Hitting and Hitters Discussion Linear vs Rotational Hitting Style

Both, ? Linier into rotational. ? ?The load into toe touch is a linier movement. At that point you go into heel plant and then you are ready to go into the rotational phase of the swing. The rotational part should start from the feet on up into the lower torso into the upper torso. You want to rotate around the spine keeping your center of gravity, while mantaining balance and keeping your head still.



Dayton Ohio area ? ? Diamond Dominators 14U Scott Herman

Rotational, is there really another?

I was at a boy's travel tournament this past weekend and I heard a coach tell a batter, "Squash the bug, throw your hands at the ball, we want ground balls not fly balls." I'm sure the pitcher wanted grounds balls too! I told my son, who was just filling in for the team, "You don't listen to that ****, just nod your head do what you're taught." Was that wrong?

I agree 100% with Scott h. Both parts must be there.

Linear. I have not been to a hitting camp ( College) that the coaches didn't teach Linear hitting.
Bustos , I don't recall her hitting coach's name, but he is the National hitting coach for China and he is one of the best using computer images. Mike at Wright State also shows this method on computer screens.

Sbfamily, Howard Carrier, Bustos hitting instructer and Mike Larabee both teach Linier and roatational. Mike teaches (Load, Gather and push hard.) (Load and gather)is the linier movement and( push hard )is the rotational movement. They have to happen in sequence. They cannot happen at the same time LINIER ( load and Gather ) Roatational (Push hard with your back foot) Rotate andfinish high.

One more rule of htting, When swinging the lead elbow should be higher than the hands and the hands higher than the barrel of the bat. That allows you to take the bat through the zone for a longer period of time.


Scott Herman

You are correct. Howard is a great guy. You can correct me, but they teach a blend of both which is the Rightview.pro system. Both had literature at the camps about this system. I was taught the Rotational and kill the bug, back in my day. . I found out how Howard felt about that comment! I found out that Mike and Howard differ a little on the load. Both are good and you find yourself taking notes. Having my DD getting personnel instructions from Bustos made her day!

This is going to get very interesting. I'm waiting on a clear explanation of the difference between a "Linear" style and a "Rotational" style. I'll bet Mike Candrea and Sue Enquist would like to hear this explanation also...

I get a headache every time this topic comes up and gets scrutinized, but there have been some amazing descriptions posted on here in the past. For the less knowledgeable (like me), pictures sure would help . Or, a session with Glenn McCoy and his RVP thingamajobby .

Best that I can tell though, is that the perfect swing being taught today, and exhibited by Olympians and Major Leaguers, combines both linear and rotational elements in the entire swing.

This has gotten as crazy as learning a "real" golf swing, ... in pursuit of excellence. It can be broken down into as many micro movements as you desire, as long as 10-12 key elements are in place sequentially. It' so simple, actually, a caveman could figure it out :, with the help of Glenn McCoy and his amazing machinery (windmills, bells, whistles, nets, wheels, computers & cameras ).

You want pictures pickledad? This analysis by Mike Epstein is very good.

http://www.mikeepsteinhitting.com/extra/bondsanalysis.pdf

'roids or not, the man can hit.

Nice! Thanks Ringer.

You have choices when making a decision about your approach to getting hitting instruction for your DD. You can use the "see the ball - hit the ball" method, or use the "science and technology" method. For some, the "see the ball - hit the ball" method works just fine.

I personally feel that in order to master the concepts of hitting, there are pretty well defined steps you have to take, AND there are NO shortcuts. The more knowledge about those concepts you gain, the quicker you will become proficient. If you shun the technology available today, you might just cheat your DD out of becoming a better hitter. It's not rocket science, but it does take common sense, persistence and patience.

Good post Sammy. I feel the more I take my DD to these camps the more we both learn. She even takes the camera out now and films herself , so that we can correct flaws.

Neither.

However you could say this..The hitter goes negative first, and this could be described as any move away from the pitcher that keeps the weight on the inside of the back foot and leg with the knees inside the feet and then goes positive towards the pitcher to toe touch landing on the inside edge on the lead foot keeping the baby toe off the ground slightly or on the inside edge of the lead foot with a slight flex in the lead knee with the heel slightly off the ground so the hips can continue forward like a pendulum. If the front knee locks out the hips will stop moving forward. It is a linear weight shift forward to gather momentum and then once you have arrived at toe touch and the hands separate rearward and the hips move forward is when Howard considers the linear phase to have stopped. I think he calls a drill he uses the attack mode. This is when the hitter gets into this position and then hits the ball off the tee. The hitter using experience on previous at bats or what Howard terms a swing DNA data base, controls the movement of the hip forward and lowers the back elbow based on speed recognition, spin and location.

