Back to work

[cbullard]

My 12 yr old DD took a little break from softball (end of October until tonight ) to focus on basketball. But, this afternoon she asked if she could start practicing again. So, we did some pitching and tee work. I'd appreciate any feedback on what to fix initially. Here is a clip of a swing.

PS....she took her shoes off on her last few swings because she said her shoes were catching in the carpet. Kids. Lol

[video=youtube_share;KToywQd3Cmw]http://youtu.be/KToywQd3Cmw[/video]

 

[Ken Krause]

Kind of a big load to me, but as long as she gets her front foot down on time it should work.

That aside, the early part of the swing looks good to me. Nice stride and weight transfer forward, and she definitely begins the swing with her hips. All good.

About halfway through, though, it looks like the body sort of gives up and she finishes with just her arms. I'd like to see her take advantage of the good things she's doing early on and continue to drive her body out ahead of the bat instead of letting the bat get ahead of the body, which happens around the 12 second mark.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Curious if was meant as a 'drill' and not a 'normal swing'? Resembles the deltoid drill. Others will likely comment. The hands are essentially dead early in the swing as the upper body swings the barrel. Note the absence of passing through the RVP Connection Point position ... resembles a bandaide approach to addressing bat drag.

 

[Eric F]

Welcome back to the game!

There's an all-back/all-forward pattern happening, which is not ideal. Work towards building a pattern that has the hands loading up and back as the stride goes forward.

 

[cbullard]

Ken, I think the load iso going to cause timing problems against faster pitchers. I was looking for a way to get her into a negative motion. Any suggestions? Should we shorten it?

FiveFrame...Honestly, I think her hands are dead on purpose. She's trying to fight dropping them. So, I'm thinking she's trying not to bring them down to low. Just a guess.

Eric....great to be back! Seems like we're trying to start from scratch.

 

[cbullard]

Here is an updated swing from today. She likes the toe tap into the negative motion. She said she gets her into a rhythm. She's really working hard on her swing. To me it looks like she kind of stops her momentum towards the end....I could be wrong. Far from an expert.

Also, ignore the flip flops she has on. I decided to record her after we were done and she had already taken off her shoes. lol

 

[Big Dave]

Like was mentioned before - fighting the hand-drop. Next time you go hit, put the tee on top of a bucket and let her swing 20-25 times. (high tee drill) Then let her swing at normal height 15 times. Pay attention to her hand path on the normal tee. What you should start noticing is a higher hand path and a better bat angle. I do this with my hand droppers and it works for us! The other thing I might address is her back knee - make sure it stays inside of her back foot and doesn't start turning toward the catcher. Fix this and it should promote more power from her knee/leg drive. I do have to say her leg drive looks better than in the first clip. In the first clip she was kind of just spinning on her back foot. Looking better!

 

[Buttermaker]

Have to get rid of the bat wrapping around the head. Getting barrel trapped back there.

 

[cbullard]

Thanks Big Dave.....On the high tee drill...does she have to stand taller to do this drill?

Thanks Buttermaker.....How should she have the bat positioned?

 

[Buttermaker]

Thanks Big Dave.....On the high tee drill...does she have to stand taller to do this drill?

Thanks Buttermaker.....How should she have the bat positioned?

This is a good model to emulate