Legs

This is the most important part of the swing. So many people talk about hands, not moving your head, hip movement and other things, but none of those things matter if you do not have perfect legs.

I talk a lot about landing 50-50 with my players. This means that when the front foot hits the ground your weight should be in the middle of your body or 50-50. This is the optimal place to hit from because when your weight is 50-50 your body is relaxed and athletic, which creates your optimal bat path and body position.

This picture of William and Mary infielder Patrick Ryan is a perfect example of landing 50-50. We can see Pat's weight in directly in the middle of his body and his legs are bent and athletic.

If your weight is on your back leg too much when the front foot hit the ground, which creates tension in the body. When there is tension in the body, the body wants to release that tension. This tension causes a disconnection in the swing and makes players come out of their legs, which makes them lose their barrel path and gives players bad results.

Whenever a player is struggling, I always look at their legs first. The legs are the foundation of the swing and if they aren't perfect then the rest of the swing doesn't have a chance.