DD's swing - 11 year old

[IACoach]

First of all, thanks to everyone on this site. This is my first post but have been reading many articles and learning a lot. Great Forum!!

My DD is just starting her third year of FP. She is a converted soccer player so hence the late start. In her second year she lead the summer team and fall ball team in batting. She has been taught a pure linear swing which I thought was the right (and only) swing based on what I had been told. Well, after reasearching much discussion on that I am no longer sold. For some players it might be the right thing but my daughter has too much power that is not getting used - IMO. Here is a video of her last night swinging at a couple of pitches. Ignoring the fact she missed the ball (a few friends distracting her) where is the best start for us? I have read the Megan 1-T post and we will start using some of the information there. Just looking for some specific pointers since everyone on here seems so helpful.

Tori Swing 3-6-12 - YouTube

Thanks

 

[redhotcoach]

Hey coach. Welcome. The IA ers are building up here. Just quickly looking at her swing, and hopefully someone on her can take it and slow it down, because I am hitting play and stop on my iphone. I think, but without slow mo cant tell for sure, that she has some bat drag, her back elbow may be getting ahead of her hands. Like I said, on my phone it's hard to tell for sure.

 

[RookKev]

She looks like a great size for an 11 yr old! Lucky girl.

Ground up. That's how most of the guys on here seem to build a swing.
Her rear foot looks like it's 'opened' up. I would turn it in towards the plate more. That should allow her more room for her hips to uncoil, and well as build up more tension on the coil (when she learns it).
Her stride looks good. She has the appearance of good weight transfer and on the second swing, the foot action happens, and is not created (from what little I understand, that is what we are after). The foot ends up in a position as a result of good weight transfer and hip movement. The foot spinning doesn't generate the hip action we are after.

Yes, bat drag happens a bit here... may be the heavy bat... I would get the feet fixed first.

 

[redhotcoach]

Yes, that second swing especially her elbows are well a head of her hands and the bat. She is trying to pull it into the hitting zone. I think if like the rest of the girls, she is playing in the next few weeks, that is not a little bit issue. You can hit with the ball with a lot of problems, like no weight transfer, top side spinning the bottom, bug squishing, etc. With bad drag you will be behind on pitches and commonly drop the barrel below the ball. I think that is why she missed this balls.

The back foot turned, tell her to point it at home plate, problem fixed.



[video=youtube_share;4zFPMm2o-go]http://youtu.be/4zFPMm2o-go[/video]

 

[cshilt]

Yep, from the ground up. Yes, she does have bat drag, which is what happens when both elbows precede the hands to the point of contact. It makes hitting the ball square very hard to do consistently. Having said that, I see some things with the lower body to correct first.

The good news is that she doesn't appear to be squishing the bug. The bad news is that she is pre-loading her weight on the back leg. Spread the feet apart some and keep the weight on the inside edge of the feet. She should feel more pressure on on the big toe and be able to wiggle the pinky toe if she is doing it properly.

When she is in her stance, check her balance and make sure that if you give her a slight shove on the chest and back that she doesn't tip. You want to keep the weight on the balls of the feet as well as primarily on the inside edge. If she is having problems with balance, have her bend at the waist, then soften the knees. It should be "nose over knees, knees over toes", meaning that the knees should stick out slightly more than her feet, and her nose should stick out slightly more than her knees.

Slowly load the stride leg knee inward while loading, but don't allow the center of balance to shift backwards over the back leg in a "stacked" position. Keep the pressure on the inside edge of the back foot. Then pick up the stride foot, again without allowing the weight to shift back, and go to toe touch on the inside edge of the stride foot.

Now, drop the heel of the stide foot and swing! Given that she doesn't squish now, I think you'll see a great improvement in her swing and ability to make contact.

As far as the bat drag, we can address that later, but she'll have to learn how to slot the back elbow better. There are some drills for that, but learning how to throw side arm or skip a rock is a good start.

 

[IACoach]

Thanks all for the pointers. I had her read this thread last night as well as pieces from the Megan thread I printed off. I think she is understanding it and said she liked the way it felt when we did a dry run in the living room. We will try to get another video of the progress over the weekend posted so we can keep working our way up. Thanks again!!

 

[IACoach]

Well we did not get as much time as I would have hoped this weekend but we did squeak in a little bit in the back yard tonight before it got dark - love the longer evenings!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?edit=vd&v=jfKIxvW9Tt0

 

[IACoach]

Video 2 - We did not get as much time as I hoped to work over the weekend but here is a video of what we worked on tonight before it got dark. I think she is getting the hip cock but I wonder if she is leaning in too far? Should the feet be further apart? I think she is lunging forward still too much but we are working on it. Input is always appreciated.
Thanks again!!

 

[jbooth]

Video 2 - We did not get as much time as I hoped to work over the weekend but here is a video of what we worked on tonight before it got dark. I think she is getting the hip cock but I wonder if she is leaning in too far? Should the feet be further apart? I think she is lunging forward still too much but we are working on it. Input is always appreciated.
Thanks again!!

She has potential. The first thing a hitter needs to learn, IMO, is how to keep the head still. If your head moves more than 2 inches after the front foot is weighted, the chance of hitting the ball drops by about 90%.

In the video where she swung and missed twice, it was because her head moved forward and up much more than two inches.

Now, the question is; how do you keep your head still? The head moves because the leg action is incorrect and/or the spine straightens or tilts.

The swing needs to be built ground up, because the legs generate power, and they must move in one exact pattern, otherwise the head will move. Improper leg action causes missed balls, and reduced power.

She starts with a pretty straight back leg, and then pushes herself forward. The head drifts beyond the center point between the feet. The back leg must stay bent, and the push comes from the butt. The front leg must stop any forward motion of the torso, once the foot is weighted.

 

[IACoach]

jbooth - thanks - when you say straight back leg would you recommend bending it inward, getting even more on the inside of the foot? I am assuming that but want to make sure you are not saying to have her sit down more.