Current thinking on bat drop selection

[4 girl's dad]

I did a search and pulled up some old threads on bad drop but nothing really current. What is the best way to select bat drop? I'm working with kids from 7-13 in varying sizes and strengths.

I have one now that is 11, very athletic and has a pretty good swing that is looking to buy a new bat. She has used a 31-10 cf7 but her TB coach wants her to get an -11 or -12. That seems too light IMO but what is the best way to decide?


TIA

Edit:Title is supposed to be current not cure. Stupid auto correct, again!

 

[nanotech14]

Nothing lighter then a -10.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

I believe that those -11 and -12s are too light for everyone. Start with a -10 and that will work for most of your girls. I want some oomph behind the swing.

And for girls that need a -9 or an end loaded bat, I decide from watching them hit and working with them, a little. Generally, they are the well trained girls that are going to batting lessons or they are stronger, than some of the tiny girls.

I just bought my 4 yo granddaughter a 25, 15. If she can swing a -10, anyone can.

 

[mann]

I believe that those -11 and -12s are too light for everyone. Start with a -10 and that will work for most of your girls. I want some oomph behind the swing.

And for girls that need a -9 or an end loaded bat, I decide from watching them hit and working with them, a little. Generally, they are the well trained girls that are going to batting lessons or they are stronger, than some of the tiny girls.

I just bought my 4 yo granddaughter a 25, 15. If she can swing a -10, anyone can.

For 12u I use mainly 32in drop tens, and 33 in drop 11s same weight, but longer.

For 14 u, I use 33 in drop 10s and 33in drop 11s for some of my small slappers, along with the end loaded 33 drop 10, which swings like a drop 9.

 

[vcackerman]

10U - I have several 9 year olds swinging drop 12 vendettas. It helps with plate coverage but when they turn 10, I'm expecting them to move to drop 11 or drop 10s. My daughter is 60 lbs and has trouble swinging a heavier bat right now.

 

[okie]

Over the last month we have tried multiple bat weights and drops with our 8 year old, 43-in/78 pound DD. Shes always had a great swing. You know, that kid in teeball whos bouncing them off the fence. 8U was pretty much the same thing with the only problem being she was hot and cold. As coaches we made the mistake of just changing the velocity of the pitch and problem solved rather than fixing the actual mechanical issues. The last month or two we've worked on shortening and quickening her swing (had a tendency to sweep). Its been a long process and with all that work on her swing, we still hadnt seen the consistency that we were used to from her.

As she moved to 10U this year we decided to buy her a better bat. Because she swung her old bat so well we ended up buying her a 30/20 Xeno thinking the 2 inches longer and 2 ounces heavier wouldnt be an issue with her swing and batspeed.......we were dead wrong. First of all, i thought she was swinging a 28/18, turned out her old Catalyst was a drop 12 (28/16) so the Xeno was 2-in. longer and 4-oz. heavier. On top of that, they call the Xeno a balanced bat but its far closer to end weighted in the swing than any end weighted bat i've ever swung.

With the Drop 10 shes either hit or miss as she has very little control of the bat during the swing. Throw the ball waste high over the middle of the plate and she crushes it, throw it on the outside or inside corner at her knees and she cant get her bat on the right plane quick enough. Put the Drop 11 in her hand and she rarely misses a pitch, regardless of the location. Right now she goes back and forth, she likes the xeno with a meatball pitcher and the CF6 for harder throwers.

I think our issue is more of an overall weight issue than actually being a drop issue but its opened my eyes to the rest of my team. My kids parents arent happy but taking those Drop 10s out of some of my girls hands and making them use Drop 11s and 12s has increased almost all of their on-base percentages. The upside is that they have more control of the bat, the downside is that increased control also helps to hide the flaws in their swings.

We've also started using an app for the iPad called Ubersense and looking at all of their swings in slow motion and charting them has allowed us to better diagnose and correct many of these issues we were missing. Sometimes its simply mechanical and sometimes just going to a bigger drop has fixed the swing.

I know the answer you were looking for wasnt in my rambling but i think my point is simply, the answer is going to be different for every girl, every swing. My daughter put one over the fence in practice using the drop 10 but struck out twice before that. Using the Drop 11 she was 3/3 with what woulda been two singles and a double. Right now we let her swing both in practice but just the Drop 11 in games. When/if her swing becomes more consistent with the Xeno (Drop 10), at that point she can switch but until then we are sticking with the bat she has more control over.

 

[redhotcoach]

My experience reflects most of the others above. At 10u most of my girls swung 30/18. At 11, my dd went from 30/20 to 32/22 (3 different bats) in one season. At 12-14 we reflect what Mann says.

Now last month I had to tell a girl she could not use the new bat her dad bought her. She started the season borrowing another girl's cf6 32/22 and was hitting line drives to the fence. She showed up for a tourney with her own bat. I didn't pay much attention, she comes up (bottom order hitter) and connects with ball....or as it appears, the ball connects her, it looked like the ball nearly knocked the bat out of her hands. Blooper to pitcher, she is out. I looked at her bat, a 32/20! I said "I am sorry you got a new bat, I do tell every parent that they need to double check with one of the coaches before buying a new bat. It's a team sport and the rest of the team depends on you having the best chance at bat, so you will go back to using Jen's bat." Stinks to tell a girl that, but her dad is a surgeon (who hasn't been to a game yet), so I figured he would hook her up with a different bat....nope.

 

[RichK]

Drop 10, use a smaller length with smaller girls. Biggest mistake in my mind is going to a longer bat just because a girl is getting older but then dropping to a -12/-13 because she can't manage the longer bat.