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Sep 1, 2014
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My DD rarely stikes out but her contact has been spotty as she seems to be out in front too much. I believe it is her load - too early - she starts when the pitcher pulls the ball out of her glove and back into her motion. But this would not matter that much if she waited on the ball...I really am looking for some tips I can give her to wait on the ball. Are there any tips any of you can share other than wait? All other aspects of her swing look good - she just gets too far in front. I should mention that everyone who has saw her has mentioned what fast hands she has...which would normally be considered a good trait but is probably not helping this problem at all.
 
May 24, 2013
12,461
113
So Cal
Do you have any video you can share of her swing? There might be a number of factors contributing to the issue.
 

Ken Krause

Administrator
Admin
May 7, 2008
3,911
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Mundelein, IL
It does sound like she's loading too early, depending on the speed of the pitcher. Hitters need to adjust the start of their load to the speed of the pitcher.

One thing I find often happens is the hitter gets "stalled" in her swing. The point of loading is to overcome inertia in order to have a smoother, more powerful swing. Think about how you hammer in a nail. The first move is away from the nail so you can "bounce off" that move and bring the hammer down better.

If you load too early, and go right away you will likely be early. If you load too early and then try to time the ball correctly, you might just sit on the back leg, negating the benefit of the load. Then you have to start from scratch, essentially, getting your body in motion going forward. I call that condition "early to be late" since the hitter often lets the ball get too deep. Neither is ideal.

Getting young players to understand the need to change the timing of the start of the swing to adjust to the pitcher can be challenging. They may understand what you're saying, but they don't process the information the same way. I find a lot of them like to use one visual trigger for all occasions. It takes a while to learn - and then when they're under pressure they can still fall back on old habits.

One way to help them learn not to load early is to do front toss. If you see an early load, say when you start your circle, just stop the pitch. A lot of times they don't realize they're doing it until that happens. You can also try giving them visual cues, such as don't start your load until the pitcher is on the back side of the circle. At the younger ages, it might not be until the ball is on its way.

To me, it's sort of like learning to catch fly balls in the outfield. There's no substitute for just seeing a lot of fly balls off a bat.
 

JJsqueeze

Dad, Husband....legend
Jul 5, 2013
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safe in an undisclosed location
You really should post a video...from my experience anyone who uses "fast hands" as a hitting cue is usually looking at exactly the wrong things, so you may be relying on coaches input that is off base.
 

ian

Jun 11, 2015
1,175
48
She's probably just amped up for the game. Is she out in front during practice? Im no professional batting instructor but when ive had players out in front I tell them to relax and crush the ball to right center.
 
Sep 1, 2014
85
8
Ken...I agree. Sometimes, to make matters worse, it seems as though she slows her swing down because in mid swing she realizes she is in front. I did front toss last weekend and she hit shots...this is how I concluded it must just be an early load issue...out of 50 balls, she hit about 35-40 hard shots. But of course I told her to wait to load until I was just about releasing...and I stopped mid motion if she was loading early...her first game this weekend she hit shots - 2 hard grounders for singles. But by later in day she was way out front again. I am a decent pitcher when I pull back and then straight through but am not a good pitcher when I have to do a circle - so I am sure that does not help in grooving a visual cue. Any other visual or otherwise cues to start the load?
 
Last edited:
Sep 1, 2014
85
8
Ian - good point...she did well in front toss (after some stops and starts on my part)...and even did well in first game- but by later in day was way out in front. Pitching was very slow which did not help but I think you are right about being amped...I think if I could get her a visual cue she could slow the start of her load - then she could make it a routine habit type of thing.
 

rdbass

It wasn't me.
Jun 5, 2010
9,131
83
Not here.
Starting your 'load' later is not the 'answer' in MHO. The 'load' should always be 'early and slow' to the pitchers movement/motion. The 'unloading' should be dependent on the 'release of the ball. Your DD needs to TIME THE BALL IN AIR. But, not seeing video of the swing I'm just guessing on your DD's problem of being 'out front'.
 

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