Preston Peavy Hitting Drills

[BallCoach06]

I have used a modified Epstein system with our hitters for the past 3 or so years and am looking to add some new things. Just curious if the Peavy materials (Step by Step To A Pro Swing) would be a good compliment to the Epstein materials?

Thanks.

[callyjr]

I have used a modified Epstein system with our hitters for the past 3 or so years and am looking to add some new things. Just curious if the Peavy materials (Step by Step To A Pro Swing) would be a good compliment to the Epstein materials?

Thanks.

what age group and tell me more about your modified Epstein drills.

[BallCoach06]

High school, so ages 14-18.

We work the basic Epstein drills, but also have some drills for weight shift (not keeping weight on back side), and a couple of drills I got from Sparky Parker on staying connected during swing.

[FiveFrameSwing]

I have used a modified Epstein system with our hitters for the past 3 or so years and am looking to add some new things. Just curious if the Peavy materials (Step by Step To A Pro Swing) would be a good compliment to the Epstein materials?

Thanks.

Pretty much the same drills promoted by Charley Lau Jr.

[BallCoach06]

Pretty much the same drills promoted by Charley Lau Jr.

In your opinion, will his stuff work well with Epstein's stuff, or will it go against what we have been teaching?

[FiveFrameSwing]

In your opinion, will his stuff work well with Epstein's stuff, or will it go against what we have been teaching?

I'm a big believer of the Hanson Principle.

“Always compare what anybody tells you about the swing to slow motion clips of the best hitters in the world”.
-- Mark Hanson

I ask all my students to adopt this principle. I feel it protects them.

IMO, much, but not all, of Epstein's work can be verified using the Hanson Principle. The same can be said of Peavy's work. The drills presented by Peevy are good, beneficial, and work well with the portions of Epstein's work that don't contradict the Hanson Principle. You'll find that some of his drills are good in terms of encouraging a forward weight shift (especially his one-arm top-hand assisted drill).

Better yet, consider Dr. Chris Yeager's DVDs and request that he send you a DVD containing his drills. His drills are a staple for the majority of the students I work with. Dr. Yeager breaks down the MLB swing using video of MLB hitters, and as such, it passes the Hanson Principle.

[callyjr]

High school, so ages 14-18.

We work the basic Epstein drills, but also have some drills for weight shift (not keeping weight on back side), and a couple of drills I got from Sparky Parker on staying connected during swing.

Not keeping weight on back side? so you changed out the torque drill? Can you upload a version of what you replaced it with. The thing about the torque drill is it teaches upper/lower body seperation.

[FiveFrameSwing]

Not keeping weight on back side? so you changed out the torque drill? Can you upload a version of what you replaced it with. The thing about the torque drill is it teaches upper/lower body seperation.

It has been my observation that students with an inferior hand/barrel load (think "bat angled back towards the catcher in the launch [i.e. 'ready'] position, etc.") experience a difficult time with separation (as in "hips lead the way"). It has also been my observation that students with a proper hand/barrel load more readily achieve separation.

Could you comment on this?

[callyjr]

It has been my observation that students with an inferior hand/barrel load (think "bat angled back towards the catcher in the launch [i.e. 'ready'] position, etc.") experience a difficult time with separation (as in "hips lead the way"). It has also been my observation that students with a proper hand/barrel load more readily achieve separation.

Could you comment on this?

Are you suggesting Epstein teaches bat towards the catcher? He doesn't!! Do you really honestly believe bat position has anything to do with loading. I guess I am not understanding your question.

[FiveFrameSwing]

Are you suggesting Epstein teaches bat towards the catcher? He doesn't!! Do you really honestly believe bat position has anything to do with loading. I guess I am not understanding your question.

I understand that Epstein does not teach one to point the bat towards the catcher from the launch position.

As for "loading", various people mean various things when they use the term "loading". Some infer the negative move (loading of the inner thigh of the rear leg). Some infer the loading of the hands and/or bat barrel. If you re-read my post you'll see that I was referring to the later.

My assertion is that the loading of the hands/barrel influences the amount/degree of separation that one achieves.

My question to you was if you could comment on that.

[callyjr]

I understand that Epstein does not teach one to point the bat towards the catcher from the launch position.

As for "loading", various people mean various things when they use the term "loading". Some infer the negative move (loading of the inner thigh of the rear leg). Some infer the loading of the hands and/or bat barrel. If you re-read my post you'll see that I was referring to the later.

My assertion is that the loading of the hands/barrel influences the amount/degree of separation that one achieves.

My question to you was if you could comment on that.

still not sure how it relates to this thread. I don't usually engage in long technical posts because it leads to pissing matches and usually the people that are arguing the same thing and have the same answer but don't know it, just have different ways to communicate it.

Is there a reason to worry about how the hands influencing the degree of seperation. Do you have time to work with the HS kids on stuff like this? I can honestly say I have never measured the degree of seperation. Each athlete is going to have seperation at a level that their body is capable of handling. The college kid I had over last night is gonna be able to stretch much more then the HS kids I work with but to what degree I have no idea and honestly don't have a need to know. The kid hit 2nd in his league this year for BA, why do I want to fill his head with this kind of stuff? the only thing I want him thinking about is what pitch the pitcher should be throwing on the next pitch.

I am interested in what Sparky taught BallCoach06. I have had conversations with Sparky, he has went his own direction with Epstein stuff as I have, but he seems to have gone a different route then I.


Cally

[BallCoach06]

I don't have a video camera here to put up video, but one drill we use to get weight shift is simply a cross over step with the back foot, then take normal stride, and swing. We do this drill off the tee. I have also seen this drill done on Coach Cohens Hitting DVD.

[BallCoach06]

Can someone tell me how many drills come on the Yeager and/or Peavy materials? I know Epstein has three, so I was curious on how many these guy instructors include.

[FiveFrameSwing]

Is there a reason to worry about how the hands influencing the degree of seperation. Do you have time to work with the HS kids on stuff like this? I can honestly say I have never measured the degree of seperation.

From this I take it that you don't know if the loading of the hands/barrel influences seperation.

The reason it is important is simple. A minor adjustment to the hand/barrel load can significantly impact seperation.

As for me having "time to work with the HS kids on stuff like this?", the answer is 'yes'. Those that follow Dr. Chris Yeager know that seperation is important. Therefore, from my perspective, knowing what influences seperation is also important.

[Stealth]

The reason it is important is simple. A minor adjustment to the hand/barrel load can significantly impact seperation.

FiveFrame - please expand on this.