9yo DD Game Swing

[batdragon]

She uses my favorite handset. Very similar to Williams. I like her back elbow position in her stance just the way it is. As she develops a better sequence the back elbow will lift up some naturally during her stride. Her current handset is a very efficient setup and will help her to be quick.

She is kind of doing what my dd was doing. When she picks up her front foot, she moves out immediately. This type of style works better with narrow stances. My dd uses a similar width stance, and when she was doing what your dd is doing, she felt rushed.

One day while watching me swing, she saw that when I pick up my front foot I shift a very small amount of weight onto my back foot to collect my balance. It's not a lot of weight; and it's definitely not a sway; but it's enough to slow things down for a fraction of a second so I'm not immediately moving forward as soon as I lift my front foot.

She immediately incorporated that little balance movement into her swing, and the difference it made was pretty amazing. I was surprised that something that seemed so trivial could make such a big difference. What it did was allowed her to lift her front foot earlier and slow down her load. Prior to that, she always looked rushed when she loaded. Rushing the load gives the swing a jerky look. Her swing had a much better flow to it after she figured out how to balance better when she lifted her front foot.

Your dd has a nice swing for a 9 yo. Be careful what you change. You want to build on what she is doing rather than take her backwards. I think it's a good idea to teach young kids how to throw correctly; and then over time show them how throwing and hitting are similar. It's almost impossible to take a kid backwards using the throwing motion as a model.

Yes, in BP when she feels she has time, I noticed (videoing BP) she does a slight rearward bounce at the beginning of her stride with her back shoulder rotating back and upward slightly and it seems to result in more rhythmic swing. Against faster pitching she eliminates this move and looks rushed by just quickly striding. I will focus on just getting her to start this small rearward bounce/coil move during the pitchers delivery so the swing gets started and flows a little better. Taking it one step at a time. Thx for your help.

Thx,
BatDragon

 

[Wellphyt]

Yes, in BP when she feels she has time, I noticed (videoing BP) she does a slight rearward bounce at the beginning of her stride with her back shoulder rotating back and upward slightly and it seems to result in more rhythmic swing. Against faster pitching she eliminates this move and looks rushed by just quickly striding. I will focus on just getting her to start this small rearward bounce/coil move during the pitchers delivery so the swing gets started and flows a little better. Taking it one step at a time. Thx for your help.

Thx,
BatDragon

There are many different styles used by batters to maintain balance when they lift the front foot. It is a very individual thing. What feels right for me, might not feel right for my dd or your dd. I encourage kids to experiment. Ted was a big believer in experimenting with different styles. Slaught also encourages kids to experiment with transitioning from different stances to a good ready to hit position.

I never realized my dd was out of balance when she lifted her front foot. I do it naturally, so it wasn't something I was looking for. Now I look for it in all kids. My dd had to figure it out for herself. Once she figured out that it was okay to shift some weight onto the back foot when she lifted her front foot, she started experimenting like crazy. We were in the cages or in the basement almost every day for about two straight weeks.

I pitch to her all the time, and I can tell you from a pitcher's perspective, that there is a certain look to a batter that gets to a good ready to hit position in a controlled manner. They look ready to attack the ball as they approach toe touch. It's a totally different look from a batter that stays back and reaches out with their front foot, or one that brings everything forward without any loading or stretch.

Watch how Hamilton shifts some weight back onto his back foot when he lifts his front foot. Notice how he waits to coil until his head/torso begins to move forward. This is just one of many styles, but the basic concept of not rushing the stride applies. If a batter uses a narrow stance like Ruth, the weight is already on the back foot, so in that case the batter will start moving out immediately. This is where experimentation is key. Kids should experiment with narrow stances, medium width stance, and wider Pujols' stances. My dd has tried all of them, and will go from one to the other during a single hitting session for fun.

Hamilton has a little more backward sway than someone like Williams. Williams was a big believer in keeping backward and forward linear movement to a minimum. I don't think this is an area where you can definitively teach a kid what to do. Give them some general direction and let them work it out for themselves. As a general guideline it is better to keep backward sway to minimum.

 

[batdragon]

I had her work on slow load and then explode throughout the week. She is getting better at it. Here is a comparison of her game swings on (10-27) and (11-3). The 11-3 swing she faced the toughest pitcher she has seen since moving up early into the 10u division. The pitcher was 2 years older than her and supposedly was hitting 51 mph from 35 ft away. My DD did not have a problem hitting her while the rest of her team struggled. I really think it was because of the slow load prior to the pitchers release that helped her. In the video I think the 10-27 swing path is better, but the main thing I am focusing on right now is the load. In regards to the actual swing I think she rolls over right around contact, which I am going to work with her to get rid of. She actually drilled this ball off the pitchers shin and up the middle for a single. Luckily for the pitcher she rolled over a bit near contact. Let me know what you think about the load. The 10-27 swing is on the left and 11-4 swing is on the right.

Brooks, Jayla (Softball) - YouTube

Thx,
Batdragon