trouble hitting fast pitching

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obbay

Banned
Aug 21, 2008
2,199
0
Boston, MA
DD is generally a good hitter, but in the past I have seen that when she faces faster pitching than she's used to, she tends to swing late and often pops up when she does hit the ball. (Ex: late season tournament where she was facing successful college pitchers and players who pitched on national teams for other countries who were in their last season qualifying for U18)

Doing front toss today, she seemed to be popping up more than hitting line drives. in this particular cage it has kind of a low ceiling so the difference between hitting a Bomb and a can-o-corn or pop-up is grey.

she is at an age where she is highly skeptical of any advice from me-which I can deal with for the most part.

I'm just wondering how to encourage her to work on hitting, specifically faster pitching and mixed speeds in a way that she will hear the message and not get all defensive about it or blow me off. I have mentioned it to her hitting coach on the side so she is always keeping an eye out for it.

I'm thinking of approaching it from an "improving the quality of hits" perspective.

any/all suggestions are welcome-thanks!
 
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ian

Jun 11, 2015
1,175
48
Have you ever played around with a zepp? What is her 'time to contact'? This info might help determine what she needs to work on. If her time to contact is low and mechanics are sound then she just needs reps, reps and more reps.
 

rdbass

It wasn't me.
Jun 5, 2010
9,131
83
Not here.
DD is generally a good hitter, but in the past I have seen that when she faces faster pitching
It's where the 'rubber meets the road'. Their all 'good hitters' until they meet the dreaded 'faster pitching'. Faster pitching is what your DD is going to see in college.
(Ex: late season tournament where she was facing successful college pitchers and players who pitched on national teams for other countries who were in their last season qualifying for U18)
If you think that the pitching was above average then don't worry. I doubt that though but, that's just me.
Post her swing. I don't want to guess.
 
Last edited:
Jul 16, 2013
4,659
113
Pennsylvania
obbay,

I will break this down into 3 sections. Please note that without the ability to view the actual swing, there is admittedly some guessing on my part. You will need to be the judge of that.

1) Hitting faster pitching -- When I hear this, the first thing I think of is indecisiveness on the part of the hitter. Someone that is waiting too long to make the decision to swing. Or someone that is trying to think "should I swing or shouldn't I". A poster who I admire used to talk about a hitter taking on the mentality of a "predator". Essentially going into every at bat and every pitch assuming she is going to swing. In my opinion that is the way the hitter should be. Assume you are going to swing, until you decide not to.
2) Pop ups -- This is often caused by someone with a downward swing path. A "hands to the ball" cue can sometimes lead to this if taken too literally. I agree with ian in respect to the Zepp. It can also be used to monitor the various swing angles. If my "guess" regarding pop ups is correct, it will stand out very well with the Zepp.
3) Highly skeptical -- welcome to the club :) This is very common with parents that try to help. I went through it as well. In fact, I decided to step away at one point and allow others to handle the coaching. It wasn't long before she came back asking for my advice on things. Now we talk about hitting even when we are not at the cages. She will often start the conversation whereas it was like pulling teeth a couple of years ago. I'm sure it will all work out.

Enjoy the ride and good luck!
 
Last edited:
Feb 3, 2010
5,752
113
Pac NW
Learn to time the pitcher. Find a point in the delivery to start the slow and early load, then fire on every pitch. Stop at toe touch if you choose not to hit. For faster pitchers, start at/around 3-12 in the arm circle. For slower pitchers, adjust as needed.
 
Sep 17, 2009
1,637
83
1) Hitting faster pitching -- When I hear this, the first thing I think of is indecisiveness on the part of the hitter. Someone that is waiting too long to make the decision to swing. Or someone that is trying to think "should I swing or shouldn't I". A poster who I admire used to talk about a hitter taking on the mentality of a "predator". Essentially going into every at bat and every pitch assuming she is going to swing. In my opinion that is the way the hitter should be. Assume you are going to swing, until you decide not to.

This is very well put. Everybody teaches yes-yes hitting, but it takes more than that when they get to the upper levels. It reminds me of the poker story -- if you are sitting at the table and can't tell who the "fish" is, it's you. In hitting, either you are the predator or the pitcher is. And it's usually a sliding scale, ie, very good hitters and pitchers have a threshold where even they get intimidated.

The question I always think should be: why are you intimidated? Don't want to look bad? Don't want to strike out? Dad yells at me. I won't get into college if I strike out.

There's probably no way you can talk to your own DD about THIS type of stuff, but if somehow you can get her into more of a predator mentality that would be a good place to start.
 

obbay

Banned
Aug 21, 2008
2,199
0
Boston, MA
Thanks- Excellent feedback, thank you- the predator mentality has to be the way to go!
Now another question- does anyone know how to capture video (animation) from Zepp and post it here? I had a major revelation today, Jesus spoke and everything!��
 

Chris Delorit

Member
Apr 24, 2016
343
28
Green Bay, WI
obbay,

How old is she, what level does she compete & has she been commited to training with a good mentor or/and coach?

Experience & confidence.

Both can be coached up with her by using a variety of different mechanical & situational drills. However when it comes to confidence & mental fortitude, it is her & her only who holds the eventual keys to her own successes or failures.

RichK was spot on about the issues of intimidation & fear of failure as a young player. His advice relative to "predator" mentality is wonderful, an absolute in my opinion. But, this type of mentality will be possible to each individual over different periods of time. And, there will be many who never achieve it.

:eek:
 
Jul 26, 2016
108
18
First Thing is Timing. there is now a lot of talk about reading the ball with the foot in the air and loading/coiling late and that is not wrong but you still Need to be ready in time. the front toe Needs to be on or very near the ground when the ball is a Little past halfway.

so maybe the load "slow and early" advice of bautista is not that bad although you can of course also be too early with your load and stride.

if she gets to toe touch when the ball is halfway and is still late you have to look at swing quickness:

- how Long is her swing radius?
-how fast does she swing?
-how Long does it take from "go" until the Barrel is up to Speed (bat drag maybe?)?
-is she able to accelerate fast so that she can hit the ball hard without being out front if she is a Little late?
 
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