There Is No Perfect Stride in Hitting
A 2026 study of 95 college hitters found no single ideal stride. Assess the whole move before you try to fix a stride.
READ ARTICLE →Backspin Blog — Free Instruction / The Early Days of AHD
From the 2015 archive
This is historical coaching writing originally published under Krush Athletics. The wording reflects its original period. For current guidance, use AHD lessons and SwingChecker.
TIMING STRIDE
This baseball swing mechanic, or softball swing mechanic, is the movement of the front foot towards the pitcher or just a “lift” of the front foot depending on what you do individually.
1. Length of the stride is directly related to how your base is in the pre-pitch position. (see base) 2. Front foot must be down early or at the latest, on time … never late. 3. The front foot should be down around the time the pitch is about ½ ways to plate. 4. One major fault with many hitters is that they don’t get their whole foot down early enough or not at all. Coach speak calls getting the whole foot down, “heel plant”, because some just land on their toe. Make sure the whole foot gets down early.
TIP: There are several different “triggers”…Chipper Jones uses a toe tap, A-Rod picks his knee up almost to his waist, and Albert Pujols just rolls up on his front toe. These are some of the differences hitters possess.
What is important is that each hitter has a trigger that sets the swing in motion, at the right time.
Quick answers
When should a hitter’s front foot land?
Early or on time, never late, around when the pitch is about halfway to the plate.
Should hitters land on their toe or whole foot?
The whole foot. Many hitters only get the toe down, which leaves them late; get the whole foot down early.
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