Sqaushing the bug thing.

Need some help here.

How can you get players to stop hitting off their front feet. They swag foward and drag the back toe in the dirt. The feet turn inward but nothing is back.

Meaning they are not, as they say, "squashing the bug" with their back foot. Not "trapping the bug" is a better thought. Little league stuff but this is where Im at with this group.

I need some ideas.

Im trying to get them to brace off the front leg and foot. Keep their weight back and "squash the bug." Leading to the back leg "L" formation, hips opening, etc etc.

I want to tie their back foot to the ground. Any ideas other than that.

Some of them are relying on their athleticism and strength but are not really using their power potential. IMO.

All ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks.

 

Internet discussions of these topics can be tricky because of terms, but I have read and heard that the , "bug" thing is passe. If you are bracing off the front leg, then a weight transfer has to have taken place. When I look at MLB swings I see back feet dragging and sometimes coming off the ground. I hear the local high school coach talking a lot about hip slide during the weight transfer though. Hips sliding as they turn, instead of, as you say, bracing. I hope someone else will post on this.

 

TBA---where you at? I won't enter the hitting discussions because there is so much controversy, but TBA is the expert on this.

and keep in mind that Gloveside is in a foreign country without the resources we have. But to Gloveside, in the country you are in you should teach the slap hitting that seems to be popular in that country----and with them hitting off their front foot it seems to be an easy transition for your players ~lol~

 

as SoutherNo1 said this is highly debatable and terms mean different things to different people.

One thing I have done with young kids is reverse chaining- set them up where you want them to be at contact (using a tee) and work backwards.

Squishing the bug is the result of what happens (if it happens at all) not what you do.

 

You must have come through West Forsyth about 10 or 12 years ago when Heels07 was coaching there. He is definetely the expert. I think I still hear that statement in my sleep.

 

I like it, what he said !

 

Check out Mike Epstein's website. I teach rotational and use his drills. They work.

 

hitting

Steve Englishbey also has some good drills. Englishbeyhitting.com
Like others have said, hitting is a philosophy. There can be heated debates on this topic. I'm keeping my distance.
I do agree with SoutherNo1. You have to hit against a firm front leg...

 

I Did Stay At A Holiday Inn Express Last Night

 

The stiff front leg is the key to staying back.This is what starts the rotaion and stops the player from drifting forward. If you go to rotaional hitting 101 or Englishbey hitting you can make your on judgement on what happens in the swing.On Englishbey if you go to touch em all it shows a front view and the side view.