Thread: 16U popping up

I am really just learning this, but my daughter has a decent swing and I'll be getting her to a coach at some point in the near future. But she is recently popping everything up. It appears when she swings her back shoulder is lower than her front. Any advice on how to correct?

Originally Posted by DLE72

I am really just learning this, but my daughter has a decent swing and I'll be getting her to a coach at some point in the near future. But she is recently popping everything up. It appears when she swings her back shoulder is lower than her front. Any advice on how to correct?

Do you mean high fly balls to the outfield, or infield pop-ups?

The back shoulder SHOULD be below the front at contact. But, not in the stance. The shoulder dips, but the hands stay up.

Pop-ups in the infield are often caused from swinging down too much and too long. Dropping the hands and/or looping can cause high fly balls to the outfield.

We need to see video.

Both, but mostly fly balls to the outfield. She is not a power hitter per se, but always makes good contact. I'll try to shoot some video this evening and get it posted up this evening or tomorrow.

I dont' like the idea of "swinging level" either. To have the best chance of squaring up the ball, the swing plane needs to match the plane of the pitch. But, right now she thinks she's swinging at the middle of the ball, but as shown by the result, she's under and popping it up.

Since she's 16U and probably pretty set in her mechanics, get her to understand what her top hand does in controlling her swing plane. Get in the cage and ask her to aim over the ball, under the ball and then line drives. If she can feel what her top hand needs to do to get on the proper plane, she can make changes within her at-bats to adjust, pitch to pitch. Also, check her grip, make sure she's palm-up, palm-down at contact.

Thanks all, for the help. We're going to be working on this one as hard as we can. I'm having some difficulty in getting the video to post, but I'm working on it. I'll get it posted as soon as I can. I'm also toying with getting her an Insider Bat, to help with her hand positioning. Thoughts?

Originally Posted by DLE72

Thanks all, for the help. We're going to be working on this one as hard as we can. I'm having some difficulty in getting the video to post, but I'm working on it. I'll get it posted as soon as I can. I'm also toying with getting her an Insider Bat, to help with her hand positioning. Thoughts?

I like the insider bat. Some people don't.

Have her do this drill:



With a bat like this:
D-BAT One Hand Trainer: OHT-S Small Training Bat

Then do the same basic movements with a regular length bat using two hands.