Any suggestions to improve my DD's swing?

[CesarSaenz]

The video isn't very long, but as a single dad who work alone with her most of the time, it's kind of difficult to get some good footage. She just turned 8, and has only been playing for 5 months. She tried out for a select team here in Texas this past summer and has been playing with them since. She has showed a lot of interest so we're practicing quite a bit.

I'm working on developing a little more power and using her bottom half of body every time. Any major suggestions you see right away? She doesn't strike out much, but not a lot of strong hits yet.

Thanks


8u Softball Swing - YouTube

 

[CesarSaenz]

8u Softball Swing - YouTube

 

[James Smith]

Here is her video:

 

[Eric F]

Here's a few things I'm seeing...

- It looks like she coils into the rear hip fairly well, but the drive of her lower body never finishes. The lower body and back is the source of power. Her rear hip needs to fire forward completely - and forcefully - so her belly-button is facing the pitcher, and the drive of the rear hip needs to lead the hands - hip, then hands. Look into the SNF (stretch and fire) drill.

- Her upper body movement is dominated by her arms. As is extremely common for young hitters, she drops the barrel flat behind her, straightens the lead arm, and swings in a flat, circular pattern. The goal is to get her to understand that the bat is swung by the hands, not the arms. Learning to "turn the barrel" (do a search for that term, LOTS of threads about it) with her hands, powered by SNF mechanics will get her on a much better path.

With her current swing pattern and good coordination, she will be able to make contact against a lot of average pitchers. As her strength increases, so will her ability to hit the ball a little harder. However, against good pitching, she will struggle. A lot of this has to to with how much she has to move her hands to get the bat to contact. She has to start her swing very early, and it doesn't give her much of a chance to see the ball before being all in. Learning to turn the barrel, and generate early bat speed by hand rotation, will allow her to see the ball for longer before committing. Once she learns the proper mechanics, they will continue to serve her well in the years to come, against the best pitching she will face.

My DD is 9yo, and I'm only a little bit ahead of you on the road away from the same drop-the-barrel and early-lead-arm-extension swing pattern. A lot of us are battling the same thing.

 

[Eric F]

BTW - Welcome to DFP!

 

[knightsb]

Heap plenty of praise on that girl. Tell her very nice job. Cesar, watching that makes me wish I could rewind the clock. You make sure she knows you are her biggest fan.

 

[knightsb]

Wow, what an athletic looking stance.

Gets some TCB Wiffles or Jugs Lite Flite and throw her tons of front toss.

 

[CesarSaenz]

Here's a few things I'm seeing...

- It looks like she coils into the rear hip fairly well, but the drive of her lower body never finishes. The lower body and back is the source of power. Her rear hip needs to fire forward completely - and forcefully - so her belly-button is facing the pitcher, and the drive of the rear hip needs to lead the hands - hip, then hands. Look into the SNF (stretch and fire) drill.

- Her upper body movement is dominated by her arms. As is extremely common for young hitters, she drops the barrel flat behind her, straightens the lead arm, and swings in a flat, circular pattern. The goal is to get her to understand that the bat is swung by the hands, not the arms. Learning to "turn the barrel" (do a search for that term, LOTS of threads about it) with her hands, powered by SNF mechanics will get her on a much better path.

With her current swing pattern and good coordination, she will be able to make contact against a lot of average pitchers. As her strength increases, so will her ability to hit the ball a little harder. However, against good pitching, she will struggle. A lot of this has to to with how much she has to move her hands to get the bat to contact. She has to start her swing very early, and it doesn't give her much of a chance to see the ball before being all in. Learning to turn the barrel, and generate early bat speed by hand rotation, will allow her to see the ball for longer before committing. Once she learns the proper mechanics, they will continue to serve her well in the years to come, against the best pitching she will face.

My DD is 9yo, and I'm only a little bit ahead of you on the road away from the same drop-the-barrel and early-lead-arm-extension swing pattern. A lot of us are battling the same thing.

Eric, thanks a lot for all of your input -- and thanks for my welcoming me to DFP. Everything you mentioned is accurate and what we have been working on for a few weeks now. I think some of the change impacted her swing a little. She had a tough time making contact for a few weeks, and then recently got back into her groove. As a ball player myself, I know that sometimes we have those types of games/days.

My biggest frustration was whether or not I was seeing the obvious problem. After reading your post, I definitely think those issues are spot on. I often compare her to other girls her size, who have very poor mechanics, and are sleighing the ball. I don't understand how it's possible for them to drive the ball with such poor mechanics. I plan on looking up the SNF drill tonight that way we can make some improvements. As soon as I see some improvements, I will have a follow up video for more suggestions.

Best of luck to your 9 year old DD and to yourself of course... It can be challenging!

Thanks again, Eric.

 

[CesarSaenz]

Wow, what an athletic looking stance.

Gets some TCB Wiffles or Jugs Lite Flite and throw her tons of front toss.

Thanks, Knightsb! I give my DD lots of praise for all of her accomplishments, thus far. I'm very proud of where she is skill wise for only being in the game for 5 months. She was thrown in at pitcher on her select team, and had to quickly learn the game (of course, we put in a lot of hours each week to ensure the knowledge and for her safety.) We will definitely add some TCB balls and Jugs to our daily regimen. I'm hoping she will develop some good power in a matter of months. Either way, this dad is still proud!

 

[Perfect Circle]

Welcome.... Nice Post !!!