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Excellent video. Saving for my son who has been “jumping” at the ball. Appreciate breaking down the stride while loading and the mechanics of creating power and maintaining connection. Thanks.

Very good point Matt and thank you for taking your time in educated players

Good timing on this video, just yesterday at BP my coach told me I was lunging forward and to keep my weight on the back leg.

Great explanation 👌.

very helpful, thank you

Thank you for helping me I haven’t got a lot of hits this season

TY Matt, great explanation. I’m trying to teach 10 year old this concept of staying back heavy on back leg and coil in ground and then hip/leg drive opens while barely goes rearward to get stretch. He doesn’t have it yet but will work all winter with him 😀

This is great. My son is a high level player, but needs to make the changes you called out. While he’s in the box is it just a matter of him telling himself to stay on back leg and don’t let it leave the ground? Push through the ground instead of the other way? Thanks.

@Matt Antonelli do you recommend Olympic style power lifts when training for baseball? Like trying to have huge squat, deadlift, bench press numbers? Just wondering what's a good approach for strength training for baseball.

If the question is what creates power, ie, what causes the batter to hit the ball hard, then it’s efficient rotational acceleration. From what I can observe, rotational acceleration involves a series of BALANCED cascading body levers. The batter cannot create efficient rotational acceleration of his hips without pushing against the plant of his front foot. Try suspending yourself in the air and see how well you can turn your hips. In any event, if the batter is not balanced (too forward / too backward) when he pushes against the plant of his front foot, efficiency is lost and with it impaired rotational acceleration of the body up through to the shoulders, then arms, and wrist. Tony Gwynn emphasized balance in teaching young batters and he is correct. He knew that advanced batting techniques involved consideration of different pitches requiring different emphasis on whether to swing with shoulders up or down etc. But he likely emphasized balance for young hitters because it’s the core of efficient body movement whether the player is running, fielding, throwing, or batting.

How's the new facility coming along? Done, I'm guessing ...

What about mookie betts, he has a big stride

How do you teach such advanced concepts in the swing to 5 and 7 year olds in a way that they understand?

Yeap gotta stay in that back side, with balance

This is what a coach tried to tell me last year, i just tried it once and ignored it. I'd never seen anybody else do it, and how the hell do you hit it if your lunging XD

Were you ever with the Portland Beavers around '08? Pawn shop had a card that looks JUST LIKE YOU with the same name, scooped it up for $8. Are you the same guy? I'd pay $20 + shipping if you'd sign it for my son.

I tell my guys "don't stride to jump forward, but to bury that back foot." This is an important concept for younger guys.