Thoughts on Daughter's Swing

[FiveFrameSwing]

Jim, no apologies necessary. I’m fine with the objective of having the rear knee inside the rear foot. The portion I bolded was about the comment regarding the back knee moving backwards. It’s perfectly acceptable for the rear knee to swivel rearward a small amount … what you want to do at this time is maintain the flex in the rear leg and maintain the weight/pressure on the inside edge of the rear foot.

 

[Jim]

Jim, no apologies necessary. I’m fine with the objective of having the rear knee inside the rear foot. The portion I bolded was about the comment regarding the back knee moving backwards. It’s perfectly acceptable for the rear knee to swivel rearward a small amount … what you want to do at this time is maintain the flex in the rear leg and maintain the weight/pressure on the inside edge of the rear foot.

Indeed. Well said.

 

[coachdan]

I like the suggestion even after the clip FFS posted and here is why. We are talking about a 9yr old and not a minor leager trying to make it to the pros. At 9 yrs old less=more...less movement = more consistency/success

FFS, I really value you feedback and I have personally learned alot from your post, I just think sometimes you get to technical for working with young girls. Do you work with any young girls or just older ones? Would you take a first time student and at there first lesson have them trying to replicated A-Rods swing.

When I said less movement...I didn't mean static stance with no movment...I am just saying that sometimes working with a 8-10 yr old girl you have to simplify thing so they understand and can perform the movement. If you try to get them to replicate A-Rod swing the first lesson you are going to have a hard time. IMHO....you have to simplify things a bit so they understand and then progress to the more technical stages.

 

[Wellphyt]

IMO, there is a risk of coaching the athleticism out of kids if you start limiting their movements. One of the first things I see disappear when movements are reined in; is the sequence. I fine there is a benefit in viewing the swing more in terms of efficiency rather than right or wrong. Is a nine year old with a sloppy sequence swinging incorrectly, or are they swinging correctly, and just need to tighten things up and get a little more efficient?

In "Science of Hitting", Ted talks about how he shortened up his stride and got more efficient after a few years in the majors. I think you will find that a lot of pros had to quiet things down some as they moved up the ladder.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Coachdan,

I don’t work with a lot of 8-9yr olds at this point in time and tend to work with older hitters.

That said, even when I did work with a lot of 8-9yr olds, I believed in promoting working towards the pattern. Expectations of what could be achieved were relative to that age level and relative to the individual’s ability.

I believe the pro-swing is not performed mainly because professionals are athletic, but because they’ve learned to swing efficiently … and that in fact many of them were forced to strive towards efficiency to remain in the game. I believe athleticism helps … and I encourage hitters to work on their athleticism. That said … professionals don’t simply select an inefficient swing because they are strong … they augment athleticism with swing efficiency.

When I work with a hitter for the first time I like to see where they are at in terms of what their swing looks like. If I can see video of their swing ahead of time then it helps and we can hit the ground running with a plan on their first visit. If not, then I evaluate their swing when we meet. During my evaluation I think in terms of moving them towards the pattern. I do not think in terms of short-cuts. I consider the development of a hitter to be a process. So to answer your question, I would not expect a hitter to hit like A-rod in their first visit, but I would map out “points of emphasis” for subsequent visits that I’d expect them to work on … and those “points of emphasis” are meant to be selected to build traits nudging the hitter towards the pattern.

Hitting, IMO anyway, is a process. I believe even at the young ages that we should instruct hitters with an eye towards the pattern. Think of the pattern as having a game plan. If you don’t have a plan to succeed, then by default you often have a plan to fail. And yes … I do set my expectations based on the hitter’s ability … and I understand that many of these kids will not be the next A-Rod … but to them, learning swing efficiency is still important.

Coincidently, I recently received a PM with video to evaluate from a poster here at DFP … and the issue was that their daughter was instructed to swing with less movement. The person that PM’d me knew all the right answers. They knew this lack of movement was curbing their daughter’s potential. They knew that their daughter was better prior to having their swing inhibited. I didn’t have to explain it to them … only confirm that their suspicions were correct.

Bottom-line … restricting movement is not always a good thing. Restricting movement pertaining to ‘stretch’ may seem wise, but it is hurtful to the hitter’s development. Many motions that folks consider ‘excess’ and ‘wasteful’ are in fact ‘useful’. That isn’t the case for all movements, but far too often we see a parent/coach become frustrated with a hitters lack of success and unwisely target restricting movements … some of which will limit what the kid is capable of.

IMO this particular hitter is within striking distance of being an exceptional hitter. Someone working with this hitter would hopefully see the goodness in this hitter’s swing and hopefully have the pattern in mind as they chart out “points of emphasis” for her to tackle as she moves forward.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

IMO, there is a risk of coaching the athleticism out of kids if you start limiting their movements. One of the first things I see disappear when movements are reined in; is the sequence.

Well said Wellphyt.

 

[rdbass]

I love all that has been said during this post.I haved read and reread this post and learned alot.Working with my 12yr DD with all thats been written.She will get to try it out tonight at her game.I know it's a long process.Hope to have video of her soon so we can see if DD and myself have applied what we have learned.I will report back.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Dukie ... I forwarded your daughter's swing clip to an MLB hitting scout. He liked what he saw and was quite complimentary.

You've done well. Keep up the good work ... and a sincere congratulations to the two of you.

 

[dukie]

Many thanks FiveFrameSwing, she will be flattered! Should we be on the lookout for a multi-year contract????.....LOL
We have been concentrating on keeping the head stable, and will probably do some hitting from the machine on Saturday. Would that be OK for the video you request?

Dukie ... I forwarded your daughter's swing clip to an MLB hitting scout.

Out of curiousity...is this something you do often?

 

[Jim]

We have been concentrating on keeping the head stable, and will probably do some hitting from the machine on Saturday.

Quieting the head movement down might be difficult for her at first, but it will help her in many facets of her swing.

She needs to trust what ever she does and truly understand why she is doing it. This will breed more confidence on top of any physical improvements she has made.

Good luck, and nice going. Trying to help hitters reach their potential is tough. When it's your own daughter or son, well... you probably know.