Use of a "baseball swing" in fastpitch?

My daughter is a second year 12U player, and has just finished trying out for travel teams. I got feedback from the coach of a team she tried out for, but did not make, and it included the following statement:

"I am worried about her hitting mechanics, it appears she has been taught the typical power baseball swing, which doesn't really translate to softball in my opinion. I bet she crushes the slower pitchers. I feel she might struggle with the faster pitchers we will be seeing."

Now, I am not an expert on hitting mechanics. At all. Her hitting coach says he's making too big of a deal of it, and there is nothing wrong with her swing. From a cursory examination of what's on the Internet, it looks as though the use of "baseball swings" is controversial.

The hitting coach for the team she did wind up making did not agree that she was using a "baseball swing," but agreed that she will have trouble hitting off faster pitchers because of the mechanics of her swing ("long" to the pitch vs. "short") and holding her bat horizontally vs. at an angle. He suggested bringing her elbow in so that her arm is more compact and using more of a hip rotation to generate power.

Although she's been playing rec for years, this is the first critique of this sort we've heard, so we want to do the right thing to help her improve as she ages.

Can anyone offer an opinion on this "baseball swing" issue and whether you feel we need to start over from scratch with her swing? See attached photos of her swing.

Here switch the pics.

Softball swing should be and is the same as a baseball swing. Any coach who says different doesn't know what he is talking about.
Look through this thread and see wha you think:
http://www.discussfastpitch.com/softball-hitting-technical/2785-model-swings.html

The mechanics of a good swing are the same, regardless of the type of ball being hit.

Well, the first guy was correct in the sense that she has struggled with fast pitchers, and I guess this will become a more glaring issue as she ages and pitchers get faster. We'd like to get her swing adjusted as needed before that happens. What about the angle of her bat?

CMMom1740 said:

Well, the first guy was correct in the sense that she has struggled with fast pitchers, and I guess this will become a more glaring issue as she ages and pitchers get faster. We'd like to get her swing adjusted as needed before that happens. What about the angle of her bat?

Click to expand...

Second panel shows the start of your DD's possible problem.....

If she has good mechanics the speed of the pitch shouldn't be an issue. That is more a matter of timing, i.e., starting the swing on time to deliver the bat where it needs to be. Great mechanics usually help with getting the bat to the right place at the right time, but if you start them too late you will still struggle. From the stills it looks like your daughter could use some work; if you're interested I'm sure there are plenty of folks here who would be willing to offer their suggestions. I don't personally see what she's doing as a baseball swing. Baseball and fastpitch do pretty much have the same swing, though, so to say a baseball swing won't work in fastpitch softball is incorrect.

As for the bat angle, I do agree with that assessment. You want an angle to the bat, not to have it horizontal. Hands should be above the bat handle, which is above the ball.

As others have said, good mechanics is good mechanics. Give me a girl with a great baseball swing any day of the week.

but if you got this comment she doesn't have a great baseball swing

The hitting coach for the team she did wind up making did not agree that she was using a "baseball swing," but agreed that she will have trouble hitting off faster pitchers because of the mechanics of her swing ("long" to the pitch vs. "short") and holding her bat horizontally vs. at an angle. He suggested bringing her elbow in so that her arm is more compact and using more of a hip rotation to generate power.

Click to expand...

whether you are using a so called "baseball swing" or "softball swing" IMO you always want to be short to the ball. If your new coach can fix to long -> short issue, stick with him/her IMO.

Ken Krause said:

If she has good mechanics the speed of the pitch shouldn't be an issue. That is more a matter of timing, i.e., starting the swing on time to deliver the bat where it needs to be. Great mechanics usually help with getting the bat to the right place at the right time, but if you start them too late you will still struggle. From the stills it looks like your daughter could use some work; if you're interested I'm sure there are plenty of folks here who would be willing to offer their suggestions. I don't personally see what she's doing as a baseball swing. Baseball and fastpitch do pretty much have the same swing, though, so to say a baseball swing won't work in fastpitch softball is incorrect.

As for the bat angle, I do agree with that assessment. You want an angle to the bat, not to have it horizontal. Hands should be above the bat handle, which is above the ball.

Click to expand...

Pretty much? Care to elaborate when you have time Ken?

Yes, her hitting coach said that Frame 2 is what needs work.

CMMom1740 said:

Well, the first guy was correct in the sense that she has struggled with fast pitchers, and I guess this will become a more glaring issue as she ages and pitchers get faster. We'd like to get her swing adjusted as needed before that happens. What about the angle of her bat?

Click to expand...

This isn't a baseball vs. softball issue. To think that it is would mean that he believes that baseball pitchers aren't able to pitch fast. A good swing is a good swing. A good swing includes the ability to generate bat speed very suddenly, and make adjustments to different speeds and locations. A long and/or slow swing pattern will struggle against good pitching regardless of being underhand or overhand.

From the posted frames, it appears that she leveling the bat flat behind her shoulder/back, and then swinging flat to contact. This is a very common with young players, and is often the result of coaches encouraging a "nice level swing". Unfortunately, this swing pattern takes a long time to get the bat to contact, and will struggle more and more as pitching speeds increase.

The big change will be in making an adjustment in the understanding of how to swing a bat. Drop-the-barrel-and-swing-flat (DBSF) swingers try to power the swing with their arms swinging around their spine. In simple terms, a good swing is powered by the hips with the bat pivoting around the hands.



Do you have any video you can share? Video tells a much better story than a few still frames.