Hitting help

[_MIA_]

so more games the more she will get comfortable and will adjust?

You don't really have a choice do you unless you can get somebody in BP to throw live at the right distance and speeds and even then the pressure isn't the same in BP. Try your best in BP to ingrain what you want her to do and hopefully at some point it will stick in games.

As Eric said, she probably felt rushed in the game probably because she wasn't starting early enough.

 

[Eric F]

so more games the more she will get comfortable and will adjust?

Experience is a big factor, but having a swing sequence that can deliver on time for the fastest pitching she sees is also a big factor. So is confidence with their swing.

One thing that happens a lot with young players moving from rec to travel is that they wait too long to start the pre-launch phase of their swing. With typical slow rec ball pitching, they can read the pitch location after the ball as left the pitcher's hand, and then decide whether or not to start their swing. As pitching speed increases, they quickly run out of time to read, and then still execute a good swing. They need to transition to stating the pre-launch part of their swing on EVERY pitch, as they are reading location. For players that stride, a general rule of thumb is "foot in the air when the ball is in the air". In other words, they should be starting their stride on the release of the pitch. As I mentioned before, eliminating the stride was possibly your DD's adjustment to speed up her swing process. The correct adjustment is starting the process earlier. Start slow and early to be on time.

 

[Pride14]

Experience is a big factor, but having a swing sequence that can deliver on time for the fastest pitching she sees is also a big factor. So is confidence with their swing.

One thing that happens a lot with young players moving from rec to travel is that they wait too long to start the pre-launch phase of their swing. With typical slow rec ball pitching, they can read the pitch location after the ball as left the pitcher's hand, and then decide whether or not to start their swing. As pitching speed increases, they quickly run out of time to read, and then still execute a good swing. They need to transition to stating the pre-launch part of their swing on EVERY pitch, as they are reading location. For players that stride, a general rule of thumb is "foot in the air when the ball is in the air". In other words, they should be starting their stride on the release of the pitch. As I mentioned before, eliminating the stride was possibly your DD's adjustment to speed up her swing process. The correct adjustment is starting the process earlier. Start slow and early to be on time.

She is a good hitter. We played a few games last year with little with live pitching. This year she is facing a lot higher quality of teams

 

[Eric F]

Have you asked your DD about why she did things differently in the game?

 

[Pride14]

Have you asked your DD about why she did things differently in the game?

I did she said because the pitcher was fast. I think it was easier to time without a stride..I think

 

[Eric F]

I did she said because the pitcher was fast. I think it was easier to time without a stride..I think

As I suspected. This is a reasonable approach for the situation, and her age. The evolution is to help her learn how to keep her usual pattern, but get it started early enough to be on time with faster pitching. That said, even top MLB hitters use a no-stride approach in certain situations.

 

[Pride14]

As I suspected. This is a reasonable approach for the situation, and her age. The evolution is to help her learn how to keep her usual pattern, but get it started early enough to be on time with faster pitching. That said, even top MLB hitters use a no-stride approach in certain situations.

Ya I was confused because she had a good hitting coach all winter and she does everything right, she has a ev of mid 50's. Maybe it's just going to take a few games to get it dialed in

 

[MikeP]

My dd kills it at bp and then forgets everything in games, especially since she has switched to lefty. It drives me crazy but I know why it's happening and it will just take more games and experience. I think we all know girls that are beasts in the cage but cant hit the ground with the bat sometimes in games. We are first year 10u and these girls just need experience, patience and coaches that are trying to help and not showing frustration over 9yo's striking out.