Getting different bat advice from different coaches... WTD?

[SamG]

DD is a 2nd year 12U. 5'3 ~110#. She started playing 1st year 10U. At that point, I went to Wal*Mart and got her an Easton Cyclone 33/23. She hit it OK. After her 10U was done, I picked up an Easton Clarity SSR1B 34/24. She played rec for 1st year 12U. She mainly walked. In practice she'd send the balls to the outfield. In school ball she mainly walked.

Now she's on a travel team. Her travel coaches have helped her with her swing but want her to use a lighter (ie: 20oz) bat. She's gone back to using the Cyclone in practices and a teammates bat (30/19.5oz) in games. When she makes contact it's generally a dribbler up the first base line.

Talked to her hitting coach today at a camp. She says DD is strong enough to swing the Clarity, she just needs to start her swing earlier. She said she'll have DD swing the Clarity during the clinic today and see how she does.

So, her hitting coach (former NAIA head coach, current NCAA "advisor") says the heavier bat will work she just needs to swing earlier. Her travel coaches say she needs a lighter bat. FWIW, DD is the weakest hitter on the travel team. Technique wise they're not changing anything with her swing, they feel she needs a lighter bat.

Who do I listen to?

 

[SBFAMILY]

The hitting coach. Swing the heaviest bat you can swing that doesn't change your bat speed or hand path.

 

[Wellphyt]

Given her size I would not go bigger than a 32 inch bat. Weight wise I would stick to a minus 10 or minus 9. The sooner a hitter starts their swing the less time they have to read the pitch. As she faces better pitching she will need to make more on-the-fly adjustments, such as waiting on off speed pitches. It's going to be real hard for 5' 3" 110 lb girl to adjust to a change-up swinging a 34/24 or even a 33/23.

IMO, it's always better to trade off some power for better timing.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

34 inches could possibly be too long. I wouldn't have chosen one for my DD at that height. I would have went 32 inch and 22 ounces.

 

[softballphreak]

I agree with Wellphyt and Amy, 32 inch, 22 oz bat. Side note: you're not going to get the best bat at Wal Mart. If possible, get her the TPS Xeno; you won't regret it. At the recommended size it will last her a few years. That particular bat has pop you won't believe (unbiased coach's opinion based on game observations).

A 33 or 34-inch bat is too big for her right now and in the next year or so. Period!

As far as needing to swing earlier that is totally wrong. If anything needs to be earlier it may be getting to the launch position; timing in other words. The swing is like firing a rifle, the bullet is gone or it's not. You get the bat in position to fire—and then it's fire or no fire.

Best advice you can get right now is to post a video of your DD on this site and get some expert critique from the likes of Wellphyt and FiveFrameSwing, among others.

 

[SBFAMILY]

My dd is 5" 3" 107 lbs at 17. She has a CF4 pitch black 33-23. Read the last post and think about it, good advice, . Swing early he is 100% right!? A change up will eat her up with that advice. Why I would pay attention again to the hitting coach. The part we disagree on is the Xeno, because OSU stunk with it. Just kidding. Good bat, just most of my students that are power hitters like the Insane over the Xeno because of the larger sweet spot.

 

[softballphreak]

Expanding a touch on when to swing: she must know where her point of contact is for various pitches. For a pitch down the middle, the point of contact should be somewhere between the inside of her front foot to the centerline of the body. The later she swings, the more to the right side the ball will go. Assuming she's right handed. You establish point of contact by hitting off of a tee—long tee, not tee into a net necessarily. Of course, I'm also assuming her batting fundamentals are correct. Another good reason to post a video.

Caution on tee placement when establishing the point of contact. Don't place the tee so that the arms are fully extended at point of contact. At contact the arms should still be bent at the elbow. If they are fully extended when hitting off the tee, the ball will rock, for sure. But that will transfer to live hitting and she will be way too early on most pitches and her chance of contact is only about 5" long.

If she has been swinging a 34/24 I'd be willing to bet she has some other bad habits, also; like bat drag and lack of good bat speed, i.e.

 

[RichK]

SBfamily, I'm getting interested in the Insane. What's the difference swing-wise between a -10 end weight like Insane and the Rocketech which seems in real weight could be a -8 or even -7 while also being end-weighted?

 

[SBFAMILY]

I can tell you the feedback of my students. All went from Rocketechs to Insanes. All said it acted like a balanced bat but hit like it was end loaded. The big difference is the sweet spot. Take a ball and bounce it off a bat and you can tell where the sweet spot is. The RT is a great bat, but you almost have to hit it on the (screws) to get results. I have two kids that hit 7 HR's last weekend , one 13 and one 15 with the Insane. Keep in mind the Rocketech actually weighs more than posted. Do the Teeter totter test( what I call it) and find out where the center of gravity is on a bat. That tells you what the true swing weight is. It still boils down to how the kid swings and what bat they feel works best for them. The Mental part of the game. Some could take the wal mart special and hit better than the kid that has bad habits as posted above. I tell parents spend the money first on lessons then on the bat. Before someone thinks this is about a hitting coach making money, I do this as a hobby and don't charge.

 

[SamG]

I know I'm not going to get the best bat at Wal*Mart. But when DD was playing her first season of SB (when I got the Cyclone), I'm not going to drop $50+ on something that may only get used for a couple months.

I am regretting getting the Clarity (because of the size/weight), but not knowing anything, I thought I was doing the right thing. Unfortunately we don't have the money right now to get a high-end bat. I told DD it would have to wait until Christmas probably.

ETA: If I'm looking at the right Insanes (Demarini, CF4 & 5?), sorry, my wife would think I'M insane for paying that much money for a bat.