Hitting and Hitters Discussion poll on stride length

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I have been checking with hitting coaches, read posts on different boards, watch the USA team, and wonder what is best- to stride or not to stride. ?What I would like for everyone to do is post whether or not you believe in a long stride, short stride or no stride. ?Please, if you are a player state how long your stride is, if you are a parent how long your DD strides, and if you are a coach what your preference is. ?I will tabulate the results and post them. ?It might also be good to state your level.

I recently purchased the RightView Pro Software with Mike Candrea and Sue Enquist and it seems that while they don't put down any particular stride type, they really seem to prefer a short stride (if I am understanding it right).

I am having a "lively" discussion with a few of parents who help with my high school team and I am leaning toward a short stride after my summer reasearch, even though I have long pushed for a no stride.

Please respond to this post, I'm sure the results could spark further discussion.

 

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DD has tried all 3 approaches of none, long & then short. Her instructer at Grand Slam suggested a short stride & it has been the most succesfull for her. She is hitting the ball harder & farther than she ever has before & her mechanics are a lot smoother. She feels very comfortable & relaxed taking a small stride.

 

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Been coaching over 26 years, and a short 2-4 inch stride, to transfer weight and help cause a pivot in the hips, has always been the best approch for most hitters. If the step is to big to cause a "off balence" feel shorten your step

 

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I think a short stride is much better. When the stride is long,your entire body changes planes from your stance to much . your head , shoulders , and hands drop down during the swing and the result is more pop ups. IMO.

 

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Witz
Candrea and Enquest use Don Slaught's hitting technique. In many cases the front foot makes a negative move, pre- swing and then is put down in it's original spot as a stride or whatever you want to call it. I have never seen the RightView Pro Software but have seen them teach hitting and this is what many of their hitters do. If you have taped any of the college games, watch UCLA and Arizona's hitters, that will help you make sense of the software I would think.

 

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Thanks for the tip. I did tape a few of the games. I'll have to go look to see what games I have.

 

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My personal preference is for a short or no stride. Even with a "no stride" the front foot can be picked up and replanted without any "forward" movement toward the pitcher.

For most hitters, some degree of front foot movement is needed to get the hip rotation started.

Overstriding can cause problems as noted in other posts. Generally speaking, the fewer movements needed to initiate the swing the better. Any extra movement can throw off timing, cause the head (eyes) to move unnessesarily and can be detrimental to transfering energy into rotational movement.

One other point: whether using a long, short or no stride approach, the stride is a "pre-swing" movement. The stride should be completed and the front foot planted before the forward swing is initiated.

Striding while swinging is a "linear" movement that robs the hitter of the maximum forces generated by rotation.

In the past ten years, I have played fastpitch softball, slow pitch softball and adult league baseball. The approach that has worked best for me is a minimal stride, picking up my front foot and planting it at most a couple of inches from where it started. Again, this is done prior to launching my swing, while the upper torso is just about to complete loading.

 

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Thanks Bretman for the input. ?You have simplified a lot of what needs to be done into words I can use. ?

One of the things that the RVP CD mentions is that you land on your front toe and your body should be balanced with your center of gravity. ?Then, when your heel touches you rotate around your front hip. ?I don't know how simple this is either to do or to teach, but it does make sense to me.They did say that the timing of the toe/ heel touch, with the start of the rotation is not always exact.

 

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I am a player and have a long stride according to my dad and coaches. I do not turn my foot beforeI swing or anything, I just start long and turn my hips hard. In my experience with a short stride and my height and strength, I thought I couldn't get as much power with the short stride. But this is just my opinion. Hope this will help your poll.

 

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I am a pitcher and i believe a long stride is better. The reason being for that is the farther you push off the closer to the batter you get so the faster the ball seems to be coming in. Every pitching coach except for one has told me longer strides are better for that reason. The one that told me different screwed my pitching up and i got hit all over when i went back to a longer stride i got more movement and no one could hit me.

 

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No stride or slight foot movement has worked very well for my daughter. ?Striding at all is merely a timing mechanism that can make you vulnerable to offspeed and movement pitches. ?The stride does very little if anything to supplying power to your swing.

 

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Up in the box on the white line and no stride seems to work for us. Seems we can hit the pitches before they break.

 

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I have a no stride technique where i just pivot my foot in then explode outward, it works well for me. I think it depends on the player some feel comfortable in a longer stride then others. It isnt always going to be the same in every player, it never is.

 

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Isn't the golden rule on this, short stride or no stride! ???

 

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Raise the heel and drop it. When the heel drops, it triggers the hips to go...hips lead the hands.