Worked with a coach in 12u once. His daughter was struggling at the plate so he decided that she would bunt in EVERY SINGLE AT BAT. Problem is that bunting is hard to do too. So she would be up there bunting at the ball until she got 2 strikes on her. Then, she HAD to swing the bat after having failed at bunting and never swinging the bat earlier in the count.
Now, here is my problem with this kind of thinking...
NOBODY is a good hitter on the first pitch they swing at. Someone who claims to be a first pitch hitter usually really isn't, they just remember one or two times when they hit the first pitch well. I did an analysis one time of our team, tracking how many 1st swing hits there were and the team batting average was something like 200 points LOWER when they put the first pitch they swung at in play than if they hit later in the count. Every now and then, ya...you get that first pitch and you drive it. But more likely, because you are trying to get your timing down and you are making mental adjustments, that first pitch you swing at is going to be missed or fouled off. And that is a GOOD thing.
That kid ended up batting about .150 on the season with next to no walks and only 1 bunt hit all year and striking out 2 out of 3 times for the season. And this was a kid who, while not a great player, wasn't a buck fifty hitter either. The dad's justification was that she was struggling swinging the bat, so he was going to try something new rather than letting her keep swinging and making outs (even though the outs were usually ground balls in the infield...better than a K most of the time).
IMO, bunting is just as hard as hitting. And hitting is next to impossible if you have 2 strikes on you and you haven't swung at a pitch yet. By having someone bunt at (almost) every plate appearance, unless they turn out to be a great bunter and have sufficient speed, you are putting them at a severe disadvantage when they end up having to swing the bat. A bunter needs to be able to get on base at LEAST as often as they could by swinging the bat...even if the only way they get on base when swinging is by getting hit or drawing a walk. Bunting also takes a lot of confidence to stand up in the box, get the bat in the right position, lean closer to the plate, etc. A kid who isn't confident hitting probably isn't going to be confident bunting.
I'd start with a LOT of tee work. Get her used to making contact with the ball. Then move on to side/front toss and make sure she is ALWAYS looking at the ball. Too many kids are looking at the coach in the eye when the ball is released. Move the ball around in front of you and make sure their eyes are tracking the ball and not looking somewhere else. Make sure in front toss that YOU can see BOTH of her eyes. She may have her head turned a little and can only see you with one eye. This causes depth perception problems which might explain bad swings. If this is the case, put an eye patch over her left eye (if she is right handed) so that she has to turn her head all the way forward to see you. Then remove and let her swing that way.
But don't try to turn her into a bunter just because you weren't able to get her to hit last year. Work on hitting mechanics first, and then if she shows promise, teach her to bunt.
Now, here is my problem with this kind of thinking...
NOBODY is a good hitter on the first pitch they swing at. Someone who claims to be a first pitch hitter usually really isn't, they just remember one or two times when they hit the first pitch well. I did an analysis one time of our team, tracking how many 1st swing hits there were and the team batting average was something like 200 points LOWER when they put the first pitch they swung at in play than if they hit later in the count. Every now and then, ya...you get that first pitch and you drive it. But more likely, because you are trying to get your timing down and you are making mental adjustments, that first pitch you swing at is going to be missed or fouled off. And that is a GOOD thing.
That kid ended up batting about .150 on the season with next to no walks and only 1 bunt hit all year and striking out 2 out of 3 times for the season. And this was a kid who, while not a great player, wasn't a buck fifty hitter either. The dad's justification was that she was struggling swinging the bat, so he was going to try something new rather than letting her keep swinging and making outs (even though the outs were usually ground balls in the infield...better than a K most of the time).
IMO, bunting is just as hard as hitting. And hitting is next to impossible if you have 2 strikes on you and you haven't swung at a pitch yet. By having someone bunt at (almost) every plate appearance, unless they turn out to be a great bunter and have sufficient speed, you are putting them at a severe disadvantage when they end up having to swing the bat. A bunter needs to be able to get on base at LEAST as often as they could by swinging the bat...even if the only way they get on base when swinging is by getting hit or drawing a walk. Bunting also takes a lot of confidence to stand up in the box, get the bat in the right position, lean closer to the plate, etc. A kid who isn't confident hitting probably isn't going to be confident bunting.
I'd start with a LOT of tee work. Get her used to making contact with the ball. Then move on to side/front toss and make sure she is ALWAYS looking at the ball. Too many kids are looking at the coach in the eye when the ball is released. Move the ball around in front of you and make sure their eyes are tracking the ball and not looking somewhere else. Make sure in front toss that YOU can see BOTH of her eyes. She may have her head turned a little and can only see you with one eye. This causes depth perception problems which might explain bad swings. If this is the case, put an eye patch over her left eye (if she is right handed) so that she has to turn her head all the way forward to see you. Then remove and let her swing that way.
But don't try to turn her into a bunter just because you weren't able to get her to hit last year. Work on hitting mechanics first, and then if she shows promise, teach her to bunt.
