Jayleen - 14yo

[HunterMO]

Continued from this thread last year.... https://www.discussfastpitch.com/threads/jayleen-13yo.40917/#post-610250

Short story long, Jayleen wasn't truly able to work on her mechanics last year due to consistent (and significant) knee pain. We were basically managing her just so she could play. It got so bad that we were going to back out from the last couple tournaments with the new team last Fall. Luckily (for her) the last one was rained out.

After seeing a new sports clinic, a month of PT, and 3-4 months of performance training the knee pain was fixed. And hasn't come back. We were able to get her ready for school ball. She had a good season (.722 BA) but missed the last two weeks due to a concussion from an errant throw from OF as a base runner. Fortunately, the concussion didn't last long and she was able to get through it.

Transition to travel ball, now facing both better pitching AND fielding. Her BA dropped to .430 almost over night. Hitting a lot of grounders or fly balls. Less hard line drives. Very susceptible to off-speed pitches. She was no longer benefitting from weaker fielding (in school ball) and seeing better pitchers. Finally, she was ready to listen and make adjustments.

We have spent the last couple months changing her load and stride movements. Which she says has allowed her to feel more in control. She was still jerky and quick in her stride. Luckily her hitting coach pointed that out and made it a point of emphasis. This last tournament it seemed she was being more aware of it and trying to control it better.

I'd be interested to see what DFP sees at this point. And what, in the upper half, she could be doing better as well. After this tournament her BA moved back up to .500. But, I suspect she'll fluctuate as she continues to work and faces stronger pitching/defenses through the rest of Summer.

I'll apologize in advance for some of the angles.



*Including this one just because it made me laugh. And (to me) shows how crazy bats have become.

 

[Work=wins]

Continued from this thread last year.... https://www.discussfastpitch.com/threads/jayleen-13yo.40917/#post-610250

Short story long, Jayleen wasn't truly able to work on her mechanics last year due to consistent (and significant) knee pain. We were basically managing her just so she could play. It got so bad that we were going to back out from the last couple tournaments with the new team last Fall. Luckily (for her) the last one was rained out.

After seeing a new sports clinic, a month of PT, and 3-4 months of performance training the knee pain was fixed. And hasn't come back. We were able to get her ready for school ball. She had a good season (.722 BA) but missed the last two weeks due to a concussion from an errant throw from OF as a base runner. Fortunately, the concussion didn't last long and she was able to get through it.

Transition to travel ball, now facing both better pitching AND fielding. Her BA dropped to .430 almost over night. She was no longer benefitting from weaker fielding (in school ball) and seeing better pitchers. Finally, she was ready to listen and make adjustments.

We have spent the last couple months changing her load and stride movements. Which she says has allowed her to feel more in control. She was still jerky and quick in her stride. Luckily her hitting coach pointed that out and made it a point of emphasis. This last tournament it seemed she was being more aware of it and trying to control it better.

I'd be interested to see what DFP sees at this point. And what, in the upper half, she could be doing better as well. After this tournament her BA moved back up to .500. But, I suspect she'll fluctuate as she continues to work and faces stronger pitching/defenses through the rest of Summer.

I'll apologize in advance for some of the angles.



*Including this one just because it made me laugh. And (to me) shows how crazy bats have become.

Which knee bothered her? She appears to leak energy through the front knee which creates a bit too much lag. Does she pull the ball well?

 

[HunterMO]

Which knee bothered her? She appears to leak energy through the front knee which creates a bit too much lag. Does she pull the ball well?

It was her right knee. I noticed the front knee opens as well, but wasn't sure if some is natural/okay or what is too much.

She typically is a "pull" hitter. And would avoid the outside pitch at all costs. We spent a lot of time working on that and funny that this last weekend she hit more to the right side than in the past.

Edit: Last year she pulled everything. This year has been a mixture of pull and C/LC

 

[Work=wins]

It was her right knee. I noticed the front knee opens as well, but wasn't sure if some is natural/okay or what is too much.

She typically is a "pull" hitter. And would avoid the outside pitch at all costs. We spent a lot of time working on that and funny that this last weekend she hit more to the right side than in the past.

Edit: Last year she pulled everything. This year has been a mixture of pull and C/LC

Could be. Maybe the load is different from last year? Got any vids from last year? Could be outta her legs a bit time wise. Which can make her a tad late. Typically you’ll see the hips drop before swinging. Your dds hips drop as she swings. Same load here but she drops the hips before swinging.

 

[HunterMO]

@Work=wins - Here are some loads/strides from last year and early this year. It's definitely different. She's made mention that she feels she "opens" too early at times. Or wants to start swinging before the foot is down.



2021



2021



2022 Spring. Sorry, quality sucks.... but shows the change in load.

 

[Work=wins]

@Work=wins - Here are some loads/strides from last year and early this year. It's definitely different. She's made mention that she feels she "opens" too early at times. Or wants to start swinging before the foot is down.



2021



2021



2022 Spring. Sorry, quality sucks.... but shows the change in load.

These look more inline w what is typically seen. Maybe she was just loading a bit late before. Made it work. I think she has a good sequence and swing all and all. I don’t think there are many issues. Maybe the front side was opening early bc she intuitively knew she was late.

If I was going to work on anything, it would be to get the load more up and down than back and forth. There is work in all 3 planes. Just want to balance it out a bit more. She tends to push outta her back leg a bit instead which can cause things like opening early or being late etc etc. nice work overall imo

 

[HunterMO]

These look more inline w what is typically seen. Maybe she was just loading a bit late before. Made it work. I think she has a good sequence and swing all and all. I don’t think there are many issues. Maybe the front side was opening early bc she intuitively knew she was late.

If I was going to work on anything, it would be to get the load more up and down than back and forth. There work in all 3 planes. Just want to balance it out a bit more. She tends to push outta her back leg a bit instead which can cause things like opening early or being late etc etc. nice work overall imo

Thanks WW. The pushing out of her back leg could be my fault. We were working to stop her from moving to far forward at stride. She would land very heavy on the front leg and be forced to swing. So I mentioned striding with the rear leg instead of reaching with the front while working on the new load. Maybe wrong cue?

 

[_MIA_]

On the 1st swing it looks like she has a poorly timed (small) hand pump..Not on the others though..at least from what I can see.

 

[HunterMO]

On the 1st swing it looks like she has a poorly timed (small) hand pump..Not on the others though..at least from what I can see.

Would you say the hand pump in the first video was late?

The hand pump is something that naturally has come and gone with her. We've been focusing on the lower half so much I haven't made much thought of it. The first video pitch was a CU. I'm surprised she got to it.

Jayleen claims she anticipated it coming (this pitcher had great control of it) on an 0-1 count. Yet, she still swung early and had to lunge to get it. So, I guess I don't really know what to say there. Overall, she struggles with off-speed/slower pitching. Definitely one of our next things to figure out.

 

[_MIA_]

Would you say the hand pump in the first video was late?

The hand pump is something that naturally has come and gone with her. We've been focusing on the lower half so much I haven't made much thought of it. The first video pitch was a CU. I'm surprised she got to it.

Jayleen claims she anticipated it coming (this pitcher had great control of it) on an 0-1 count. Yet, she still swung early and had to lunge to get it. So, I guess I don't really know what to say there. Overall, she struggles with off-speed/slower pitching. Definitely one of our next things to figure out.

Looked a bit late to me if you compare to Bonds or Betts for example.