- Mike Ryan, Fastball USA, Bensenville, IL

I am not sure how many people who contribute to this web site actually work daily with players between the ages of 8 & 18, but here are a few glaring insights to problems I see.  I work full-time as a hitting instructor in the Chicago area and we will often pick up students from other academies in our area who have spent $$$ on lessons.  Many claim that something is still missing even though there has been some improvements.  

I continue to read on web sites some very informative information for coaches, but I question how practical the information actually is for the typical player or dad/mom trying to help their kid become a better hitter.
  
Here is a statistic we see with over 90 % of new students that walk into our academy for the first time regardless if they have had lessons previously or not somewhere else.

As we look at hitter after hitter in the major leagues, you will notice how the upper body is so similar at foot strike.  I find that the majority of youth and high school players start their top half before or at foot strike, or have incorrect bat angles, shoulder alignment, or hand position.


What do I mean by foot strike and the upper body?  I notice most hitters that come into our academy seem to be so worried about lunging forward, that they are staying back to a fault.  When they stride, they stride on the ball of the foot and seriously delay the front foot planting.  I have actually video taped hitters who did not completely plant the front foot until contact with the ball.  This would be an exaggerated version, but for many youth hitters, it is a major problem.
  
Other may describe this as striding and swinging at the same time.  The bottom line is, there is little to no separation from the lower body to the upper body most youth and high school hitters even if they have had a ton of instruction.
  
Most hitters begin the top half as soon as the ball of the front foot hits the ground, making a hitter look something like this when the front foot plants.

• Front shoulder is much higher than the back shoulder
• Hands have dropped or moved forward before the back knee turns inward

The above is in comparison with the typical major league hitter at foot strike in slow motion video who at Foot Plant has...

• Front Shoulder slightly lower than back shoulder or level shoulders
• Hands are back with the bat angle between a one o'clock or two o'clock angle
• Lower Body (Back Knee Moving to the ball) while the hands stay back. Creating Torque where the lower body turning to the ball, and the upper body holds back.

Besides over-emphasizing on 'staying back', I believe instructors are over emphasizing stride closed. Attempting to stride closed also keeps a hitter on the ball of the foot too long and actually delays the front foot planting to the ground. While initially the stride is somewhat closed all great hitters land slightly open in order to plant the front foot before any rotation occurs.
  
I find it is easiest to communicate bat angle to something everyone no matter what age understands.  If you tell a 10 Year old he needs a 45 degree angle, he will look at you like you have three heads.  Even though I would like to think my high school students are smart, they too can much better relate to a clock versus degrees.   So for communication purposes or practical purposes, we use a clock to describe bat angle.  Three o'clock being flat (incorrect).
  
If major league hitters are so remarkably similar at foot strike why is this position skimmed over in many books, videos, or lessons in academies?  My focus has been 100% on what hitters do a like and this is the first position in the hitting chain that major leaguers will do a like.  It's not the only area that great hitters do a like, however,  I would argue if you're not in the correct position at foot strike that this would affect parts of the rest of your swing.  I would call this a domino theory. Once one part of the hitting chain goes, the next parts are seriously off.
  
An example:  A kid who has a bat angle too flat (three o'clock) will be very likely un-cock the wrist too soon as the body rotates. The result is the hitter will often turn the wrist over too soon after contact.

  
Our hitting system seriously focuses on getting into the proper position to hit.  I have heard this called 'power position', 'Position of Power', 'Launch Position', all of which mean very little to a 15 year old.  We refer to this as a 'second stance' helping the young hitter clearly understand that a secondary position must be attained before movement to the ball. Most players over-emphasize yet clearly understand the word 'stance'.

• A hitter that gets into a poor second stance will have little to no torque separating the lower and upper body.
  
• A hitter that misses this position will often have a part of their power swing ruined with poor sequence, (top half leading the bottom half) or a lack of extension or wrist un-cocking too soon.

If I spend hours teaching someone the proper swing but ignore the foot strike position or give very little emphasis on this, I can expect an inconsistent hitter.

Finally, I most certainly see even hitters with many hours of instruction lead with their hands.  I believe this is the case because the average hitting coach knows and understands how the hands work in hitting more than anything else.  It could also be that there are so many drills that teach how the hands works or it simply the easiest thing to teach.  At the same time, you will notice major league hitters use their hands lastly in the hitting sequence.  The stride foot planting and the lower body upper body rotation begins before the hands release.    Once again, even the better high school hitters use their hands early in the sequence.
  
In addition ... we feel the back-shaping methodology [for pitching] also can and does work for hitting.  The importance of 'Intent' is clearly important in the improvement of any area of hitting, especially bat speed.
  
Above I have noted what I believe to be the first and most important element in the hitting chain along with getting the proper torque between the upper and lower body.  Another position would be the 'mid-turn' position which works perfectly with the back-shaping methodology for hitters.