Can't hit off real pitchers

jjr said:

If you recorded, I would still post the video of her getting walked. Because there are things these guys notice even when the girls DON'T swing.

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Not sure how good of quality this is and if you can tell anything from it. I am usually in the scoreboard so most of my videos are behind her so you can't see how she's really standing until the ump bends down. It's also a nite game so it was pretty dark..

https://youtu.be/ZyFL8SLg7QA

nixxy311 said:

Not sure how good of quality this is and if you can tell anything from it. I am usually in the scoreboard so most of my videos are behind her so you can't see how she's really standing until the ump bends down. It's also a nite game so it was pretty dark..

https://youtu.be/ZyFL8SLg7QA

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She looks to be intimidated...... Almost rightfully so...... the other team looks like giants compared to her..... with that being said she does exhibit a pattern that drops the barrel and swings flat through the zone..... The cut that she takes outside of the box also shows how she swings around her body..... She needs to develop confidence in herself which everyone knows is easier said than done...... Also you should start reading up on the sequence of the High Level Swing..... JMHO..... Best of luck to you both.


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DRDRODD said:

She looks to be intimidated...... Almost rightfully so...... the other team looks like giants compared to her..... with that being said she does exhibit a pattern that drops the barrel and swings flat through the zone..... The cut that she takes outside of the box also shows how she swings around her body..... She needs to develop confidence in herself which everyone knows is easier said than done...... Also you should start reading up on the sequence of the High Level Swing..... JMHO..... Best of luck to you both.


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Yea, she does look smaller! She still has one more year of 12U but she's playing up in 14U this season.
Thanks!

Watch DD's front foot. Looks like 'bail out'/step out/'step in the bucket' make sure it isn't going to hit me and then get back in. Don't have enough time for all that.

pattar said:

Ok, so swing launch..gotcha..

Go back and read the OP. Does the description, in particular "doesn't swing fast enough" match somebody who is timing the pitcher to launch their swing, which would seem to me lead to being out in front of most pitches, or somebody who isn't starting her "gather" (your 2 and 3 I would gather..pun intended ) until the ball is released ?

Of course without video everyone is just guessing.

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Yes, actually it does. If a 10U hitter is timing their launch of say, a 12 o'clock position of a 10U pitcher and the 12U's pitcher arm speed is faster (thus a late start since it will be more of a 1 or even 2 o'clock launch) as well as faster ball speed (again, a later start) once movining up, then they will be behind the pitch and it may possibly seem as though they don't have enough "bat speed" in order to hit it. As you said, without video, we're all guessing.

ETA: Ahhh..now we have video.

gibraltor said:

Yocoach I dont too much like to post video because everyone seems to something different. But for this discussion Ill say that its a given that any hitter has to time the ball. I mean theres no need to ever tell this to a hitter. Its common sense and taken for granted. But I gotta say that raising the bat early on is a mistake. Getting the hands up and back during the stride is not what a hitter should do. And its not what Bonds did arguably the best who ever played.

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gibraltor, thank you for this. However, If you'll slow-motion the clip you just posted, you'll see that Bonds first drops his hands to stomach level then just before he plants his front foot, he raises them back and up with the top hand just above shoulder level before launch. Personally, I think this is more of a style versus an absolute. Look at Ted Williams or Babe Ruth just as examples.

My launch point for my hitters is ultimately similar but I prefer they keep both hands just below back shoulder level and have them go back and up to the point where the top hand is just above the back shoulder. JMPO but I don't feel that the shorter time period between BB and SB, i.e 3.4-3.5 S reaction time between a 65 MPH pitch in SB versus a 3.8+ for a 100 MPH equivalent pitch, or larger for lesser speed pitches reaction time allows the extra time for a SB player's hands to drop to their belly then get into the loaded position. Again, just my personal opinion and I'll gladly readjust that if proven wrong. After all, even though I've been coaching and studying hitting for 15 years, I'm always on the quest to learn more.

BTW, no argument here on being one of the best hitters of our era from me.

For comparison, this is from a practice scrimmage from last fall where it still went center/right..this is against a slower pitcher though
https://youtu.be/_rXIf7lossc

YOCOACH said:

Yes, actually it does. If a 10U hitter is timing their launch of say, a 12 o'clock position of a 10U pitcher and the 12U's pitcher arm speed is faster (thus a late start since it will be more of a 1 or even 2 o'clock launch) as well as faster ball speed (again, a later start) once movining up, then they will be behind the pitch and it may possibly seem as though they don't have enough "bat speed" in order to hit it. As you said, without video, we're all guessing.

ETA: Ahhh..now we have video.

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So you have seen many young hitters start their swing launch before the actual pitch is thrown? That certainly isn't my experience from the kids I have witnessed. Granted my DD only started 10U (e.g. first year of kid pitch here) in the Fall.

I think you have more of a mechanical issue here and less of a thought processing or timing issue. In the game swing I see almost no inward turn or coil into the back hip. That makes it an all arms effort disconnected from the lower half. In the practice hit that she cranks it is a high slower pitch which is easy to drive for most players and most skill levels. I would dig into the load and other aspects of her mechanics. Lots to learn in the technical thread on this site.

pattar said:

So you have seen many young hitters start their swing launch before the actual pitch is thrown? That certainly isn't my experience from the kids I have witnessed. Granted my DD only started 10U (e.g. first year of kid pitch here) in the Fall.

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I think you're missing my point. If they're timing off of the pitchers motion, again as an example, say the 12 o'clock position, with the faster arm motion at 12U, they'll be late since it will be more like 1 or even 2 o'clock when they actually launch. For any given hitter at that age, it could be the 9 o'clock position or even release, I just used the 12 o'clock position as an example only.

Given that fact, faster arm speed (usually) at the higher age group (12U), as well as the faster ball speed, means they'll be even further behind the pitch if they are timing off the pitching motion versus the ball which many of them have a tendency to do IME. Again, it could be at release depending upon the hitter. That said. If it's at release, with the higher arm speed, they will have a minute late start and not actually launch upon release like they think they are doing, Add in the increased speed of the ball and to many inexperienced people, it looks like their DD's bat speed is "not fast enough," when in reality, their hitter is nothing more than being late in their launch and being behind the pitch.

I never said anything about the youngest hitters starting their swing before the pitch is released. I said that happens with the HL swing. I have several 8YO right now and no matter how hard I train them, they still launch based on the pitcher's arm motion and position. I'm hoping to cure them of that by 10U.