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Oct 2, 2017
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I think I came to a conclusion yesterday after a practice session with my daughter. Now some might not agree, but my conclusion is this. Why am I trying to change the big things in my daughters swing. When at the age she is, she has a hard enough time understanding the small things. I could be contributing to her having a hard understanding because maybe I'm not presenting information in a way that she can grasp. I do try hard to put it in terms that a 7 yr old can relate to. So I went and look at all the video I have of her hitting. From t-ball to now. One thing stuck out to me. That she has came a long way, and she has a long way to go in terms of growth. When she went to the pre-stride move her confidence and consistency improved dramatically. Every time I tried to change this move, and its been many times (Even before joining this forum.) she starts to really struggle. So what's my point? I'm going to let her do the pre-stride move. and work on the small things that she can grasp and change. Then, when she gets a little older and has more of a mental capacity to understand her body more, she can make those bigger changes, Leg kick etc. I can still teach her along with advice that you fine people have offered to me already and hopefully more. She can still learn to separate, use lower halfe better, hand path etc. I just felt like sharing this.
 
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rdbass

It wasn't me.
Jun 5, 2010
9,131
83
Not here.
That's why I don't(rarely) comment on a hitter under 10 yrs old. This is YOUR time to learn & swing a bat. So, when DD is ready you'll be ready.
 
Oct 2, 2017
2,283
113
That's why I don't(rarely) comment on a hitter under 10 yrs old. This is YOUR time to learn & swing a bat. So, when DD is ready you'll be ready.

I agree, Its time to put things into perspective. She is 7 going on 8. She does need guidance, but also has to figure it out on her own. Yesterday during her session, she was struggling to hit the ball because she was focused to much on performing all these moves. I finally just said to her, figure it out. What do you know, after 2-3 swing of me saying that to her, she started hitting!
 
Oct 11, 2010
8,337
113
Chicago, IL
Even with older players I think people try to change to many things at a time and player becomes a mental and physical wreck. Especially at this a age 1 thing at a time moving towards your goal. Just do this 1 thing, if you introduce something new and she loses 1st thing, go back to 1st thing again.

Support support support, no aggregation. You have time.
 
Oct 2, 2017
2,283
113
Even with older players I think people try to change to many things at a time and player becomes a mental and physical wreck. Especially at this a age 1 thing at a time moving towards your goal. Just do this 1 thing, if you introduce something new and she loses 1st thing, go back to 1st thing again.

Support support support, no aggregation. You have time.

Definitly Agree on doing to much. Especially at younger age.
 
May 1, 2018
659
63
At some point or time she is going to struggle with the change. Why not now while the other swing isn't ingrained in her body?
 
Nov 18, 2013
2,255
113
I think you're doing the right thing. Pushing too hard at that age will give you a lacrosse or soccer player. Let he have fun. She can overcome any bad habits when she gets older.
 
Oct 2, 2017
2,283
113
At some point or time she is going to struggle with the change. Why not now while the other swing isn't ingrained in her body?

I agree that there is always struggle with change. No matter the age and no matter whether we are talking sports or any other thing in life, but since we are talking sports/softball. At 7 going on 8 she can hardly learn to control her body in a controlled fashion and understand what feeling certain things are. Every child is different. Each with a certain level of awareness of their body. I'm not a coach, and like I said maybe its my communication. I try to dumb it down to a level that a child her age can understand but, so much of the baseball swing, whether its listening to athletes talk about their swing or me trying something new myself has a lot to do with feel. Feeling or engaging certain muscle groups on que. That is something that at least in my opinion is really hard to communicate to a 7 yr. old. That being said, concerning being ingrained. A older child will be a lot more aware of their body to be able to make a change to their swing. Its easier to communicate that to them. At least I would think that would be the case, I could be wrong. I would also imaging that a older child will be more willing and able to deal with the frustrations in making a change. Overall a younger child, needs to have fun and no be discouraged because I as a Dad wants to make big changes to her swing. A child that strikes out all the time is not going to have fun. This is not say that no changes or issues cannot be fixed along the way, but it seems to me that they need to be small changes that lead to the bigger picture. Hopefully I'm sounding coherent.
 
Oct 2, 2017
2,283
113
I think you're doing the right thing. Pushing too hard at that age will give you a lacrosse or soccer player. Let he have fun. She can overcome any bad habits when she gets older.

I agree. That's the conclusion I came to after her session last night.
 
May 24, 2013
12,461
113
So Cal
I've been where you are, and faced a lot of the same struggles. In hindsight, I would have slowed down at the start. Keeping things fun is very important. I didn't do a very good job with that part of it.

Based on what I have seen of her swing, I would keep trying to reinforce a pattern of separation, and getting away from the all-back/all-forward pattern she has had. Other than that, letting her figure it out in her own body is a good approach. When you make swing changes, there will be adjustment time. This is to be expected and needs to be allowed for. The changes aren't recipes for instant success, they are building the foundation for long-term success. Judging the validity of swing mechanics changes on what happens in the next game isn't an accurate meter.
 

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