Thoughts on Daughter's Swing

[Wellphyt]

Really nice progress. No more spin! She now has a weight shift, and it looks to me like she is doing it with her hips. I don't see her trying to do anything on purpose with the back leg.

She can probably do very well with this swing for at least the next three years. As I mentioned earlier, be careful of getting too much weight forward. You don't want her to develop a golf type swing where she gets onto the front foot.

Eventually you may want to work on her sequence so that she doesn't end up with a one piece gate swing where the hips don't lead. Right now it looks like she is loading a little bit too much around with her shoulders. I would describe the hip action as "around". Ted described it as a swivel action with the head as the axis. However I would not describe the shoulder action as around. When it comes to the upper body I focus on putting the hands in control. I like using the hand break in the overhand throw as a way to convey the correct action.

 

[coachdan]

Swing looks great for a 9yr old....Keep up the good work.

 

[dukie]

Thanks coachdan....thought it looked pretty darn good myself, even for a much older girl.
This weight transfer situation CAN get confusing, but I do understand what Wellphyt is cautioning about.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Wellphyt, I think I better understand your concern about being "onto the front foot" ... guessing you mean ending up drifting stacked over the front foot. Still believe the answer to that is to promote uncoiling into heel plant.

Notice how this hitter loads while having her eyes fixated on the tee. A bad habit IMO. You'll often see excess rotation of the shoulders on tee swings with the eyes fixated on the tee/ball. Better would be to have the eyes fixated on an imaginary pitcher ... especially when performing the load/coil & stretch.

I like a lot about this swing. May even be considered one of the better swings posted here at DFP ... certainly for her age.

Dukie, two requests of you.

1) While it is still fresh in your mind, please describe what worked best for your daughter in correcting the bug squish issue.

2) If you would, post a head-on soft-toss swing clip of your daughter.

 

[SBFAMILY]

Agree with FSS. This is a big issue with hitting on the T. We use flashing lights on a clock or some other object to have them watch where the pitcher would be located to look ahead. Not so sure she doesn't get her weight to far over the back side. You should always be able to lift the front foot and fall forward during weight shift.

 

[starsnuffer]

Great job!

Try putting a second T behind the net, or just "fake windmill" to her from behind the net, she focuses on that second ball or the ball in your hand, and then shifts her eyes to the T in front of her before she swings, that should help address some of the focus issues being discussed.

-W

 

[Jim]

I would start with the basics. Way too much head movement throughout the swing. Quiet everything down, especially the head.

 

[Jim]

If you want an easy way to get her back side properly connected try this. When she loads back, do not let her back knee move backwards. It must stay inside her back foot in order to be in a position to work WITH the hands. Quieting down her load will help with this as well. Keep the back knee inside the foot during the load and KEEP HER HEAD QUIET.

 

[starsnuffer]

Another drill that really helps to "quiet things down", especially the head, is to have her do T work from a balance beam. You can make one out of a 2x4, just so it's 3 1/2" wide and 3 1/2" off the ground. You'll be amazed at how much this helps focus the body and keep things still.

-W

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

If you want an easy way to get her back side properly connected try this. When she loads back, do not let her back knee move backwards. It must stay inside her back foot in order to be in a position to work WITH the hands. Quieting down her load will help with this as well. Keep the back knee inside the foot during the load and KEEP HER HEAD QUIET.

Like this ...

Or like this ...

My point is that there are many professional swings where the rear knee can be seen rotating slightly rearward.

Shawn Wooten performed a decent analysis in this area of the swing, and he explains how it can be a significant contributor.

IMO it isn't the restriction of the rear knee that provides the benefit you are seeking, so much as it is the keeping of the weight distribution about the rear foot on the 'inside' portion of the rear foot ... and that can pretty much be predetermined based on a hitter's pre-setup. That would likely result in the quieting action you seek.