12 Yr Old DD Swing - What Needs Work?

[Rumble25]

I'm hoping to get some more experienced eyes on my 12 yr old dd's swing. She's been working hard on her swing and I think we're at a pretty good place right now to fine-tune it. The things I think she/we still need to work on are:

1. Her bat drops too low behind her head as she loads her hands and back elbow...would like to see it more around her ponytail.

2. I believe she straightens her front arm too early (arm bar).

3. I think her hands need to stay back a tad bit longer after her hips fire...would this be a good time to introduce the idea of shoulder tilt to help the hands stay back and keep the front shoulder in longer as the back hip begins to fire??

Don't know if what I think I'm seeing is what is actually happening. Any insight / thoughts are most appreciated. Thanks.

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[crankermo]

She needs to have the lower half fire first. Her swing is initiated with her front shoulder, there is no separation of the lower and upper halves.

 

[rdbass]

Rumble25,
It may help to read some of my post.DD seems to and still has some of the same issues as your DD.Alot of suggestions on how to correct.If your DD listens and can make the corrections she will be hitting better.My DD 13 years old is around your DD age.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

It appears that her shoulders are level. Is someone teaching her a level swing? I would suggest getting her to understand that hitting is throwing. Have her practice a low infield throw, in the batters box.

 

[Rumble25]

@crank, thanks. That's what I thought was happening. Do you think more shoulder tilt (front shoulder moves up) as the hips fire will help keep the hands back and the front shoulder in longer--kind of a way to fight the urge to move forward until the hips fire and separation of the lower and upper halves occur?

@ rdbass, I hear ya. I've been following your and dd's journey for a while. Making good progress. I can't wait for middle school ball to be over so I can start working w/my dd on a more regular basis. Just preparing now so we're ready. Thanks.

@ Amy, not sure what you mean by her shoulders are level. I don't think I'm teaching her a level swing, or at least I'm not trying to. I think what I'm seeing is that her front shoulder lowers as she loads her hands / back elbow and the back shoulder comes up a bit and moves toward third base dugout (probably too much). And when she's at contact, her shoulders seem tilted and her elbow is higher than her hands, and the hands are above the barrel. I think she could use more shoulder tilt when her hips fire, as well as keeping her front arm bent longer and not allowing her front shoulder to fly open so soon. Easy say, hard do.

 

[crankermo]

She must learn to surrender into her rear side, let the back hip grab the hands and this will let the hands do what they need to do. She needs to trust that her bat will be there when it needs to be and that she doesn't have to PULL it there by using the shoulders. She looks like a very athletic kid so she should be able to do this. One of the biggest issues my DD & I battled was trusting her mechanics and not rushing the process. Like the old saying " TRUST IS A MUST OR YOUR GAME IS A BUST."

 

[Amy in AZ.]

Get us some different views and a few swings in a row, please. She looks good to a certain point, but I wish that someone with the capability would mark the bat path. She seems to tilt appropriately, but then - stand at contact. Something is causing the bat and subsequently, the ball to level out.

Have you tried TCB balls?

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

She must learn to surrender into her rear side, let the back hip grab the hands and this will let the hands do what they need to do. She needs to trust that her bat will be there when it needs to be and that she doesn't have to PULL it there by using the shoulders. She looks like a very athletic kid so she should be able to do this. One of the biggest issues my DD & I battled was trusting her mechanics and not rushing the process. Like the old saying " TRUST IS A MUST OR YOUR GAME IS A BUST."

Very nice.

This is a tricky one ... believe it or not, but she actually spins and doesn't load/unload her rear-side well ... may be difficult to see for some, in that the forward momentum of the rear hip forward covers up the spin somewhat. Basically what we have here is a swing that uses the rear leg improperly. In a sense, there is not surrendering to the rear-side ... there is no spine engine ... there is simply tilt and spin.

 

[Rumble25]

Amy, I think I know what you're saying now. Could it be that she is not properly blocking with the front side leg / hip and some of the force from her back hip is moving her left hip forward? Not sure if I'm saying that correctly, but ultimately it looks like her front/left hip is "sliding" forward, when it should be moving back (or at least staying still) to allow the back/right hip to come through more. She's been making good contact in games, but they've almost all been grounders up the middle--not bad, but I know she has the ability to hit line drives deep.

And yes, I have 12 TCB balls, largely based on your comments and recommendations. Haven't had a chance to use them much lately with middle school ball practices and games every day, and tournaments most weekends. I do like them and the instant feedback she gets when she doesn't make solid contact. Thanks.

 

[Stever]

We also need to work on impact position, she does look athletic and should pick up the advice quick.