Extra Inning Softball continues our series of articles with record-setting college softball coach Mike Lotief who, after 17 years of coaching Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns softball, reveals the training program that propelled his team to the NCAA tournament, the Women’s College World Series, and NCAA Super Regionals.
Keep checking in every Tuesday and Thursday to learn how, as Coach Lotief puts it, “to improve your swing and up your game!”
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What is pelvis loading? And why is it important in hitting a baseball/softball?
This is Part 1 in a 5-Part Series on Pelvis Loading in Baseball/Softball Hitting.
In this article, we will discuss the movements of the hips, which we refer to as “pelvis loading.” This is a 5-part series so stay with us as we delve into this critical movement pattern that so many top hitters do!
The pelvis loading phase of the swing starts early in relationship to the pitcher’s delivery.
The pelvis load is a part of the swing that hitters can “control” and recreate with the same tempo and rhythmic pattern at bat after at bat—so the pelvis load is repeatable.
The hitter can decide WHEN to start their load; notice how the best hitters begin their pelvis load early, about the same time as the pitcher’s hand break.
Pelvic load in softball starts early too; it starts to happen as the pitcher breaks her hands to start the pitching delivery.
Each hitter decides WHEN to start the pelvis load; starting early gives you plenty of time to start and substantially complete the loading process BEFORE the ball is even released—FREE time.
Remember free time matters because your swing will have to be executed when the ball is 10-15 feet away from you and in 0.12-to-0.14 hundreds of a second!
So having a consistent, early starting point is essential.
In golf, the ratio of backswing to downswing “tempo” is about 3 to 1, meaning the backswing takes 3 times as long as the downswing. In MLB, the ratio of pelvis load to swing is more like 5:1.
With pelvis load, it is tempo and sequencing. Building sequential energy via the load of the pelvis is key, especially without swaying, pausing, losing tension, being off-balance or overcompensating with the shoulders.
The pelvis is at the body’s center. When the pelvis stabilizes, it teaches the body to feel and use the center of mass and those core movements as the reference point for processing and interpretation of proprioceptive information (also known as balance).
Moving and controlling the center of mass (COM) with tempo and through the right sequences are extremely important.
The pelvis is the CONNECTION between the lower body and the spine. The pelvis gives orientation to the spine aka POSTURE, and that relationship between the pelvic girdle and the alignment of the spine is CRITICAL.
This relationship incorporates a coordinated, sequenced movement in all three planes of motion: sagittal, frontal, & transverse.
[Note: next week’s article is on planes of movement.]
Pelvis loading starts the Stretch Shortening Cycle (SSC) that ultimately creates, transfers and transforms kinetic energy that is known to baseball and softball hitters as POWER.
Here’s a video by Carlton Salters, the Coach at UTSA, demonstrating the difference between a good load and a bad one:
Pelvis loading has a direct correlation between good posture and the bat angle/barrel path.
There are deep, paraspinal muscles and associated fascia in the pelvis/ thoracolumbar region that are tremendously critical to performing a pelvis load because they are connected to the pelvis and are also capable of rotating the spine.
It is critical that these deep, inner myofascial structures that attach to the pelvis and are also capable of rotating the spine are LOADED FIRST and that the tension be maintained from load through rotation.
The movement of the pelvis is what separates great hitters from mediocre—instead of loading their pelvis and maintaining the tension, mediocre hitters STEP FORWARD, LET THE PELVIS FALL DOWNWARD and PUSH-SWAY-DRIFT—searching for something they think is momentum.
So get your foot down early is the exact opposite of good pelvis loading!
By getting your foot down early, it is meant that the incoming pitch is not 10-15 feet away from home plate, so at any point before the 10-15 foot mark is considered early and probably counterproductive to good pelvis loading.
Most of the time with young hitters, when they get their stride foot down early, their pelvis stops moving altogether, and most times getting the stride foot down means a total loss of tension.
