Why “elbow up” should NOT be forced upon young softball players or be taught as an absolute necessity to good hitting by fastpitch softball coaches. More at http://www.allaboutfastpitch.com
Duration : 0:2:27
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Youtube the swing …
Youtube the swing mechanics of ANY professional baseball player who hits for average and power. Griffey, Ramirez, Pujols, Giambi, Ichiro, Rodriguez, etc… What will you find in common? back elbow up….. “recently visited a number of Baseball Coaching Websites” ??? please…..
You can not …
You can not eliminate the elbow drop as you put it. the elbow has to drop into the slot in order to keep your hands inside the ball. And wether your elbow is up or down your back elbow has to go into the loaded/launch position at the start of the motion. which if you watch any professional hitter the back elbow goes back and then upward to some degree. As I stated before the elbow up or down is a style prefference. Not a mechanical flaw
The reason that the …
The reason that the elbow down theory is in place is because it eliminates a step in the hitting process. The first thing the hitter will do with elbow up is drop it during the hitting motion. This will eliminate the elbow drop and give the hitter enough time to make contact with the ball. I also love the fact that she talks about the knuckle alignment. It is also important for a nice level swing.
Kalena499. I read …
Kalena499. I read Epsteins theories years ago. Very good infomation. excellent coach as well. But I follow a higher authority in Ted Williams, who taught Mike Epstein the science hitting. Read his book The Science of Hitting and youll understand the diference between style and technique. Williams theories are the foundation for rotational hitting. Stacie Id really like to the hear your reasons for WHY elbow down would be better and is it FACT or opinion.
Thanks for …
Thanks for clarifying Stacie – by the way, I totally agree with you about elbow down being a matter of preference and also agree that you cannot easily line up knocking knuckles (which is critical to clean – on-plane contact) with the elbow up.
Guys – the main …
Guys – the main point I’m trying to make (and maybe not doing such a good job of) is that elbow UP should NOT be taught as a “must-do” or as an absolute of hitting. Yes, there are reasons why down can be better but even that is not necessary as a starting point.
126STRNGNFIT is right: up or down is a preference, not a flaw and not part of mechanics
Just don’t agree with coaches insisting players keep the elbow up.
She makes alot of …
She makes alot of sense but fails to explain more around why elbow should be down. It is important to distinguish between “style” (elbow up) and “technique” or an absolute (elbow down). Reegardless if a batter starts with the elbow up or down, what becomes critically important to the swing is whether the back elbow properly “slots” at swing launch. Read up a little on Mike Epstein’s studies.
Elbow up or elbow …
Elbow up or elbow down is the prefference of the hitter. Its nothing more than the style of that particular hitter. It has NO bearing what so ever on the mechanics of the swing it self as long as the hitter is going into a proper loading position.which WILL be elbow up!How high up is AGAIN up to the hitter and what works for them.But we can all agree that the elbow will be up and away to some degree. As long as the basic principles are followed.Elbow up is a style prefference, not techique flaw
There are subtle …
There are subtle differences, they are not the same. Especially when you throw in the slap, not a baseball concept and is a fastpitch softball batting technique.
I bet they are high …
I bet they are high fly balls…….?
Very good point, I …
Very good point, I still see coaches in the Lower Mainland of BC still teaching this to mostly younger players. Not a good practice ……. that is standing in your stance like this prior to the pitch. You only need to do the “move” to elbow up and see how tense your muscles become, then put it down and see how relaxed your pecs, triceps, etc…become……remember a relaxed muscle reacts much faster than a tensed muscle……bat speed = hand speed while relaxed !
Ive been to a few …
Ive been to a few hitting camps softball and baseball these camps were by some of the top college coaches and all them advocated elbows down. Like your sitting at a dinner table with your elbows on the table. The baseball coach I dont recall his name, but we were told he has sent more college kids to the majors than any other coach. He was actually a quest speaker at one of the softball camps
i always keep my …
i always keep my elbow up and i hit bombs wen i play softball…..
The MLB logo guy …
The MLB logo guy has his elbow up!
Amazing lack of …
Amazing lack of understanding of hitting consistently. Look at most of the top level hitters and the back elbow is up and also back during load.
Last thing there is no difference between a high level baseball swing and softball swing.
omg you are NOT …
omg you are NOT supposed to have your elbow up when you play softb allllllllll
Let’s definitely be …
Let’s definitely be clear on that – dropping the hands is definitely bad. While I feel relaxed arms and elbows are good in general, even that is not not “necessary” as a starting point.
Can batters still hit well with the “elbow up” as a start? Sure, but there’s no good reason to FORCE a batter to start with that stance if that’s not what’s comfortable for them. It’s not a necessary to start that way (elbow up) to hit well and can actually cause more harm than good.
Please, do not …
Please, do not misunderstand this woman when she says “elbow down.” The grip is one thing but if you drop your hands at anytime during your swing and you are facing a rise ball pitcher, which is about 99% of the pitchers you will swing under the pitch or pop up. Hands up, elbow down…not both.