Slapping?

[Il softball fan]

Apparently my DD tied for fastest home to first, and first to second times on her high school team.(no I don't know how it was timed) Coach is having her work on bunting from the left side (bats right normally) She is 15 yoa, and a sophomore, and has experimented in the past with bunting left handed, but not really ever worked on slapping.

Question is this....Is this a skill that I should start working with her on? Is this like pitching where it requires years of work and time to be good at or something that she can be proficient in relatively quickly?

 

[RichK]

Oh boy, a high school coach with one data point tries to completely remake a player. That sounds a bit risky, especially at her relatively advanced age.

How does she hit righty? Home run or gap power? Singles hitter? HOW fast is she? 2.6 fast? Or 3.0 fast? Big difference. How did the lefty bunting go? How do slap attempts go? What does SHE think? Is she open to it?

I would be very careful letting a high school coach play yo-yo with her. That said it could make sense depending on the answers to questions above.

 

[quincy]

Bunting is the easy part, when they take the bunt away from her it gets a lot harder.

It does take a good amount of time to be a good slapper, takes years to be a great slapper.

Especially at her age you need to go all lefty, she doesn't have the time to play the switch hitter game.

 

[Il softball fan]

Time was 2.8 home to first. Quick, but not blazing fast, IMO. Like I said, not sure if this was just a standing start, or if they simulated bunting and then running. Been a busy week and haven't had much time to speak with DD.
DD is not a power hitter. Most of her hits are gap hits to the outfield. She has always been a decent bunter, and we have worked on bunting from both sides in the past. Been a while since she was out of softball for a year. I would think DD would be open to attempting to learn slapping. She said bunting left against live pitching at practice last night went "fine" lol....whatever that means. High school has only had a few practices so I think coach was just having her try it out to see how she did.

Edit to add: coach didn't mention trying slapping, was just me thinking about it.

 

[OlatheDad]

My DD#2 is a natural righty. At 16 her new travel ball coach saw how fast she is and asked her to try slapping for the first time. Her new batting coach watched her a couple of times and told her with a little practice she would be a very effective slap hitter and has spent the winter working with her. DD#2 loves it. She has always been a very good contact hitter and bunter. As she continues to get more comfortable with it she is becoming more effective. Plus she can always mess with the pitcher and move back over to the right side if the situation warrants. During the fall 3 times she got to full count while slapping and the girl on first was able to steal second. The coach moved her back over to the right side and she moved the runner twice with doubles to right center.

It is one more tool in the arsenal and if a girl is fast and is willing to put in the practice time it can be a very effective tool in a variety of situations.

 

[mudrunner]

It is a LOT of work, but if she's willing to put in the effort I say let her go for it. It's one of those things that you have to want to do and not give up on. DD is a natural righty, but very small and very quick. She decided she wanted to switch sides and learn to slap. Last year she batted from left side all season, and this year she has started to incorporate slapping and done pretty well in the handful of games she's played. Her tee work in the basement or yard take twice as long since she still works on her normal swing along with all the moving parts of a slap. She is getting an early start on it since she is only 12, but her coach didn't start until high school and it has served her well in college.

 

[Slappinandstealin]

My DD has always been fast, loves to run bases, and never hit for power. She started slapping instruction in November of her freshman year. Spring season she batted in the 200s-devastating for her, and her JV coach didn't really understand it as a strategy, so he would have her take 2 pitches lefty-slap and then switch to the right if she didn't get a hit. It made it hard for her to judge the strike zone. Nevertheless, she had an on-base percentage over 500 because it also unnerved the pitchers, and she drew a lot of walks. She kept at the lessons and her travel coaches were more understanding, plus she was improving. By the end of summer she was batting over 400(U-14) and had an OBP over 600. She can now bunt, drag bunt, hard slap and soft slap plus power hit on the left, and it is totally awesome. Her hitting coach brought her in to slap for the U-18 at a practice so they could work on defense, and their pitcher and fielders couldn't get her out.
However, it took over a year of instruction 2-4 hours a month, plus lots of time batting poorly and the frustration that brings.

I wouldn't take it on lightly, I would be ready for a period of less production at the plate, and if I knew then what I know now, I would have had her learn it at 12. No way could she do any recruiting activities last summer-so we'll see this season and summer if it will pay off. She is a rising Junior.
Good luck!

 

[tmolina]

My daughters club team turned 5 girls from righty's to lefty slappers their first year 14u all were pretty good hitters from the right side. One of them went back to the right side after two months, dad couldn't handle the loss of production(hits for high average from right side to this day), one took to it like a fish to water, the other three it took them two years to get good. Now the four that stuck it out are playing 18u gold and all very successful slappers, two are very fast and two are fast(all on different teams now). Of the four I know three have hit homeruns swinging away, can power slap, softslap, bunt at will and occasional chop. I see one of them on a daily basis(DD) and I know she is having a lot more fun being a five tool threat at the plate than if she was hitting from the right side. I say its never too late to switch to the left side if you have sub 2.8 speed. College coaches will switch girls around. Good luck