My 11yr old son plays travel ball and has been practicing a new swing concept this winter called the catapult loading system. As a 10yr old he hit only 1 hr. He was wanting to hit for more power so we started researching a couple of swing gurus. We found the catapult loading system developed by a guy named Joey Myers who played at Cal. State. Basically the guy teaches the hitter to show your back numbers to the pitcher causing a coiling affect. In coiling the body the hitter hides his hands from the pitcher while lowering his front shoulder slightly during the load. He breaks down several MLB players who use this concept. Donalson, Bautista, Harper, etc.
I wanted to know if any guys here have used/heard of this concept? Also do any of you have kids playing travel ball?
My son really liked the new swing and hits the ball with more velocity. We have our 1st tourney next weekend using the new swing.
Not sure about the creator of this system. However, what you describe is also the power golf swing. A la Tiger Woods and any other golf power hitter. The power is loaded on the back swing with the front shoulder tucked under the chin. Once the arms reach there apex. The front knee and shoulder dip slightly in as the hands move in. The hips rotate as the hands drop towards the ball and the club face rotates towards the target. This is called "lag" in the swing and it creates tremendous power.
I played D-1 baseball and was a power hitter. This is very similar to how I swung the bat back in college. I also play golf and hit drives over 300+ yards.
There are a few concerns when teaching this technique that apply in both baseball and golf. Besides the ball not moving in golf, the only difference in the technique is that this baseball swing is compact and powerful. The golf swing is elongated and powerful.
First, let me start by saying I am a lefty. I batted left and played 1st base. I set up my stance slightly closed to the plate by design (feet offset by only 1-2 inches). The key is to have all the parts working together naturally and not in a mechanical fashion.
1. A big concern is over rotation of the hips on the down swing thru the ball. This tends to make the batter a "pull' one dimensional hitter and extremely vulnerable to outside pitches and off speed pitches.
2. The dip of the shoulder and knee should be natural and not exaggerated because it' changes the eye level of pitch as it's coming across the plate and the batter will not pick up the ball and/or strike out a lot. I experienced several games where I couldn't pick up the ball out of the pitcher's hand. It was because my head was dropping to far when I front leg strides forward on the downswing.
The key is that when your son is practicing, His swing should look smooth and effortless. Then, he is doing it right. The power will come from the leverage and the "lag" of the angle created between the shoulder, hips, and hands. Just like the golf swing, all the muscles should be relaxed. His focus should just be on the ball location.
I never worried about the speed of the pitch. Whether it was a fastball or curve ball it didn't matter. I just focused on location. The reason is because you keep your arms in the power position longer (i.e. the front shoulder doesn't open up as quickly - "keeping your hands back").
This video explains what I was saying about creating lag. The instructor calls it "sequencing." This is what I learned and believe is the best hitting technique. This is how you can hit the curve ball and outside pitch with power.
Mike Trout power swing (same technique above video)
Mike Trout on hitting (My approach)
The video below shows you the #1 hitting drill all players at all levels should master. This is how your son can become a complete hitter. I learned this drill when I was in high school. This is what I was taught. I suspect my high school coach taught his son this at a very early age. My high school coaches son hit 75 home runs in high school, broke Mark Maquire's home run record at USC., and played in MLB before retiring because of injury. His name is Jeff Clement. Check out his Wiki page. Yeah, I grew up in Iowa.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Clement
If your son masters the drills in the videos (especially the one below) at a young age he will become a very good/great hitter. A couple of things to point out from this video that so many guys get it wrong even at the MLB level. Notice where the outside tee is placed. It's at the outside of the middle of the plate. NOT in the front of the plate where the inside tee is. This is the exact location of where a hitter's bat path should be. Watch any game: Little League, College, or MLB. How many times do see the batter swing at an outside pitch in front of the plate? Too many. They either swing and miss or roll their hands over to make contact that results in ground ball to shortshop or 2nd base. In the video, they give a great camera shot from behind of the batter hitting the outside pitch. Notice the direction of his hips when he makes contact on the outside pitch. They are pointed exactly in the direction where he hit the ball. That is how you hit for power to the opposite field. The same goes for the inside pitch. The ball is hit in front of the plate and the hips are pointed to the inside. For a ball hit up the middle, the hip will be pointed at the pitcher. The hips are a key point that you can check your son on when he is doing the drill. MASTER THIS HITTING DRILL!!!!!
Like the instructor said in the video. The batter should imagine the pitcher in his wind up as he is taking his stride when you are calling out the pitch, "take, inside, or outside." What this does in mentally and physically prepares the hitter for all pitches because in the delay between when the batter starts his stride forward and you calling out the pitch, is same amount of time that the batter has in his pitch recognition of "is it a fastball or a curve ball? Is it an inside or outside pitch?" It is the exact same process and millisecond timing. You can also use, "take, fastball, curveball." Fastball will equate to inside and curveball will equate to outside. The reason is that is where the batter should be thinking he should hit those pitches. If the batter equates the curveball to an outside pitch, he will keep his hands back, shoulder closed, hips closed, and drive the ball to the opposite field which is exactly how MLB teaches. If the curveball is inside, because of the slower speed, the batter has time to adjust and because he conditioned himself to "lag" on a curveball, his timing will match up on the inside curveball rather than being way out in front and whiffing at it. The fastball is equated to the inside pitch because that is the pitch that is the hardest to get to and the one where the batter has to be the quickest. That is why the batter fires his hands on the inside pitch. If the fastball is on the outside, the batter has longer (milliseconds ) to react because he is going to hit the ball when it reaches the middle of the plate and not in front of the plate like an inside pit 9ch. He is also going to hit the ball to the opposite field and doesn't need to rotate as much. This is called, "letting the baseball get deep." FYI, this is what every hitter's approach should be with 2 strikes. Just hit the ball to the opposite field because 9/10 the pitcher is going to throw you and outside pitch or an off speed pitch and both should be hit to the opposite field. I was taught with curveball/fastball lingo rather than inside/outside. It's the same thing, but curverball/fastball tells the brain where your bat should be focused given the batter recognized the pitch as it's coming toward home plate.
Not sure if Coach Morris teaches this drill. There are a few players that need to put in extra work based on what I saw in the 2 Rutgers game. No names, but they were freshman. It's easy to spot. They are the guys that are striking out the most and they are striking out on curve balls and outside off speed pitches. Pay attention to the pitches that they are struggling with as hitters.
I hope my explanations along with the videos make sense. Best wishes for you and your son in his baseball en devours!!!