Pelvis loading is a PREPARATORY action that tightens most of the muscles, ligaments, tendons for INCREASED LOADING going into toe touch and rotation; therefore, losing the tension early by stepping, falling, pushing, drifting, etc. is detrimental.
The ability to co-contract the glutes while putting force into the ground HOLDS the pelvis load; so pelvis load needs to happen from the pitcher’s hand break until at least toe touch.
Coach Carlton demonstrating the movements of the pelvis while performing a deadlift and an overhead stability ball:
Pelvis loading involves hinging and/or tilting the pelvis which takes the slack out, readying the muscles, tendons, fascia. The hinge/pelvic tilt involves some of the same muscles that are used in performing a deadlift.
The most efficient way to get the pelvis in position to perform a deadlift is to feel the glutes and hamstrings activate by engaging the posterior chain rather than using the spinal erectors muscles by bending over at the waist.
The image of holding a stability ball has also been introduced as a way of giving the image of pelvic loading and maintaining proper spinal alignment.
The rational of using the deadlift or the holding a stability ball is to give the young hitter or parents some visual of what the concept and feel of pelvic loading is… during the pelvic loading process the muscles must go through a stretch sequence in order to generate more explosive forces.
It is critical in hitting that when loading the pelvis, the hitter must keep the spine (and therefore, the hitter’s head) and center of mass (COM) from excessive movement. The feeling of moving more in the sagittal plane with the spine during the pelvis loading can be “felt” when doing deadlifts or single leg RDL’s and/or good mornings.
When the hips are hinged/flexed/tilted, it biases the pelvis into internal rotation which puts the rear leg of the hitter into a weight bearing position, especially in anticipation of the stride leg being lifted.
The acetabular is the socket and the femur is the ball; so when loading into the pelvis both the femur and the pelvis “rotate” over each other simultaneously. For simplicity, shifting into the rear hip can be visualized as the socket rolling over the ball of the femur.
“Put your own twist to this!”
Nobody has all the answers, so keep learning and searching and growing. Pursue EXCELLENCE! And somewhere deep inside the movement of pelvis loading is a SWING ATTRACTOR that will help you WIN THE NEXT PITCH!
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About the Author
Mike Lotief coached 17 successful years as either the head softball coach or co-head softball coach with his wife Stefni Whitton Lotief at the University of Louisiana from 2002-2017 with an overall coaching record of 731-176 (80.6 winning percentage). Every season, the Ragin Cajuns softball team advanced to the NCAA tournament and also advanced to three (3) Women’s College World Series (2003, 2008, 2014) and from 2012-2016 advanced to five (5) straight NCAA Super Regionals. Coach Lotief produced over 40 All American selections and his 2017 team lead the nation in scoring and was ranked in the Top 10 in home runs, slugging percentage, on base percentage.
The coach is a cancer survivor (twice) and was the first person in the U.S. to receive the Pro Trach device. Mike and Stefni spearheaded and raised the funding to build the new softball stadium in 2009 and the new softball indoor hitting facility in 2015. They are proud parents to Chelsea, who played softball and graduated from the Univ. of Louisiana in 2018, and Andrew, who is a junior at Louisiana studying Mechanical Engineering.
Previous Articles in this Series
- The Mental Swing Attractors: Champions are Developed by Devotion & Discipline! (Oct. 2021)
- Training Expertise: “Swing Attractors”… the Secrets of Power Hitting by Coach Mike Lotief (Oct. 19, 2021)
More About Mike Lotief
- Why Michael Lotief is a Legendary Coach? by Jay Patel
- The Secret To Michael Lotief’s Success. By Jay Patel
- Michael Lotief Fights for Rajin’ Cajuns by Graham Hays ESPN
- Michael Lotief: Taking His Sport to New Heights by Neha Kapoor
- For the Love of the Game: A Look at Ragin’ Cajun Softball’s Power Couple
- How Louisiana-Lafayette’s Michael Lotief Develops Hitting Gems by Graham Hays ESPN