I have a couple girls who (to me) have a nice swing for an 11year old. BUT they swing like they are swinging through mud. just SLOW. leading to weak contact, so frustrating as they are my high % CONTACT hitters, but cant get anything hard, through the d. I need to learn how to coach a harder swing without TELLING them to swing hard... as that leads to head pulling, over swinging... more problems than it solves... IMHO. anyone have a gem of a drill or progression that can get them some power...? I work with them at the tee, about rotating, transfer of weight etc... but it isnt translating.
Drills to solve the "slo mo swing"
- Thread starter Carsonsig
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It might be that their swing mechanics won't allow them to swing much harder. When their front foot comes down after the stride (ie, weight transfer), are the hands still over the back hip? Or have they created separation? Do the hips go forward (preferably coil forward) during weight shift, or is it an up-and-down spin motion? Those are common reasons why 11-year-old hitters don't hit the ball as hard as they can, IMO.
- May 17, 2012
- 2,814
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I had one of those high contact slow swingers at 12u. This year in 14u she led the team in hitting (.475) and has only struck out twice.
She still has the same slow swing but now she is a big girl swigging a 32/22 Xeno. She is a tough out.
She still has the same slow swing but now she is a big girl swigging a 32/22 Xeno. She is a tough out.
I had a similar challenge with a few players. Asking them to swing harder or faster never worked, but one practice I asked them to swing quicker because they were also behind on the ball. Suddenly it clicked. "Quicker" translated into the faster swing I had been trying for. Now if I remind these 2 players they need to have a quick bat, they suddenly have a faster swing.
Greenmonsters
Wannabe Duck Boat Owner
Front toss with weighted TCB balls (baseball size, not softball size)
Loose hands, quick bat. Make sure they're not white-knuckling it. Make sure the arms are fairly relaxed in the stance as well. You can't be fast with your arm and hand muscles all tensed up.
This ^
I almost started a thread on it the other day after listening to the other guys I coach with prompting the girls to "swing hard!" all practice long. They looked like they were just muscling up and swinging "harder" the way you would with a hammer -- not any quicker, just harder. It occurred to me that what we really should be telling them is "swing quick!"
- Jan 25, 2011
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I prefer whip the barrel.
TCB Balls... they are heavier yes? require girls to swing with more force to be able to get them to go anywhere? I have the mojo ball which I use for front toss warm up... like those as they dont hurt coach... TCB balls, more of a front toss from a net at practice type tool? from what I have seen, eating one of these in the chest would not be a good move...
Greenmonsters
Wannabe Duck Boat Owner
Yes, the TCB are heavier, but they are sand filled so they don't travel far. With a weak swing or poor contact the ball will land at the girls' feet, which I have found to promote self-correcting and full-effort swings. Front toss from 20 feet w/out a net is fine. On a good hitting 18U team, I used to offer a $1 bounty for hitting the coach who was pitching (because it promotes hitting the ball up the middle/where its pitched) but didn't have to pay out often!
PS If I could only do 1 pre-game hitting warm up, it would probably be TCBs. They are particularly useful when you have limited space.
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