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THE ELBOW UP MYTH I'm sure that every small child or coach that has worked with kids has heard: "Keep your back elbow up" - well unfortunately this does not teach proper hitting technique
Here are some thoughts on this: WHERE SHOULD THE BACK ELBOW BE? Elbows must be relaxed. How? Create an upside down "V" with the arms and hands.
Do not try and drive the back elbow up. Why? 1. Having the elbow up and above the hands will create tension in the shoulder and neck therefore reducing the ability to swing the bat quickly and effectively. 2. The high elbow will cause the hitter to unlock the back elbow as they start to swing by pushing out (casting), causing an upper cut and long swing. In order to swing, the hitter will unlock first which means they will straighten out the arm, which reduces bat speed. 3. The high elbow will not allow the hitter to effectively fire the hands and bat at the ball.
Relaxed Elbows @ 45 degrees Why? 1. Initially teaches the proper path to the ball 2. Assists torso starting the swing. 3. Forces the batter to start hands by dropping the hammer. 4. Force hitter to swing with bent arms. 5. Removes the hitch and excess trigger action.
High Elbow/Hand Position on Bat 1. The high back elbow also does not allow the hitter the proper grip on the bat. 2. Hitters need to keep the bat in the fingers (not the palms) in order to create wrist snap and bat speed. 3. High back elbow makes it more difficult for the hitter to create bat speed and maintain a short stroke. 4. The hands, bat and elbows should all be in a 45-degree position. This position will give the batter the best chance to maintain a quick, compact stroke and along with hip rotation, create a smooth consistent swing. JD Koltz
it is not how you start, but how you finish that matters. The one problem I see with starting with a high elbow, is that it has to come down before you can execute your swing. Too many times as the elbow comes down, it keeps coming!! As the batter begins his swing he has ended up dropping his rear shoulder too far. The other reason I prefer (don't demand) the elbow start in a more downward position is because to swing correctly that is where it has to end up. Why not start from there? By starting with it in the proper swing plane to start with, the batter has one less thing to worry about. Same thing with batters who hold the bat all over the place. Why not start in the position you have to end up in anyway? Sure Franco uses it as a timing mechanism, as do others with "different" beginning stances, but most great hitters don't do this. As long as the batter ends up correctly, then I am not going to say anything. But the bottom line is he has to consistently end up correctly, or a change has to be made.
[Official Little League Rules & Regulations] [Parents] [Players/Kids]
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