Put that cinder block in the video directly beside her back foot. She is reverse rotating right now. About the time she is making contact with the ball her weight is going backwards. Her back foot should release and not push against the cinder block. That's where I would start.
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Nice swing.
Man where do you live, it is 5 degrees where I live, and plenty of snow.
Have her look at the pitcher when working off the tee then track back to tee. Keep your head in the general vicinity of where the ball used to be and let the swing pull your head out.
Her not hitting it solid could be as easy as lifting the head to early
Straightleg
PS. I work with a 9 year old named Belle
Her dad sent me a video where she hit the grass on a fly for a double playing on a mens field.
She is about the same size as your dd. Good Luck
Man where do you live, it is 5 degrees where I live, and plenty of snow.
Have her look at the pitcher when working off the tee then track back to tee. Keep your head in the general vicinity of where the ball used to be and let the swing pull your head out.
Her not hitting it solid could be as easy as lifting the head to early
Straightleg
PS. I work with a 9 year old named Belle
Her dad sent me a video where she hit the grass on a fly for a double playing on a mens field.
She is about the same size as your dd. Good Luck
Poor weight shift. Need to get to a flexed front leg, head over belt buckle, before rotation starts. BTW, this is not a bad swing at all, just needs some work (as most all swings do)
- Nov 9, 2013
- 60
- 6
teamM---I know you are looking for specific feedback about your daughter's swing, but sometimes it makes more sense to just let her swing. Providing too much instruction to an 8 year-old can actually slow her growth as a hitter and could affect her love for the Game. I like her swing and would suggest less advice and more encouragement to enjoy playing softball, no matter what her stats look like. There will be plenty of time beginning in middle school and high school when she can really focus on her mechanics. Good luck!
- Feb 7, 2013
- 3,188
- 48
While on the surface, this sounds like ok advice but the reality is that if you let her just swing away for years without good hitting instruction she will likely ingrain poor mechanics that will be difficult to fix in middle school and high school as you suggest. One of the best things I did was get my DD hitting lessons when she was 8yo. She had been playing since 5 and well intentioned coaches (dads) had no idea how to teach hitting. She didn't have a lot of confidence at the plate and would look for the walk to get on base. After getting hitting lessons, her mechanics and stats improved greatly. As she got better, she got drafted on all star teams playing better competition. The result was she learned to be a hitter not a swinger of the bat. I cannot think of any of her peers that had not taken hitting lessons and are performing at a high level in fastpitch. If you are not continually improving, you are losing ground to your competition.
What size bat is that? I love her swing, but as I look at it, it hints to me that the bat is too heavy.
Hut, I have her trying to feel more centered at heel plant. Do you know of a drill? It does look better. I will put up more video up later. That added to my knowledge of what to look for in swings. thanks
SL, we live in Georgia. I get lost in the other things and forget things like your tee advice. thanks
Pet, I understand what your saying, and it is great advice. I think you have to take each kid as a individual. My DD loves to learn and work on things. She is a state champion gymnast. A NFL PPK Team champion winner. Plays Bball, soccer,swim. She is what i would call a grinder. She is not gifted. She has learned to connect results with the work she puts in. She has a great attitude toward failure. She will tell you failure is feedback and feedback is good. I pray she keeps it. When we work, we will do it only for 15min. I always TRY to leave her hungry not bloated. thanks
Doug, thanks, it is a 28/16 combat
Rocket, I tend to agree with you. Let the mechanics create the feel, not let the feel create mechanics. Its hard to change anything if it is ingrained. Teach them now when they don't care what others think. But, kids are individuals and need to be handled on a case by case basis.
SL, we live in Georgia. I get lost in the other things and forget things like your tee advice. thanks
Pet, I understand what your saying, and it is great advice. I think you have to take each kid as a individual. My DD loves to learn and work on things. She is a state champion gymnast. A NFL PPK Team champion winner. Plays Bball, soccer,swim. She is what i would call a grinder. She is not gifted. She has learned to connect results with the work she puts in. She has a great attitude toward failure. She will tell you failure is feedback and feedback is good. I pray she keeps it. When we work, we will do it only for 15min. I always TRY to leave her hungry not bloated. thanks
Doug, thanks, it is a 28/16 combat
Rocket, I tend to agree with you. Let the mechanics create the feel, not let the feel create mechanics. Its hard to change anything if it is ingrained. Teach them now when they don't care what others think. But, kids are individuals and need to be handled on a case by case basis.
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Not necessarily a drill but if by centered you mean balanced, try having her hold her finish for 2 seconds after she swings.
And I agree with others, she looks pretty good for 8, nice job.
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