Why the name “Tornado”?

When I created this site, I wanted a name that would describe the type of training we do and the type of player we strive to develop.  Our players goal is to hit and throw the baseball as hard as possible.  In order to do that, the body must rotate violently and powerfully.  A tornado is the perfect metaphor for a what a powerful baseball player  is doing when they play.

Steve Englishbey, the great hitting coach of EnglishbeyHitting.com, coined the term “tilted tornado” to describe the baseball swing.  No matter what type of stance a good hitter starts in, they always get into hip flexion at the start of their swing.  Which just means that their torsos are in a tilted over the plate position.  Their torsos are not straight up and down, as you can see in the photos of Ken Griffey Jr, David Wright & Aaron Judge below:

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They then rotate along this plane as quickly and powerfully as possible, while making contact along the way.

 

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If I had to break the baseball swing down to a simplistic model, a toy propeller would be a another good model.  The hitters torso is the stick and the faster you make the stick rotate as you roll it in your hands, the faster the propeller moves, which would be the shoulders, arms and bat in this case.

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You can see how the toy propeller model compares to the above swings:

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Another example of how the swing uses powerful rotational forces just like a tornado.

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I have many drills,exercises and other training methods that can help get you on the path of developing a tornado like swing.  Call, text or email to discuss training options.