Proper sequence to teach the "sequence"?

[BradB41]

Well, we're still working on my 13 yo dds swing. I don't know how much progress we're making. It seems like I went from 0 to 60 too quickly and may have thrown too much at her. She is still having issues with dropping her hands and casting (mainly in front toss and live bp). To anyone who has ever "fixed" these common problems, please share your "fixes" and how long it takes to see real improvement.

I'd love for my DD to develop an "elite" swing, but for now, I'd be happy with a good swing. I've got the Tewks book, and like it, but it almost seems like we're several steps behind that at this point.

 

[GADad]

High Tee work for the dropping the hands issue. For casting set up a tee and ball very close to the net inside the cage. Have her hit balls with the thought of "staying inside the ball." If she casts she will hit the net providing negative feedback. Work this one in slow motion at first until she gets the hang of it (don't want her flailing the bat into the net at full speed right out of the gate).

Do the drills for a little bit and then move to front toss and see if it carries over. Have someone video the front toss if you're the one pitching (if not you can video). Show her on the video what you see and/or mean by dropping the hands and casting. She may not be "feeling" it and if she's sees herself it may help connect the dots.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Issues with premature lowering of the hands, and casting, are both issues that involve improper hand usage. The lowering of the hands issue is generally a result of the hitter's "leveling approach", and to resolve that you'll need to progress beyond tee work ... tee work alone will not address the issue. The casting issue may also be due to an improper weight shift ... and again, learning this with "timing" is a must, which means getting away from relying on tee work and learning the sequence with a ball in movement coming towards the batter.

Let's see some video.

 

[CoogansBluff]

For eliminating casting, I had my daughter use a plastic bat and hit a punching bag. That allowed her to experience the correct 'contact' point, or see whether or not she was achieving the correct contact point.

You also can have her hit inside pitches off a tee with the goal of hitting the ball up the middle. Or have her hit pitches that are down the middle but deeper (more toward the catcher) off a tee. These tee drills encourage the player to have an inside-out swing path.

My daughter also is 13, and while her swing has improved, I will say that the goal of getting a high-level swing can be humbling. I've been doing a lot of video here lately. Her swing off the tee and front toss is respectable. But her game swing is resistant to change and makes me wonder how she ever gets a hit. There should be a support group for us parents in pursuit of the high level swing. Or maybe this is what this forum is.

 

[stickpile39]

My daughter also is 13, and while her swing has improved, I will say that the goal of getting a high-level swing can be humbling. I've been doing a lot of video here lately. Her swing off the tee and front toss is respectable. But her game swing is resistant to change and makes me wonder how she ever gets a hit. There should be a support group for us parents in pursuit of the high level swing. Or maybe this is what this forum is.

Boy I can sure relate to those words. But all should take comfort, once the flaw is identified, every CORRECT practice swing will get the game swing closer to where it needs to be.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

One of the bigger issues I believe people struggle with is the belief that a swing developed via tee-work will carry over to a game swing. That's just not the case.

Another issue I see is with the mentality between "hitting" and "swinging". They are different beasts entirely. This may not seem like a big issue on the surface, but it can often be the difference in the transitioning of tee-work to game-swings.

Somewhat related is that at a lower level the mentality to simply "put the ball in play" will work, and will cease to work as the hitter progresses up the playing level. Such a mentality often leads to the development of a sub-par swing in which the parent believes that their kid's swing was good (because she was effective) and then suddenly has gone south ... when in fact the swing was never good to begin with.

Often overlooked is the importance of developing timing skills ... not simply timing the pitcher, but timing the 'ball' starting from the pitcher's release ... and the associated sequence of mechanics involved.

 

[CoogansBluff]

One of the bigger issues I believe people struggle with is the belief that a swing developed via tee-work will carry over to a game swing. That's just not the case.

I would like to provide an example of what you must be talking about -

Tee:



Same player in live action. (I can post only one video per post.)

Aubrie v DD - YouTube

I'm not suggesting that the tee swing is high level, but there at least is some ''attempt'' at loading hands and attaining S&F. Unlike the video, 'tee' player has not scrunched 15 inches and begun the swing before heel drop.

Suggestions to address this? What is it about the 'tee swing' that needs fixing, and if fixed, what would increase the chances of it migrating to the game-day swing?

(Hope this is not hijacking Brad's thread. This also is a case of hand-dropping and the fact that tee to live is not a smooth path.)

 

[BradB41]

Any and all suggestions are welcome...watching your DD might help us all. I tend to agree with Five Frame because my DD's tee swing looks pretty good too. I do hold out some hope that with enough tee reps at least the feel of a good swing might kick in. I have another post on down in this forum with video. I will post some updates either tonight or tomorrow. One plan is to let her see the tee vs live swing. Unfortunately, I see her getting more and more frustrated. She can hit the ball, and was really smoking it towards the end of Jr High ball last fall. Not surprisingly, she pulled most everything...I think they just learn to compensate through better timing.

One thing that we're seeing that I believe is a major reason for both the casting and dropping, is that she pulls her hands towards her shoulder/armpit area on launch. Then the front arm tends to bar and she pushes through with her back arm. Follow through on the bad cuts occurs between her left shoulder and elbow...

I guess I just have to get on here sometimes to vent.

 

[ahiggins1804]

I'm not suggesting that the tee swing is high level, but there at least is some ''attempt'' at loading hands and attaining S&F. Unlike the video, 'tee' player has not scrunched 15 inches and begun the swing before heel drop.QUOTE]

Slowing down the video you can see she isn't starting her swing, she's just slotting her elbow and dipping down. The dipping down is caused by her thinking she needs to get her hands level with the ball. That's why other posters say that increased tee work will not correct this. My DD use to do this also. What we did is the two tee drill, then we moved it to front toss but we left the tee behind her just like in the two tee drill, then next to pitching machine (or if you can throw a good fastball with speed do that) with the tee behind her again. She will have to get her hands above the ball and bat angled correctly to not hit the tee behind her and make good contact in the power zone.

I'm not saying my DD has a perfect swing by no means. It still needs work but this will help you get there.

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Before

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After

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[FiveFrameSwing]

Brad ... she may be a lot closer than you think. How about some "head-on soft-toss" rather than "side soft-toss".