Lighter bat???

DDs has been going to a new hitting coach for about 3 months now. About a month ago he cut lessons off short and told her next time she came in to bring a bat that is at least 2ozs lighter than what she has been swinging for the last year. DD is 5'4" and about 130lbs and has been swinging a 32/22 Xeno.
I asked what the purpose of going to such a small bat was and he said he wanted to "retrain her hands". I will admit that her swing does look faster with the lighter bat but she looks very stiff to me almost like she trying to manhandle it all the way through her swing.
I am no hitting guru but this approach just doesn't seem right to me.

I am not a hitting guru, but I would be leery of any hitting coach encouraging a 5'4" 130 lbs player to use a 20oz bat unless she was really weak. I guess it would be OK for drills, but I would be hesitant to use it in a game. I am also a big fan of -10 bats.

Run, don't walk, but run to the nearest exit!

My daughter is approximately the same size and uses a 2012 DeMarini 32/22 that still has lots of pop. If she is hitting it hard and driving the ball, why change?

DD went through a spell of mishitting the ball alot. Most of the time she was getting on top of the ball and chopping it in the dirt or hitting weak grounders. She has never had a problem catching up to speed or hitting the ball hard when she made good square contact.
I'm not sure if this is something he wants to try temporarily or if he thinks this is the solution. From what I see, the light bat is causing her to have a clunky swing and causing her to have more of an arm swing.. None of which are improvements in my opinion.

ArkFastpitch said:

DD went through a spell of mishitting the ball alot. Most of the time she was getting on top of the ball and chopping it in the dirt or hitting weak grounders. She has never had a problem catching up to speed or hitting the ball hard when she made good square contact.
I'm not sure if this is something he wants to try temporarily or if he thinks this is the solution. From what I see, the light bat is causing her to have a clunky swing and causing her to have more of an arm swing.. None of which are improvements in my opinion.

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A -12 bat is a short-term bandaid used by incompetent instructors to address the symptoms rather the root cause of a swing problem. Except for the very youngest/smallest players, bat weight/length should not alter a player's swing mechanics, just their swing speed! IMO, there actually is a benefit to learning proper mechanics with a slightly longer/heavier/more end-loaded bat because swing flaws are more quickly exposed.

Greenmonsters said:

A -12 bat is a short-term bandaid used by incompetent instructors to address the symptoms rather the root cause of a swing problem. Except for the very youngest/smallest players, bat weight/length should not alter a player's swing mechanics, just their swing speed! IMO, there actually is a benefit to learning proper mechanics with a slightly longer/heavier/more end-loaded bat because swing flaws are more quickly exposed.

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I'm guessing there will be a radar gun showing your DD'S bat speed 'magically increased'.

From what I see, the light bat is causing her to have a clunky swing and causing her to have more of an arm swing

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Normally see 'arm swing' from a heavier bat.

Ark, it sounds like your daughter is "overpowering" the lighter bat. She's having trouble keeping it under control, which is likely why she looks stiff.

I discovered the lighter bat issue years ago when I borrowed one of my player's bats to hit fungos. It was so light I couldn't get a good swing path going. The harder I tried, the worse it got. I found it easier to control a bat that was weighted more appropriately for my size and strength.

I agree with the other posters that the issue for your daughter isn't bat weight. I'd look for something in the way she's using her hands to deliver the bat to the ball, such as taking the hands to the ball instead of the barrel. Video her swings and see if the barrel is above or below the hands at contact.

You need to find out what he means by "retain her hands" is he saying she has bat drag? Are her elbows way in front of her hands and she is dragging the bat through the zone? It is highly doubtful that at your daughters height and weight that any issues are due to a 22 oz bat. Most likely there is a issue with her mechanics but until you can identify what that exact issue is you can't fix it, and getting a lighter bat is not identifying or fixing any issue.