[kyleb]

Thanks tdarko. "Drive the knob of the bat to the ball" is a really bad cue, but sometimes it's hard to get kids to understand the concept of a circular hand path around the body. However, I have had success in coaching kids using the concept you introduced to me: Visualizing the body getting out of the way of the swing. It helps them to block the front leg and maintain a better weight shift as they initiate a rotational swing.

"Live and independent hands" is an interesting phrase I will use in the future - I currently use the concept of "preloading" and "separation" for that part of the swing.

What I've been saying to help with the hand path are:
-Stick your rear elbow into your side (helps eliminate bat drag)
-Utilize a "trigger" stride (helps block the front leg and understand rotation while keeping the head still)
-Hands move around the body, not to the ball

Thoughts?