especially on slow motion video, you will see they have figured this out on their own intuitively. The nature of the shift and momentum conversion gets argued all the time but rarely is the existence of a shift/momentum development argued.

Good point, but how can u explain Barry Bonds swing? There are 100 ways to skin a cat, that's all I'm saying. I stay open to suggestions. I was at a Grizzlies game in Fresno, and I seen a number approaches. You can't expect every player to do the same. Work to their strengths.

[Slapper23]

Mark, I guess the Epstein weather vaning "nonsense", as you refer to it, is much like the Englishbey nonsense of hold onto the bat (aka dead hands) and rotate like a mother. Is that what you're talking about?

Mike

[Mark H]

1. If (and only if) a little kid has poor rotation, I see it as a logical first step to teach him how to squish the bug. Once he is rotating correctly, then I would start working on weight shift..

If he's squishing the bug he's not rotating correctly.

Any kid who can throw a ball up and hit it into center field has the base for a sound, mechanical swing.

That's what Epstein says but then Epstein, given the pictures he has posted, has no notion of the problem of bat drag. He seems to have little opinion or clue on arm action other than the weather vaning nonsense. I once asked him in person how his hitters transition away from the bat on the deltoid. He looked like he'd never heard the question before and answered, "Well..., some never do".

[Swing Coach]

1. If (and only if) a little kid has poor rotation, I see it as a logical first step to teach him how to squish the bug. Once he is rotating correctly, then I would start working on weight shift.

2. The boy in the original post has an incorrect swing plane...down through the ball. This also creates a very small hitting zone and does not allow the bat any direct momentum into the ball. THis is why he may be grounding out a lot and hitting for little power.

3. Jim Thome once told me he would spend hours throwing up tiny rocks and smashing them over an imaginary fence. Like a fungo hit. Any kid who can throw a ball up and hit it into center field has the base for a sound, mechanical swing. The boy in the video would find this activity impossible. But workign on it would be fun for him and his mechanics would begin to improve along with his success at the drill.

[azmatsfan]

I teach my kids to finishwith their belly button pointing towards the pitcher, not worrying about the trailing foot at this point. Is that the wrong approach for 7 year olds?

Last year I taught my t-ballers to point their belly buttons at the start of the swing to where they want to hit the ball. I had much better luck with this cue than "squishing the bug". And these were 5 and 6 year olds. Although I think it helps to look at the back foot as a cue. I tell them that if their back foot doesn't rotate, then they aren't pointing their belly button at the pitcher.

[rkbenn]

Well to take the other side for a moment I don't think he's arguing there can't be other good cues. He just likes this one. Perhaps when he begins to understand the nature of good rotation and how and why the back foot rolls up onto the toe rather than pivoting on the ball, he will change his mind.

I do understand and it is a cue for an 8 year old, and yes my kid, and the others I coach finish high on their back toe, not heel.

[Go Cardinals]

I took my son to ABC Camps, Greg Sparks was the instructor, Hitting Coordinator for the A's.

a guy on my team said he took some lessons from a hitting coach from the a's

[rkbenn]

Rkbenn, you've referred to the "swing they're teaching the A's" a couple times now and I'm wondering, is it Van Burkleo's methods you are teaching or somebody elses? I'm curious to hear what Van Burkleo is teaching, he was the roving hitting instructor with the Angels' farm teams for six years and they have some pretty decent hitting up and comers (Kenrick, Aybar, Kotchman, Wood, Napoli, Willits, Mathis . . .) that I wonder if Van Burkleo had any influence on.

How did you get Van Burkleo's teachings, I haven't seen any books or videos from him, do you have info on where to find his stuff?


MV9

I took my son to ABC Camps, Greg Sparks was the instructor, Hitting Coordinator for the A's.

[Mark H]

I would rather have no instruction, than bad instruction.

When I was 8, no one ever told me to "squish the bug". In fact, I can't remember anyone telling anyone to do that at that age, where I played. Since the kids I grew up with, several are playing D1, two have been drafted, and several others have been very productive in their college careers thus far. We seemed to turn out just fine.

Well to take the other side for a moment I don't think he's arguing there can't be other good cues. He just likes this one. Perhaps when he begins to understand the nature of good rotation and how and why the back foot rolls up onto the toe rather than pivoting on the ball, he will change his mind.

[Mark H]

I believe rotating the on a stationary axis. !

After weight shift/momentum development, sure. Paul was right when he said you have to have some forward momentum to rotate well. You don't have to have a lot, but you have to have some. If you will watch elite hitters you will see the hips, or more, shift foward before/into rotation. It's not really arguable looking at video of elite hitters. I bet if you watch your better hitters carefully, especially on slow motion video, you will see they have figured this out on their own intuitively. The nature of the shift and momentum conversion gets argued all the time but rarely is the existence of a shift/momentum development argued.

[cosmo34]

These are little kids, squish the bug is something an 8 y/o understands to get great rotation of the back foot. Where not talking about developed kids. Make it fun to keep them interested and keep the game fun. Even if you say you rotate the hips like you're doing the Cha Cha, what does it mater. Every kid is not the sale and you can't take the same approach. My boy doesn't squish the bug, he's beyond that. You guys are really taking this too seriously. If they kid was 10, or 12 or 15, I'd take a different approach depending on the kid. One size doesn't fit all.

I spoke with a scout for the KC Royals for a couple hours at a College game. His advice is to make baseball fun so the kids will have memories for the rest of their life. This is not at the expense of teaching the fundamentals.

I would rather have no instruction, than bad instruction.

When I was 8, no one ever told me to "squish the bug". In fact, I can't remember anyone telling anyone to do that at that age, where I played. Since the kids I grew up with, several are playing D1, two have been drafted, and several others have been very productive in their college careers thus far. We seemed to turn out just fine.

[mudvnine]

The swing I'm teaching is what they teach for the Oakland A's.

Rkbenn, you've referred to the "swing they're teaching the A's" a couple times now and I'm wondering, is it Van Burkleo's methods you are teaching or somebody elses? I'm curious to hear what Van Burkleo is teaching, he was the roving hitting instructor with the Angels' farm teams for six years and they have some pretty decent hitting up and comers (Kenrick, Aybar, Kotchman, Wood, Napoli, Willits, Mathis . . .) that I wonder if Van Burkleo had any influence on.

How did you get Van Burkleo's teachings, I haven't seen any books or videos from him, do you have info on where to find his stuff?


MV9

[rkbenn]

Rather than teaching a kid to do something that they will have to unlearn when they get older, I prefer to teach them to do the right way the first time.

Also, unlearning things can be a very painful process, as I am learning with some of my 13Us who were never taught to hit or throw the right way the first time.

Jesus, why are u so hung up on the bug thing? I believe we share the same thoughts. They only difference is approach with an 8 year old, and I believe you teach shifting your weight to a stiff front leg if I'm not mistaken. I believe rotating the on a stationary axis. Weight forward is a result of the swing, not a weight shift. These are too different thoughts. My kids, including my son are very successful. My 9 year old is tearing up AAA pitching and the only 9 in the league. There are different rules of thought, I didn't join to get my ideas bashed in. The swing I'm teaching is what they teach for the Oakland A's., these are not my ideas...geez.

Don't follow the bright light people!