DFP Hitting Experts #2

[OzOl]

Great thread Cannonball!
Glad I get to read stories like this at the beginning of DDs and my journey.
Thanks.

 

[johkar]

The first time I posed video of my dd was when she was 10 years old. FFS, if you have some of this older video and for instance of her at age 10 doing the WGD, then please post it. Please don't post any of the more recent video. In this video, my daughter was doing a drill called the WGD. It was terrible or so we were told and it was hard to hear all of the criticism. The WGD stood for "World's Greatest Drill" and was an Englishbey drill. I taught with the concept of Posture, Connection and Rotation (PCR) and still use that concept. However, the difference is that I used PCR as the way it was intended and not some hitting system itself. I know a few coaches who say that this is ridiculous and that this was too simplistic to have any value. Well, while looking at a hitter set posture, often you see the hitter and often girls, bend at the back, throwing shoulders forward and creating a very poor framework for an efficient swing. For my dd, I'd tell her to get a sense of sticking her butt out while keeping a straight back. For the WGD, and I hope I can discuss it now since Englishbey has transition to other things and changed the names of stuff, the hitter works on hips, hands riding shoulder complex, rotation to contact in 3 stages feeling the progression of a slight hips ahead of hands, rotation to almost hitting the ball and then progression to contact driving the ball. The attached picture is the last stage of the WGD. We worked a lot on this. Howe noted that in more recent video, my dd has really worked on not maintaining a box and instead, worked on hands having more of a role in this drill. Nymann called that W or what he termed PCRW. Oh, again, this is not the stuff TM corrupted and then attacked. He never understood much of this stuff and yet acted like some expert. To be honest, SE also was critical of some of the stuff my dd did. So, SE would say that I never understood his stuff and he is the expert on his stuff.

When dd was young, we worked on other drills I liked like the pole drill. Man did people hate that and think it was a terrible drill. (I tried to attach video of BB doing the pole drill but it won't load.) Forgot to complete PCR comment. For rotation, you have spinners and people who control the middle. You don't want to be a spinner. I like the idea some talk about with Belly Button and Buttocks. That is along the line of controlling the middle per rotation. For connection, for me it is a total body relationship for the hitter from the time the front heel hits to the time when the hands leave their relationship with the shoulder complex. "Connection" for me is not just hands and the shoulders.

Pole Drill example. While I was setting up the camera for one of our workouts, BB did this drill on her own. Notice her work on the front hip/load. Look at the attached video of BB hitting with wood in a following posts. This is something she has done since she was 10. I know this looks mundane and simple. Still, she does it on her own.

Cannonball,
This is awesome! Sorry to keep getting you off track and I apologize to readers if this is old stuff but what is WGD? If it truely is the Worlds Greatest Drill, I want to know what it is and use it! Thanks Again!

 

[reagansdaddy]

Just want to say that this might be the most helpful thread I've read here. My daughter is in her second year of rec ball. When we started last year, I knew absolutely nothing (high school track guy). I hope to read more of your journey.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

I appreciate that and am not trying to convince anyone that I'm a guru or expert. I am simply stating what we do and have done. Again, this is practical hands on stuff that demonstrated results. BB's college has been around for a very long time. Some of those teams have played 70+ games in a year before the NCAA placed different regulations on softball programs. Those teams set school records due to the number of games that they played. Still, BB stands a very good chance of having five or six career records before her senior season is done. IMHO, that success is the difference between theory and reality.

IMO it's a statement that "hard work" encourages the odds of success. Even more important ... "hard work", performed "smartly", improves the odds of success significantly. And that, IMO, is one of the more important messages to be delivered through youth sports. These kids do have the ability to improve the odds of their success in life. They don't simply have to let life "just happen" ... they can take an active role in improving their odds of success.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Here is video of BB doing one of her favorite drills which would not meet the approval of others. One member here who has seen this thought it was bad and one thought it was very good. In fact, one advised that I not post this. However, I'm doing my best to help others out. So, if you don't like it, ignore it.

BB is working on a ball on the black of plate inside. (Notice how close her foot is to the yellow plate.) She anticipated getting pitched inside more and she was right. We had not used this drill in this manner before and only did it with the ball dead center of the plate. This was an experiment that BB actually liked. One of the things we had her mentally think about was dropping the barrel head on the ball and finish high. We wanted this without too much exaggeration.



What we discovered from this drill is that BB decided to open her stance. We didn't go to the 45 some are discussing in another thread and instead off set the front foot on a line equal to the heel of her back foot. One of the goals was to also get both eyes on the ball better. So, we did get a lot out of this experiment.

I have a hitter that goes through a somewhat similar three-step sequence in the batter's box. First partial swing is to simply "capture transition" of the barrel. Second partial swing is to get to contact with objectives I've used with her. Third swing is to put it all together. I never taught her to do these in sequence, she simply took different teachings and put them together in this manner. She performs this sequence between swings during live at-bats.

 

[bleacherdad]

CB, can you tell me more (better yet show me) what the RC's do in the on deck circle? Thanks in advance!

 

[bleacherdad]

 

[pstein]

I appreciate that and am not trying to convince anyone that I'm a guru or expert. I am simply stating what we do and have done. Again, this is practical hands on stuff that demonstrated results. BB's college has been around for a very long time. Some of those teams have played 70+ games in a year before the NCAA placed different regulations on softball programs. Those teams set school records due to the number of games that they played. Still, BB stands a very good chance of having five or six career records before her senior season is done. IMHO, that success is the difference between theory and reality.

Your daughter seems to be having fun at the highest level she wants to play at. That's a lot more important (to her) than if she matches video in my eyes, Voldemort's eyes, or anyone's eyes. We should all be so lucky to have a child in that position.

 

[Eric F]

Thanks for sharing your DD's story with us, CB. I know you and I don't agree on some of the mechanical details, but I have complete respect for the work you and your DD have done, and the journey you have been on together. From everything I can tell, she has reached the goals that SHE wants in the game of softball, and at the end of it all, that's what matters most.

 

[redhotcoach]

Here is video of BB doing one of her favorite drills which would not meet the approval of others. One member here who has seen this thought it was bad and one thought it was very good. In fact, one advised that I not post this. However, I'm doing my best to help others out. So, if you don't like it, ignore it.

BB is working on a ball on the black of plate inside. (Notice how close her foot is to the yellow plate.) She anticipated getting pitched inside more and she was right. We had not used this drill in this manner before and only did it with the ball dead center of the plate. This was an experiment that BB actually liked. One of the things we had her mentally think about was dropping the barrel head on the ball and finish high. We wanted this without too much exaggeration.



What we discovered from this drill is that BB decided to open her stance. We didn't go to the 45 some are discussing in another thread and instead off set the front foot on a line equal to the heel of her back foot. One of the goals was to also get both eyes on the ball better. So, we did get a lot out of this experiment.

I like it. Going to show, along with the ULL gifs to my dd, and especially a player I have that just can not break the habit of pushing her hands back. I talk a lot with the older girls of staying short to the ball. This is about staying connected to power, and being short and sudden.