What does she need to work on

SMS90 said:

Thanks I looked up DBSF. So that would make sense with her wanting her to get her shoulder angled downward which is what you see when you look at good swings. I have a question about something she said as we were leaving that would seem to contradict getting this into muscle memory. She told my daughter that she wants her hitting off a higher tee. Does that make sense? Thanks for all the help I played baseball in the 70’s and 80’s and it was basically see ball hit ball. So I am at a loss when it comes to teaching a technically proficient swing.

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A drill I have had some success with to get the feeling of "hands above the ball" is hitting a ball off an empty Gatorade bottle. Essentially an extremely 'low tee' drill.

SMS90 said:

right now it is hands through the ball, tightening stomach on contact, and not popping her inside shoulder up.

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Please describe the instruction pertaining to "not popping her inside shoulder up".

Is the "inside shoulder" the lead/left shoulder?

The hands are WAY to high. You can start with the hands high in the stance, but you don't start your swing with the hands high. At launch the hands should be shoulder height. So if you you start with the hands high in the stance they should work back/down during the load and stride.

When I see a swing like this, along with the instruction to avoid the front shoulder ‘popping up’, I shake my head.

Sometimes to develop a proper swing path you simply have to run away from your instructor …. Don’t walk, but run!!!

Ask your instructor a few questions.

1) When should the bat get ‘flat’. Early like your daughter does now, or after the front heel is down?

2) In terms of the core action … and I’ll say ‘belly button’ given your daughter’s age … should this lead the way? That isn’t happening currently. It will be very tough to get the hand path correct without this.

3) Towards the start of the swing, should the front elbow be moving up and the back elbow down? What should the core be doing during this? What happens to the rear shoulder? What happens to the lead shoulder? Does the lead shoulder ‘pop up’ before taking a ‘left turn’?

Report back on the answers you receive from your instructor.

I spoke to my daughter about this last night when I got home giving her an example of how the angle should look when she makes contact. I think she misunderstood the inctructor who was saying top hand to the ball and my DD actually was taking that to mean the bat should be level or going up. The part that concerns me is that the instructor doesn't notice the confusion and work to fix it, I may have fallen for the resume instead of the instruction. We are going to work on it tomorrow night I like the idea of a gatorade bottle tee.

FP26 said:

A drill I have had some success with to get the feeling of "hands above the ball" is hitting a ball off an empty Gatorade bottle. Essentially an extremely 'low tee' drill.

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Some folks use this drill to teach hitters to get down into their legs.

SMS90 said:

I spoke to my daughter about this last night when I got home giving her an example of how the angle should look when she makes contact. I think she misunderstood the inctructor who was saying top hand to the ball and my DD actually was taking that to mean the bat should be level or going up. The part that concerns me is that the instructor doesn't notice the confusion and work to fix it, I may have fallen for the resume instead of the instruction. We are going to work on it tomorrow night I like the idea of a gatorade bottle tee.

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What exactly does your instructor mean by "top hand to the ball"?

SMS90 said:

I spoke to my daughter about this last night when I got home giving her an example of how the angle should look when she makes contact. I think she misunderstood the inctructor who was saying top hand to the ball and my DD actually was taking that to mean the bat should be level or going up. The part that concerns me is that the instructor doesn't notice the confusion and work to fix it, I may have fallen for the resume instead of the instruction. We are going to work on it tomorrow night I like the idea of a gatorade bottle tee.

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One of the keys to teaching/instructing is finding a way to reach the student. The same cue can help one person but hurt a different person. It is the teacher/instructor job to recognize that and adjust the lesson accordingly. Unfortunately that is not always the case.

FP26 said:

One of the keys to teaching/instructing is finding a way to reach the student. The same cue can help one person but hurt a different person. It is the teacher/instructor job to recognize that and adjust the lesson accordingly. Unfortunately that is not always the case.

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Exactly!!

This instructor was giving praise for some swings that were horrible.

FiveFrameSwing said:

What exactly does your instructor mean by "top hand to the ball"?

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It's possible that the cue is intended to help the hitter develop a direct hand path from launch to contact. I have used similar cues - along with clear instruction on the intent - with hitters with DBSF/leveling issues. That may, or may not, be the the case with this hitter and instructor. The fact that this instructor did not recognize and correct the badly-flawed swing plane is definitely a concern.