9 Minutes Per Day - hitting routine - dev. by my 12 YO - Incorporating Glasco's Tips

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shaker1

Softball Junkie
Dec 4, 2014
894
18
On a bucket
Hoping you see the 'big' differences:
tumblr_ofq9lxV5EU1usf292o1_400.gif

There is more adjustability in his swing. More coverage of the zone.
 
Sep 1, 2014
85
8
I know you didn't ask but, I can't help myself. Your DD is BURNING in 9 minutes of bad muscle memory. Again JMHO.

Your slowed down video helped me see a couple of things- thanks. It is something I saw at her practice this weekend, as well. She is dipping and flattening her swing and loading her arms. It is not something she has always done. It is really something how little things slip into a swing.

I didn’t reply because I only posted to show the progression drills (somebody asked)...not to show off my daughter or to claim she is better than anyone else (in some Wobegon effect). Her process is what this post was all about - not her swing. I have been on this site for few years and thought folks might benefit from a simple process a 12 yo developed to make practice fun, manageable and meaningful.

I am open to positive constructive suggestions.
 
Jul 16, 2013
4,659
113
Pennsylvania
Your slowed down video helped me see a couple of things- thanks. It is something I saw at her practice this weekend, as well. She is dipping and flattening her swing and loading her arms. It is not something she has always done. It is really something how little things slip into a swing.

I didn’t reply because I only posted to show the progression drills (somebody asked)...not to show off my daughter or to claim she is better than anyone else (in some Wobegon effect). Her process is what this post was all about - not her swing. I have been on this site for few years and thought folks might benefit from a simple process a 12 yo developed to make practice fun, manageable and meaningful.

I am open to positive constructive suggestions.

First of all, the facts that she developed this program on her own, and is motivated to practice it, are incredible wins. Yes, it can be difficult to get kids to practice. Especially at that age. It's great that she has taken ownership of the process.

My DD is now a freshman in college, so there is an age gap between her and your DD, but I will share some of the things we have done over the past few years. Yes, we do front toss as regularly as possible. Based on her schedule and my schedule, that typically amounts to 3 times per week for approximately 75 to 100 swings. But she will also often hit on her own when I am at work. In order to help her with that process we have a tee and a bownet set up in the basement. She will hook up a Zepp sensor and start taking swings. There are some sensors on the market today that are probably better than the 1st generation Zepp that we have. And I realize that the sensors do have some shortcomings. However, I do find them to be useful if utilized properly. A few things I like about them are the immediate feedback that is offered concerning bat speed and attack angle, and the 3D rendering of the swing itself. By reviewing both items, not only can DD get the feedback, but I can see it as well. After she takes some swings, I can log in and check the results. Then I can offer some input based on what I see. I still prefer to work with her one on one, but I have found this method to be sufficient when I am not able to do that. Now as a college freshman, she is now at the point that she handles the majority of the analysis on her own, and I am simply a cheerleader and part time bullpen pitcher. But she will still ask questions from time to time, and we can work through them together.

Best of luck!!
 
Jun 8, 2016
16,118
113
I second FP26 regarding how good it is that she is willing to practice on her own. That notion of working hard to get better at something will carry over to other aspects in her life.

I will offer a warning based upon my own experiences growing up. I would work for hours on my own when I had nobody to pitch to me. I would take my tee to the field and hit off it or do self-toss for hours upon hours. When I wasn't hitting, I was throwing a ball off of a wall to work on fielding. Thinking back, I wasn't really working on anything with regards to my swing when I was doing this..I was just hitting. Now did I have fun? Sure, I always loved hard work and hitting so it filled that need for me. However I am not sure I really improved much doing it. I was as good of a hitter my freshmen year in HS as I was my Senior year. It wasn't till I got to college and I had a set of eyeballs on me did I start to improve again. Granted, 25 years ago there wasn't much information out there (and hitting instructors what was that?) so I was probably doing the best I could (my father never really said much regarding my swing, he just pitched to me..probably self-preservation on his part since I was a hothead and stubborn) however if I had to do it again TODAY, with the information that is out there, I would have worked smarter rather than harder. That said, I can hit fungoes with the best of them now :rolleyes:

At her age, she may not have the body awareness yet to be able to feel herself getting into a bad habit and be able correct herself on her own when she is working by herself. I have a 9 year old (she turned 9 today :D ) so I understand this completely. With regards to your DD, at her age two sessions a week with Dad's eyeballs on her, even if they are short sessions, may be better than 2 sessions a week with Dad plus 3 on her own. Hope that makes sense.



