CSB : Pushback with the Frontside

Hitting into a strong front post is pretty common hitting knowledge that you have probably heard before. The problem is with the way Coaches teach a strong frontside. Most amateur players end up rolling the front foot, unable to ever understand rotational hitting. I am going to break down the fine points of how to hit into a strong front post. 

If the frontside leaks at all there will be a disruption of the energy transfer to the back side and upper body which creates minimal bat speed. The problem that I see in the way most Coaches teach a strong frontside is that they simply tell the players to 'have a strong frontside'. No one ever in my playing or coaching career broke down what exactly the front foot is doing in regard to kinetic energy transfer.


The kinetic energy transfer in hitting starts on the backside, then jumps to the front side with the initiation of weight transfer. The kinetic energy then travels to the frontside. This is where most players screw up. The kinetic energy is never stopped because they do not push back with their frontside. Take a look at the picture of Bryce Harper below. He is clearly not letting the kinetic energy drift because he is pushing back with his front foot. 

Bryce Harper does not just put his front foot down loose and softly. Bryce gets it down and pushes back from the instep (ball) of his foot to stick a solid frontside. I teach all of my players to push back with the ball of their foot as soon as they get their foot down. 


The reason I teach my players to push back with their front foot is because of the kinetic energy transfer that I mentioned above. When the frontside pushes back, optimal rotational energy transfer occurs. Instantly after the front foot gets down, Bryce pushes back with his front foot (front instep to be exact) which then transfers a massive amount of kinetic energy into the backside (backside = knee, hip, shoulder). This kinetic energy transfer now fires the backside around creating a ton of bat speed.

Pushing back with the front side will also keep you from hip-sliding or drifting forward. You will be able to wait longer and let the baseball get deeper in the zone. You will also find that the harder you stick a frontside, the more you will be able to throw your backside around rotationally. Bryce is a great example of a guy who pushes back with his frontside.