Regular vs Heavy Bat kinematic sequence comparison for youth player

In light of yesterday’s post, today is some practical application.

The video explains the changes in the kinematic sequence of a 12 year old player when switching from a regular 24 ounce bat to a heavy 40 ounce bat.  The heavy bat was just a 32”/28oz wood bat with a 12 ounce donut.

It might seem overly technical to motion capture with young players but this was a relatively simple way to check and see if the drill was serving its purpose.  In this case, the player was using the arms early and dragging the bat leading to an early release and rollover through contact.  The point of the heavier bat was to emphasize using the whole body, and specifically transfer energy to and through the upper torso rotation.

In coach talk - be more efficient using the whole body so the swing/hands are shorter and the path stays through the ball more without rolling over.

In practice, it was as simple as changing the bat in a soft toss drill. 

The point of analysis and technology is to make things clearer and simpler to execute…