What does she need to work on

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.

Click to expand...

Be careful with the gatorade bottle work. For a hitter who already has a tendency to drop her hands before launch, I'm not sure this is where I would start. A very low contact point tends to exaggerate the urge to get the hands down to the ball. IMO, learning how to launch the swing from near the rear shoulder, and keep the hands above the ball is where I would start on this issue (high tee work). Once that is established, I would then work on the concept of a diagonal swing plane for lower pitches. Just my 2 cents...

Eric F said:

Be careful with the gatorade bottle work. For a hitter who already has a tendency to drop her hands before launch, I'm not sure this is where I would start. A very low contact point tends to exaggerate the urge to get the hands down to the ball. IMO, learning how to launch the swing from near the rear shoulder, and keep the hands above the ball is where I would start on this issue (high tee work). Once that is established, I would then work on the concept of a diagonal swing plane for lower pitches. Just my 2 cents...

Click to expand...

I agree with this regarding low tee vs high tee for dropping of the hands. One thing I am not sure about though regarding high tee is whether it will actually help with the actual barrel path. My daughter can dump her barrel and still keep her hands above the ball on a high tee e.g. she is able to dump the barrel without dropping her hands much if at all.

I've become a big fan, especially with beginners, of using a heavy bag with stop swings. It's not a about hitting the heavy bag hard or "developing strong wrists" but learning how to turn the barrel or "slam the V" while keeping the hands near the shoulders. The bag makes it easier to focus on mechanics since there's no ball to hit or result to worry about. They can work on learning how their body should be moving. No need to DBSF if they aren't aligning themselves to a ball. Burn in the feel with heavy bag swings to different contact spots. Move that to the tee and then close soft-toss without breaking down mechancis. That's a good way to start I've found with many young hitters.

Eric F said:

Be careful with the gatorade bottle work. For a hitter who already has a tendency to drop her hands before launch, I'm not sure this is where I would start. A very low contact point tends to exaggerate the urge to get the hands down to the ball. IMO, learning how to launch the swing from near the rear shoulder, and keep the hands above the ball is where I would start on this issue (high tee work). Once that is established, I would then work on the concept of a diagonal swing plane for lower pitches. Just my 2 cents...

Click to expand...

I agree wholeheartedly with Eric's warning concerning that drill. Personally I would use it as a teaching point. Based on the thread, I would expect the hitter to exhibit some poor habits during the drill, which I could then utilize in the instruction. There are a few things I could try depending on the hitter, but I have no issues with the "high tee work" suggestion. Then as the mechanics begin to improve I would continually change the height of the tee (or bottle) as a checkpoint. With some time and effort, those poor habits will disappear. My approach is as a facilitator. IMO, the hitter needs to take ownership in the process and the instructor is there more as a guide.

You were given advice earlier in this thread about the hands being excessively high in the stance.

If you were a boxer, and held your hands towards the top of your head, you'd get knocked out.

What does someone need to do with their hands held so high initially? They need to lower them.

pattar said:

I agree with this regarding low tee vs high tee for dropping of the hands. One thing I am not sure about though regarding high tee is whether it will actually help with the actual barrel path. My daughter can dump her barrel and still keep her hands above the ball on a high tee e.g. she is able to dump the barrel without dropping her hands much if at all.

Click to expand...

The idea is to teach the hitter how to launch the bat using a HPP near the rear shoulder. A high tee (even as high as shoulder height) can be helpful with this, but it may also require some very focused instruction on how to launch with a HPP, rather than dragging the bat to contact. Proper use of the hands is a critical component. If your DD is dumping the barrel, it sounds a lot like some work on proper hand use should be on the menu. Turn the barrel with the hands, don't dump it and drag it.

Eric F said:

The idea is to teach the hitter how to launch the bat using a HPP near the rear shoulder. A high tee (even as high as shoulder height) can be helpful with this, but it may also require some very focused instruction on how to launch with a HPP, rather than dragging the bat to contact. Proper use of the hands is a critical component. If your DD is dumping the barrel, it sounds a lot like some work on proper hand use should be on the menu. Turn the barrel with the hands, don't dump it and drag it.

Click to expand...

Agreed as that was what I was saying...perhaps not clearly enough. With high tee there is immediate feedback regarding from where you launch (won't be able to actually hit the ball if launch is too low)
but you won't be able to self-correct (via abovementioned immediate feedback) a bad use of hands/barrel turn (what I referred to as barrel path).

FiveFrameSwing said:

You were given advice earlier in this thread about the hands being excessively high in the stance.

If you were a boxer, and held your hands towards the top of your head, you'd get knocked out.

What does someone need to do with their hands held so high initially? They need to lower them.

Click to expand...

I am not the original poster but that said personally as I progressed from LL through college my handset became lower and lower through necessity. I think I remember Carl Yastrzemsk started to lower his handset as he aged.

I want to thank everyone of you for your comments. I think what we have to do first is find another instructor after thinking about some things I'm concerned this is just a money grab as the lessons are not cheap. I would love to work do all the work myself but one I'm already confused just reading this thread so I'm not sure how much help I can be and second she seems to do better with an outside authority. What I have to committ myself to do is to not be as trusting of the next instructor and be prepared to understand and able to help reinforce what is being taught.

Eric F said:

The idea is to teach the hitter how to launch the bat using a HPP near the rear shoulder. A high tee (even as high as shoulder height) can be helpful with this, but it may also require some very focused instruction on how to launch with a HPP, rather than dragging the bat to contact. Proper use of the hands is a critical component. If your DD is dumping the barrel, it sounds a lot like some work on proper hand use should be on the menu. Turn the barrel with the hands, don't dump it and drag it.

Click to expand...

Bold above ................... No.