FiveFrameSwing
Banned
It is common for a player to be lowered in the batting order when performance drops off. It's simply confirmation of what is already happening. I wouldn't be blaming the coach.
Hitting slump & KCs
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- Jun 12, 2015
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I wasn't blaming the coach.
There was a study of MLB lineups that concluded that the most important spot in the batting order is #5 and that the most overrated spot is #3. Not sure if your DD will buy that, but thought I'd share it.
Also, your DD's conclusion that coach has lost confidence in her could be 'projection,' which is a defensive mechanism we use to attribute to other people what we're actually feeling ourselves. So maybe that's stating the obvious - that it is she that is struggling with confidence in herself.
But it's all fine. The ability to get out of slumps and remain confident amid slumps and lineup changes is something that takes practice and experience. Struggle is good.
- Jun 12, 2015
- 3,848
- 83
That's what I meant, that she may feel like the coach has no confidence in her, and that it's affecting her own confidence. Especially since pretty much our whole team is slumping right now, but only 2 got moved down. I'm not sure what his criteria is but I've always told her it doesn't matter where she hits in the line up, she just has to make the most of it when she gets out there. Because of the 2 he moved, and their personalities, I believe he was hoping it would motivate them to try harder. But mine is the type who gives 100% all the time anyway, so that won't work on her. It's not that she's not trying or doesn't care enough, it's something else with her. It worked on the other kiddo though, she hit a lot better this weekend. I mean, if that's what he was trying to do. It's just my suspicion.
- Aug 6, 2013
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My daughter bats anywhere from 3rd to 5th in any given game. The coach likes to move things around a little bit from game to game. We have a solid lead off. #2 changes and then 3,4,5 will interchange because all 3 (dd included) are very strong hitters. My dd is usually the last of that group because if the other 2 get on my dd will usually connect enough to bring in at least 1 even if it was a hard grounder that gets her out at 1st. Or in the last game she will clear the bases with a 3 rbi double 
I have told dd that wherever she bats she just needs to do her job and she has taken that to heart. Mental toughness is a big part of DD's hitting work. She has a "happy place" (we like Happy Gilmore) that she goes to that has nothing to do with softball - she like kittens. Then she talks a lot about how that is her box. She steps in with purpose and confidence and she has to do that every time in her practice as well. It has helped I think.
I have told dd that wherever she bats she just needs to do her job and she has taken that to heart. Mental toughness is a big part of DD's hitting work. She has a "happy place" (we like Happy Gilmore) that she goes to that has nothing to do with softball - she like kittens. Then she talks a lot about how that is her box. She steps in with purpose and confidence and she has to do that every time in her practice as well. It has helped I think.
- Jun 12, 2015
- 3,848
- 83
Yeah, I don't care where she is in the lineup. I don't think he was wrong for moving her. I only mentioned it because I think it might have impacted her confidence. More as an explanation than an excuse; obviously she has to be able to roll with those types of changes. But she's young and still learning these things.
Man, I can relate to this lol. DD was having a hard time at the beginning of last season. She looked great at practice and in the cage, but was swinging at junk and looking at decent pitches. I came to DFP for advice and got it. One thing we did was get her eyes checked, and sure enough her eyes had gotten worse since her last eye doctor appointment. May be worth checking out. Once we got that fixed it took a few weeks for her confidence to pick back up, but by the second half of the season she was back to her old self.
- Feb 7, 2013
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Maybe, but with most softball games that have time limits in tournaments where you might only get 2 at-bats, you want your best hitters batting high in the batting order to get as many reps as possible.
To the OP, I know your DD is fairly young, but try to instill in her that regardless of where she bats in the order, she should only worry about setting and meeting her hitting goals and leave the batting order to the coaches, her hard work and success will take care of itself. It's highly likely that she will have a dozen different head coaches over her "career", no sense in worrying about it. Control, what you can control....which is her work ethic and attitude...
So, I look at the GIF and the videos, and she doesn't seem to start loading until after the ball is released.
I thought that parts of the loading occur before release.
I thought that parts of the loading occur before release.
This is largely dependent on pitching speed. As speeds get faster, more of the process needs to happen before the pitcher releases the ball. This is where a lot of young players have trouble making the adjustment to better pitching. They are used to having enough time to see the ball in flight and read the pitch location before starting their swing process. Particularly for players with a long pre-launch sequence, this becomes a problem in a hurry, because they simply don't have enough time to execute their swing. With these hitters, this often results in a weak, panicked, arm-powered swipe at the ball. Making the adjustment to expecting that every pitch will be one to hit is an important part of getting the process started early enough to be on time with a good swing.
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