‼️My Swing Journey‼️ I’m here to help the players coming up but haven’t ever talked about the journey I had to take to learn what I know today. It’s impossible to explain in a post but here’s a little information🧵:

This is what taking the hands to the ball can create. The two circles represent two different swing planes. One creates a flatter path through the hitting zone, aligned with the shoulders, while the other works steeply down toward the baseball. When the barrel is traveling on that steep downward plane, the margin for error gets extremely small. Miss slightly underneath and you get the weak pop fly. Miss slightly over it and you get the ground ball. This is exactly why I don’t teach taking the hands to the ball. I want the barrel working rearward and getting organized behind the baseball, creating a path that better matches the plane of the pitch. You’re not trying to find one perfect point of contact. You’re creating a bigger window where the barrel can do damage. #Hitting #Baseball #SwingMechanics #HittingDevelopment #BaseballTraining

‼️Basement Breakdown‼️ I didn’t change the way I thought about hitting because it sounded different. I changed because what I was doing eventually stopped working. For most of my life, I was taught knob to the ball, hands to it, cut the ball in half. And it worked. It helped me become a Division I hitter. Then I went 2 for 55. That forced me to question everything I thought I knew about the swing. I started studying the best hitters to ever do it. Bonds. Manny. Miggy. Ted Williams. Ruth. Trout. Pujols. Different eras, different bodies, different approaches, but similar high-level patterns kept showing up. The barrel worked deep. The body stayed organized. There was coil, scap action, adjustability, and the barrel initially worked rearward instead of being pushed directly toward the ball. That process completely changed how I hit and eventually how I teach. I’m not interested in forcing every hitter into the exact same drill or cue. I’m interested in understanding what high-level hitters do and figuring out what each individual hitter needs to get closer to it. It took me nearly 20 years of playing baseball to start asking some of these questions. If I can help a young hitter start asking them sooner, that’s the point of all of this. Stay curious. Keep experimenting. Keep learning. #BaseballHitting #HittingDevelopment #HittingCoach #BaseballTraining #FYP

Turn the barrel. Don’t push it. The barrel doesn’t take the shortest geometric line from launch to the baseball. It works rearward first, turning behind the hitter as the body tilts and organizes over the backside. That early depth gives the barrel room to accelerate without the hands and arms having to shove it forward. That’s what I mean when I talk about turning the barrel with the hands. The body creates the turn, while the hands and wrists compound that movement by rotating the handle and allowing the barrel to work back, down, and around. You can see it here. The barrel gets deep behind the ball before it ever works out toward it. That creates speed, connection, and a larger window for adjustability than pushing the barrel directly toward contact. Let the body turn, let the hands turn the barrel, and get deep early so you can catch it deep. #Hitting #Baseball #HittingMechanics #BaseballTraining #MLB

Every single one is backside loaded at launch. They’ve moved forward without giving up the backside.

Same hitter. Different understanding of how the barrel should work. On the right, I was trying to get forward, use my arms and drive through the baseball. The result was a swing that wanted to travel forward too early. On the left, the forward move happens without immediately sending the swing forward. I stay loaded into the backside longer, create tilt, and turn the barrel rearward/down the back before it works out toward the ball. That gives the barrel depth instead of push. The hands aren’t racing toward the baseball. They’re helping turn the barrel behind it while the torso turns underneath/around that action. From there, the backside can deliver the barrel through the zone. Forward move without a forward swing. Move forward. Stay stacked. Turn the barrel rearward. Let the turn deliver it. Same athlete. Completely different understanding of the pattern. #BaseballHitting #SwingMechanics #HittingCoach #Hitting #fyp

Friday night @Aces_SoftballKC 16U Black needed additional players, so I was able to get some extra innings. In the circle I had 4 IP with 7Ks. At the plate I was 4/4 and hit my first 2 bombs 💣 of the 26-27 season! So excited for fall ball to finally be here!! @rktaylor12 @STayTaylor18 @LineDsoftball @ExtraInningSB @MidwestPremierS @SoftbalAmerica @PrepSoftball

"...without explaining it" is the downfall of a lot hitting philosphies. Insightful in how you put that one into words.