What separates the young athlete from the elite college and International player is their ability to control the hip movement forward or what Howard calls a hip slide and then when to lower the back elbow to
initiate connection and then rotation. When the back elbow starts to lower the front foot heel will lower and become engaged or connected to the ground and rotation around the front hip begins. The back elbow starts down and the lead elbow starts forward pulling the bat from behind the head and the hands stay above the ball. Our daughters go to Howard and this is what I can remember however I may have missed something I am only their Mother. He has shown us this on RVP under Adjusting slow to fast with Sue Enquist doing the narration if I remember correctly.

Howard knows Don Slaught personally and has stated many times RVP is not a hitting system it is a way to analyze hitting so you can see for yourself how the pro's do it. Don has only captured what the pro's do and has attempted to explain it. From what we have heard Don Slaught and Mike Epstein engaged in a verbal debate at last years NFCA meeting, and Mike had very few comments to make after Don showed him various swings and what a linear weight shift using rotational mechanics was versus what people claim it is. Rotational is usually associated with a hitter who steps, stops the hip movement forward and then goes into rotation usually making a bad first move with the hands going over the plate and hitting around the ball.

You can usually see the back knee collapse and the hitter can not get the toe pointed down or the heel up from what Howard has shown us. Howard does not agree with Mike Epstein's approach to hitting. You can order Don and Mikes debate from the NFCA web site.

I think Coach Larabee was at Howard's house last week all day working on hitting techniques as he knows Howard works with Crystl Bustos and does clinics in our area. I think Howard works with a couple girls on his MVE team also. You would have to talk to Coach Larabee to see if he has changed his mind on his approach to hitting or teaching it since he has worked with Howard.

Howard really does not like to post very much as he enjoys reading how the internet gurus do it.

I was bored!!! Any new updates?

Coach Larabee spent from 10 am to 7:15 PM one day and another 4 hours another day trying to comprehend what Howard and Crystl are doing and he now sees the advantages of using a linear weight shift with rotational mechanics.

Coach Larabee spent the entire day swinging the bat and trying out Crystl and Howards way of teaching the swing and using some of their specialized tools.

He was very open minded and a pleasure to work with and coach Larabee now sees the value of having the hands back at toe touch while the hips are moving linear. I think he understands heel plant and how the back and lead arm elbow work as a unit and the importance of staying strong on the back side.

Apparently his youger team did well over the weekend using some of this new knowledge....it is a pleasure working with a coach who is open minded and that can swing a bat like him. Dave Brittenham also stopped by and he is another open minded coach willing to listen and try to make changes.

It was refreshing to work with people who care about the kids and want to change and then see the results so quickly in their students way of hitting the ball.

Thanks for stopping by and sharing your knowledge Mike and Dave.

Howard Carrier

Howard I was able to attend one of Dave Paetkau's hitting camps . It was very interesting after my daughter got to work with you last year. Like you he has some drills and practice techniques that are easy to comprehend. I'm glad you worked with Mike. He has a great small ball camp for slappers.

If it was this simple would there not be more than one Ted Williams?

All I can say is that it works for us. If you are willing to put in the prsctice, it is worth it.

Batting is not easy and it is more than just swinging the bat correctly. ?Ted Williams had great vision along with great batting skills! ?

Without vision training you are never going to reach your potential - period.

I can tell you ?without a doubt that Howard's system of BATTING is cutting edge and works. ?The results as with any quality improvement system - must be measureable. ? My work over the last 2 plus years with Howard has provided marked increase of hitting average, sharply reduce Strike Out ratios, increased power with my players and DD's. ?

You must commit to the whole system and you must work at it. ? ?We have before and after video takes to demonstrate, evaluate and educate our players , using Rightveiw Pro. ?

Rightveiw Pro is not a BATTING ?system as stated above, ?Its a teaching - evaluation platform.

I just hope the teams we play- keep squashing the bug, leading with the shoulder, thinking "vision training" is done at walmart yearly, and my personal favorite chopping wood because the pitch angle is different in fastpitch.

I appreciate all Howard has done in his travels - His devotion to "his" Kids. ?His batting system along with my players hard work has increased our team batting average 92 points!

We just hit our 3rd grand slam - 2 different players, ? 12 HR - 5 players. ?

If you want to make solid contact with the ball more often - I recommend attending one of Howards camps!

Thanks Brother, we all love you!

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