Anti-Slap Hitting Coach.....

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Nov 29, 2009
2,975
83
Turtle, not every player is a candidate for being turned around. They need to be quick from home to 1st. They need to be fluid and above all they need to be intelligent at the plate and understand game situations, defenses and pitches.

What I tell my slappers when they are stepping up to the plate is to "Pick a victim." See which defender looks to be the weakest, slowest or out of position and use the appropriate tool to attack them. They need to be able run through the option progressions as they step into the box and see what the defense is doing as well as what's happening with the base runners.

There are a lot of coaches who have a "grip-it-and-rip-it" mentality for all of their hitters. That's fine if you have a team built for it. Usually teams are mixtures of power, speed and finesse. A good coach needs to understand how to use the pluses of all three instead of trying to mold all of the players into one type.
 
Nov 5, 2009
549
18
St. Louis MO
The best hitter on my DD team started as a lefty slapper. Very good speed. She did nothing but slap or power slap for a few years. She became an expert at placing the ball and controlling her contact point. She had a lot of doubles and a few HR. In 16U, she started working hard on swinging away. She is now a Sr in HS, 5'3" 135 lb, still very fast and a legitimate HR threat every time she comes to the plate. 7 games into the season, she's hitting .762, 28 PA, 6 1B, 7 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 7 BB, 0 K +12 SB. She's our lead off hitter and no she's not my DD. She's committed D1 one. Sometimes she slaps and sometimes she swings away, she's almost impossible to defend. Every one of her put outs has been on a caught fly ball. Rarely, do we have to burn an out bunting her to 2B to get her in scoring position.
 
Apr 30, 2010
259
28
Artic Circle
Am I missing something here? Shouldn't coaches/parents teach their players to hit first? I see posts talking about teaching their 8U or 10U player to slap and I do not think a player of that age has mastered swinging a bat properly.

I would think that a good left handed hitter with speed could learn to slap rather quickly when they are in high school or college.

Kids I have watched TRY to slap in high school are nothing but easy outs for a good HS infielder. I do live in an area where softball is not a year round sport...
 
Mar 18, 2013
105
16
MN
Hi guys don't mean to hijack the thread, but wanted to throw this question out there - what do you coaches think of a pitcher (right handed) who lefty slaps? DD is R pitcher and had decent success this past season on the other side of the plate. I was always wondering about potential injury though to her right arm, hand, fingers et.
 
Dec 12, 2012
1,668
0
On the bucket
Hi guys don't mean to hijack the thread, but wanted to throw this question out there - what do you coaches think of a pitcher (right handed) who lefty slaps? DD is R pitcher and had decent success this past season on the other side of the plate. I was always wondering about potential injury though to her right arm, hand, fingers et.

DD has been doing just that for 4 years now. She can drop a bunt down, soft slap, power slap, and hit away with power as a lefty. Previous hitting coach converted her at the beginning of 12U due to her speed.

To specifically answer your question. I'm all for it if she is fast. If she doesn't have wheels, then I wouldn't bother. Be prepared for about 6-8 months of struggles at the plate. After that she will begin to use speed to get on base and it progresses from there. Do not (IMO) let her switch from R to L at the plate. This will hinder her progress significantly.
 
Dec 12, 2012
1,668
0
On the bucket
Am I missing something here? Shouldn't coaches/parents teach their players to hit first? I see posts talking about teaching their 8U or 10U player to slap and I do not think a player of that age has mastered swinging a bat properly.

I would think that a good left handed hitter with speed could learn to slap rather quickly when they are in high school or college.

Kids I have watched TRY to slap in high school are nothing but easy outs for a good HS infielder. I do live in an area where softball is not a year round sport...

Slapping is harder than hitting. A lot of things are going on while running trying to hit the ball - at least hit the ball correctly.
 
Mar 18, 2013
105
16
MN
DD has been doing just that for 4 years now. She can drop a bunt down, soft slap, power slap, and hit away with power as a lefty. Previous hitting coach converted her at the beginning of 12U due to her speed.

To specifically answer your question. I'm all for it if she is fast. If she doesn't have wheels, then I wouldn't bother. Be prepared for about 6-8 months of struggles at the plate. After that she will begin to use speed to get on base and it progresses from there. Do not (IMO) let her switch from R to L at the plate. This will hinder her progress significantly.

Thanks cuz - she is only average in speed. I think her success this summer was mainly against average teams with average defensive skills. The new team she is on now is much more competitive and a first year 14. I think her time is probably better spent working on her right handed swing.
 
Jun 27, 2011
5,089
0
North Carolina
Slapping is harder than hitting. A lot of things are going on while running trying to hit the ball - at least hit the ball correctly.

I'd be curious to get a debate going on this. I don't have an opinion because I've never worked with a slapper or watched one's development up close. If it's harder, does that make it important to start the switch early to slapping if you're a natural righty? I know a girl who's always hit about .270 righty but she's very fast. As a 9th grader, she decided to go lefty full-time. Learning to slap. Very little experience going lefty prior to that. Is that hard to do starting that 'late'? (Not my DD, btw.)
 
Oct 16, 2008
164
18
SE Michigan
I'd be curious to get a debate going on this. I don't have an opinion because I've never worked with a slapper or watched one's development up close. If it's harder, does that make it important to start the switch early to slapping if you're a natural righty? I know a girl who's always hit about .270 righty but she's very fast. As a 9th grader, she decided to go lefty full-time. Learning to slap. Very little experience going lefty prior to that. Is that hard to do starting that 'late'? (Not my DD, btw.)

I've worked with dozens of HS age players who have switched to LH with slapping during HS. Almost all hit at least .300 the first year but continued to improve significantly each year though out their career, eventually receiving all conference or all state recognition...a few even made it as D1 players. Speed, practice and parent/coach support are the key factors.
 

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