12U Hitting "Slump"

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May 9, 2008
424
16
Hartford, CT
You are correct about it being mechanical. But kids this age do feel bad and that sometimes gets in the way. She's a good fielder and always has a good attitude ... but knowing that she is now going to sit if she doesn't go 3-4 on Saturday does put added pressure on a "slump". Advice on how to work through that along with some recommendations on how to correct the mechanical deficits would be great. Thanks.
 
May 12, 2016
4,338
113
You're missing the point open stance is fine/OK. Once a hitter strides they need to stride towards the plate. Not stride and remain open. Hitter will 'run out of bat' on an outside pitch if the remain open.

Not really.. I agree with what you are saying with what you are saying about "remaining open", I'm just saying there is more going on a s well, which is what I pointed out
 

rdbass

It wasn't me.
Jun 5, 2010
9,131
83
Not here.
Not really.. I agree with what you are saying with what you are saying about "remaining open", I'm just saying there is more going on a s well, which is what I pointed out

I agree there is more 'going on'. That's why I said in my first post:
First off your DD has an open stance, strides and remains open on both outside pitches
 

rdbass

It wasn't me.
Jun 5, 2010
9,131
83
Not here.
You are correct about it being mechanical. But kids this age do feel bad and that sometimes gets in the way. She's a good fielder and always has a good attitude ... but knowing that she is now going to sit if she doesn't go 3-4 on Saturday does put added pressure on a "slump". Advice on how to work through that along with some recommendations on how to correct the mechanical deficits would be great. Thanks.

If you can hit you will play no matter what age.
How to fix not being able to hit outside pitches:Swing at strikes in the zone.
How to correct the 'mechanical deficit' of not being able to hit outside pitches: Set a tee up for outside pitches and swing away hitting the ball opposite field/net.
I personally started with my DD hitting balls on a tee set up outside to teach her to hit 'out from' her body instead of 'around' her body.
The easy fix now for your DD is to stride down and in towards the pitcher. Or you can disregard the 'bailing out', staying open in your DD swing.
The 'slump' that you are speaking of is better pitching. As your DD gets older the pitching will get faster and better. Just saying because I know.
 
May 16, 2016
1,034
113
Illinois
As others have said she is clearly bailing out.

Also it looks like their is way too much head movement in addition that her balance looks pretty poor. All of this leads back to bailing out IMO. These look like outside pitches and as soon as she starts bailing out that is going to make everything else look worse like her balance and head movement. As far as her balance it really looks like she has way too much weight on the back of her heels, and she does not really get to a good toe touch and then a heel plant. More of a instant heel plant and skipping the toe touch portion of the stride. She is not driving off her back leg much either and too much weight on her front leg during the swing.

Bailing out can be difficult issue to fix quickly but that would be what I would be working on first. Once you fix the bailing out issue some of the other issues may fix themselves if things go well. I have been working with a girl on our team that had an issue with bailing out after a few weeks of trying different approaches what has worked best is that we opened up her stance a lot, this has forced her to have to step towards the plate or the pitcher to have any chance of hitting the ball. Having her in a very open stance has seemed to work the best so far. You might want to try to open her stance up even more than it already is, forcing her to have to step towards the pitcher. See how that goes for the time being if that don't work try something else, every hitter is different. The issue with hitting with a big open stance is that good pitchers might start busting the batter inside.
 

rdbass

It wasn't me.
Jun 5, 2010
9,131
83
Not here.
I understand that hitters on field even though they may not field well.
Stop worring about that. Work on things you can control. Help your DD hit the ball.
Hit well early in season ... same pitching as now.
Hmmm.....could it be the coach/pitcher now knows your DD can't hit the outside pitch....hmmmm..
Work on hitting an outside pitch. Like I said before.
Set the tee up for an outside pitch and practice hitting 'OUT FROM' your body not 'AROUND' your body.
tumblr_oqj9q5bccN1usf292o1_400.gif

giphy.gif

Another thing....The swing drops the rear shoulder. It's not drop the rear shoulder than swing.
tumblr_oqj9q5bccN1usf292o1_400.gif
 
Last edited:
Nov 18, 2015
1,589
113
So it's not a timing issue? It looks like she late. Like ball is in the glove and she's still swinging late. Which is why I was wondering if she hasn't seen that speed before.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Jul 16, 2013
4,659
113
Pennsylvania
So it's not a timing issue? It looks like she late. Like ball is in the glove and she's still swinging late. Which is why I was wondering if she hasn't seen that speed before.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

She is definitely late. But IMO, most timing issues are mechanical. That is what allows the better hitters to hit fastballs and change ups.
 

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