Bat Upgrade

[Westwind]

Both of my daughters play/played D1 college softball, are power hitters, and both swing 33’s. My younger dd didn’t swing anything longer than a 31 until she was in 8th grade. She was also that “well she’s bigger and stronger” young player.

Read what Annasdad and Yocoach wrote. You won’t get better free advice anywhere.

There is no advantage whatsoever to a longer bat. None. Size it properly and go from there. Yes, in a cage any kid can commit to every pitch early and hit the ball with a bat that is too big but they will get eaten alive by decent pitching.

 

[JOHNN]

Definitely agree with those that mentioned not going too big too soon. Going from an 18oz bat to a 21 or 22 is a really big jump. And then adding the extra length is even more of a jump.

On a side note, while I dont sell Axe, let me know if youd be interested in getting pricing on the LXT or Prism.

 

[TLUD]

Thank you everyone. I really appreciate the advice. I will start looking for a 30/20 for her. Yocoach nailed it when he/she said we are behind. She should have been upgraded last year. We were in the process of doing this last year but then stupid Covid came and our lives just kinda stopped. Too many, at risk family members kept us out of all sports and extra curricular last year . Until this week the Poor girl hadn’t even swung a bat in nearly a year and since we are just silly rec league hasn’t seen a real pitch in a year and a half.

last thing I would want to do is hurt whatever swing she does have left after such a hiatus. I just wish we had that year back for her to get stronger and developed with a proper sized bat so I don’t feel like she will be chasing a curve for forever.

 

[JOHNN]

Thank you everyone. I really appreciate the advice. I will start looking for a 30/20 for her. Yocoach nailed it when he/she said we are behind. She should have been upgraded last year. We were in the process of doing this last year but then stupid Covid came and our lives just kinda stopped. Too many, at risk family members kept us out of all sports and extra curricular last year . Until this week the Poor girl hadn’t even swung a bat in nearly a year and since we are just silly rec league hasn’t seen a real pitch in a year and a half.

last thing I would want to do is hurt whatever swing she does have left after such a hiatus. I just wish we had that year back for her to get stronger and developed with a proper sized bat so I don’t feel like she will be chasing a curve for forever.

She is still young and being that she is still in 10u, you really arent as far behind as you might think. Have to also consider that with all the time off, she has probably grown and gotten stronger naturally so if you are going to a 30/20, that probably wont be such a huge jump to her in the long run.

 

[TLUD]

Let’s hope so! I realized I did get a few seconds of vid from her first batting practice in such a long time while she was trying out bats. Man I’m ready to watch her hit dingers again!

 

[uncdrew]

Stand her up straight against a wall, measure the width of her shoulders edge to edge, whatever that measurement is, double it to get her bat length.

15" shoulder width = 30" bat.
15.5" width = a 31" bat.
16" width = a 32" bat.

And whatever length you settle on, get her a true -10 balanced bat.......30/20, 31/21 etc.

Agreed.

My daughter was swinging a 32 drop 10 easily in her last year of 10U. She's big and strong.

One ounce is the weight of a slice of bread. It's not much at all. And honestly, some 32 drop 10 bats weigh 22 ounces, some weigh 23.5 ounces. Know the weight of the bat, not what is printed on the side.

Which bat to get?

Get to a store that sells all the top bats and has a machine that measures exit velocity. Hit balls with all the bats. Then let your DD pick the one she likes best, with the knowledge that higher exit velocity means more and better fits and which feels best. Let it be her choice as that will give her confidence, which is probably more important than which bat it is.

 

[uncdrew]

Thank you everyone. I really appreciate the advice. I will start looking for a 30/20 for her. Yocoach nailed it when he/she said we are behind. She should have been upgraded last year. We were in the process of doing this last year but then stupid Covid came and our lives just kinda stopped. Too many, at risk family members kept us out of all sports and extra curricular last year . Until this week the Poor girl hadn’t even swung a bat in nearly a year and since we are just silly rec league hasn’t seen a real pitch in a year and a half.

last thing I would want to do is hurt whatever swing she does have left after such a hiatus. I just wish we had that year back for her to get stronger and developed with a proper sized bat so I don’t feel like she will be chasing a curve for forever.

