This week we are going to discuss the importance of rotating your back foot when hitting. Did you know that 60% of your power comes from the core muscles?! You will often hear the word “core” to describe the muscles comprising the midsection of the body which includes the abdominals, the obliques (the muscles at the sides of the torso), the spinal erectors (the muscles of the low back) and the hips and buttocks. Who would’ve thought that we get power from our butt!
There is a chain reaction that happens when you turn your back foot. As you rotate on the ball of your foot your hips rotate which then fire the core muscles into action. Allowing your hips to clear is very important to the swing because it allows a batter to generate more bat speed and get through the hitting zone faster. This all starts with the back foot.
Some people ask how far to rotate the back foot and I believe that the foot should be half way through it’s motion at the point of contact and then the toes should be facing the pitcher when the swing is complete. Going beyond this point is over-rotation and can cause a batter to fall off balance. The whole point of hitting is to always be in a balanced position and to hit the ball hard. I believe that these can both be accomplished by having great back foot rotation.
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