DD swing/ thoughts, comments, be nice!

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Apr 16, 2013
1,113
83
Just throwing in a word of encouragement, that front toss swing looks really good. Gotta understand the difference between the small things and the big things, and she's got a LOT of good things going on. You should be proud.
 
Jun 8, 2016
16,118
113
Just throwing in a word of encouragement, that front toss swing looks really good. Gotta understand the difference between the small things and the big things, and she's got a LOT of good things going on. You should be proud.
I'll second that. Lots of good stuff here for an 11 YO.
 
Sep 17, 2009
1,637
83
Lots of nonsense buzzwords in this thread. She looks good. She's having trouble handling that bat length, I always liked a shorter (30in or even 29in) but balanced bat (-10) when my kids were small. Barry Bonds always swung a shorter bat plus a bit of choke-up. I'd tee-up and throw to different spots high-low-in-out while keeping her mechanics solid and simple and not overwhelming her with info and tweaks. She's already very athletic keep her on that good path.
 
Jun 10, 2010
554
28
midwest
Thanks guys

What are we working on?

Not spinning, not pushing, and releasing the barrel (oily swivel). Oh yeah releasing or letting the right elbow work out and away (thanks Eric) especially on outside pitches so she isn't sawing across the ball. Driving the ball oppo.

One thing I was going to mention…when I look at her kinetic chain and the movement patterns she has…I think the disconnect in that chain may be the shoulders…thats playing a role in the issues you mentioned and can be seen on video.

In her T-drill…to get that much counter rotation she has to be involving shoulder movement too much. Example…Leave your rib cage still..breast bone pointed in one direction and move one shoulder forward other back….as if they were rotating. Then move shoulders up and down. This is disconnect of the shoulders from torso. When I have a girl that is looking good but cuts across the ball not getting to extension, doesn’t allow the wrist to release and can’t control the direction of the hands & barrel…I look if she is turning the hands/barrel and whether she has shoulder to torso connection issues.

Rotation of the rib cage (thoracic) is about 30 degrees…add that to a small degree of hip coil (external rotation of rear pelvis on femur) on load …and the only way to get near 90 degrees of counter rotation that she does on the t-drill....is to have activated shoulder movement that is disconnected from the torso too much.

On the shoulder up & down movement..it looks like that last little up movement she does with the rear shoulder on loading…may be disconnecting her a little more on both t and front toss.

Since the shoulder joint has so much movement…there is at least 12 movements per side between the shoulder and arm….it can help to get more stability, eliminate some movement and stay a little more connected to the torso. Note.. stability is motor control…not “no movement” at all.

While she is not totally disconnected from shoulder to torso by any means…and the front toss looks better than the t-drill….she may be carrying over that T-drill feel & action just enough that its creating the issues.

What I do in this situation is to have them …slightly roll the front shoulder in and down…stabilizing it to the torso better (isometric type of feel). And have her try and keep that shoulder position thru the swing. She can’t totally but have her try. She will still be able to keep her arm leverage and a up & down front elbow just fine.

On the rear shoulder…i have them slot the elbow (elbow down)…take the elbow back comfortably…then raise the elbow without raising the shoulder to get the feel of rear shoulder position. That shoulder height would be as high as i would want her shoulder on load…no rear shoulder lift on its own…she can still tilt both shoulders using torso. This is just a feel..not a load sequence. We simply eliminate some movements in some planes…for better motor control (stability) while staying a little more connected.

You have seen some drills where they have a band or tubing from front arm to bat or arm to arm? I used bands and tubing a lot and have for many years…the feeling to me is the same…. mostly it helps create that tension (isometric tension) in the shoulders for connection and stability (motor control). That too may help her get the connection I am talking about.

This is one of the things I think Sierra Romero does very good.

I would suspect doing this and hitting opposite field as others have said would be a benefit.
Just something to consider.

Keep up the good work!
 
Apr 20, 2018
4,581
113
SoCal
One thing I was going to mention…when I look at her kinetic chain and the movement patterns she has…I think the disconnect in that chain may be the shoulders…thats playing a role in the issues you mentioned and can be seen on video.

In her T-drill…to get that much counter rotation she has to be involving shoulder movement too much. Example…Leave your rib cage still..breast bone pointed in one direction and move one shoulder forward other back….as if they were rotating. Then move shoulders up and down. This is disconnect of the shoulders from torso. When I have a girl that is looking good but cuts across the ball not getting to extension, doesn’t allow the wrist to release and can’t control the direction of the hands & barrel…I look if she is turning the hands/barrel and whether she has shoulder to torso connection issues.

