8u swing

[acooper1983]

My 7yr old daughter is in her 1st year of softball. Her swing has been a disaster due to what I think was too much information early on. It’s getting better in small increments, but she still anticipates when it’s pitched to her. I’m really trying not to cause more paralysis by analysis.

 

[acooper1983]

The second video should publish In the next half hour then be visible

 

[acooper1983]

Basically looking for thoughts on getting her to stop dropping the bat when swinging at live pitching. I do have a rope bat which I do believe helps her, but figured I’d ask the experts (also don’t mind the sandals and dress she wanted to hit as soon as she got off the bus)

 

[Rolling Hard]

You are pitching too slow. Too far away. So her swing is instinctively is trying to get on same plane as the balls trajectory.
Obviously gifted eye hand coordination. She has good intentions to hit ball hard. Any gymnastics?

 

[acooper1983]

You are pitching too slow. Too far away. So her swing is instinctively is trying to get on same plane as the balls trajectory.
Obviously gifted eye hand coordination. She has good intentions to hit ball hard. Any gymnastics?

That was 35’ which is where the ball has to be pitched from In her league. So you think the anticipation drop is solely based on speed ? That might be something we can work on, my wife is the game pitcher (I just had arm surgery Tuesday and probably shouldn’t be pitching anyway) she has done gymnastics yes. I appreciate the reply

 

[stox]

Coach pitch is tricky because you actually have to throw it pretty fast to not arc, but then you end up striking out a bunch of girls because they are just too slow to hit that ball.

I would throw batting practice standing much closer, that way you don't need to launch it that fast to get a flatter pitch.

Have to get her to load the back hip instead of her hands, and start the swing with the hips, and then the hands follow.


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[Rolling Hard]

That was 35’ which is where the ball has to be pitched from In her league. So you think the anticipation drop is solely based on speed ? That might be something we can work on, my wife is the game pitcher (I just had arm surgery Tuesday and probably shouldn’t be pitching anyway) she has done gymnastics yes. I appreciate the reply

I said gymnastics because she is using her core which is a good start. Most girls her age swing with their arms. She looks like All-star material to me. If you want to dig more into swing mechanics, Matt Antenelli has a ton of free videos. Fielding too. The only thing wrong with his video is that he like to talk too much.

 

[Towny9]

You are pitching too slow. Too far away. So her swing is instinctively is trying to get on same plane as the balls trajectory.
Obviously gifted eye hand coordination. She has good intentions to hit ball hard. Any gymnastics?

I second what @Rolling Hard said. She is actually on plane with the pitch in that video. Problem is the plane is too steep.

I am a big fan of next slot or shoulder slot swings at this age. It pretty much forces you to turn correctly and stay connected (not stop hands or extend early)

 

[Soccerdadcoach]

Hi dad, I coach these ages and have been our coach pitcher for the past couple seasons. DD here is coordinated and be glad she enjoys hitting it hard. As others have mentioned, the pitch needs to be flatter and faster. Right now she’s swinging to match your arc. Imagine you are pitching to a catcher behind the batter, the catcher should be able to catch the ball around knee height. In that second video, the ball would land at the batters rear foot. You can pitch anywhere from 25-35 feet and get the result you want. Also, make sure she understands how you want the ball to fly. Have her thinking line drives and hard grounders. Pop ups are outs starting around 8u. She looks pretty athletic and I bet she figures it out really fast.

 

[CoachCeetar]

Have her thinking line drives and hard grounders. Pop ups are outs starting around 8u. She looks pretty athletic and I bet she figures it out really fast.

no one's suggesting pop-ups. but hard ground balls are outs more often than hard fly balls at pretty much every level in every bat-ball sport.

The points about the arc of the pitch are valid, but she's going to see a lot of that type of pitch. That she's instinctually adjusting to it is GREAT. If that was a 35' pitch she hit it what, 70? 80? That's over the infielders head probably.

You can work on the swing, and not dropping hands and good load and all that without worry too much about the pitch. After all, you can control the swing, you can't control what you're getting from the pitcher. You didn't mention what type of league, but in town rec/lower competition leagues you can see pitches like that for 4 more years. Might as well crush them.