THE BACK ELBOW MYTH

BACK ELBOW MYTH

If you go to a little league field and watch a game, you may hear a coach or parent tell a kid to, “Keep your back elbow up” or “Raise your back elbow”. A coach or parent may tell a player to keep their back elbow up because they believe this will keep the player from dropping their hands and bat barrel. Somewhere over the years, this statement has been lost in translation. In reality, this action can cause young players to wrap their bat, throw their top hand back during the swing, and further drop their bat barrel.

What is recommended is a reverse “V” of the arms. If the shoulders are level, the back elbow will be at a 45 degree angle back and down. I would go one further and suggest a slight angle down with the front shoulder so that the back side has a slight advantage against the front side of the body. This causes the “V” in the arms to point back slightly more and the back elbow may be straight back. It is all about what the player is comfortable with while still being able to pull the back elbow into the slot to maintain a short, quick path to the ball.

Elbow Down

Elbow Back