10U Hitter Swing Progression

[Mark H]

I've been newly transplanted into an area that seems to be teaching hitting that would make people on this boards skin crawl.

Lot of that going on all over. Glad you persuaded your husband. I'd offer a tool for persuasion and a defense against bad hitting ideas. Compare everything anyone tells you about hitting to slow motion video of elite hitters. Siggy's Hitting Clips - ImageEvent

 

[KYFastpitch]

Lot of that going on all over. Glad you persuaded your husband. I'd offer a tool for persuasion and a defense against bad hitting ideas. Compare everything anyone tells you about hitting to slow motion video of elite hitters. Siggy's Hitting Clips - ImageEvent

Thank you for the siggy suggestion. I love putting these clips next to my players and sending them their videos so they can see for themselves, their quirks.

 

[Mark H]

Yes. Eventually the goal being to make them their own coach. Because you won't be there someday when Coach Resume says obviously goofy things about the swing.

 

[Chris O'Leary]

Yes. Eventually the goal being to make them their own coach. Because you won't be there someday when Coach Resume says obviously goofy things about the swing.

This is VERY important.

I take the same approach with pro and D-1 college level baseball hitters (whose instruction is surprisingly bad). They have to know what a good swing looks like so that they can filter all of the "help" they receive. They'll ask me a question like "My coach says I should throw my hands at the ball," and I'll ask them, "Well, do you see that in Pujols' swing?"

They have to develop confidence in their sense of what a good swing looks like (which then allows them to answer many of their own questions).

Just a few weeks back a D-1 baseball player approached me. He had done very well in HS and JUCO, but struggled last year, due in part to the fact that his coaches were constantly criticizing his swing and giving him all kids of bad advice. He came to me for a once over and I loved his swing and told him that (and sent a heads-up to a couple of scout friends). We then spent some time comparing his swing to the swings of Pujols, Manny, and Mauer and talking about which cues are good, which cues are bad, and why.

He just opened up the season hitting north of .800.

I didn't do much except show him how his swing compared to the swings of the best players and boost his confidence in his knowledge of the swing (which of course also says a lot about the mental side of the game).

I don't know if this is a bigger issue for some girls, more of whom seem to have more confidence problems than boys, but I wouldn't be surprised if it is. I know that girls tend to be more likely to be people pleasers and more likely to just do what their coach tells them to do.

 

[Wellphyt]

Throwing motion.

Her back foot (plant foot) needs to turn perpendicular to allow her body to get sideways properly. IOW, her back foot is almost pointing straight forward. This is very common with girls.

 

[Chris O'Leary]

Her back foot (plant foot) needs to turn perpendicular to allow her body to get sideways properly. IOW, her back foot is almost pointing straight forward. This is very common with girls.

Agreed and agreed.

However, the bigger problem is how high her back elbow gets (which I assume she was taught in a misguided attempt to raise her arm slot). As a result, she isn't whipping her arm, but is doing something else entirely (which I have seen but haven't figured out what to call it other than pushing).

The C view throw is much better, more whippy, and more natural. You'll notice that her back elbow isn't as high.

 

[Wellphyt]

Here is a 10U hitter that started over a year ago.
The video shows three different clips from the spring '09, fall '09 and recently. Any input would be great.

I really don't like picking apart a kids swing at this age because they are still so young. So instead, let me make three general comments that you may want to keep in mind as she matures.

1. The dropping of the front heel is what triggers the hips. If the front heel does not come off the ground an inch or two, it is very difficult to trigger the hips and get good weight transfer. In my area, a lot of coaches teach a flat footed hitting approach, where the hitter stands flat footed with their hands held up around their ear, and then they just take their hands to the ball. The result is a gate type swing with no weight transfer. IOW, it's a swing powered entirely by the upper body.

2. Bat drag happens when the back elbow gets in front of the hands during the swing. The result can be a very poweful swing, but also a very long swing. A hitter can get by with bat drag against slower pitching, but bat drag can be a real problem against pitchers who throw harder.

3. She's starting to develop an upper body negative move, which is good. Keep in mind that the upper body negative move is not a twist around the waist. The negative move is done by the upper shoulder complex. When you watch slow motion video of the better hitters, watch how their front shoulder turns down and in; not around. When done correctly the back elbow should raise or poke up some. I would tell this girl that it's OK to let her back elbow poke up as she continues to work on her upper body negative move.

It looks like she has made real progress. She's not lunging and she is hitting against a stiff front leg. Both good.