Rotation of the rib cage (thoracic) is about 30 degrees…add that to a small degree of hip coil (external rotation of rear pelvis on femur) on load …and the only way to get near 90 degrees of counter rotation that she does on the t-drill....is to have activated shoulder movement that is disconnected from the torso too much.

On the shoulder up & down movement..it looks like that last little up movement she does with the rear shoulder on loading…may be disconnecting her a little more on both t and front toss.

Since the shoulder joint has so much movement…there is at least 12 movements per side between the shoulder and arm….it can help to get more stability, eliminate some movement and stay a little more connected to the torso. Note.. stability is motor control…not “no movement” at all.

While she is not totally disconnected from shoulder to torso by any means…and the front toss looks better than the t-drill….she may be carrying over that T-drill feel & action just enough that its creating the issues.

What I do in this situation is to have them …slightly roll the front shoulder in and down…stabilizing it to the torso better (isometric type of feel). And have her try and keep that shoulder position thru the swing. She can’t totally but have her try. She will still be able to keep her arm leverage and a up & down front elbow just fine.

On the rear shoulder…i have them slot the elbow (elbow down)…take the elbow back comfortably…then raise the elbow without raising the shoulder to get the feel of rear shoulder position. That shoulder height would be as high as i would want her shoulder on load…no rear shoulder lift on its own…she can still tilt both shoulders using torso. This is just a feel..not a load sequence. We simply eliminate some movements in some planes…for better motor control (stability) while staying a little more connected.

You have seen some drills where they have a band or tubing from front arm to bat or arm to arm? I used bands and tubing a lot and have for many years…the feeling to me is the same…. mostly it helps create that tension (isometric tension) in the shoulders for connection and stability (motor control). That too may help her get the connection I am talking about.

This is one of the things I think Sierra Romero does very good.

I would suspect doing this and hitting opposite field as others have said would be a benefit.
Just something to consider.

Keep up the good work!
Thanks. I hate saying or thinking tightening up the swing and more connected has a better ring to it. After I videoed her I saw to much movement of the hands (disconnect) and my simple solution was to keep your hands near her armpit and let them work out from. But I like your suggestion and detailed analysis on whats happening. Thank all you guys especially for being nice. LOL She will be hitting live on Sat. and I will get some video. Going to try going back to her 30" bat and compare it to 31', All on video. When I told my DD that some posters thought maybe her bat was to big she said " I think so too". Why didn't you tell me this before? She said " I didn't want you to be mad." Girls- be gentle guys.

Loving every minute of it.
 
Apr 20, 2018
4,581
113
SoCal
Babbyb, so you do not want the hands/ arms/ shoulder sockets moving independently of the torso (rib cage) or limit their movement to stay more connected? Is that what you are saying? Also she was a gymnast so she is very flexible.
 
Jun 10, 2010
554
28
midwest
Gymnast Awesome! No wonder she has excellent body control and looks athletic. Now I know….when you say …”It happens naturally”…you mean…”It happens naturally if you have been trained as a gymnast”. LOL..just being funny.

Flexibility is a good thing when the person can control their body…which she obviously does!

Yes.. to this "limit their movement to stay more connected"

Arms will have “lmited” movement with the shoulders being more stable.

The goal for the kinetic chain is acceleration to rapid deceleration up the chain. I want the shoulders to act with the torso engine in both acceleration and rapid deceleration…even on t-drills.

The front shoulder connection is also the final kinetic chain connection (of a mobility joint) ….for the sling/serape pattern of load also...from my perspective of the kinetic chain.

As far as the hands…I view the hands as connected yet independent…in the sense…that they are active and TTB …and they also react to the torso engine. They are also the last mobility joint of the kinetic chain…so I want them active. In all my years of doing this…I can’t think of a time I said to a player…“Your turning the barrel too early or too much or too quick”. I would like to experience that problem!

Edit: How did she do this weekend?
 
Last edited:
Apr 20, 2018
4,581
113
SoCal
She did well. Thanks for asking.

Could you explain this:
The goal for the kinetic chain is acceleration to rapid deceleration up the chain. I want the shoulders to act with the torso engine in both acceleration and rapid deceleration…even on t-drills.

and this:

The front shoulder connection is also the final kinetic chain connection (of a mobility joint) ….for the "sling/serape pattern of load" also...from my perspective of the kinetic chain.
 

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