Does your coach say that you are "pulling off the ball" or that your shoulder and hips are flying open? During the past few weeks there has been a lot of talk within my circle of peers on whether the stride foot should land open or closed. I was always told to keep my front foot closed as well as my front shoulder. Reasons being: - Pulling off the ball, - Getting caught out in front - Being fooled on slower pitches During my youth, I was put through various drills but one that stands out is where I had a coach put a cement block in front of my foot and had me take swings off a tee. Trying to hit this way is not only uncomfortable but, also very inefficient.
Most coaches understand that the power portion of the swing occurs through the hips so logically we must allow the hips to open. Keeping the front foot closed will only decrease your hip rotation and a decrease in bat speed will have an impact on the time a batter has on deciding whether or not to swing. Therefore, a batter must allow the front foot to open in order to sequentially initiate the front hip. There are numerous examples, we must just do a little research. Let's take a look at some of the best in the game and see what they actually do. #StayInSequence
David Quattrociocchi
