Feedback on swing, how can I help her

[Buttermaker]

Big improvement! Looking like an athlete up there now. Not finished yet - swing plane will improve even more with a little tinkering but I will let Howe answer that.

 

[Howe]

Big improvement! Looking like an athlete up there now. Not finished yet - swing plane will improve even more with a little tinkering but I will let Howe answer that.

Yes. The next thing to work on would be the approach with respect of moving to the ball with the front shoulder working down/in - keeping the front shoulder in - then at swing initiation, working the rear shoulder under the front.

Part of the reason she appears to continue to carry her weight forward, is the lack of shoulder orientation change (she has very level shoulders throughout). Changing from down to up in the front/up to down in the back, will help to settle and arrest the weight. I'm sure TDS can share the Cat/Cow/Cat ideas.

All in due time though. She's doing great.

 

[pctrips]

Here is the youtube vid. We'll keep drilling to get more consistent with this right now. Another tee session or two and we'll try some front toss and see if she can keep it or if she resorts back to other habits.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QE2N6D8Q7w

I've seen the Cat/Cow stuff on here. I get the concept but struggle seeing it in the gifs let alone trying to figure out how to get an 11 year old to do it. I'm going to try a couple of things to see if we can make a little progress with the shoulders.

 

[Howe]

Thanks PC,
The original gif was missing frames, here's an update:

 

[Eric F]

Big improvements! As she progresses, I would like to see the back muscles start to get involved more - more "cow". Right now, it appears most of the action is happening on the front side of the torso. Pull with the back.

 

[pctrips]

I'm piecing together what you all are suggesting. I've just gotta figure out a way to communicate to her. She is a sponge right now and it is awesome as to witness as a dad. I can't thank you all enough for your wisdom.

 

[Eric F]

I'm piecing together what you all are suggesting. I've just gotta figure out a way to communicate to her. She is a sponge right now and it is awesome as to witness as a dad. I can't thank you all enough for your wisdom.

If she's listening to you, and trying to actually do what you say, you're WAY ahead of the game. Figuring out how to communicate fairly complex movement patterns in a way that can be understood by a young hitter is a challenge many of us face...constantly. Keep it up!

 

[Howe]

pc, it's not easy when you get so many opinions from well meaning members. You're doing a great job, don't overload her, keep it simple. Simple instruction, simple words and simple understanding for both you and her. Sometimes we all over-complicate things.

 

[pctrips]

I think I made my first oops during our last session. I'll try and rectify that tonight. As we were working on the suggestions her hands were going back and up slightly as she started her stride. I was trying to get her to stop doing that having been conditioned by her team coaching that she shouldn't be moving backwards in her motion as that wouldn't allow her to catch up to pitching. As you guys can probably guess she struggled with trying not to do it. I've been trying to figure that out today, reviewing threads, looking at gifs, etc. and the light bulb went off. That backward movement is exactly what should be happening as she starts her stride. As long as her back knee stays inside the foot we should be good with that right?

 

[Eric F]

The notion that shortening pre-launch movement to "catch up to fast pitching" sometimes squeezes the athleticism right out of the swing. A short hand path after launch is good. What the hands do before launch isn't as critical, as long as they get into a good launch position at the right time. Being on time for the pitch is about getting the whole process started at the right time, and having the ability to adjust within the swing. Many young hitters wait too long to get started, and the coach's response is to shorten the time from start to launch. If a hitter is having a hard time catching up to fast pitching, I look at when they are starting their process, and work on getting them to start earlier.