Everyone Swings a 34"

[Long Baller]

It will be interesting to see the resulting affect...or if that changes in season.

I am curious as to the result as well. DD is one of those that notices every little thing in her swing. Ask her for feedback on a new bat, and you will get an answer like "It's about a half-ounce lighter, and it balances about an inch closer to the knob than my Ghost."

The good thing is that it will get her to try something new that she wasn't even considering trying before. We'll see what happens.

 

[ANNASDAD]

My 5'0" 135lb DD went to college with a 33" LXT & a 33" Ghost, within weeks she was using a 34" Xeno team bat, she looked like one of the cute kids on the Flintstones carrying a tree trunk! She loved it, and did great with it, I still thought it was too much bat for her little self!

 

[Orange Socks]

TB coach told me he wants to see the players swinging the biggest heaviest bat possible. She used 33" during 9th grade and moved to 34" in 10th grade. DD is one of a few players that swings a 34" on her college team, but the team as a whole is not tall. My kid is 5'10" so it only makes sense. I was talking a buddy of mine and his kid is 6'0" who swings a 33". She NEEDS to move to a 34" ASAP.

If the college kid can use their own bats, then use it. If not, choke up. She will have a bigger sweet spot!

 

[radness]

Lots of young players under 14u swing 33's.

Not surprised to consider older more developed athletes add an 1" inch.

 

[docnsx01]

isn't the actual length of bat somehow related to size of athlete ..?? will the 33 drop 9 give a similar sling shot effect for power that supposed coach is looking for. vs giving the shorter athlete a 34/24 that becomes too long to get thru the zone

 

[radness]

isn't the actual length of bat somehow related to size of athlete ..?? will the 33 drop 9 give a similar sling shot effect for power that supposed coach is looking for. vs giving the shorter athlete a 34/24 that becomes too long to get thru the zone

To that point regardless of bat...
Certain Mechanics take longggerrr than a 1" longer bat...

 

[Long Baller]

isn't the actual length of bat somehow related to size of athlete ..?? will the 33 drop 9 give a similar sling shot effect for power that supposed coach is looking for. vs giving the shorter athlete a 34/24 that becomes too long to get thru the zone

You would think so, but I'm sure other things factor in as well. I have heard coaches say that "You should never choke up on a bat. You lose leverage on the ball at contact when you do so." Makes sense in theory. So in that regard, I would think that a 33 -9 and 34 -10 could yield slightly different results.

 

[radness]

Little fun...
When any of the people on dfp are head coaches in D1 then you can _____ ___ ____ __ _____ ___ if you want to.


There have been all sorts of strategies used.
Some fail
Some succeed
Some others start doing!

 

[Long Baller]

Little fun...
When any of the people on dfp are head coaches in D1 then you can _____ ___ ____ __ _____ ___ if you want to.


There have been all sorts of strategies used.
Some fail
Some succeed
Some others start doing!

But wait, this is DFP.com we're talking about. Doesn't being a 10U coach, or having a DD that plays 12U B level, make someone enough of an authority on everything softball?

 

[_MIA_]

Since the equations which determine exit speed are fairly simple, you should be able to figure out how much of a bat speed drop you can get away with where going to a heavier bat will still provide an increased exit velocity assuming balls hit off the barrel behave similarly. Of course this doesn't take into account the possibility of less barrels because of a lower bat speed so..

The idea of increased plate coverage is a stupid one. Given decent mechanics, a college player of normal height will be able to reach a ball a few balls off the plate with a 33" bat (or even a 32" bat). Hell, Tony Gwynn used a 32" bat..