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Howard:
If you use the "pause" button on the YouTube player, you can get a rough version of slow-motion. Use it to freeze the frame to get a still shot, or click it on and off very rapidly to get a slow-motion effect. You can also click on the slide bar and drag it backwards to go back and see the swings again.
It's not exactly Right View Pro, but you can get some crude control of the video- rewinding, freeze frame and slow-motion- using the YouTube buttons.
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Mozzery:
I hope you aren't getting overloaded with advice here!
Sometimes we can get bogged down with too many details and overwhelmed with arcane definitions and terms. It seems like much of the advice you're getting is in agreement, though maybe expressed in slightly different terms. For instance, what Howard is calling "separation" and what I called "connection". While seemingly opposite terms, I suspect that we are both looking at the same thing- the rotational forces generated by the body's core (hips) and how those rotational forces are transfered up the kinetic chain- torso, shoulders, arms, hands and, ultimately, to the bat.
Which terms you use probably depends on which hitting guru you've most studied, be it Epstein, Candrea, Englishby or Slaught. We're looking at the same actions, but using slightly different terminology to describe what we see.
One way around this is to use video of the world's elite hitters and see for yourself what they are doing. You can see some good clips here: Hitting Clips
Watch them, study them and see for yourself what techniques are used by the world's best hitters. Compare them to what you see in your daughter's swing. Three points I would focus on are loading (back hip and shoulders/hands), hips firing slightly before hands begin moving forward to pull the upper body around (separation/connection) and the path of the bat in relation to the path of the pitch (matching the pitch plane).
Yes, there are other details besides those- weight transfer from back to front leg, front and back elbow positions, hand position at point of contact and various postural adjustments the hitter can make. But I really feel that those first three are the most basic elements of the rotational swing and form the building blocks for everything else. Start with those and you will be on the right path, then you can work the other stuff in as you progress.
The overall impression from watching your daughter's swing is that you have an athletic kid who has maybe received some bad training somewhere along the line. I see elements of linear mechanics, "squishing the bug " with the back foot and swinging down at the ball. But I also see a kid who is probably figuring some of this stuff out on her own. A true athlete will discover these things through trial and error, as she learns how her body works, moves and reacts. A little nudge in the right direction can reduce the trial and error, overcome some bad habits and help her get the most out of her ability.
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Thatguy:
I know you probably weren't talking about me, because I pretty much hit like crap last season! (Thatguy and I play on a men's fastpitch team together).
The brain might have a clue, but the 40-something body doesn't always cooperate...
I had to laugh about the "hitting up the middle" though. That is something I was working on last year and and some success with. Every hit I did have was a line drive in a wedge up the middle, between the shortstop and second baseman. But my best "up the middle" shot was the one where you were on second base and I almost took you head off!
Wish I could do that everytime- hit up the middle, that is, not almost kill one of my own teammates!
If you use the "pause" button on the YouTube player, you can get a rough version of slow-motion. Use it to freeze the frame to get a still shot, or click it on and off very rapidly to get a slow-motion effect. You can also click on the slide bar and drag it backwards to go back and see the swings again.
It's not exactly Right View Pro, but you can get some crude control of the video- rewinding, freeze frame and slow-motion- using the YouTube buttons.
*********************************************************
Mozzery:
I hope you aren't getting overloaded with advice here!
Sometimes we can get bogged down with too many details and overwhelmed with arcane definitions and terms. It seems like much of the advice you're getting is in agreement, though maybe expressed in slightly different terms. For instance, what Howard is calling "separation" and what I called "connection". While seemingly opposite terms, I suspect that we are both looking at the same thing- the rotational forces generated by the body's core (hips) and how those rotational forces are transfered up the kinetic chain- torso, shoulders, arms, hands and, ultimately, to the bat.
Which terms you use probably depends on which hitting guru you've most studied, be it Epstein, Candrea, Englishby or Slaught. We're looking at the same actions, but using slightly different terminology to describe what we see.
One way around this is to use video of the world's elite hitters and see for yourself what they are doing. You can see some good clips here: Hitting Clips
Watch them, study them and see for yourself what techniques are used by the world's best hitters. Compare them to what you see in your daughter's swing. Three points I would focus on are loading (back hip and shoulders/hands), hips firing slightly before hands begin moving forward to pull the upper body around (separation/connection) and the path of the bat in relation to the path of the pitch (matching the pitch plane).
Yes, there are other details besides those- weight transfer from back to front leg, front and back elbow positions, hand position at point of contact and various postural adjustments the hitter can make. But I really feel that those first three are the most basic elements of the rotational swing and form the building blocks for everything else. Start with those and you will be on the right path, then you can work the other stuff in as you progress.
The overall impression from watching your daughter's swing is that you have an athletic kid who has maybe received some bad training somewhere along the line. I see elements of linear mechanics, "squishing the bug " with the back foot and swinging down at the ball. But I also see a kid who is probably figuring some of this stuff out on her own. A true athlete will discover these things through trial and error, as she learns how her body works, moves and reacts. A little nudge in the right direction can reduce the trial and error, overcome some bad habits and help her get the most out of her ability.
******************************************************************
Thatguy:
I know you probably weren't talking about me, because I pretty much hit like crap last season! (Thatguy and I play on a men's fastpitch team together).
The brain might have a clue, but the 40-something body doesn't always cooperate...
I had to laugh about the "hitting up the middle" though. That is something I was working on last year and and some success with. Every hit I did have was a line drive in a wedge up the middle, between the shortstop and second baseman. But my best "up the middle" shot was the one where you were on second base and I almost took you head off!
Wish I could do that everytime- hit up the middle, that is, not almost kill one of my own teammates!