Get a tee and a bownet while you're at it, if you can.

 

[Westwind]

Both of my daughters play/played D1 college softball, are power hitters, and both swing 33’s. My younger dd didn’t swing anything longer than a 31 until she was in 8th grade.

I posted this directly from my high horse yesterday, lol. I found out tonight they switched her from a 33/24 LXT to a 34” Xeno. She hit one out with it on her first swing during a scrimmage. She was supposed to hit a hit and run but got one up and in and smoked it.

I think I had the 8th grade thing wrong too. Think she swung a 32” Rocketflex in 12’s. Forgot about that one, lol. She loved that bat.

 

[TLUD]

I posted this directly from my high horse yesterday, lol. I found out tonight they switched her to a 34” Xeno. She hit one out with it on her first swing during a scrimmage. She was supposed to hit a hit and run but got one up and in and smoked it.

I think I had the 8th grade thing wrong too. Think she swung a 32” Rocketflex in 12’s. Forgot about that one, lol.

Congrats to her! And your high horse is welcome to my stable anytime. I’m still new to all of this and just trying to learn. DW doesn’t know yet but I’m also trying to find a batting coach to teach her a proper swing since I wouldnt know one if it hit me in the face.

we did hit the cage again last night, tried a few bats that were laying around. All I can say is DD is confusing. She liked hitting with her 30/18 axe and she liked hitting with a 32/32 xeno we found. also tried a 30/20 xeno and a 32/20 X-12 which I assume would equate out to a 31/31?

We went through about a bucket of balls per bat and I would tell her to eliminate the one that she likes swinging the least. 30/20 was gone first every time. Then the 32/20. She would always end up on the extremes of liking the 30/18 and the 32/32 the best. Personally I think she clobbered it best with the 32/20, but when she would make good contact with the 32/32 it was terrifyingly hard and right back at my face. Thank goodness for L nets. It was pretty clear though that if she were to face a fast pitcher she would struggle with the 32/32 for a bit though. I was zinging them in as fast as I could safely to prove a point. Took her probably 14/15 pitches to catch me

 

[YOCOACH]

Congrats to her! And your high horse is welcome to my stable anytime. I’m still new to all of this and just trying to learn. DW doesn’t know yet but I’m also trying to find a batting coach to teach her a proper swing since I wouldnt know one if it hit me in the face.

we did hit the cage again last night, tried a few bats that were laying around. All I can say is DD is confusing. She liked hitting with her 30/18 axe and she liked hitting with a 32/32 xeno we found. also tried a 30/20 xeno and a 32/20 X-12 which I assume would equate out to a 31/31?

We went through about a bucket of balls per bat and I would tell her to eliminate the one that she likes swinging the least. 30/20 was gone first every time. Then the 32/20. She would always end up on the extremes of liking the 30/18 and the 32/32 the best. Personally I think she clobbered it best with the 32/20, but when she would make good contact with the 32/32 it was terrifyingly hard and right back at my face. Thank goodness for L nets. It was pretty clear though that if she were to face a fast pitcher she would struggle with the 32/32 for a bit though. I was zinging them in as fast as I could safely to prove a point. Took her probably 14/15 pitches to catch me

If it were me, I'd be looking at the 30/20 Marucci Echo which is an evenly balanced bat, hot as hell and can be had for a very nice price on several sites or even cheaper through @CoreSoftball20 . The Xeno is slightly end-loaded and with the right instruction, your DD will become a strong power hitter. Then she should to move to an end-loaded bat.

@Westwind ...The RocketFlex was without a doubt, IMO and DD's, their finest bat. She was heartbroken after snapping the handle and they replaced it with an RT (even though she grew up swinging an RT) because it was discontinued. That's when she finally went composite. I'd love to see her swing the new Carbon but She has her Ghost Advance she's happy with from her college team so why spend the extra money?