Improving the HR to at Bat Ratio...

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Oct 2, 2015
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After not even playing on the JV squad at the beginning on her 9th grade year, this was a fast and furious journey...

No my DD is not a D-1 phenom, but she's a pretty good hitter.
Playing college ball literally didn't enter our vocabulary until after her 10th grade HS season in the Spring
After seeing her HR to at bat ratio in the 10th Grade season hover around 1:10.5, I new it could be improved on. Why? Just seeing the good hitting streaks and flurry of HRs she would hit, made me think she could improve.
...Get rid of the bad, and amplify the good...

The bad: is swinging out of her shoes, striking out watching good pitches and being too selective, a fairly rough swing at times, and sporadic bad techniques popping up here and there.
The good: lotsa size, strength and power.

11th grade seasons consisted of the HS season and her first completitive "16U Gold" summer and fall seasons...same ratio...~1 HR for every 10.5 at bats....~ 175 at bats...

OK, senior season...running out of time...Get rid of the bad...amplify the good...

Here' what we worked on...
Form...lots of GIFs from DFP, Thanks guys!
Be an aggressive hitter, by practicing hitting every type of pitch during the off season...which was easy for me, since I suck at slow toss pitching accuracy.
Limit the strikeouts and walks by being more aggressive
Just focus on just hitting the ball hard and not killing it, and by changing the attack angle up to +5-10 degrees. And getting an exit angle in the 20-30 degreee angle
Kept her off of the men's softball fields...no trying kill the ball, and hit the ball out... ( uhh, ya..I might be the one to blame for that :D )

Senior year
The results: above .500 avg, 14 HRs....

HR to at bat ratio... 1 to 5.6...and man did she she hit the ball hard

Ya, I know it's only HS ball, but I'm extremely proud of her.

I just wish I had one more year of HS ball with her... :(
 
Last edited:

rdbass

It wasn't me.
Jun 5, 2010
9,131
83
Not here.
Nice to see a dad & DD putting in the work on the off season and having it pay off during the season.
Just focus on just hitting the ball hard and not killing it, and by changing the attack angle up to +5-10 degrees. And getting an exit angle in the 20-30 degreee angle
I also like this^^^^^^^. Putting in the extra work off the field.
Good job.
 
Oct 2, 2015
615
18
Nice to see a dad & DD putting in the work on the off season and having it pay off during the season.

I also like this^^^^^^^. Putting in the extra work off the field.
Good job.

Thanks!
Practicing with all 3 of my DDs at the same time is a little trying at times.
I work them out individually most of the time when it comes to batting.

All of the mistakes and advances I made with my oldest DD, has made it alot more efficient with my 2 younger DDs, when it comes to practicing and learning techniques.
 
Last edited:
Oct 2, 2015
615
18
Oldest DD wrapped up a very limited Summer Travel Ball season...due to working 45-50 hours/week
63 at bats...11 HRs

Total for the year, HS and Travel ball

25 HRs...142 at bats

1 HR per ~ 5.7 at bats

Still need to work on not trying to kill the ball and pulling her head, just hit it hard...
Being aggressive is the biggest factor that contributed to her numbers this year, I believe. Minimize the walks and strikeouts.
In the past, I think when she was being ultra picky in her at bats it got her struck out, or wasted an at bat on a walk.
Also working in the cage on the exit angle of ~ 25-30* degrees, helped a lot.
And the weights...
And the endless reps in the cage and at the park...

Like I said before...I really want one more year of HS for her.
I'm gonna miss practicing and working out with her.
 

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