10YO DD Batting Practice

[42'sdad]

Me and My DD loved this thread, I'm glad you revived it. There has been some real good discussion in here. My DD loves it because she likes to see the videos of other girls her age and the advice given to improve. We also sift thru it and take it to the cages to see what works or "clicks" for her. I think your DD is on a great track to having a great swing. There has been discussion on here about leaving her alone, it looks fine. I personally don't subscribe to that exact thinking. But sometimes I can tell when it's time to back off the teaching of the mechanics of the swing. Wich means I switch to the mental aproach to hitting. By telling her to quit thinking about all the little things we talk about and just attack the ball.

Your DD's swing looks good. How does she do against live pitching? I see a lot of kids that have fantastic looking swings, but couldn't hit off live pitching with a boat oar. Then I've seen girls with less than desireble swings who just plain get it done in the batters box. Personally, I want the kid who is fealess in the box. The hardest part to teach is the mental approach to hitting.

Keep up the good work.

Here is a video of my DD from last season. I love seeing these kids work!!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xwWNARg_ZY

 

[bullethead]

Both of you are suggesting engaging the back to resist the turn. My question is are there any drills or ideas that you have found to be helpful with conveying this change? If someone else has already done some trial and error it can't hurt for me to ask for that. Thanks.

Bueller? Anyone?

 

[pstein]

Bueller? Anyone?

Stretch and fire drill. Coil the hip and tighten it by using the back. Then transfer the feeling to the stance.

 

[RichK]

My two cents: to get her to understand stretch she (and you first) must understand the feel you are trying to create in your body (especially the back). It is very easy to swing and most hitters do without engaging and using their back at all. I like to talk to hitters about three clicks in stretch and fire: click your hip/leg tight, pull back lower back for second click, load hands to click in upper back/scap. Click, click, click. Then even before you start swinging feel what it's like to open up around that rear hip pivot point and how you start the opening process but upticking your barrel behind you (something she already does well in her swing). Finally, in conjunction with those steps teach her what "out from" means in terms of bat path, because the stretch and fire drill loses a lot of its value if hands get away from the body and the path comes "around" rather than "out from." Again, that looks like something she already feels pretty well, she certainly does not have an around the ball bat path in the swings you posted.

Then have her put all that together and focus on hitting slightly right of center hard line drives from 90 and 45 stretch and fire positions again and again. Have her feel her hits and her misses. I like to put girls that size about 10 or 15 feet in front of a tarp so they can really hear the sound POP when they drive a ball into the tarp. Next, have her learn how to create and feel that same stretch and out from bat path from a normal stance. Finally, icing on the cake, get her to feel what it's like to swing without stretch, so she can tell what NOT to fall back into.

I agree she's already down a good path, she couldn't hit line drives the way she is doing off of pitching without some good things in place. The next steps are more (conscious, repeatable) stretch; teach her how to take her "from behind" bat path and put it on low tee positions and ultimately low pitches via improved tilt (again, show her what that means -- put a ball on low tee and show her how she is currently bending and leveling on THAT pitch vs. how she can tilt and come behind it and drive a low, rising line drive into that tarp); and then more physical strength and body awareness that comes from experience and age.

 

[Harry_Tage]

[video=youtube_share;PUpAfeSbs8I]http://youtu.be/PUpAfeSbs8I[/video]

I have been away studying some things for awhile. I dint know anyone had posted over here. Thanks RichK for the response. Much of what you are saying makes perfect sense. We were actually working SnF tonight. The 3 clicks idea sounds like a perfect way to get her to start realizing the muscles needed.

42's dad. I appreciate the kind words and that someone else is going through some of the same things we are. Your daughter looks like she is on a great path as well. There is one thing that I couldn't agree with you more on and that is knowing when to stop working mechanics and shift gears.

Here is some updated swings from my DD. She has her first tourney this weekend and I will get some game swings. But more importantly we will keep working to get better.

 

[vcackerman]

I just watched this last video and for some reason, my mind is saying - her hands seem slow through the zone. Am I just giving too much credit to the same aged girls I watch weekly who have very fast hands?

 

[pstein]

That is a good swing.

 

[PEPPERS]

I tried to make this post yesterday morning, but for some reason it never showed up, so let’s try again.

pstein
That is a good swing.

Agree good swing for a 10 YO.

vcackerman
I just watched this last video and for some reason, my mind is saying - her hands seem slow through the zone. Am I just giving too much credit to the same aged girls I watch weekly who have very fast hands?

Bamajeff
Her hands look slow to me as well. Maybe it's an intent issue. She looks athletic enough to not be that slow with her hands. I would have her take some swing and tell her to swing so hard, she comes out of her shoes.

This is what I saw also, the balls she hits low in the zones she drops her hands straight down like a helicopter landing, in the Alabama clinic DD and I attended the head coach advised you want the hands to drop like a plane landing or a fast roller-coaster, IMO when she drops the hands like a helicopter landing she loses power and does not make solid contact. You want to take the barrel to the ball not the hands with pitches in the lower zones.

I would start with the Matrix Drill and do it practice hitting through the low zones to get the feel of how the hands should come through. Then hit balls from a tee in the low zones of the strike zones to fix any holes in her swing JMO.

 

[TDS]

That is a good swing.

P, looks like you have finally felt it. You won't see it until you have felt it. Her swing is in sequence.

 

[vcackerman]

My intent was not to trash the swing - the swing looks good - just the hands look slow to me. I have a few girls at the bottom of my roster that have slow swings and you can see the difference in the power generated by quick hands.