DD and "turning the barrel"

I was hoping someone could explain the "turn the barrel" to me. I have read a lot of threads talking about this but it doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Forgive me but I'm having problems getting the video of her uploaded, will keep trying. She has good stance and good load, she needs to engage the hips before the arms, working on that. She has a real good sound swing but the ball never goes out of the infield??? She bats right and I noticed that her right palm is pointing towards the pitcher. Is this causing no power? Is this where she needs to turn the barrel?? what direction does the barrel turn and which hand leads this?

Thanks

The term "turn the barrel" refers to the rotation of the bat from the load position to contact, with the hands being the center of rotation. At launch, the barrel of the bat initially travels rearward (towards the catcher) and is "turned" to contact. A big part of grasping this concept is understanding that the hands - not the arms - swing the bat.

How old is your DD? If you have a link to the video clip on YouTube, that will work just fine.

Here's a few clips that may help your understanding of "turn the barrel" ...

Look at the direction of travel of the barrel at launch. That's the important moment.



Here's the full turn.

[video=youtube_share;X37JmdVBbpg]http://youtu.be/X37JmdVBbpg[/video]

Above is a youtube link to my DD swing. She is 10. Any advise would be appreciated. Like I said she has no power in her swing. I know that the hips need to start before the swing, we are working on that.

Thanks

[video=youtube_share;3-NrXoXADyE]http://youtu.be/3-NrXoXADyE[/video]

Here is a more recent video.

This biggest issue is that the arms are her primary source of power and the lower body is contributing almost nothing. This is why the ball isn't leaving the infield.

I suggest starting by getting her lower body working right. The rear hip should be driven forward - HARD! - against a firm front side. Right now, she's "squishing the bug" with her rear leg spinning in place, and no weight shift.

A couple of drills that helped my DD (8yo at the time) learn how stride and fire the rear hip...

"Kick drill"


"Walk-through drill" (aka Happy Gillmore)

Thanks for the help will start doing these right away.

jsnfltn said:

I know that the hips need to start before the swing ...

Click to expand...

Turning the barrel is part of the swing. You are correct that the hips need to start before the swing. Therefore, I'd be focusing on how to use the hips, how to load her hands, how to do that in sync, how to get to toe touch in a good attacking position. If she can do better at that phase, it becomes easier to turn the barrel and throw it a the ball. Her power shortage is not about how she's turning the barrel, IMO. It's about how she's NOT loading and using the hips. Her hands are halfway to the ball before her hips engage, and when they do move, they just make her spin. There are players who don't turn the barrel well and still knock the crap out of the ball. (Not that I'm recommending that). But there aren't any players w/ power who start w/ hands first and just spin the hips later.

Also, I'm merely a parent who has learned a ton here and worked w/ my daughter to make her better, so I welcome any disagreement.

jsnfltn said:

[video=youtube_share;3-NrXoXADyE]http://youtu.be/3-NrXoXADyE[/video]

Here is a more recent video.

Click to expand...

Casey Matrix 2013 - YouTube
Here is one of my daughters doing a slow motion sequence. Work on a slow rythym to start. Do it in front of a large mirror.
Feet, hips, grab the upper body, turn the hands and bat through. Try to get the body parts in the right order first.
Start slow then speed up, little by little. Dont be in a hurry.

Start her swing like she is fielding a ball. Balance, centered, athletic. Watch my daughter at the start of the swing, if she dropped her bat and grabed a glove she would be centered and in her fielding position, athletic and balanced. start there in stead of leaning back.


Just my take on it
Good luck


SL

Eric F said:

This biggest issue is that the arms are her primary source of power and the lower body is contributing almost nothing. This is why the ball isn't leaving the infield.

I suggest starting by getting her lower body working right. The rear hip should be driven forward - HARD! - against a firm front side. Right now, she's "squishing the bug" with her rear leg spinning in place, and no weight shift.

A couple of drills that helped my DD (8yo at the time) learn how stride and fire the rear hip...

"Kick drill"

"Walk-through drill" (aka Happy Gillmore)

Click to expand...

Take note of what is powering the resulting rear leg action you see in the kick drill. Pay special attention to the retention of tension in the rear upper thigh area.

Regarding slow motion demonstrations ... hitters can demonstrate fairly accurately what they are trying to accomplish during a slow motion swing ... either correctly or incorrectly ... it's simply easy to control what you are doing when moving slowly ... and that includes improperly taking a path of greater resistance. Occasionally I’ll ask a hitter to demonstrate a slow motion swing. What I’m trying to do with that request is get a handle on what they perceive their swing to ideally look like. When someone demonstrates a slow motion swing that grossly refutes the Hanson Principle then I know to leery of what is being presented.

More examples of 'kick drill' ....