Hitting Clinic with White Sox Hitting Coach Greg Walker

Greg Walker recently did a hitting clinic for our White Sox Academy coaches, reinforcing the training techniques we use at our various academies. I ran the digital analysis to illustrate the points Greg was making. He did a great job of talking mechanics. What I really liked was the way Greg spoke of "First Cause." Many hitting instructors can indentify flaws at ball strike, but as I've said many times, most flaws at ball strike are a direct result of a flaw in either the set up, or the "first move" in the swing. Because the swing is a kinetic chain of events, one leading into the next, the error at ball strike, if often due to an earlier error. For example, a hitting coach may see that a player is rolling over at the point of contact and begin working hand path drills. But what Greg and I are saying, is "Why" are the hands rolling over? Here is a scenerio:

The player is overloading his backside, getting his rear knee over his ankle. Instead of advancing forward, knee inside ankle, the rear knee stays over his ankle and spins there during rotation. The "spinning" action causes his upper body to rotate off the ball in a "one piece" swing or "gate" swing. The counter action of the front shoulder opening at the same time as the hip, causes his hands to counteract and disconnect away from the body. Because of the early extension with the arms, the hands have to roll over to get back to the point of contact. All of this is because of the earlier error in the load.

You see, the earlier the error in the kinetic chain, more errors are a result as you move up the chain. Hitting coaches have to determine what "first cause" is to really fix the chain. The is exactly what Greg said when he stated, "...anything else is just putting a band-aid on the swing."

Finding "first cause" is the sign of a good hitting coach. Most hitting instructors can find what is wrong in the swing, but how many can tell you "Why?" If you have one that knows the "Why" you are lucky. Often times, video analysis is a must to find this out, because the kinetic chain works faster than the naked eye. This is something that Greg Walker has utilized with the White Sox, and why he will get the Sox hitters right this season!