Anti-Slap Hitting Coach.....

AllDay said:

Hi Folks,

One my DD's Coaches thinks that Slap Hitting is a waste. Whenever I mention slap hitting to him he gets a bit agitated and starts spurting negative comments, trying to discourage me from looking into this. He says things such as "hitters don't need to slap hit" and he won't even consider the positive aspects.

I see and hear that Slapping is a big part of the game - but I think I'm working with a dinosaur that is unable to see the importance and value of being a ball player that can effectively slap hit where needed.

Help me out here. Is he right? Is slapping not worth the time when you can hit? Do recruiters and college coaches care about having slap hitters? I need some good ammunition to shoot back at the Anti-Slap Hitting Coach.

Thanks in advance!

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I'm a big fan of slapping. If I could have at least four in my lineup I'd take it every time. One of our slappers (Class of 2014) who is signed with a DI school hit right handed as a freshman in high school. At the high school level she hit about four home runs and eight doubles from the right side as a freshman. She was in the process of moving to the left side during her freshman year and made a full transition during her travel season. The next high school season she switch hit, while her junior and senior seasons she full-time slapped. This season she had 10 doubles as a slapper, which was a career high. She plays for one of the top travel programs in the nation.

We are at a smaller private school (about 650 kids) so we have a few kids who play "A" travel and others who don't play travel at all. We turned around a right handed hitter to the left side between her freshman and sophomore season and she went from being a very mediocre right handed hitter to an all-area caliber slapper. However, she worked at it like crazy and she is super smart (35 ACT and now a student at Duke).

I think if you are going to make a girl a slapper it's best to teach them to power slap, soft slap, and drag. When I first started coaching slappers I was too focused with the girls who moved from right side to left side on just soft slapping and I think I hindered their development. We take a much more comprehensive approach now.

I think another important aspect to learning to be an effective slapper is to play good competition. If you are playing B or C level teams, a fast lefty can drag to get on base almost every time. You need to play against teams that know how to take that away from you, and force you to learn to do something else.

I have a player we turned around in August. We had just moved up from 12U, and in the fall she would basically just get her bat on the ball and out run the throw to 1B. We worked on her swing over the winter, and this weekend she had 2 solid line drives for hits over a drawn in infield. However, she could not beat out a single soft slap all weekend, as the defenders were just too good, and her bat control in placing the ball in the 5-6 hole is just not there yet. She saw just how much more work she needs to do, because the best teams can take away one aspect of your game, and if you can't adjust, you won't be successful.

As a coach, nothing worries me more than slappers. It seems they never give us an easy out. Big hitters will hit easy fly balls more than they hit HR's. Slappers make us work every time. Then when they get on, they can create bedlam and flummox the entire D. HR hitters get their trot, then we are back to business.

I know I'm a dinosaur. But I like winning games. I like slappers.

Out in Left Field said:

If they don't get it by V, they won't be slappers.

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I'd say if they haven't started to get it by 12 years of age, they are at a big disadvantage of ever being truly good at it.

Slapping, well executed, can be a very, very effective offensive strategy. However, like good pitchers, good slappers are a rare commodity. Slapping requires a ton of innate talent and a lot of extra work to be effective. Just for starters, very few girls are fast enough to succeed with slapping at a high level. So, with that said...

Most hitters should not be converted to being slappers. In college weak hitters are often converted to slapping especially if they had good speed. One girl that I was coaching who bats right-handed and is tall and strong had a father who wanted to convert her to slapping. After an especially awesome display of hitting during batting practice by his DD, I went up to him and asked, "Are you sure you want to make her a slapper?"

I like having 1-2 slappers in the lineup, and speedy power slappers are a premium offensive weapon. My reasoning is that they force the defense to have to think about a lot of different possibilities each time they come up. The more the defense has to worry about, the more pressure they're feeling and one of our primary offensive goals is to constantly pressure the defense.

Every coach has a different philosophy, though, and as a parent, it's up to you to help your DD find the best fit for her tool set.

3 slappers on our team two had the highest batting average and on base percentage, last year at 14A . that was mosty bunting and hitting away .Moved to 16 and played our first tourney this past weekend , dd hit her first over the fence hr and tripled. All three girls are just under 3seconds to first ,fast but not blazing speed . beat out every bunt they layed down. this was a usa elite showcase. speed kills. I can't recall dd every being put out on a slap to the 5 hole , now if she could just hit that spot every time. she beats out slaps and bunts on her solid high school team also .

Anyone watching the NCAA playoffs in softball would laugh at this thread. Many teams the first three hitters were all slappers. As someone posted if you are really good slapper a college will give you $$$$. After the pitcher ,catcher my dd was what the college coach wanted next. CF , and very fast. But she could also hit for power. Few good slappers in college only slap. Just as info, the best batting average this year in college D1 was a slapper!

I just told one of my older kids and their parents who will move on after the year that her best bet at the next level is to become an effective slapper. She's not very powerful but awfully quick and is a lefty. She's starting to work on it now - her bunting is excellent and is getting more proficient with the bat. I did explain that it's a commitment and will have some hard days at the plate but she is getting comfy at it.

A good slapper not only puts pressure on a defense but also can drive up the pitch count on a pitcher. I think slapping should be treated as bunting and if you foul a third strike slap it should be an out.