11yo swing analysis

[FiveFrameSwing]

I’m encouraged. We aren't there yet ... still a long way to go actually .... but you've taken a small step in the right direction.

While the rear hip load has a lot of room for further improvement, I do see improvement. Nice use of the front leg ... not an uncommon solution ... and it's a start.

I also like that she didn’t lead back with her hands when she loaded her rear hip. You are to be congratulated for that. Well done! That can sometimes be a tricky point ... and you seem to have worked through it nicely.

Her sequence is also moving in the right direction … another plus for the two of you.

Also notice that the premature external rotation of the front leg is gone. That's a good sign that she is learning to instead harness unloading the energy being "gathered" into her backside. Another plus for you.

There is a small bat drag issue … we’ll address that after we get the explosion out of her rear hip improved. The good news is that we are already seeing improvement in her barrel path ... she didn't trap the barrel nearly as much this time ... and we may see further improvement when we get the unloading of her hips improved. We'll see how far this improves on its own as we go .... but don't be surprised if we have to ask for a modification in this area of her swing as we advance.

Let’s lower the tee to about her waist ... I need to see her repeat this swing with the tee at this level. I'm looking for something ... and I don't want to bias you as to what I'm looking for.

Let's also move the tee further up front. Bring it to about even with where her front knee ends up during her stride. We’ll have you move the tee back to being deep later … but first lets get her used to Coiling and Exploding out of her coil … and that will be tougher to accomplish if we trap her. This will give her a chance to unload/uncoil/explode ... and we'll see the resulting rotation from that explosion.

What we want is for her to feel like she’s gathering energy in her rear hip area in preparation to swing ... to explode. Tell her that the feel should be that of “gathering energy” to “explode”.

Now ... one more small little thing ... and if your daughter succeeds with this, then we can move forward. If not, not to worry, we'll simply review something folks refer to as "The Move" and get her moving along with that information ... but she's young ... so let's see if we can perform a short cut.

Let's keep her upper body posture in her 'stance' for now ... BUT, ... let's modify her lower body. Try to mimic something along the lines of how the legs are bent at the "start" of the video clip below.

With her legs bent like this in her stance ... I want you to have her feel like she could either bend further or bend less. Sound strange? Yes ... I'm sure that does sound strange. What I want is for your daughter's leg muscles to feel "evenly balanced" such that she could "stand up" or "sit down" further. I want her to be "dynamically balanced" with her legs in her stance. Not just statically balanced, but dynamically balanced. Here's a short video that may help you better understand what I want her to do. Take note of when the guy touches his quads and hamstrings and says "feel springy" ... that's the feel I want your daughter to capture in her stance.




Okay? Do this for me. Move the tee up further & lower. Start with the legs more dynamically balanced. Then Coil (gather energy), Stretch, and explode/unload/swing.

Hang in there. Progress may appear small ... but focus on just this for a short bit and we'll take care of the rest if your energy level remains.

p.s.
Do me a favor ... the frame rates you are capturing video at are overkill. Please drop it down to 60fps or even 30fps (no lower than that). That will make my job of analyzing the video much easier.

 

[whatsup]

How is the overhand throw? When she breaks her hands for overhand throw, does she have elbows up and palms down or palms up and elbows down ?

Tom: Palms down. Follows the "thumb to thigh, knuckles to the sky" sequence.

...Do this for me. Move the tee up further & lower. Start with the legs more dynamically balanced. Then Coil (gather energy), Stretch, and explode/unload/swing.

Will do. Thanks for the help!

 

[cshilt]

Some good progress so far and balance is something to work on. She is still stacking the rear leg prior to lifting her lead foot for the stride. This makes it hard to provide any resistance from the backside.



I'd like to see her widen the stance slightly, for her, about the length of the bat between her feet. Bend at the waist, soften the knees so that the knees are over the toes and the weight is off of the heels. Her heels don't have to be off of the ground, but she should feel them lift off of the inside of her shoe. She should feel the weight evenly distributed on both legs with more weight on the inside of her feet. She should feel the pressure on the big toes and be able to wiggle her "pinky" toes inside of her shoes.

