8 year old Tessa swing

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Jun 8, 2016
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MikeP, have any vids of her hitting front toss or even better, game swings? Tee swings, especially at a young age, often differ a lot from a live ball swing.
 
Dec 5, 2017
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MikeP, have any vids of her hitting front toss or even better, game swings? Tee swings, especially at a young age, often differ a lot from a live ball swing.

I have one from early fall that a parent sent me after a game. She had a good hit but it was taken through a fence and is a little blurry if I remember correctly. I'll look for it and see if its worth posting. When she's comfortable and feeling confident her game swing is pretty close to the tee swing. When she gets anxious she,like most I imagine, speeds everything up. We actually went to a live pitch, hit and catch Monday night with 10u girls and with the girls that were throwing really fast, compared to the sling, her swing broke down and got very arms only just trying to swing fast rather than starting on time. She won't see much kid pitch until fall, but to get 2 hours live bp for $10 I thought it would be good to see how she did. Took one really slow, arcing pitch to the noggin but shook it off ok . We talked between rounds about starting sooner and being confident. She foul tipped some of the fastest girls and got a few decent hits off of the others. I would have taken video but she was nervous enough at first and there were a lot of people in the way.
 
Jun 6, 2016
2,714
113
Chicago
With young players being late on their swing, the biggest issue I see is them waiting to see where the pitch will be before starting their process. This will become more critical as she gets older and faces better pitching, but it's an issue I see frequently with littles, too. She needs to expect that EVERY pitch will be one to hit, and get started early enough to make a good swing at the right time. LOTS of front toss work can be a big help with this.

How do you (or anybody else) feel about a front toss game where sometimes you don't even toss the ball? This could be a good way to test -- and to get them to understand -- the concept of starting the swing before they see the ball. This could be a good way to train them to get the process started during the pitcher's windup and not after the ball is released. Any downsides?
 
Jun 8, 2016
16,118
113
I have one from early fall that a parent sent me after a game. She had a good hit but it was taken through a fence and is a little blurry if I remember correctly. I'll look for it and see if its worth posting. When she's comfortable and feeling confident her game swing is pretty close to the tee swing. When she gets anxious she,like most I imagine, speeds everything up. We actually went to a live pitch, hit and catch Monday night with 10u girls and with the girls that were throwing really fast, compared to the sling, her swing broke down and got very arms only just trying to swing fast rather than starting on time. She won't see much kid pitch until fall, but to get 2 hours live bp for $10 I thought it would be good to see how she did. Took one really slow, arcing pitch to the noggin but shook it off ok . We talked between rounds about starting sooner and being confident. She foul tipped some of the fastest girls and got a few decent hits off of the others. I would have taken video but she was nervous enough at first and there were a lot of people in the way.

Facing kid pitch for the first time can be daunting especially after machine pitch/sling where the ball comes in (mostly) at the same speed/location.
 
Jun 8, 2016
16,118
113
How do you (or anybody else) feel about a front toss game where sometimes you don't even toss the ball? This could be a good way to test -- and to get them to understand -- the concept of starting the swing before they see the ball. This could be a good way to train them to get the process started during the pitcher's windup and not after the ball is released. Any downsides?

I fake pitches sometimes, for various reasons. DD doesn't like it too much though so I use it sparingly :rolleyes:
 
May 12, 2016
4,338
113
I fake pitches sometimes, for various reasons. DD doesn't like it too much though so I use it sparingly :rolleyes:

LOL.. my DD get's so pissed when I fake a pitch. I think it's an awesome way to determine if her approach is correct. Like Eric mentioned above, they should approach every pitch like it's a strike or a pitch they are prepared to hit.
 
Jun 8, 2016
16,118
113
"If your sequence was correct, I wouldn't have to fake a pitch to show you your sequence is not correct."

Yeah, that wouldn't end well for me. I do it mainly to have her feel that she leveling her bat way too early.
 
May 24, 2013
12,461
113
So Cal
How do you (or anybody else) feel about a front toss game where sometimes you don't even toss the ball? This could be a good way to test -- and to get them to understand -- the concept of starting the swing before they see the ball. This could be a good way to train them to get the process started during the pitcher's windup and not after the ball is released. Any downsides?

Yep. I have been known to do that. DD hates it, but it served the purpose. I don't do it much any more.
 

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