What drills to do to improve my daughters succes at the plate

[Westwind]

Is this a bad time to ask about 70 mph machine balls while the girls use 28 ounce slowpitch bats?

I really like the BBD, it has helped my dd's in this bucket dads opinion.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Is this a bad time to ask about 70 mph machine balls while the girls use 28 ounce slowpitch bats?

I really like the BBD, it has helped my dd's in this bucket dads opinion.

Not at all.

Keep in mind that a 70mph speed setting on many pitching machines has an exit speed on the order of 66mph ... with some being slower than that.

The use of heavier bats can help a hitter learn to use a clean sequence. As their sequence cleans up they find they can take a heavier bat and deal with pitch speeds that they couldn't have dealt with earlier using their prior inferior swing mechanics. Such is the power of promoting a clean swing sequence.

Now ... facing equivalent pitch speeds that is associated with moving up from 43ft to 15ft would have the opposite effect, and would tear down a hitter's sequence.

 

[redhotcoach]

Wow! Crystl should join the X-Men and fight evil.

That's less than 2 frames to contact.

(60mph from 5 feet)

 

[SBFAMILY]

I will tell my dd that who hit over 400 last year, since she made it to 20' with the machine at 70 with baseballs. Sure screwed up her swing ! I have seen CB very close , not sure how close. I also watched a kid at her clinic in Westerville Ohio get to 15' There are members on DFP that watched it happen. lhowser and Bouldersdad both were there. Tim's dd got very close to the machine.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

I will tell my dd that who hit over 400 last year, since she made it to 20' with the machine at 70 with baseballs. Sure screwed up her swing ! I have seen CB very close , not sure how close. I also watched a kid at her clinic in Westerville Ohio get to 15' There are members on DFP that watched it happen.

Oh, I've seen it happen myself ... first hand ... on multiple occasions ... and I can tell you that the drill tears down clean mechanics.

70mph, at 15ft, would be the equivalent reaction time of facing a 200mph pitch at 43ft.

 

[SBFAMILY]

Yet from a person that has never posted himself doing any drills with anyone, so should we take your word on it?

 

[Rocketech1]

A couple of observations. A few years ago I read here for the first time about the "barry bonds drill". I modified what was described into the following for 10U and have since used it on occasion as a fun hitting game for the girls.

- Start off pitching machine. 50mph at 35 feet and we simulate an arm circle before the pitch.
- batter swings away for about 10 pitches to get warmed up;
- on the next pitch, if the batter puts the ball in play (hit), she moves up 3 feet. If she fouls it off, she stays where she is at, if she swings and misses she goes back 3 feet (but never farther back than 35 feet).
- I have had girls make it to about 15 feet in front of the pitching screen, no problem. But they are loading early and since the ball is coming out from the exact same spot with little to no movement its not too difficult to get the bat on the ball.
- one thing to keep in mind is that you have to adjust the pitching machine slightly lower as they get close to the machine because there is less drop on the pitch and the ball stays "high in the zone". You also need to make sure they don't drift their stance into the strike zone since there is no defined batters box as you start moving forward.

In summary, I don't really know how effective or not this drill is? It may actually degrade the hitters mechanics since the girls are just trying to make contact, but on the other hand it makes them very focused on every single pitch and they love the competition to see who can make it closest to the pitcher.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Yet from a person that has never posted himself doing any drills with anyone, so should we take your word on it?

So go ahead and post a video of you doing this drill with the pitching machine set to 70mph as you advance to 15ft. You won't do it, because it would have you looking foolish.

After all ... You are the one advocating this drill ... So let's see a demonstration.

 

[lhowser]

I will tell my dd that who hit over 400 last year, since she made it to 20' with the machine at 70 with baseballs. Sure screwed up her swing ! I have seen CB very close , not sure how close. I also watched a kid at her clinic in Westerville Ohio get to 15' There are members on DFP that watched it happen. lhowser and Bouldersdad both were there. Tim's dd got very close to the machine.

I was there. Our high school which is very successful does this drill as well. Personally I do not use it and I am not an advocate of it because I think hitting is so rhythmic and this drill does not support that feel. What I have concluded however is that the drill, like many others, allows the dedicated player to become so comfortable with a bat in their hand and seeing balls at such a variety of speeds and reaction times that they just get better. So long as it is just a part of training. It doesn't support a good swing or path to the ball but it can heighten reaction, awareness, confidence and other factors that contribute to a complete ball player. Does it help promote a good swing - I would say no. Does it have benefit to the dedicated player also getting tee work, front toss, side toss, live pitch and more. I would say yes.

 

[SBFAMILY]

FFS, Looks like everyone was correct on your post! You are the one that has never posted a video on any hitting site of you doing a drill and we all know why! Plus know one has every seen you conduct a hitting session with anyone. I can at least produce members of DFP that have observed me and I don't claim to be an expert, with close to 7,000 posts must be nice to be an expert and never swinging a bat!