Common Swing Flaws: Inefficient Load/Coil
Welcome back to the Common Swing Flaws series! This is #2 of 6 in my first ever hitting series of newsletters and so far, the feedback seems to be great. Each week, we are diving into some of the most common issues in the softball swing and how we can fix them. Last week was Pitch Selection – and if you missed it check it out here!
First and foremost, I want to be clear that there is no perfect swing. There is a perfect swing for each individual athlete, yes, but no two swings are the same. In fact, my swing is considered by many to be a bit unorthodox, which I love, but I do believe my swing and hitting process in general are perfect for me. I mean, it helped me hit over .500 in the Olympics. I say that not to be an egomaniac, but just to prove that what works for some doesn’t work for all, and finding YOUR best swing is what matters. Belief in your process will propel you towards confidence at the plate, which in turn will lead to more and more success. This was my pathway to success at the Olympics and is still my pathway in the pros. This series is designed to address some of the more common issues I see, while providing feedback on what can help. It is not a cookie-cutter approach. It is not set in stone. It is meant to be fluid, flexible, and dynamic in your own journey. Let’s get rolling.
Common Swing Flaw #2 – An Inefficient Load/Coil
I could have started with this topic because I’m a believer that the load should occur before we make up our mind about whether to swing at a specific pitch. An effective load will allow the hitter to stay in rhythm, create more time and space, and put our bodies in the best possible position to do damage on a pitch. However, a lot of the ineffective loads I see are rushed and doing more harm than good. Starting late means being late, which means not engaging the proper musculature for the swing, which means we aren’t maximizing power, which means we aren’t maximizing results.
But what does a load even mean? As a hitter, for us to be able to hit for power, we have to “load up” the swing, rather than just go straight to the ball. We wanted to engage our back leg with a weight shift, create proper sequencing, and ultimately create rhythm so we can be on time no matter the velocity of the pitch coming in. An effective load will create tension and energy that will be released through the softball and allow us to hit the ball further and harder.
My load has changed a lot over the years and there are certain things in the load/coil that I believe all hitters do well. Let’s dive into them.
Start Early. An efficient load will be early and match a pitcher’s rhythm. I typically start my load as soon as the pitcher starts her wind up. I want to feel the tension boiling up early by the weight shifting to the back leg, as well my torso rotating slightly towards the catcher (this is what we call “the coil”). Aaron Judge has talked endlessly about this in his rebuilt swing. He does what he calls a “Hang Drill” to feel that tension in his load, and it’s clearly helped him as he won an MVP and crushed 62 homeruns last year. Watch this awesome cage session he has with MLB Network’s Harold Reynolds. There are a ton of great nuggets in here about elite hitting and you should watch the whole thing, but he talks about his load around the 9:40 mark.
Musculature Engagement – Back Side. The weight shift of the load must activate the back side of the body. We want to engage the glutes and hips and sink down and back into that back leg. This is why the leg kick has become so popular in Major League Baseball. Hitters are starting earlier and it aids with timing, but they want to be able to actively feel that proper muscle engagement. My friend, teammate, and fellow RISR Instructor Erika Piancastelli is a legend when it comes this. She hits with effortless power and is one of the best in the game when it comes to proper loading patterns. She has an entire leg kick program in the RISR app for athletes looking to gain more power through their load and I cannot recommend it enough.
Set up for the Sequence – hitting efficiently is all about the proper sequence of the swing, which simply means working from the ground up. First the hips fire, which leads the torso, which leads the upper half, which leads the hands, which leads the barrel. For that first step in the sequence to happen (the hips firing the swing), the hips first must be activated with tension. This is what an effective load will do. It is the set up for proper sequencing and is often the key to hitting with consistent power. To work on this, a drill I often do is a flamingo drill to a hip fire off of the tee. Here is a sample of the Flamingo Drill. To progress, just have the athlete pause after the hip fires and then get into a full rep.
A proper load and coil get you on the right path to do damage. This is something that even the best players in the world are working on daily, so it is not something to neglect in your training.
Start early. Have rhythm. Activate the right muscles. Set your sequence up.
You do this consistently and you will see results.
--Halo
