10U DD swing
- Thread starter greg99
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How does she throw? When I see no stride or weight shift it is a red flag they probably do not throw well either. Show us her throwing and it may help someone else also.
Teach her how to get balanced by bending at the waist first and softening the knees next.
Set up off the tee...use a home plate and a tee so there is a reference point for her to measure off from. We do all our tee work from the back corner of home plate and measure off with the bat on the outside corner of the plate and our lead foot at the knob of the bat. When we stride we want to land even or slightly behind the tee. None of our kids use a no stride and we do not force that on them it is their choice. It comes from throwing as they feel more momentum and it is a no brainier for them. Some coaches have actually stated the girls are too stupid to learn this until they are older. I say the coaches are too stupid to learn how to teach it as I have girls at 8 that can use it!
The elbows are too high for me and I would like to see more separation rearward. This is a good time to add the hand over drill and it is in another thread along with the face the fire drill. Also have her look forward as if there is an actual pitcher in front of her and then track the ball to the tee.
This should give you something to work from for now.
Thanks Howard
You should leave her swing alone for awhile and work on your swing education first. What I would do first is slow her down to the point she could create good movement. I suggest you study everything Boardmember has posted on here as well as everything on Siggys hitting site and everything on Englishbey's site. Or you find someone in person with a track record like Hitter and you learn alongside your DD.
I should add, use the clips on Siggy's site of elite female hitters, or use ML hitting clips, and compare everything anyone tells you about hitting to slow motion video of elite hitters. Let that be your bs detector. And I mean lots of clips. Some people will find a few clips, sometimes even doctoring them, and use them to misinterpret cause and effect. Best of luck in your journey. DD looks to have some quickness and she's young enough you have all the time in the world. Keep in mind the more important result of the journey is the relationship between the two of you. Let the gain in softball ability be the secondary result and the joy of parent and daughter working together toward a goal be the primary result and goal.
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Thanks Howard. She actually throws pretty well, one of the best on the team. I will get some vids of her throwing ASAP. The coaches teach not to stride so thats why she doesn't stride. After reading the threads on this board I can see that you need to stride. I will work on her stance and get her more balanced. I will look at the drills you have mentioned and start to work on those. I'm not real sure what you mean by more seperation rearward. Some more clarifacation would be great. Also, do you place the tee at the outside corner of the plate or just measure from there? Thanks again for the input.
My dd is 8 and I showed her the load/stride phase and she picked it up quick. Her swing plane should be a little more upward and over her shoulder after extension. But she looks like with a little work shell be a good hitter soon. Try the drills hitter mentioned Ive been using them with whole team of 8 yr olds with great sucsess. Its really unbelievable how quick they pick this up if their willing to work a bit!
I start with teaching how to hit up the middle first for bat control. Place the tee in the middle and about 2 to 3 inches forward of home plate. Now have her measure off from the back corner of home plate. Then when she strides she will be even or slightly behind the tee. You can adjust the tee so the ball will go up the middle this way you know she is releasing the barrel to the ball squarely like you would be hitting a nail with a hammer. Balls going left of center would indicate front side opening or hitting around the ball etc. Get her to control the bat and ball elevation to start.
When she throws a ball her hands goes rearward slightly to build momentum. Now with both hands on the bat think of throwing however since both hands are on the bat you move the bat rearward a little towards the catcher with the top of the hands staying at the top of the shoulders minimum. The hands may go to about the rear of the back shoulder a couple of inches and you will hear her hit harder and finally she will find where the certain spot is that gives her that powerful feeling. Some say think drawing back on a bow however remember you have bow hands on the bow string and the lead arm limits how far back you can go to a degree.
Thanks howard
Yes Mike I totally agree with you about my knowledge of the swing. I know nothing about hitting a ball the correct way. I have never played baseball or softball. When i have practiced hiting with my DD this winter i have worked on what her coaches have told her, no stride and squish the bug; which i now know is not correct. I know i have alot to learn just looking for a good place to start. Thanks for you help and places to look.
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Try the hand over drill as we have had almost instant success as the girls have never been taught extension. The back slapping stops and they learn how to hit the ball with two hands.
If you have your net marked at 51 and 39 inches and the tee is about 4.5 feet from the net you can show her how the lead elbow going up and forward can change the elevation of the ball and see will visually see the difference in the the flight of the ball. Keep in mind that just holding a ball in your hand over the plate as if it were a rise ball would help her visually to see where here lead arm elbow would be and the elbow would be above the ball and the hand would be below the elbow however the hand is above the ball and the bat is still at a slight angle. Now repeat for a drop ball and same is true however the angle of the bat is lower. Now as she makes adjustments she and you will see the difference it makes. I put the balls on the tee so the two seams are above each other and tell them to hit the center at all times unless we are hitting down or up for a specific reason based on the defensive situation or what we term situational hitting. Look at this mark <l now fill that in with ink and it looks like an arrow head. I point the arrow inside towards the pitcher and tell them to think their hands are inside the ball at all times.
Thanks Howard
I know she's just 10. But THIS is the time to correct any bad habits. Greg, she looks VERY STIFF. She needs to relax a little. I teach mine more core and leg power. Your DD is not moving her front leg/foot at all. ( a very small amount at the end ) She will never have full power with a stationary front leg.
Good advice on this forum. Also spend a couple of bucks on a few softball hitting DVDs, so you and your DD can 'see' the proper mechanics.
Good luck.
Good advice on this forum. Also spend a couple of bucks on a few softball hitting DVDs, so you and your DD can 'see' the proper mechanics.
Good luck.