Good luck!!
 
Last edited:
May 13, 2008
831
16
Your slowed down video helped me see a couple of things- thanks. It is something I saw at her practice this weekend, as well. She is dipping and flattening her swing and loading her arms. It is not something she has always done. It is really something how little things slip into a swing.

I didn’t reply because I only posted to show the progression drills (somebody asked)...not to show off my daughter or to claim she is better than anyone else (in some Wobegon effect). Her process is what this post was all about - not her swing. I have been on this site for few years and thought folks might benefit from a simple process a 12 yo developed to make practice fun, manageable and meaningful.

I am open to positive constructive suggestions.

I'm glad the subject was brought up. I'd ditch the drills that start with her hands at the waist. They're promoting a handsy, pull swing. Perhaps the bat on the should is fine, but the hands should be higher.
 
Sep 1, 2014
85
8
I'm glad the subject was brought up. I'd ditch the drills that start with her hands at the waist. They're promoting a handsy, pull swing. Perhaps the bat on the should is fine, but the hands should be higher.

I am glad you wrote this because I was thinking about eliminating that drill for the same reason. I think it’s purpose is to promote separation but if eliminated - she can still separate by pulling her hands/scap back which is what I want her to do. And it would take the dipping action away.
 
Sep 1, 2014
85
8
First of all, the facts that she developed this program on her own, and is motivated to practice it, are incredible wins. Yes, it can be difficult to get kids to practice. Especially at that age. It's great that she has taken ownership of the process.

My DD is now a freshman in college, so there is an age gap between her and your DD, but I will share some of the things we have done over the past few years. Yes, we do front toss as regularly as possible. Based on her schedule and my schedule, that typically amounts to 3 times per week for approximately 75 to 100 swings. But she will also often hit on her own when I am at work. In order to help her with that process we have a tee and a bownet set up in the basement. She will hook up a Zepp sensor and start taking swings. There are some sensors on the market today that are probably better than the 1st generation Zepp that we have. And I realize that the sensors do have some shortcomings. However, I do find them to be useful if utilized properly. A few things I like about them are the immediate feedback that is offered concerning bat speed and attack angle, and the 3D rendering of the swing itself. By reviewing both items, not only can DD get the feedback, but I can see it as well. After she takes some swings, I can log in and check the results. Then I can offer some input based on what I see. I still prefer to work with her one on one, but I have found this method to be sufficient when I am not able to do that. Now as a college freshman, she is now at the point that she handles the majority of the analysis on her own, and I am simply a cheerleader and part time bullpen pitcher. But she will still ask questions from time to time, and we can work through them together.

Best of luck!!

Great points. I have a zepp too. But stopped using it. Maybe I should pull it out again. I found my older DD trying to create good numbers and is was impacting her mechanics. They hate when I take video but it is when I slow it down like rdbass did that I can see things that need to be fixed. But I used to use the auto video in zepp which was pretty cool. I think I will charge it up because I cannot always be there when she is practicing - that is why she developed her process and to keep me from having her hit for two hours in the garage.
 
Sep 1, 2014
85
8
I second FP26 regarding how good it is that she is willing to practice on her own. That notion of working hard to get better at something will carry over to other aspects in her life.

I will offer a warning based upon my own experiences growing up. I would work for hours on my own when I had nobody to pitch to me. I would take my tee to the field and hit off it or do self-toss for hours upon hours. When I wasn't hitting, I was throwing a ball off of a wall to work on fielding. Thinking back, I wasn't really working on anything with regards to my swing when I was doing this..I was just hitting. Now did I have fun? Sure, I always loved hard work and hitting so it filled that need for me. However I am not sure I really improved much doing it.

At her age, she may not have the body awareness yet to be able to feel herself getting into a bad habit and be able correct herself on her own when she is working by herself. I have a 9 year old (she turned 9 today :D ) so I understand this completely. With regards to your DD, at her age two sessions a week with Dad's eyeballs on her, even if they are short sessions, may be better than 2 sessions a week with Dad plus 3 on her own. Hope that makes sense.

Good luck!!

This is a very good point! Glasco’s camp and the drills in my dd’s scoring sheet are designed to break the swing down into specific swing components. But left by herself, she can put it back together into less than optimal swing. Highlights that you have to monitor the end product. I agree completely!
 

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