‼️Basement Breakdown‼️ “Take the barrel straight to the ball” can be a feel, but it’s not what the barrel actually does in a high-level swing. The barrel works rearward before it works forward. I like to feel the hands turning the handle and sending the barrel back as the backside begins to turn. That gets the barrel working deep into the zone instead of pushing it forward toward the baseball. That rearward barrel action, combined with a little bit of tilt, is where the slight upward path comes from. The barrel gets behind the ball and the turn carries it through the zone, giving you much more room for error from deep contact all the way out front. There’s a difference between using “straight to the ball” as a cue and teaching it as the literal movement. If you’re going to use the cue, the hitter needs to understand the difference. #Baseball #Hitting #HittingDrills #BaseballTraining #FYP

It’s art 🎨

Proud is an understatement!! Congratulations 🎉🙌🏻

After an incredible journey filled with hard work, challenges, memories, and numerous people who have supported me along the way, I am beyond excited to announce that I am officially committed to the University of Montana to continue my academic and softball career! I want to thank Coach Stef and Coach Kendrick for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to be a part of something so special. I am so excited for what the future holds and can’t wait to wear maroon and represent the University of Montana! A huge thank you to my family, who have supported me through every practice, game, early morning, long drive, and everything in between. I wouldn’t be where I am today without you. A special shoutout to my hitting coach Corrigan, club coaches Cornelius and Julie, my lifting trainer Clint, my teammates, and friends, thank you for pushing me, believing in me, and helping me become the player and person I am today. Every part of this journey has helped shape me. I am incredibly grateful for this opportunity and excited to begin this next chapter. I can’t wait to see what the future holds! GO GRIZ!🐻 #softball #committed #D1softball #NextChapter @MontanaGrizSB @stef_ewing @MarcKKendrick @kenastrong_mtsb @08AthleticsNat

I think this context gets missed. Great hitters like A-Rod already had a really good pattern and an upward barrel path. The “down” feel was an adjustment for their swing — not necessarily a universal movement prescription. Give that same cue to a young hitter who already has a steep, downward path and you can make the problem significantly worse. I know because that’s exactly what happened to me. The feel that fixes one hitter can exaggerate the flaw in another.

You want to feel like the back shoulder is intersecting the ball’s path. The barrel will be there

One of the best hitters in baseball. Shohei Ohtani. Watch how he moves forward without giving up the backside. As he makes his forward move, he continues to coil. The front knee moves with that coil while the front foot remains essentially unweighted. At the same time, the scap load keeps the hands back even though the body is moving forward. Then he tilts and works the barrel down the back. That action drives the front heel into the ground and weights the front side. Coil while moving forward. Keep the hands back. Tilt and turn the barrel down the back. The forward move doesn’t commit him to the front side. The swing weights the front side. #ShoheiOhtani #Hitting #Baseball #HittingDevelopment #MLB

The best hitters don’t separate the hands from the rear shoulder. The rear shoulder works to deliver the hands and barrel while the barrel turns behind the ball. Feel can be individual but movement is observable.

Turn the barrel behind the ball. The goal isn’t to push the hands forward and try to manufacture a path to the baseball. Get the body organized, stay stacked over the backside through the forward move, and use the hands to turn the barrel rearward. When the barrel turns deep and behind you, you create space and give yourself time. Now the barrel can work behind the ball instead of being thrown out toward it. That’s where adjustability comes from. You can commit to the move forward without committing the barrel forward. Stay tight, maintain the backside, turn it deep, and let the barrel work from behind the baseball. Move forward. Turn rearward. Get the barrel behind the ball. #Hitting #Baseball #HittingDrills #MLB #BaseballTraining