11 Year Old Video

[DB1]

First time posting or even taking video of my daughter. Thought I would post and see what advice I could receive. I try not to screw things up too bad. Read more on the forums than post, but am slowly learning. She typically hits pretty well. I see lots of things wrong, but not sure where to start. I would think that we could work on a little more hip coil, and also don't like the way she "slots" her elbow which is causing the bat drag.

Any ideas?

Thanks.

 

[obbay]

You stopped the video too soon. (did she make contact?) slo mo would be good, but either way video her doing a couple/three hits.

 

[DB1]

I agree about stopping it too soon. Unfortunately, her friend was the camera operator this time and that was the best we got. Will try and get better video next time.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

You stopped the video too soon. (did she make contact?) slo mo would be good, but either way video her doing a couple/three hits.

Here's a GIF of the swing ... along with a duplicate slowed down.

There looks to be a small attempt to get the "coil" process happening, but the lower body "coil-uncoil" action is basically 'erased' through the use of too much 'momentum'. A 'momentum' based swing may work at her age ... but it will likely need to be replaced as she faces higher level competition. Personally, I'd correct this portion of the swing first, as installing a "main engine" in the swing will make correcting her other issues less 'stressful' (i.e., less bouncing back & forth between lower & upper body issues).

There is also an issue with her front-side blocking mechanics. She currently has a "Shift THEN Swing" approach. Once she puts her "rear leg in charge", with a "Coil-Uncoil" approach, she will likely have more of a "Shift AND Swing" approach, at which time the front leg will be in a better position to serve a function of catching/receiving the weight shift from the back-side.

She drags the barrel ... basically out of necessity. Part of this has to do with her current "Shift THEN Swing" approach ... and part of it has to do with not understanding how to apply pressure with the hands.

My thought would be to correct the lower body first.

Best wishes.

 

[obbay]

I'm not as experienced in these matters as others, but I can tell you what I do see:

1) her step looks too long (sort of lunging). she could take a shorter stride and direct that energy into her swing better. ( I think that's the Shift THEN Swing vs the Shift AND Swing problem described by FFS.)

2) her lead elbow is too low. starts off ok but then as she gets close to contact, the elbow disappears into her sweatshirt rather than continuing to pull the bat thru the zone. This may be a symptom of something else, but it's what I see right now.

3) I saw the bat drag but it wasn't what I expect when I hear 'bat drag'. Thanks to FFS for pointing out the bat drag resulting from the shift THEN Swing mechanics. As he said, correct the lower body first.

 

[SBFAMILY]

Fix weight shift first. Watch her back shoulder go backwards. Then get her head down at contact. Then grip because right when you cut it off she looks like she is forced to roll her wrists. Start simple and have her swing slow and break the swing down into parts to fix. Why we use the Mattix drill and follow the book the " Talent Code".

 

[DB1]

Thanks for all of the replies. I really appreciate it. Will work on lower body first and see if we can make any progress that way.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Great DB1 ... if you work on this from the perspective of the rear leg either 'coiling' and 'uncoiling', then that "under the hood" action will pretty much dictate the stride ... and I suspect you'll see the 'resulting' stride to be much less than your DD's current stride.

 

[SBFAMILY]

Agree with you FFS. At toe touch, ( if she has the correct bat) she should be able to lay the bat on the ground and it should be toe to toe. That gives you an idea of the correct stride. I always start at the bottom of the body and work up. At this age keep is simple and don't overload her.

 

[lkgrge17]

Looks like a huge step. I seem to notice because of the step you can see her head drop lower, actually changing her look at the ball during the delivery of the ball. Her head goes up/down and back up again. I teach my kids to lift the front leg and put it down where you picked it up from. The foot usually comes down a few inches in front of where it started, but thats ok. The torque provided by the rotation of the hips will give you enough power. A big step is unneceessary.What I teach them to do is when they load the bat, keep their eyes on the same plane (No head raise or lowering) both eyes seeing the ball. As they plant the front foot and rotate the hips I want their eyes at the same plane (No head raise or lowering). During the completion of the swing the eyes should be focused on the ball as it comes in contact. This is a game of the 1/2 inch as I have seen someone post on here b4. The big step, makinging the plane (height) of the eyes changing during the swing can cause a player to miss a pitch. Try it yourself and you will see. I also teach them to stay RELAXED and get a nice solid swing...DO NOT TRY AND KILL THE BALL. Where you put the bat on the ball is more important then how hard you hit it.
hope that made sense Good Luck