10u bat advice

[Brad Hasseld]

The 2013 Demarini CF5 is amazing. My DD is also small but has great bat speed. She swings a 29" 18 oz. I am going to buy a 30" 19 oz. it has great pop. For two years we always stayed in the 100 to 200 dollar price range. Finally decided it was time to invest in a top of the line bat and the difference is amazing. Well worth the money.

 

[Chewy_06]

if it were me, i'd suggest heading off to your local S3 (softball supply store) and test swing *everything*. My 10u (9 years old, about 4-8 & a solidly built / crazy strong 92 pounds courtesy of her offensive lineman dad i fear) started the season swinging a 28" Synge (drop 12) & she had no problems putting it well over, under and in one case through (snow fence on PVC frames held on by zap straps - hit teh fence, which gave way & the ball got through) the fences at the season end select tournament at 200'. In her bag she also has a 29" demarini vendetta - at the beginning of the season working with her hitting coach it was a little too much for her - now as we gear up for fall ball, she might actually be able to swing something heavier / longer than the demarini. we'll be bat shopping again next march!

Generally, i'm not a fan of the heavier bats. Its well known that batspeed is enegery which equals distance. You need batspeed to be able to consistently make contact with the ball. Go lighter, *teach* proper swing mechanics & the kids will be creaming it. Or not, stay with the heavy bats, smoke a few balls that are lobbed in slow & hope you dont ever see a team that has decent pitching in a game that matters.

My rant at least.

 

[chinamigarden]

Bat speed with mass makes the ball go further. The batter needs to find that balance point between what is heavy enough and what is too heavy. If you go too heavy and you throw off the swing itself, or the speed of the swing then you have reached a point of diminishing return, but to stick with a 17oz bat will not work for everyone.

Einstein recognized the importance of mass in the creation of energy. Thats the M in E=MC2. He also tells us that velocity is important too, thats the C. (granted he is talking about speed of light but it still works) Its a different type of energy we are talking about but both speed and mass are still important

 

[Westwind]

I think it is well known that the bat speed vs. mass debate is FAR from settled.

I think the right bat for the right girl is critical. That means a -9 Rocketech in the hands of my 10 year old and a -10 balanced bat in the hands of her 14 year old sister. Two totally different hitters. Two totally different bats.

Yes, most 10u's aren't ready for an end loaded bat. Mine was at age 8. Not a brilliant plan by me, just a hand me down bat and a happy accident.

Tried a Catalyst over the summer as a stepping stone to a Xeno. Not so good, DD is a metalhead. Back to the RT for now at least. I really would like to see her swing a CF5 Insane but they don't make it in a 31.

 

[Chewy_06]

Bat speed with mass makes the ball go further. The batter needs to find that balance point between what is heavy enough and what is too heavy. If you go too heavy and you throw off the swing itself, or the speed of the swing then you have reached a point of diminishing return, but to stick with a 17oz bat will not work for everyone.

Einstein recognized the importance of mass in the creation of energy. Thats the M in E=MC2. He also tells us that velocity is important too, thats the C. (granted he is talking about speed of light but it still works) Its a different type of energy we are talking about but both speed and mass are still important

There's no one bat that fits all kids - nor will a bat that's a great fit at the beginning of the season be the right one at the end of the season. Going too heavy not only slows the bat speed down - robbing energy from a potential hit, but it will induce bad swing mechanics as the child attempts to copmpensate for not being strong enough to physically swing the bat. In our game, the other factor is ensuring there's enough batspeed through the strike zone to make contact with a fast moving pitch - faster initial swing should allow for a little more leeway in swing timing (provided the child is capable of adjusting once the swing is started).

And yes, there is a point where having too light a bat isnt helping either - a child able to literally swing themselves out of their shoes should probably move up a notch or two in weight.

I'll spare everyone another lengthy lesson in quantum physics; I never really liked it much myself anyway (Einstein's equation for energy actually refers the energy released by matter as it undergoes fission - suffice it to say this equation is not relative (in any way) in our current context). The equation that is relevant here, is for kinetic energy where energy imparted is equal to 1/2MV2 (1/2 the mass times the velocity squared) - velocity is not a constant and is a *much* more significant contributor to energy than the mass.

 

[MsDinosaur]

Interesting, so (if my math is correct)

a kid swinging an 18 oz bat at 50 mph = 1/2 (18) x 2500 = 22,500

which would be imparting slightly less kinetic energy than...

a kid swinging an 20 oz bat at 48 mph = 1/2 (20) x 2304 = 23,040

but slightly more than

a kid swinging an 20 oz bat at 47 mph = 1/2 (20) x 2209 = 22,090

 

[mogsoftball]

If price is no object check out a -11 CF5. It isn't as big of a drop as she has been using, but the CF5 is real well balanced and swings lighter than their weight.

Also the Miken freak lite has real good pop, but the Miken are normally hevier than their listed weight so a-12 is more like a -11.

 

[townhound]

I like the reviews the Miken bats are getting. Leaning towards either the miken halo light or the cf5. Of course, i wont be paying for it, Santa will!!! I guess price is no object!!!lol