Jocelyn Alo — Gather Move Observations

The #1 thing a hitting coach can give a player is a better understanding of how their “move” gives or takes away their time & how that effects vision and other vital components of an elite swing. I have written about “timing” or what I call “time” in articles before. Essentially it’s my belief that the best hitters in the world make best use of the time they have from the pitcher starting her windup to delivery.

I recently came across several different Jocelyn Alo clips that provides a vivid illustration of a hitter who has intimate knowledge of her move and how to manipulate it based on the task.

Here are the clips:

Clip 1 (Fall Ball) — Opposing pitcher throwing mid 50’s

Clip 2 (Bama) — Opposing pitcher throwing high 60’s

Clip 3 (Georgia) — 2–1 count, looks to be “sitting” change up

Before I dive into these I should share, I DO NOT believe in the word “timing”. I don’t believe a hitter can time the bat and the ball to a specific location in milliseconds. From my observations what most perceive to be “timing” issues are due to sub optimal bat path, disconnection, inability to control the forward move etc.. For example, hitters that are constantly complaining about “slow speeds” most likely have a east/west path and spend very little time in the zone, anything hit out front is hooked foul.

I do believe hitters can be “on time” more if they learn how to control the forward move, have an efficient sequence that allows them to commit the hands later without getting blown up, have adequate bat speed & have been exposed to pitch types/shapes that will assist the brain in predicting where the ball is headed.

Back to the Alo video(s):

Clip #1 — Most hitting coaches tell hitters to “load later” when seeing slower pitching. While this may work for some hitters who have a “one piece move” my observations tell my most hitters when told to load later will be rushed, even against lower velo. You can see Alo still gets her lift up early and on time, she is what I call “ready at release”. Her “ready at release” against slower velo is her being at the top of her leg lift, now she is an efficient position to be able to move forward with good vision and ready shape,spin, velo and location.

Clip #2 — High velo. Alo still utilizes her leg lift, most coaches would tell hitters to go to a “no stride” or a foot down mechanism. What you will see is Alo does manipulate her lift, it’s smaller and the pace has picked up. In this instance, “ready at release” means the toe of the front foot is in contact with the ground, a much smaller move that requires less to get off her best swing and make good decisions.

Clip #3 — Changeup. What you will see is Alo goes back to a similar lift as clip #1, much larger in action & in pace. The count is 2–1, my assumption is Alo was “sitting” changeup due to not having to make much of an adjustment to change in speed.

In addition to many other elite actions I believe what makes Alo incredible is her understanding of how to manipulate & control her move to give her “time” to get off her best swing.

This can be trained but takes a coach that has built incredible trust with their hitters and their athletes understand the purpose behind practice.