Assignment #1 The Perfect Swing - Juan Soto

Wednesday, April 21, 2021

U13Aurora-King Jays AAA

As Soto prepares to swing, all of his weight is on his back foot. It's like pulling back a spring and loading it before releasing. The more weight on the back foot, the further the spring is pulled back. Notice in the second shot, as his weight shifts forward, his eyes come down to meet the ball. His back elbow is straight back, also loaded.

The ball isjust in front of Soto. Weight transfer now moves from back foot to front. Pay attention to two things: his HEAD and his HIPS. Soto's head comes down so that his eyes meet the ball. His hips have already begun their swivel - note you can see the red line on his back leg now (ie. the side of his leg). With top (head) and bottome (hips legs) coming to mee the baseball, the arms move naturally with incredible strengthso that the bat meets ball.

The moment of impact. "Watch the bat hit the ball," you've heard your coaches say. Look at his eyes on the picture on the left. He's going to watch the ball hit the sweet spot of his bat. His hips have upper body now swivels as he makes contact. Look at the picture on the right. His lower body turns slightly but his upper body actually rotates as he extends his arms (both) and competes his swing, head still down.

Both arms are fully extended now and the ball has probably already lined past the outfielder. Note, however, that his head is looking out toward the path of the ball but NOT up. His upper body continues to swivel as his arms extend. His lower body hasn't moved much since the point of impact. Note his belt buckle is facing forward (as it has been for the last three frames) but his upper body continues to rotate (now you can start to see the letters and number on his back)

Soto finishes his swing, arms fully extended, moving in a slightly upward trajectory, as his upper body continues to swivel (note now that you can see the name SOTO on his back).

Study the following still-frames of a Juan Soto walk-off double. The ball was lined beautifully into the outfield. After you've revied the images, complete the assignment below.

Assignment for the day:

1. Download your written assignment here (don't worry, it's short).

2. Complete the assignment

3. Go outside (or stay inside and destroy your house, doesn't matter to me) and hit 60 balls (or more) off the tee. Keep the above images in mind, as well as what you've learned during your assignment.

4. Submit (via email) your completed assignment (by 9pm) along with a picture of you doing your tee work.