Looking for swing help for off season, 12u

I am looking for swing help for DD. She is a consistent hitter, seems to see the ball well but is really having trouble hitting the ball hard. I know her mechanics are flawed at this point. (I actually think they have been better but she has been being coached differently IMO than what I have learned here and it is very confusing for her to get the opposing teachings.) We are done with the fall season and I would like to see if I can get her back on track during the off season. I am looking for some ideas to work on. (maybe I am not understanding their process or I am missing what they are trying to teach. I feel like its a level swing, no premovement, softball vs baseball etc)

[video=youtube_share;zUELdiwDkWM]http://youtu.be/zUELdiwDkWM[/video]

See if this helps. I have a longer video on my account with all of her swings from the last 2 tourneys.




Thanks in advance.

Get her a tee and a good hitting coach. That swing will be fixed in no time.

Just a dad here, but looks like she's pushing the bat, not whipping it it through. Missing out on the stretch. It does look like a level swing, may just be the pitch. Hopefully the gurus will chime in.

From my "if I had known then what I know now" archive - I would put my focus on strength and conditioning first. She needs core development and is old enough to start working on it. Without it, I don't believe you can execute a high level swing. Hang up her cleats for the next 3 months and hit the gym

We preach sequence and I would start there. When she strides she does reach back the problem is she reach back and drops her hands down. You have diagnosed a problem flatish swing.

I would start with a drill where she strides to heel plant and stop and when she stops she needs to look like the stills I pasted below. Then from that position you can front toss and she can swing.
She does start hand back but thats OK because she still reaches more when she strides so she has the basics down she just needs to stop dropping her hands. If you can get her in the position below at heel plant
she should not really have time to drop her hands and swing she just needs to turn the barrel and swing.

Might be the tutu!

I always hate giving hitting advice without knowing the player, and I like players to develop their own flavor when batting. I immediately see a readiness problem. It's very common and mostly tied to confidence. She's just kind of waiting on the ball to come to her instead of attacking the ball and being proactive. She should be thinking strike on every pitch and be ready to swing. Holding on balls. Pointing the knob to the catcher will help her with quickness. Watch as she strides her knob points to the catcher and she slots her elbow. I would see is she likes getting her back cocked and locked once she addresses the plate.

OK I just watched again. Look at the pitch that she takes for a ball. See how late she strides? That's very telling. That pitch would have burned her if it was a strike.

Thanks for the replies. I resisted posting becauase i know the critiques can be tough to take as a parent. And im not sure if her coaches view this forum. But she has become a mess this year... was a decent hitter but has been pushed and pulled and LOST CONFIDENCE in herself for sure. Plus, her coaches promote a push type "softball" swing with no premovement. I have been promoting what most on here teach. It has messed her up! So I am hoping that she can rebuild over the winter and get some confidence back.


One thing she told me last week is that she is confused. Like I said, she has me in one ear and her coaches in the other and she "doesnt really know who is right". So i was hoping to be able to show her what others here are saying to help her know who to listen to. I am not too big to say I may be wrong but I feel like I have a solid understanding. I go out and try the things promoted here and see what works and what doesnt. We hit last week at home and she was very consistent and hit the majority to the OF. But she gets in the games and the coaches in her ear and she becomes a little lack luster in fear of getting reprimanded. This is just my parents point of view but I hope it leads to a little insite to what she is dealing with.


Thanks again for the feedback!

625ender said:

Might be the tutu!

I always hate giving hitting advice without knowing the player, and I like players to develop their own flavor when batting. I immediately see a readiness problem. It's very common and mostly tied to confidence. She's just kind of waiting on the ball to come to her instead of attacking the ball and being proactive. She should be thinking strike on every pitch and be ready to swing. Holding on balls. Pointing the knob to the catcher will help her with quickness. Watch as she strides her knob points to the catcher and she slots her elbow. I would see is she likes getting her back cocked and locked once she addresses the plate.

OK I just watched again. Look at the pitch that she takes for a ball. See how late she strides? That's very telling. That pitch would have burned her if it was a strike.

Click to expand...

I feel like she is late on a lot of her swings. But again, I feel like its because her coaches dont want her to have any premovement so she isnt dancing with the pitcher, she is waiting for the release and its a little too late.

Absolutely true. We are going through this right now. My DD sees a hitting coach and he teaches, not a pre-load really, but more a timed load and swing, and when she does it, it depends on the pitch speed. (I hope that makes sense but it's hard to explain). He also teaches a more compact swing. Her coaches are trying to tweak it. It's messing her up bad because she doesn't want to come off disrespectful, so last game she looked horrible. She got in the box and all the mechanics we worked on the last two years went out the window because she didn't want her coach to yell at her. I told her she needs to communicate with the coach. She did tell her she has a hitting coach when the Fall first started but they still try to change her. She needs to learn to smile and nod.


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If you want a "softball" no stride swing that's OK (see below). If you want to start with hands back that's OK...you just have to leave them back there (not drop them down) and elbow up and cock and reach just a little more as you stride. Again all that to say it does not matter how you get there (the stills at heel plant) but you gotta get there as 625 mention too it's not only getting there but when there really being loaded and wound up aggressively wanting to swing remember the explosion to the ball happens in an instant that is why without a good video the bat blurs and you can't hardly see the hands or bat progress through the zone.