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To step or not to step, that is the question?!?!?

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by curveballerguy124 » Tue Mar 02, 2021 3:36 pm

Soooo, why do I bring this up well..... I have always been a stepper when I hit, sometimes a toe tapper but for the most part a stepper. I have always been a advocate of taking a step when batting just because it always felt stronger and right to me. Well recently I picked up my golf clubs and started playing a bit felt nice getting my swing back. No sooner after a few outings I get a call from my old fastpitch team telling me, "hey dude we are playing the SCIFL mens tourny in Vegas in April get ready"!! So getting excited I figure crap I gotta start swinging my stick again so I go into my closet move all the boxes find my trusty Easton and start taking some hacks off the tee. When halfway through the bucket I realize I haven't taken a stride not even a toe tap?? It didn't feel awkward probably because of the golfing I was doing. Nonetheless, I went a step further and took some BP from one of the guys not gonna lie did pretty decent the best part was it was easier to time the pitching without my stride!!!

So my question to all you batting guru's is, is the step necessary?? What are the pro's and con's of no stepping??? Now I am not a hitting instructor by no stretch of the imagination. Although I can hit pretty well I cannot teach what I do nor can I teach how to swing with power because I'm a pretty strong guy so that comes without much effort. What I wanna know is along with the above posed questions, can a female softball player benefit from a no stride swing??? What are your thoughts?!?!
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by 110% » Tue Mar 02, 2021 6:46 pm

Baseball and Softball swings/mechanics are the same. But Baseball Players and Women's Fastpitch Softball Players are not the same. Hitting is not something you can cookie cutter and make work by emulating other hitters. Physical makeup, size, strength and athletic ability need to be considered. When determining whether a stride is a good thing or not, you have to look at the hitter. You can find 100's of different stances and launches in the MLB or Elite Softball, but the great ones swing mechanics are going to be very very similar.

There are 7 stages to hitting and while not the same as golf, many are similar:

1 - Grip - Different
2 - Stance - Same or Close
3 - Load - Same or Close
4 -Stride - Different
5 - Hip Rotation - Close
6 - Contact - Close
7 -Follow Through - Close

If you have a stance that is overly wide it can make a stride difficult unless you move the front leg back during the load and then forward in the launch or up and down with the leg kick (Justin Turner).

If you're not going to stride, you must be able to transfer your weight back efficiently while remaining inside your back leg or backside butback or heavy enough allowing for a violent weight transfer forward. Hitters that get their nose over their toes are not utilizing a firm front leg as a brake. The firm front leg forces the hips/core to rotate faster acting as a brake and causing the momentum to go into the rotation. The no stride variation is usually from hitters that are physically bigger and stronger that can transfer enough weight back and use their strength to power or explode forward into the firm front leg.

Utilizing a stride assists in the weight transfer back to a 50-50 position setting the hips in motion. As the front foot plants, that's the trigger for everything else to follow, hips, the the shoulders and then the hands. You want separation between the stride foot when it plants and the bat knob (hands) like stretching a rubber band or a bow and arrow.

Using a high kick does not impact a hitter being late, it's about timing. They start a little earlier is all and in fact, a kick like JT can also help with timing when thrown an off speed pitch because it's easier to pause or slow before you launch.
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by natlee » Wed Mar 03, 2021 7:15 pm

Albert Pujols ring a bell. Future HoFer. Google his swing. Bigger dudes don't need a stride. Keeps eyes quieter.
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by 110% » Thu Mar 04, 2021 1:54 pm

That's what I said, big, strong players that can transfer weight effectively without it and can muscle the ball don't require a stride.
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by 110% » Thu Mar 04, 2021 8:32 pm

Yes, Pujols, Trout and a hundred other MLB hitters meet it. Several Elite softball players too. But just because your big and strong doesn't mean they have to hit with no stride. There's no rule or right way or wrong way. It all comes down to how effectively they transfer their weight back in the load phase, how effectively they transfer it back forward. It's about getting the forward momentum going forward and the firm front leg transferring that energy from linear (forward) to rotational turning the hips/core violently.

What it means is that Pujols is very very good at his load phase and his weight transfer back forward (launch) and doesn't need a stride to help him. Also being as strong as a bull doesn't hurt.
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by curveballerguy124 » Thu Mar 04, 2021 8:46 pm

110%.........I like your take on it makes a lot of sense. I Just wonder why more coaches don't teach it to females that often or at all for that matter?
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by 110% » Thu Mar 04, 2021 10:37 pm

Most coaches use the cookie cutter method. If it works for this one, copy it and it'll work for everyone, but it doesn't.

Each player is different. Different in athleticism, different in their work ethic, skills, size and strength. With that in mind, you need to tailor what your hitters do based on them. A player that's 5' 5" and 145 is never going to generate the bat speed of a player 6' 3" and 225 pounds all other things being equal.

Remember, it takes an exit speed of just 63mph and a launch angle of around 25 degrees (think of the angle a baseball pitch approaches the hitter as it leaves the pitchers hand) to hit a home run. Most average sized softball players in the 14u level can do this with good mechanics. Even many 12u players can reach these speeds. Obviously, strength training helps and puts the odds in her favor.

Teach good mechanics. Timing is the most critical of all in hitting. (Which is why changeups are so effective). If they start their swing before the front foot plants and lose that necessary separation (think bow and arrow or slingshot) they're dead before they even get to contact. Their "finish" should be OVER their front shoulder and not through it. The bat path should look sort of like a "Nike Swoosh".

Do not teach to hit the top half of the ball. The better teams you play, they'll make those infield ground ball outs. Teach line drives, gap to gap. There's 5 infielders (counting the pitcher) covering just the small area of the infield, usually just about 20-25 feet between them, but there's only 3 outfielders covering a much larger area with more than 80 feet between them and much more on the BLD and other baseball/softball dual fields. The odds of a hit on a ball in the outfield is much better than hitting those crappy ground balls. Those line drives turn into home runs as the players get bigger and stronger, but until they do, they're hitting gappers for doubles and triples.
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by Chin Music » Fri Mar 05, 2021 11:34 am

So these big organizations that force kids to hit with them exclusively and change their technique so they look like the rest of the robots are not doing all of them a favor?
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by 110% » Fri Mar 05, 2021 6:41 pm

I don't want to speak about a coach I don't know or what they're teaching, and I'm not so egotistical to say that I know everything about hitting, so who knows, maybe I'm the wrong one, but I don't think so. My own girls were lucky, they went through the Batbusters and were never forced or mandated take lessons from anyone.

All I know is in my experience, hitters of all ages and levels of play should be taught what's best for them and I don't believe in cookie cutter coaching. That's why you see hundreds of variations of stances, strides, loads in the MLB or Elite Softball. There are certain skills that should remain the same across the board, but as long as their technique fits within the box of what's right, allow them to develop mechanics that are best for them as an individual.

As a Coach, I could care less where a player goes for lessons, if they don't produce on game day they don't play. If they don't like not hitting or not playing, change hitting coaches. I assume the players mandated to take lessons within their organization get something out of the lessons, if nothing else, maybe confidence which is a key ingredient to hitting.

It's not the kids that work the hardest that play, the best players that play. Travel ball, College Ball and eventually in their Careers, the best play, the best get jobs and the best get the promotions. If you're not playing and you're working hard, doing your best, figure out how to get better. Get better coaching or figure out how you can improve.
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by Chin Music » Sat Mar 06, 2021 10:02 am

Agree 110%. Different strokes for different folks.
Not my way or the highway approach!
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