When to start the load.

sarge117 · Nov 30, 2013

At times it seems my DD is starting to load a little too late and it causes her problems against the fastest pitchers.

Her bat speed is fine but it seems she is still shifting her weight back sometimes when the ball is in the air which makes catching up with it difficult.

When she times it right she kills it. But trying to come up with was way to be more consistent.

I would guess that the time to start really depends on the batter.

Any good drills for improving timing of the load part of the swing?

wichita · Nov 30, 2013

sarge117 said:
At times it seems my DD is starting to load a little too late and it causes her problems against the fastest pitchers.

Her bat speed is fine but it seems she is still shifting her weight back sometimes when the ball is in the air which makes catching up with it difficult.

When she times it right she kills it. But trying to come up with was way to be more consistent.

I would guess that the time to start really depends on the batter.

Any good drills for improving timing of the load part of the swing?

From what I've learned with both my DD's is that if your going to be anything .. load early! If your late you have no chance to time the ball up. But a a general rule my oldest DD in gold ball has for the fastest pitchers she will start her load when the pitcher is at the top of the arm circle and for average pitching she will start about half way down behind the pitcher. But really you just have to just play around with it and see where your DD can load in time to give her enough time to get to the ball. Don't really know of any drills. Hope this helps.

sarge117 · Nov 30, 2013

I guess they simply sit back if it is a changeup

wichita · Nov 30, 2013

sarge117 said:
I guess they simply sit back if it is a changeup

With the changeup you just have to keep your weight back in your load until its time to drive the rear hip forward. Most kids I've seen get their weight out front because they dont recognize the changeup quick enough and they lose all there power and it is usually just an arm swing from that point.

Rocketech1 · Dec 1, 2013

I like what Howard Carrier said "you want to dance with the pitcher". When she goes into her windup, you start your load. We sometimes do a modified version of the Barry Bonds drill where the batter hits off a pitching machine from normal distance and if she gets a good hit, she moves toward the pitcher 3 feet and so on. If she misses a pitch she moves back 3 feet, a foul ball you stay where you are. Some players can get within 10 feet of the machine and have to load very early to make contact. One of the benefits of this drill is that the batter constantly has to adjust her load and timing based on the different reaction times needed to make solid contact.

Eric F · Dec 1, 2013

sarge117 said:
At times it seems my DD is starting to load a little too late and it causes her problems against the fastest pitchers.

Her bat speed is fine but it seems she is still shifting her weight back sometimes when the ball is in the air which makes catching up with it difficult.

When she times it right she kills it. But trying to come up with was way to be more consistent.

I would guess that the time to start really depends on the batter.

Any good drills for improving timing of the load part of the swing?

Do you have video of her swing that you can share? This will really help with advice related specifically to your DD.

You mention that she has good bat speed, but where is the bat speed happening? Lots of bat speed can be generated by a long swing generated by pushing the hands back and straightening the lead arm. In this swing, her bat speed will mostly be out front, and she will have to commit to the swing early to have a chance to hit the bat well. However, this also means that she's going be mishitting a lot when she guesses wrong. Early bat speed generated by turning the barrel behind the corner means that she can wait longer to see the pitch before she has to commit.

Of course, without seeing your DD's swing, I really have not idea if this applies or not...

vdubya · Dec 1, 2013

Gems from these boards that have helped my DD tremendously:

The holy grail of hitting: Start early and load slowly. (FFS?, et al)

"Dance with the pitcher." (Carrier)

You can't start <the load> too early, you can only start too late... borrowed and modified quote from MLB regarding when to pull a pitcher.

Thanks for a very good 'hot stove' topic!
Vdub

rdbass · Dec 1, 2013

vdubya said:
The holy grail of hitting: Start early and load slowly.

"Dance with the pitcher."

You can't start <the load> too early, you can only start too late... borrowed and modified quote from MLB regarding when to pull a pitcher.

I love threads that lend to the topic of actually hitting a live pitched ball, as opposed to the common theme on these boards... improving or perfecting Sally's swing, and dissecting her mechanics. Those things certainly have their place and get plenty of air time, but may I suggest that you DON'T post any video of your daughter swinging. At least for this thread, would you just let the answers come forth. Pretty please.

The reason I ask is because the 'gem' statements I posted above have much to do with the huge offensive successes my DD has had. I can't take credit for any of those statements, but these have helped teams that I have coached in the past (tremendously) as well. I would love to see this thread play out for a while and see if any other 'gems' come out of it from the great minds on board here.

Thanks for a very good 'hot stove' topic!
Vdub

Not sure if I should post on the thread? Maybe that is why know one has posted since your request? I don't want to talk about hitting or not posting a 'gem'.
I'll see if this is OK? How about a hitter thinking yes,yes yes, on every pitched ball. The hitters only decision should be no. A hitter should be loading slow and early on every pitch whether the hitter swings or not. A hitter should stride out to toe touch on every pitch. Whether the hitter swings or not. A hitter should be thinking yes I am going to swing at every pitch untill the hitter decide to say no, I am not going to swing. Don't be a hitter that is looking to decide if they should swing or not, by then it's too late.

Eric F · Dec 1, 2013

rdbass said:
Not sure if I should post on the thread? Maybe that is why know one has posted since your request? I don't want to talk about hitting or not posting a 'gem'.
I'll see if this is OK? How about a hitter thinking yes,yes yes, on every pitched ball. The hitters only decision should be no. A hitter should be loading slow and early on every pitch whether the hitter swings or not. A hitter should stride out to toe touch on every pitch. Whether the hitter swings or not. A hitter should be thinking yes I am going to swing at every pitch untill the hitter decide to say no, I am not going to swing. Don't be a hitter that is looking to decide if they should swing or not, by then it's too late.

YES!! This was my #1 hitting lesson with my DD and her 10U Fall Ball team. Expect that EVERY pitch is going to be one to hit. Get the swing started on EVERY pitch, and hold up at the last moment ONLY if it's out of the zone (WAY out of the zone for our best hitters). You are in the box to hit the ball, not to take a walk. If you strike out taking good swings, I will give you a high-five. If you strike out looking at 3 good pitches, I will remind you about the correct mental approach.

The girls that are looking to draw a walk are obvious. When they do swing, it's late and hurried once they realize it's a good pitch. They either walk or strike out, but very rarely hit the ball hard because their mechanics are lost in their panic to swing. 6 months ago, my DD was this girl.

The top 4 hitters on my DD's Fall team rarely ever had a 2-strike count, and most often were whacking the first decent pitch they saw. I'm proud to say my DD was one of our top 4.

NoonTime · Dec 1, 2013

Come on rdbass... Stride out to toe touch on every pitch? Really? I know you say you like sitting in the back of the class but are you sure you have been in the right class?

When to start the load.

Welcome to Discuss Fastpitch

Your FREE Account is waiting to the Best Softball Community on the Web.

sarge117

wichita

sarge117

wichita

Rocketech1

Eric F

vdubya

rdbass

It wasn't me.

Eric F

NoonTime

Similar threads

Latest posts

Members online

Forum statistics

Share this page

Online statistics

Forum statistics