Someone explain to me the obsession with "knee drive" for hitting

[BigSkyHi]

* The batter stands just at the back edge of the batters box
* The first step is with the right foot forward to a normal rear foot position with toe pointed toward what would be the imagined pitcher.
* The second step is onto the left foot even with the batting tee. There is some flexion in the front knee, or bounce, but not a jump. The whole drill they try to keep the hips from too much vertical bounce. This is the point where they assume a normal stance facing home plate.

* They step back onto the rear foot, sinking into the backside, or glute.
* Forward again onto the front leg.
* Back onto the back leg, sinking into the backside
* Forward and swing.

They do this like a dance, not "Mexican jumping beans". Smooth, no real pauses. You can count, "1,2,3,4,5, FIRE!". I do not teach getting onto the back toe in rotation. I trick them into doing it. This is one drill I use. I have them stride equal to the backside of the tee, and on the last stride, really fire into a stride equal to the tee shaft and hit up the middle. As a footnote I guess you could increase it from 6 count to 8 count, etc. if you wanted to.

Thank you

 

[Work=wins]

I am not sure you can see this, but indeed his knee, hips, and shoulders are firing at the same time! Good example?
In fact his hands are leading his swing. His back elbow is at slot, hands/elbow stacked at the hip, with zero rotation to that point. His chest and ideally back knee should be facing RF at this time. The other factor is that because of this miss-timing sequence his hands and bat head will create a valley in his swing, the "V" or "U" shape in the swing that places the bat head on the plane of the pitch late, and lifts it over the ball very early. His bat-head should be on the plane of the pitch behind his back leg.

sorry I didn’t respond earlier. It’s just we (the forum) have been through all of those hips and legs firing first and blah blah recently. Didn’t feel like rehashing. This was about what is actively powering the swing. Once again it’s not the hips rotating and it’s not the legs driving. You can read older threads or you can stick around and learn. Don’t feel like explaining it again. Good luck w your team.

 

[Quasimodo]

sorry I didn’t respond earlier. It’s just we (the forum) have been through all of those hips and legs firing first and blah blah recently. Didn’t feel like rehashing. This was about what is actively powering the swing. Once again it’s not the hips rotating and it’s not the legs driving. You can read older threads or you can stick around and learn. Don’t feel like explaining it again. Good luck w your team.

I am going to school right now. I left coaching in Europe in 2016 so I could fulfill a promise and train here in the Philippines. We don't have a single legitimate softball field in the whole country. I remember playing in a true cow pasture with throw down bases in 2017 preparing for the "World Cup" in Oklahoma City, "Canada Cup" in Surrey, BC, and the "Japan Cup". I stopped coaching seniors except individual's help in 2017 to focus on the future. It was the only time we were really funded though not to the degree other teams were. I left early and missed the Japan Cup to go coach the Junior National Team in the World Championships in Florida. The Juniors had only 3 bats, and worse funding. A very recent Junior Team practice we had to chase several carabao (water-buffalo) off the practice pasture. We pay our dues! We had one 17 year old, the rest were 14-16 on my team against 18 to 19-year-olds in Florida. We lost two 1-run, extra inning games to Mexico in the Qualifying Round, and only finished 10th out of 32 teams. When you play Team USA and Barnhill, Canada, Australia, Japan's Yukiko Ueno, Taiwan, Puerto Rico and Florida State's Meagan King, then you are enrolled in a softball college already. Next March our young girls will definitely improve on 10th place as long as they up the age to 19, since both of our primary pitchers are 18 this year, and this year the World Championships were set at u18, but it was cancelled. I should add that I only teach all skills and run the practices. No foreigner is allowed to be a field coach here.

 

[Bonesaw]

I am going to school right now. I left coaching in Europe in 2016 so I could fulfill a promise and train here in the Philippines. We don't have a single legitimate softball field in the whole country. I remember playing in a true cow pasture with throw down bases in 2017 preparing for the "World Cup" in Oklahoma City, "Canada Cup" in Surrey, BC, and the "Japan Cup". I stopped coaching seniors except individual's help in 2017 to focus on the future. It was the only time we were really funded though not to the degree other teams were. I left early and missed the Japan Cup to go coach the Junior National Team in the World Championships in Florida. The Juniors had only 3 bats, and worse funding. A very recent Junior Team practice we had to chase several carabao (water-buffalo) off the practice pasture. We pay our dues! We had one 17 year old, the rest were 14-16 on my team against 18 to 19-year-olds in Florida. We lost two 1-run, extra inning games to Mexico in the Qualifying Round, and only finished 10th out of 32 teams. When you play Team USA and Barnhill, Canada, Australia, Japan's Yukiko Ueno, Taiwan, Puerto Rico and Florida State's Meagan King, then you are enrolled in a softball college already. Next March our young girls will definitely improve on 10th place as long as they up the age to 19, since both of our primary pitchers are 18 this year, and this year the World Championships were set at u18, but it was cancelled. I should add that I only teach all skills and run the practices. No foreigner is allowed to be a field coach here.