When she picks up her lead foot to stride her weight should not go backwards. She should just pick up her front foot and go forward. To test this put your hand on her lead shoulder and have her pick up her lead foot. If her weight goes backwards her shoulder will move away from your hand. If she keeps her weight inside her rear foot, her weight will go forward and you will feel the resistance.

 

[Chris O'Leary]

I’m encouraged. We aren't there yet ... still a long way to go actually .... but you've taken a small step in the right direction.

Her weight is getting much too far back.

I don't have a problem with a bit of coil, but you have to do it while keeping the back hip forward of the back foot.

This is a little bit of coil and a lot of sway.

Longoria is an aberration, which is why I wouldn't teach what he does.

P.S. The tee is too far back in her stance, which is why she pops the ball up. The tee needs to be where her front heel lands.

 

[Chris O'Leary]

Tom: Palms down. Follows the "thumb to thigh, knuckles to the sky" sequence.

This is dangerous and can lead to elbow problems, which is why no good baseball or softball players actually do this.

 

[lhowser]

P.S. The tee is too far back in her stance, which is why she pops the ball up. The tee needs to be where her front heel lands.

Actually this is very important. It is discouraging to not hit the ball cleanly of the tee. Definately make this adjustment.

Regarding sway, here is something I would love to see the poster of this thread experiment with. Go to the Model Swings link on this hitting forum. Go to a homerun swing that seems to look like a good solid swing, side view. Place your mouse cursur on the batters helmet at the point when the front heel drops and the rotational aspect of the swing begins. The head will not or barely moves forward. Now do the same with your DD. The head probably moves forward a good 8". A strong indication of a lunge towards the ball. Don't want to lunge towards the ball.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Her weight is getting much too far back.

I don't have a problem with a bit of coil, but you have to do it while keeping the back hip forward of the back foot.

This is a little bit of coil and a lot of sway.

Longoria is an aberration, which is why I wouldn't teach what he does.

P.S. The tee is too far back in her stance, which is why she pops the ball up. The tee needs to be where her front heel lands.

Just a bit of patience please CO.

We will get there. We are asking her to improve her dynamic balance with her legs. Depending on how she implements this, that can solve the issue. If it doesn’t correct the issue, then we’ll proceed and teach “The Move”.

We also asked her to lower the tee. I suspect we’ll uncover an issue there as well … and if that happens then we'll address the upper body posture issue that Cshilt spoke of ... but first we'll benefit from seeing her swing performed with the tee lowered ... and if she struggles, then we educate her on the swing plane and advance them along.

If we proceed in an orderly fashion then we stand a good chance of making significant progress.

Patience ... we'll get there.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

She can't get to extension, because she is too close to the plate. I measure up with my bat extended, so that it will reach the outside of the plate. I do not teach, scooting up to the plate and then touching the outside corner of the plate. When the batter swings she has 4 inches of the ball on the outside of the strike zone.

I teach my hitting students to lay their bat down, across the back corner of the plate, just touching the outside of the strike zone. Their front foot, then goes where the knob of the bat is.

I need a photo of where the tee goes for a down the middle strike. I set it in front of the plate, even farther out than the girl in the red pants has hers.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

This is dangerous and can lead to elbow problems, which is why no good baseball or softball players actually do this.

CO, I think I see where Tom is going with this.

Notice that she presently doesn't cock, or load. her hands. We will get to this and show her how to cock the hands at the start of the "Stretch". All things in good time. We'll get there.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

She can't get to extension, because she is too close to the plate. I measure up with my bat extended, so that it will reach the outside of the plate. I do not teach, scooting up to the plate and then touching the outside corner of the plate. When the batter swings she has 4 inches of the ball on the outside of the strike zone.

I teach my hitting students to lay their bat down, across the back corner of the plate, just touching the outside of the strike zone. Their front foot, then goes where the knob of the bat is.

I need a photo of where the tee goes for a down the middle strike. I set it in front of the plate, even farther out than the girl in the red pants has hers.

Amy ... very nice! I especially like how you mention an issue and describe a solution.