by Kevin Goodman

Coach: "I don't seem to have any power when I hit the ball. How can I hit the ball with more power?"

A lot of young players ask this question. Some of them seem to have above average strength, yet have little to no power. Most of the time they just are not creating enough bat speed to go with their strength.

How do we generate more bat speed? Some say it comes from torque but rarely do we hear about separation and what it really means during the loading process.

The loading portion of the swing is rarely talked about because most hitting coaches may feel that each player has their own unique style of how they load and what kind of stance they choose to have, and I, too, would be in that camp.

But, if we are to maximize bat speed, we are going to have to start explaining to our players this all important process. Loading is where it all starts. Whether we are hitting or pitching, the loading process, is always the longest and most important part of what we do as a hitter or pitcher.

1. bottom half
2. top half
3. front side
4. back side

What we want to do during the loading process, is separate the 4 parts from each other: the top from the bottom (torque), the front from the back(stretch or "bow and arrow").

When the hitter starts from the balance point (stance), he goes back with both his weight and hands. The lead arm will have around a 90 degree look to it or an inverted V at this point.

Once the hitter feels he has gathered enough weight on their back side, the hitter now begins to stride out towards the pitcher and to begin the process of transferring that weight back to the middle of his launch stance or hitting posture. As he does this, to maximize bat speed, the hitter is doing two things simultaneously...

1. he stride out with their front foot and
2. his hands go back thus separating the front side shoulder from the back side/hands during stride.

This helps to create torque.


There also occurs another source of separation that I have yet to read or hear about and that is the separation of the hands from the front foot... the "bow and arrow" portion of the stretch front to back.

The stride should be done with the lead foot/toe slightly turned in but definitely not opening their foot to the pitcher as he strides. To achieve maximum load and separation, he must "walk away" from his hands to create a "stretch" from front side to back side - and also a separation of the hands from stride foot. At this point, his lead arm should be firm, but not locked out... maybe a good angle to achieve would be around 120 to 140 degrees.

This separation not only creates a stretch front to back but also creates the torque top from bottom. This will also help to keep the front shoulder in longer in the swing.


A golf pro, discussing the above type of movement, calls it the X factor stretch. Since he doesn't stride in his swing mechanics, maybe we should refer to this in baseball as "the double X stretch factor".

Picture an elastic X, twist the top half of that X a few times, and then - taking that very same X - stretch it just a little bit. At the correct time, you angle the X in a backward slash position (\) therefore stretching it a little bit more. At this point, you let it go, keeping the front side still and the top half still for a split second (more like .11 seconds).

At the precise time this X gets to a newly established center of gravity (CoG), the angled X goes vertical and unleashes the twist (the rotational swing), During all these movements, the bottom portion of the X remained grounded until the rotational force that occurs on the top part of the X has been released.


This loading process combines 2 great forces: Linear action like a bow and arrow; and rotational forces like a rubber band being twisted. And it all starts with the weight shift / stride / separate. Once we decide we want to swing the bat, the table is set! We open up the front foot spinning on the front inside part of the big toe, dropping the heel and lifting the rear heel [refer to the author's article Quick to the Ball].

This is the "bow and arrow" action - it starts the hips, the shoulders quickly follow, then the arms, then the hands delivering the final action - the rotational swinging of the bat from launch to finish. To generate maximum speed, we have to separate the front shoulder from our hands AND we have to separate our hands from the stride foot  thus creating torque and allowing the hitter to unleash the great force of rotation! This is where the power comes from.

I tell my hitters to think of a literal bow and arrow... the more you separate the back from the front, the faster the arrow will go. The more you stretch it as a hitter, the more torque you will create. More torque equals more power. They all go hand in hand. The key is to get the right amount of each and still be on time with the pitch.

• Separate the back of the bow from the front...
• Hold that front side nice and steady...
• Ease it on out there...
  
• Pull it back just a little bit more...
• Release the back...
• Capture the speed at the middle (CoG)...
• Unleash the rotational force of of a twisted up rubber band, keeping the bottom half (hips) stable to impact...
• Then release/throw the hips (bottom half) through from impact to extension...
  
• Finish off a well-timed swing with the maximum amount of rotation!

 Watch for an interview and follow-up dicussion on this topic and illustrations, coming soon.