You should ignore almost everything that Workwins says. He is a moron.

*edit to point out he is a moron.

 

[Work=wins]

I am going to school right now. I left coaching in Europe in 2016 so I could fulfill a promise and train here in the Philippines. We don't have a single legitimate softball field in the whole country. I remember playing in a true cow pasture with throw down bases in 2017 preparing for the "World Cup" in Oklahoma City, "Canada Cup" in Surrey, BC, and the "Japan Cup". I stopped coaching seniors except individual's help in 2017 to focus on the future. It was the only time we were really funded though not to the degree other teams were. I left early and missed the Japan Cup to go coach the Junior National Team in the World Championships in Florida. The Juniors had only 3 bats, and worse funding. A very recent Junior Team practice we had to chase several carabao (water-buffalo) off the practice pasture. We pay our dues! We had one 17 year old, the rest were 14-16 on my team against 18 to 19-year-olds in Florida. We lost two 1-run, extra inning games to Mexico in the Qualifying Round, and only finished 10th out of 32 teams. When you play Team USA and Barnhill, Canada, Australia, Japan's Yukiko Ueno, Taiwan, Puerto Rico and Florida State's Meagan King, then you are enrolled in a softball college already. Next March our young girls will definitely improve on 10th place as long as they up the age to 19, since both of our primary pitchers are 18 this year, and this year the World Championships were set at u18, but it was cancelled. I should add that I only teach all skills and run the practices. No foreigner is allowed to be a field coach here.

like I said good luck w your team. Why do feel the need to tell me how good your team is? Or what YOU HAVE accomplished? A bit insecure? red flags. Kinda why I shut the convo down w you. Have a good day. Again, good luck.

 

[Work=wins]

You should ignore almost everything that Workwins says. He is a moron.

*edit to point out he is a moron.

Snore. Ignore.

 

[Bonesaw]

Snore. Ignore.

Ok Mr. Too much batspeed/abs move hips.

 

[efastball]

Doesn’t look like he is trying to coil inward with his shoulders

Here is the evidence.

 

[Quasimodo]

like I said good luck w your team. Why do feel the need to tell me how good your team is? Or what YOU HAVE accomplished? A bit insecure? red flags. Kinda why I shut the convo down w you. Have a good day. Again, good luck.

sorry I didn’t respond earlier. It’s just we (the forum) have been through all of those hips and legs firing first and blah blah recently. Didn’t feel like rehashing. This was about what is actively powering the swing. Once again it’s not the hips rotating and it’s not the legs driving. You can read older threads or you can stick around and learn. Don’t feel like explaining it again. Good luck w your team.

I think I respond because your post says it all. You think in particular that I have something to learn from you? It is possible, but not likely when you are so dogmatic and come across that way. Red flags? Those come in the introduction in the first post. Mine was just a message to you that it isn't your way or the highway. I, over the years, have seen a lot of posters who are convinced in their righteousness. I have seen a lot of good people leave. I am only here because we are under a lockdown again for two weeks. There are differences in points of view. Everyone can learn during their whole lifetime of experience in this game. But I see about 1/2 of the people here who are completely closed to opinion lest another view undermine their sense of righteousness and superiority. There are 155+ specific skill elements to just hitting, slapping, and bunting. That is a lot! Anyone who doesn't think there are that many elements has more to learn. Me too! There are a few points that are opinion, and some are empirical. I think the NFPCA is a good place to start with the "bible" of softball. It is collective knowledge formed by time and a lot of great minds. A pool of knowledge available to all coaches. I am not too proud to resource that pool.

 

[Bobby Shirer]

MLB hitters are not 'coiling into the hip'. They are not 'rotating the rear femur in the hip socket'. They are turning their entire torso in, then out. It's that simple. Other 'gurus' try to make this thing way too complicated.

The point of the torso coil is that it's not necessary to 'build muscles' per se. You use the leverage of the body/torso. Even the youngest/frailest/weakest kid can learn to do this and have a monumental advantage over most kids.

"turning their entire torso in, and then out. " ????
Something is staying still and something is turning. Either the pelvis is turning on the femur (entire torso turning) or the spine is turning with the pelvis staying still and the shoulders turning.