Time for a video analysis

[PEPPERS]

Good swing.

She loads her hands back, then comes forward. Per the recommendation of gurus on this board, my daughter now loads her hands AS she comes forward. That has led to a smoother, more powerful stroke, as opposed to a sorta stop-start, less powerful one.

Yes or as some call it walk away from the hands.

 

[marauderssoftball]

Five,
If the elbow is stuck how would you fix it?

How about a fence swing drill?

 

[leerph]

Great information guys. Thanks so much. FFS can you elaborate exactly on what you mean by elbow being stuck. Do you mean it needs to move forward more or no delay or what? Again, thanks for all the analysis and tips guys. Really appreciate it.

 

[rdbass]

Try instead of your DD 'poking' someone standing behind her in the head with her rear elbow. Have her 'poke' someone standing behind her in the chest. What I see is your DD's rear elbow raises above her head. Then the hands, arms, & bat follow that path down around and back up above her head. I would try to level out the rear elbow. Pull back level and then see what kind of bat path that gets her. JMHO

 

[Buttermaker]

I agree with this post in that the high elbow is lengthening the incorrect series of muscles. With the high elbow "poke" she is lengthening the rear side internal and external obliques and not anterior oblique sling shown here

And thus not lengthening the opposite posterior sling muscle system shown here

So, the stretch shortening cycle will in her case produce a more "vertical" swing. Her barrel travels well below the swing plane and the big arch finish is one of the results. The stuck rear elbow is another.

Think more diagonally wrt to muscles.

Try instead of your DD 'poking' someone standing behind her in the head with her rear elbow. Have her 'poke' someone standing behind her in the chest. What I see is your DD's rear elbow raises above her head. Then the hands, arms, & bat follow that path down around and back up above her head. I would try to level out the rear elbow. Pull back level and then see what kind of bat path that gets her. JMHO

 

[gophert]

I'm just a bucket dad, but have been working on this swing thing for 2 years with my daughter and we have made some huge advancements due to the advice from this forum.

One thing I notice about most MLB hitters is that their hands start high around the ear. I made this one adjustment and it really helped my daughter get in a better position. I notice your DD hands start lower. Might be something you want to try. JMO

 

[CoogansBluff]

One thing I notice about most MLB hitters is that their hands start high around the ear. I made this one adjustment and it really helped my daughter get in a better position. I notice your DD hands start lower. Might be something you want to try. JMO

Just a bucket dad also, but I don't think where she's holding the hands in the stance is an issue. I do understand how some players might benefit from going higher or lower to find what feels right for them. My daughter early last year brought her hand set down, perhaps even lower than the player in the OP. She now looks more like TW below. Holding them higher, she had an uncontrollable desire to want to drop her hands and keep them down, so by starting lower, she almost has to move up and back. So I do see how the location of the hands in the stance can be tailored to alleviate a particular hitter's mental block, but I definitely don't automatically think it's better to be up near the ear. In fact, I doubt that is the most common place for them in MLB. Might be more common in NCAA because of the sea-shell-to-the-ear teaching method that was common a few years ago.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Five,
If the elbow is stuck how would you fix it?

There are multiple issues that could lead to getting ‘stuck’.

Excessive tension.

Overcooking fusion.

And this may create a bit of a stir …. But overdoing a “good thing” can actually be a “bad thing” … and that includes overdoing “turning the barrel” and performing it outside of the scope of what is intended (or at least what I believe should be intended). You can overdo "turning the barrel" to the point of getting stuck.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

I'm just a bucket dad, but have been working on this swing thing for 2 years with my daughter and we have made some huge advancements due to the advice from this forum.

One thing I notice about most MLB hitters is that their hands start high around the ear. I made this one adjustment and it really helped my daughter get in a better position. I notice your DD hands start lower. Might be something you want to try. JMO

Listen to what Ortiz says here.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Just a bucket dad also, but I don't think where she's holding the hands in the stance is an issue. I do understand how some players might benefit from going higher or lower to find what feels right for them. My daughter early last year brought her hand set down, perhaps even lower than the player in the OP. She now looks more like TW below. Holding them higher, she had an uncontrollable desire to want to drop her hands and keep them down, so by starting lower, she almost has to move up and back. So I do see how the location of the hands in the stance can be tailored to alleviate a particular hitter's mental block, but I definitely don't automatically think it's better to be up near the ear. In fact, I doubt that is the most common place for them in MLB. Might be more common in NCAA because of the sea-shell-to-the-ear teaching method that was common a few years ago.

View attachment 6758

Starting with the hands lower in the stance can help hitters find the "up & in".