Steve Johnson

Of course that’s your contention. You’re a 1st year hitting coach. You just spent the last 15 years getting taught to get the foot down early and be direct to the baseball. You’re gonna be here regurgitating “squish the bug; don’t drop the shoulder” and sharing Jeff Frye videos.

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@theswingman444 Ok. I’ll tell him not to bend so much.

@LegKickNationOG The amount of side bending is based on the height of the pitch, the higher the pitch = a lesser amount of bend, & the lower the pitch = a greater amount of bend. In both cases the back shoulder & hands should remain above the ball.

Let em move.

@theswingman444 Ok. I’ll tell him not to bend so much.

@LegKickNationOG It’s just simply teaching him not to bend so much especially on pitches up, the hands will naturally remain above the ball.

@theswingman444 “Hey 7 year old get your hands above the ball!”

@LegKickNationOG I agree that you want to let them move, but sometimes those moves need some adjustments. In the video you posted, the hitter is clearly side bending too much. The hands & back shoulder should never drop below the ball.

I don’t believe that to be true at all. In the past, this was all kids did. I don’t remember any coach on the street/sandlot telling me “you’re dropping your shoulder”. I never went to one lesson. Kids my age - and obviously those older - learned via informal exploration and volume. Today, kids in the US are not allowed to explore. Everything is formal. Instruction and overcueing is EVERYWHERE. My 7 year old can’t take a swing without 4 different sets of cues. So I believe your “tears” comment to not an exaggeration but fiction.

@LegKickNationOG Kids “explore” for years, and all they end up with is a lot of tears, and disappointment in the people who were supposed to be helping them called coaches.

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@bamahurin Examples of what. You gave me generic examples of what you perceive to be swing flaws.

@LegKickNationOG Give me some examples. I gave you at least three.

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Any recommendations for a free video editing app where you can crop, draw shapes/lines, export, etc for video breakdown?

What a fun conversation that is limited by Twitter. My argument is limiting a 7 yo movement exploration because as an adult I think he should swing in a way that I believe is more mechanically optimal is an error. Your perception of a young kids movements NOW may be correct. But your fixes NOW - although in good faith - may be detrimental to the FUTURE movements of the kid. Or maybe your prescriptions now may be good for his future movement. I err on the side of exploration and free movement because I believe nature and a humans ability to figure things via external task is stronger than what I “know” to be true mechanically for young kids.

@LegKickNationOG It’s a perception based on accumulated knowledge. So forget all that and let the kid fly open while dropping his shoulders and dumping his barrel? Because why, my perception could be wrong and his right?

@bamahurin Because the “reality” you are referencing is just an external perception. So it would follow that the degree of “correctness” of the external perception and prescription is fundamental no?

@LegKickNationOG How did the topic go from kids’ perceptions vs. reality, to how confident I am in my knowledge?

Everybody. Is. Guessing.

At the time - you thought you knew the flaws and the required corrections. And if anyone said otherwise you’d disagree because you “knew.” What I’m asking is now you realize those observations and suggestions were wrong so why are you so confident that you KNOW now? What happens if your suggestions now are wrong? Are you not harming the movement of kids like you did then?

@LegKickNationOG Yes, I learned. I don’t understand the rest of your questions.

@bamahurin Have you ever changed hitting beliefs? What you view as correct vs incorrect? Based on your prior belief system (biases in how a hitter should swing), would your mechanical advice based on the flaws you saw - have helped or hurt? Why is it different now?

@LegKickNationOG Forcing rotation. Correct intuition. They see players rotate. Incorrect mechanics. They think the bat goes around to the ball. It goes directly to the ball. They think, they hear, “stay back” so they never weight transfer. List goes on.

Who determines if it’s flawed? What if the flaw now is actually a benefit later? How omnipotent do we want to be with this? But directly to your point - kids don’t innately interpret the “swing.” Adults do and try to pass it down which is usually detrimental in my experience. Kids naturally interpret the task. Hit the ball. Hit it over the fence. Hit it to 2B. Let them explore varied tasks. A lot.

@LegKickNationOG Kids will do things that are intuitive in their own interpretation of the swing. If their interpretation is flawed, then what?

Youth baseball in the US is detrimental to development.

That low home though.

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