10yo DD Swing Help

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Feb 10, 2016
77
18
Illinois
Shawn- Her posture, as seen in that video, is slumped, which in turn throws everything out of line. We are working on keeping her more up right and strong instead of the lax slumped position. As far as bat plane goes, I'm finding they are teaching it different than baseball, which is where all of my experience is. I am finding that her bat stays in the strike zone for far too short of time and her swing plane is very flat all the way through. I'm hoping that bringing her hands up and back at the beginning will help with a little more of a downward approach and then pushing the hands through throughout contact with a high finish. Again, if I'm off base, let me know.
Thanks so far for the recommendations. We plan to utilize this advice in our workout this afternoon.
 
Jan 6, 2009
6,587
113
Chehalis, Wa
Shawn,

Is this in reference to DBSF? Do not adjust barrel then attack? Most young hitters tend to adjust the barrel to the ball height then launch?


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Yes it can be in reference to DBSF. She is dropping the back side, back elbow/hands/back shoulder and then swinging. Starting to swing before the lower body starts. This creates a disconnected swing because she starts with the hands before anything is ready to pull on the upperbody.
 

rdbass

It wasn't me.
Jun 5, 2010
9,131
83
Not here.
dfp_zpsbkuvwij6.gif

1. No movement through the ball. All of her weight remains back and therefore she is the stereotypical "bug squisher"
Your DD's NOT 'squishing the bug'. Just have her rear foot point straight towards the opposite batters box.
 
Dec 4, 2013
865
18
dfp_zpsbkuvwij6.gif


Your DD's NOT 'squishing the bug'. Just have her rear foot point straight towards the opposite batters box.

I was going to mention that rear foot but I assumed that wasn't her standard set up. Just probably swing number 10 and the stance changed as the swings went on. This is so prevalent in working with young kids.

I always ask them if they hold their pencil the same way every time they write. They say yes, and I ask them why. Then the consistent stance thing usually clicks for most.........
 
Nov 18, 2015
1,585
113
I can't tell due to the long shirt - but it looks like her hips aren't opening fully on the swing. Without the full rotation, her hips aren't pulling her back leg up/forward, resulting in the squish-the-bug look.

I'm really guessing on this part - but where ever her belly button ends up pointing to at the end seems to be the same spot where her wrists are rolling over. Fix the hips and you may see several issues resolve on their own.


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Feb 15, 2017
391
43
Long time stalker - first time DFP poster.

This swing is a mirror image of DD when she was 9. After working her and several others through some of these problems at this age I would submit the following:

There are several things to "fix", however I think you should key in on these 3 now and some of the others may go away because of them.

1. Load - where the swing starts and most important to get right before anything else. A minor movement that isn't hard to learn and you can get this part right on every pitch/swing. Hips and hands must load in sync. One of the things I see most often is the "scruch" as having been described above. I use the terminology of "load back not load down". The other thing is hands - I see girls that want to drop the hands rather than keep them up at shoulder height. I know several would disagree with the hands up but I challenge you to watch any P5 school and a very high percentage of hitters are "hands up". Since most kids 10 and under aren't really that strong I always teach them to start hands up and then as they get older they can make adjustments downward for more bat speed.

2. DBSF - 1st question - is the bat too heavy? I believe this is where some of these tendencies begin. IMO (and as stated above) the hitter has to "feel the barrel" to control the barrel. One trick I have used that works almost every time is to put a target (throw down base) about 3 feet in front of the tee, another 6 foot, another 15 feet and another 30 feet. Have them "hit the target" working from shortest to longest and back and forth. Sure this creates a chop swing initially, however they can't do this drill by dropping the barrel or tucking the elbow. This is a great way to get them to "feel the barrel". Once they get this down then I do targets at waist high and at the ground at the net at the end of the batting cage. Along with this drill I have them use the Line Drive Pro trainer. Awesome device. (I have no skin in this game).

3. Weight back - I stand in front of them when they hit off the tee with a pool noodle. I put this just above their eyes on the head, follow them back into load and tell them to not push the noodle with the head. Helps keep the weight back which tends to solve some of the other issues.

Far from all inclusive- just some tips that Ive used that have worked on several dozen kids at that age with those problems. You have tons of time - she has a great start. I am a fan of more often/less at a time than just one time a week for an extended period. Takes them a long time to feel what is right - for my DD the slow mo video was key also. Good luck and best wishes!
 
Feb 10, 2016
77
18
Illinois
Thank you all for the suggestions and material to work on, it is greatly appreciated.

Gags- You are correct, she is not opening in full. Part of the problem is the positioning of the front foot and knee which doesn't allow her to fully open. I would say her belly button was more often than not, pointing down the first base line.

RD- The back foot is usually not pointed behind her, however, this is something that she needs to be aware of as she steps into the box to ensure she is entering correctly. Thank you for pointing that out.

Spartan- The video was about 20 minutes into tee work, so there is some fatigue involved, but what your seeing is also going through the motions. One of the biggest things I am trying to get through to her i the need to practice like she is playing, every time. Sometimes she wants to step up to the tee and start her swing before she has even set herself. We've had a talk about how to get the most benefit out of her practices and the fact that improvement doesn't come from 90% effort.

Coach- DD is one of the taller people in her grade. She is about 5'4 110lbs is a competitive swimmer and tumbler so she has a good deal of upper body strength. Fortunately for her, I like bats so she has a Mako 30/20, CF8 31/20, and LXT 31/21 to swing. Nothing changes with the lighter bats. I had her swing her old Storm 30/17 because I was questioning the weight thing too and there was no discernible difference. That being said, your input is great and I will utilize some of these suggestions. The three things that I thought might help the most were pretty much in line with your thoughts, minus the weight back. I feel she has too much weight back and that she needs to move some of that weight through the ball. She looses so much of that contact punch because her body is moving the opposite way leaving only the arms to do the work. Again, thank you and we will get to work on your suggestions
 
Nov 18, 2015
1,585
113
CoachB - if you "follow them back into load" with the noodle, how do they get their weight back fwd?


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Feb 15, 2017
391
43
Great question- I should have specified. I only use this as a tool to help break DBSF. They seem to shift too much weight (lead with the shoulder) and the hands drag behind. I do this to help them understand they have to start the hands before the weight shift. Once they get the idea of turning the barrel and swinging with the hands vs the front shoulder then we start working on the proper weight transfer. Not saying it's perfect but I have always had good luck doing things in sequence vs trying to make the perfect swing all at the same time. Sorry I didn't specify that earlier and glad you caught it.
 

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