Dd's fall swing

[undergroundga]

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So this is what dd's swing looks like so far in fall ball(I hope I am not over doing all the videos I post). Most of her hits have been fly balls. And since she has moved up pop flies equal more outs than hits.
I know that the bat drag is significant and that she is not leading with her hips. What I cannot figure out is how to convey that to her or how to help her fix it. I have showed her videos and she understands(or says she does) that she is getting her back elbow ahead of her hands and in front of her hips.
When we are working in the garage she does better about keeping her hands ahead of her back elbow but this is what it looks like in a game.
I know her bat is a lil heavy for her, But she has another bat that is about 2.5 ozs lighter and still has bat drag issues. She says that she does not feel comfy at the plate with it and insists on useing the bigger bat.
The hips are another thing. Again I have explained it to her and showed it to her in video and she says she understands. But we have not been able to get to where her hips lead. We worked on coiling her hips and she tries but she just doesn't let her hips go first.
Is there something I can do to help her. Are there drills we can work on. Am i going about it all wrong? Or should I just relax and let her body catch up to her bat?
She is playing up in fall ball for this very purpose. so we can get a jump on this before tb gets going(and hopefully get some mound time, which doesn't seem like is gonna happen).

 

[softballphreak]

I believe the bat drag here is directly connected to the lack of hip lead. There are only two routes for the arms/hands to go. They either cast or they take the route in the video. They are taking the route around the hip by leading with the elbow. Put another way, the hip is obstructing the bat path; the elbow is compensating.

Use the "check-swing drill".

Also, have her focus only on her hip while doing some decent speed front toss.

I wonder if the core is sufficiently strong at younger ages generally? Any thoughts on this? That would contribute to bat drag.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

The hips are another thing. Again I have explained it to her and showed it to her in video and she says she understands. But we have not been able to get to where her hips lead. We worked on coiling her hips and she tries but she just doesn't let her hips go first.

IMO you nailed it right here. Your daughter is an "arm swinger" and initiates her swing with her arms and upper body. I believe you are on the right path in terms of trying to correct this issue.

Capturing transition with the lower body, using a clean sequence such as Coil-Stretch-Swing, is a major key to a good swing. Work on the sequence ... and work on capturing transition with the lower body.

 

[undergroundga]

I've noticed a lot of younger kids swing with this type of bat drag. I also wonder if strenth is the issue. She recently started doing push-ups and crunches. Not a lot of them, but enough to start building strength. Also she has started running on our elliptical(she thinks this is fun, unlike myself that thinks it's borderline torture). She wants to be a pitcher so I figure all of this will help with that too.
I also wonder if some of it might be that she just isn't very aware of her body yet. I think she means it when she tells me she understands that she needs to do it, but just can't get her body to do it.
When she doesn't pop the ball up she drives some really hard and deep line drives. I think she has hit the ball on the ground once so far.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

I have have had young ladies with considerably less strength than your daughter swing without 'bat drag'. I wouldn't be using her 'strength level' as an excuse for 'bat drag'. There is a lot to be said for mastering a clean swing sequence and capturing transition of the barrel with the lower body.

 

[undergroundga]

Capturing transition with the lower body, using a clean sequence such as Coil-Stretch-Swing, is a major key to a good swing. Work on the sequence ... and work on capturing transition with the lower body.

Thanks, it's nice to know that we are atleast on the right path with this.
I can imagine that sometimes you've gotta get tired of repeating yourself about this. I've read a lot of your post where you talk about this. What can I do help my 8yoa dd do this. She is a diligent worker and a good learner, but me repeating myself over and over to her is only leading to frustration for her.
I understand if you don't wanna repeat yourself for the 1000th time. Plz post a link to some where else you explain it or video would be super nice. Thanks for your help. I feel bad asking you to continuously repeat yourself.

 

[RookKev]

UGA... have you ever stood next to a ball player that can really swing the bat with a lot of speed? At softball the other night, there was a guy there, he wasn't huge, but he had a decent build, about 5'-10" and 175 I'd guess. His practice swings were something of consequence, and dwarfed my in game swings. The bat was literally humming through the air....he would leave his hands back at extension and swing those hips around. His hands were half thrown and half yanked through the zone.

Do it your self in slow motion. Leave your hands and shoulders in 'coil' and turn your hips...keep going, and think about the path your hands HAVE to take. they can't really even stretch out to the ball, they pretty much have to stay inside the ball. I wonder if a batter with a good lower body can even have 'slow' hands. Anyways, I think most of us dads have bad mechanics, and thus our children do. We don't understand how to teach our children what is good and bad, until we have already established some incorrect mechanics. It doesn't mean they can't be fixed, but they will have to want it. The hours on the T and front toss will be what makes the swing trusted. I know now how I'm supposed to swing...but when I'm in the box, I haven't had enough reps to trust my 'know how' consistent in games, with slow pitch. So, imagine how tough it must be for our dd's.

If you start trying this yourself, I bet you might find your dd taking to it. My dd has seen me tag a couple of balls now that has caught her attention. Now, one might say your her dad, of course your going to hit it far...blah blah... well, I only weigh like 135-140 lbs. So, when I hit it over the outfields heads, it tends to draw a bit of attention. Until the discussions I've read on here and had with some of the posters, well, I was lucky to hit it much past the ladies line....

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Thanks, it's nice to know that we are atleast on the right path with this.
I can imagine that sometimes you've gotta get tired of repeating yourself about this. I've read a lot of your post where you talk about this. What can I do help my 8yoa dd do this. She is a diligent worker and a good learner, but me repeating myself over and over to her is only leading to frustration for her.
I understand if you don't wanna repeat yourself for the 1000th time. Plz post a link to some where else you explain it or video would be super nice. Thanks for your help. I feel bad asking you to continuously repeat yourself.

Undergroundga ... I'll provide a link to a video on the topic ... but the video will only be viewable for the next three days. The video describes the topic from a golf perspective, and the information is easily converted to the softball/baseball swing.

Go to the following link ... LINK ... and play the video labeled "Why You Can't Stop Hitting With Your Arms".

 

[undergroundga]

Undergroundga ... I'll provide a link to a video on the topic ... but the video will only be viewable for the next three days. The video describes the topic from a golf perspective, and the information is easily converted to the softball/baseball swing.

Go to the following link ... LINK ... and play the video labeled "Why You Can't Stop Hitting With Your Arms".

Thanks for the link. That really does explain things well. I just have to get it across to my 8yoa.

 

[Mr T]

Underground, I'm a fan of your dd. She's athletic and will be fine. I think she was my DD's age, 9 or so right? Her stance and setup are better than many kids that age. That right there is encouraging. She gets some whip going with the bat, the 3rd hit looks nice and I can see why you say she can hit some far balls when she gets a hold of it.

Mechanics-wise we're all on the same page. I think you are right it's just hard for most girls this age to actually get their body to do it. You may just need to let her coordination develop. It's not a strength issue. I am not a physiologist but in my mind the hip is primarily fired with the ab + glute, and maybe some hamstring. Can your DD hula-hoop? Because if she can she's plenty strong enough. It will come.

She has a nice stance and stride with separation. The timing is off but that will come. She comes down on her front toe and then naturally puts the heel down as she fires her swing. Her front toe is still pointing straight across. Maybe try having her point it at 2nd baseman as a first step to see if that helps.