The Evolution of Hitting: Old School to New School

with Howard Dobson,
LSU Assistant Coach;
Dobson-coached hitters have earned 10 All-American awards, eight All-SEC First Team honors and six All-SEC Second Team honors;
2016 USA Women's Softball National Team Assistant Coach;
Assistant Coach for the 2014 USA Softball Elite Team;
former Southern Mississippi Head Coach

The art and science of hitting and coaching hitting has undergone significant shifts and developments over the last 30 years. Heated debates center on the question of what is common amongst the best hitters - whether they are MLB or top level softball players. "Squish the bug" died as a paradigm 25 years ago, and in recent years the current dominant hitting understanding of "pushing to contact and through extension" is being challenged by a new idea - "coiling and uncoiling".

As part of the 2020 National All Sports Coaching Summit, LSU assistant coach Howard Dobson gives a presentation of his current perspective on hitting and the shift from "push" to "coil" in hitting.

Hip-Based Coil

Coach Dobson uses a series of video clips to demonstrate each step he uses in training his hitters using a new approach. The presentation illustrates the key mechanical changes to learn a hip-based coil as the loading phase of the preparation to swing. Several drills illustrate the repetitive training he suggests to develop the feel for a different load.

Dobson progresses through drills moving from load, to resisting the uncoil and becoming a one-legged hitter, and developing load in the back hip. The explosive release of the back hip is the core tenet of the "coil" technique to accelerate the time to contact and give advantage to the hitter. A series of four drills advance the hitter from initial coil, to breaking to release all the force into the ball.

Upper Body

Next, Coach Dobson progresses to a discussion of the hands and the most visible change in the mechanics of the coil swing to the push swing. Four drills take the hands through reverse turning, getting on plane with the ball early. Four additional drills lead to techniques to coming to contact without pushing through the ball and the concept of extension as follow through of an explosive swing.

Coach Dobson discusses, in great detail, mechanics of a swing technique being referred to as coil hitting. The techniques he discusses are the result of using the most advanced high speed cameras that allow coaches to actually see what the best players do, not just attempt to explain what they think they do, or even what the players think they do! Any coach wanting to advance their hitting knowledge and training to the current state of the art need to study this video extensively.

52 minutes. 2021.