Help with swing

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I can see a little bit of coil in the hips keep working on it, the biggest issue I see is stride, there are varying schools of thought and in the end if you are just going to twist or go up and put your foot back down in the same place that is your choice but there is no school of thought that has you go backwards. Put you cursor/mouse on the back heel of your DD when she completes her swing her back heel is actually farther back than when it started, I just don't see how she is ever going to get maximum productivity from her swing doing that, start small but at the very least it has to come back to the same place and most on the board would suggest forward even if only a little to start.
 
Aug 1, 2008
2,314
63
ohio
In your last video the bat is too flat to what I teach. Top of the ear at least.
Pony tail hole on helmet or above.

When your bat is flat you have to pull the weight of the barrel up then through the zone. Better to have it taller and then drop it through the zone

Her hands get ahead of the hips to fast in the swing. 100% of the girls I work with have this adjustment to make.

Getting the hips to lead the swing is so common with all hitters. Takes work.



SL
 
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Dec 19, 2012
1,428
0
Let's start from the bottom and work our way up.

She looks a bit pigeon-toed in her setup. I would suggest the feet be perpendicular to the side of the plate.....also known as "setting up neutral".

I love the action of her front knee in her negative move but her back knee goes over and beyond her back foot. For a more powerful load I suggest keeping the back knee inside the back foot where the pressure of the negative move is felt against the big toe and the ball of the foot behind the big toe, not along the entire back foot.

As SL points out above, her hands get ahead of her hips. A good swing spins from the bottom-up. I suggest the hips start first with a very powerful turning action (rotation), followed quickly by the forward movement of the arms. The hip turn will be more powerful if my suggestion above is followed. I also suggest a stride of about 8 inches forward. This linear movement to toe-touch should be very powerful IMO. Her weight shift should be felt entirely on the inside of her front leg and no weight should be on her back leg. That's how hard her back hip needs to rotate forward towards the pitcher.

SL is also correct about the flat bat. Over time, the flat bat will cause the arms to get more tired throughout the at bat because there is more surface area affected by gravity. I suggest an initial setup with the bat at about a 45 degree angle back as well as being angled slightly toward the back of her helmet where her pony tail is banded against the back of her head.

Your dd's front side is basically collapsed throughout the swing. She basically just throws her hands down at the ball, makes contact, then collapses and uses just her wrists to complete her swing. This is normally caused by the hitter being told to "throw the hands at the ball", "throw the barrel at the ball", or "start the swing with the top hand". IMO the front shoulder/arm plays a significant role in the swing. In a swing, basic physics proves that it is easier to adjust from the top-down due to gravity, and adjust from inside to outside due to angular momentum. At the start of her swing I would suggest attacking with an elevated front elbow (no higher than the front shoulder) as the back arm comes down towards her back side rib cage. As the torso rotates around the spine (hard) and her back arm is about perpendicular to the ground, the front arm pulls on the bottom of the bat handle as the top hand pushes on the bat handle "whipping" the barrel of the bat towards the ball causing a collision. Once she makes contact have her continue her swing until both arms are fully extended to the point where the top hand comes off of the bat, and finish the swing with the bat still in her hand and straight arm (not locked at the elbow) around her front shoulder. Hit through the ball, not to the ball. Here's a slow motion swing of David Ortiz:

 
R

RayR

Guest
Ortiz is throwing the barrel at the ball from the start and his bottom hand and forearm end up rolling into contact....I thought you said you don't agree with those things....

I will keep saying it - you can't get to a natural extension if the barrel is not being thrown from the start and the bottom hand and forearm do not rollover....the idea that you can whip the barrel late is flawed thinking and will only create a flip swing where the bat hits you in the back....If the hands and wrists are not trying to throw the barrel early there is no way to create as tight of a swing that can adjust to pitched ball (fastpitch and baseball)
 
Dec 19, 2012
1,428
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MTS, we disagree and that's okay. I don't think Ortiz is throwing the barrel at the ball from the start. IMO if he was he would not have his front elbow away from his rib cage and in attack mode. IMO this separation is because of the rotation of the front shoulder socket (read pull) and rotation around the spine and then he throws the barrel (if you will) once the back elbow is slotted and due the pull/push of the bottom and top hand once the barrel is in the hitting zone which creates the whip. I just believe the front side is much more important in a swing than you do. You just keep saying what you say and I'll just keep saying what I say. You're honestly not hurting my feelings one bit and let the readers decide which way is better for them.
 

tjintx

A real searcher
May 27, 2012
795
18
TEXAS
If you listen to the commentator talking about this swing you can hear him say "he is just so strong he is using his upper body stength and kind of muscles the ball out of the ball park whereas Halliday's uses a much smoother swing". I'm not picking a side to this arguement, but I am trying to get a clearer picture where the 2 sides disagree. IMO Ortiz didn't use his lower body the way all on DFP are recommending( it looks like he spun on his back foot) yet he gets away with it because he is so strong. The obvious difference is girls don't have the kind of upper body strength that boys do so they NEED that lower body engine working optimally to generate more power. So in keeping it simple for this poster.... Learn to use the hips properly first,then learn to separate the hips and hands? Once that is accomplished the fine tuning can begin? TR
To the OP. IMO Your DD is close to having a really good swing. I have done a lot of reading at DFP and had a lot of success following the suggestions given. Try to focus on 1 thing or 2 at most when making adjustments. When a change is made permanent then you can move on to the next issue. It's not feasible to think about 5 different things while trying to swing a bat. Doing too much at once will cause confusion and overload your DD. That being said, start from the ground and work your way up. Good luck to you, I'm sure she will do well. TR
MTS, we disagree and that's okay. I don't think Ortiz is throwing the barrel at the ball from the start. IMO if he was he would not have his front elbow away from his rib cage and in attack mode. IMO this separation is because of the rotation of the front shoulder socket (read pull) and rotation around the spine and then he throws the barrel (if you will) once the back elbow is slotted and due the pull/push of the bottom and top hand once the barrel is in the hitting zone which creates the whip. I just believe the front side is much more important in a swing than you do. You just keep saying what you say and I'll just keep saying what I say. You're honestly not hurting my feelings one bit and let the readers decide which way is better for them.
 
R

RayR

Guest
Not trying to hurt your feelings - I have taken swings all different ways and the only time I have come close to matching a swing like Ortiz (in terms of barrel path) has been when I have used my hands/wrists to get the barrel around right from the start....I have never said your swing advice wouldn't work - it obviously does....but it is not efficient nor adjustable....

MTS, we disagree and that's okay. I don't think Ortiz is throwing the barrel at the ball from the start. IMO if he was he would not have his front elbow away from his rib cage and in attack mode. IMO this separation is because of the rotation of the front shoulder socket (read pull) and rotation around the spine and then he throws the barrel (if you will) once the back elbow is slotted and due the pull/push of the bottom and top hand once the barrel is in the hitting zone which creates the whip. I just believe the front side is much more important in a swing than you do. You just keep saying what you say and I'll just keep saying what I say. You're honestly not hurting my feelings one bit and let the readers decide which way is better for them.
 
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R

RayR

Guest
Just watch his elbow - if the forearm didnt roll his elbow would have to wing up....the back arm unfolds a certain way as the front forearm rolls (supinates) and allows a hitter to be very long through the hitting zone (Adjustability).

If the the bottom hand/wrist/forearm did not roll either the back arm would not be able to unfold and the hitter would either pull off....or the back arm would try to push the hands through....

I guess i cannot see this. I do see a swivel, but i cannot see a turning of the wrist until, towards extension.
 

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