Bat recommendation for 11 year old

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Oct 22, 2019
36
8
DD loves her F20 PC!! This is her second PC, after outgrowing her first one. Every once in a while, she'll swing a DiMarini, and look at me like "do I have to keep swinging with this?" while making the stinky face. :LOL:

What’s your daughter’s age and size?
 
Jan 24, 2020
70
18
Anytime you bump up in bat length/weight the first few times out it may look like the Bat is swinging DD instead of the other way around, balance and swing path mechanics are hard to maintain. In my experience, focusing on the fundamentals and not the results of her swing through the transition will give her the leeway to get her grove back without the new bat falling out of favor. I like to take my DD to the cages with a -3 beater baseball bat of the same length for some overweight training at several points in the process. We make a fun session of it, no stress, lots of discussion about non-softball stuff, (a little discussion about mechanics ;)) then when she picks up the new (heavier/longer) bat for practice and games it feels much like her older one and her mechanics are still solid. Took several upgrades for us to hit on this methodology but has worked well the last 2 times with the only indication that she made a switch being the distance the ball goes.
 
Apr 16, 2010
924
43
Alabama
I am looking for advice on bats. My daughter is turning 12 and currently swings a Vendetta 30/18. Bat size-wise, she is about ready for a 31". Debating on getting her a new bat. She got to test out several -11 bats and her swing speed and exit speed really decreased. Is this just due to the additional 2 ounces that she isn't used to yet? she needs to keep her speed higher. Would it be better to look into a 31" -12 instead of -11? Or, at what point does she truly need a longer bat? When doing the arm measurement, the 30" is just a bit shorter than her finger tips, maybe an inch. The guy at the store recommended -11's since she'd be "getting to an age when she needs to swing a -10". She is excited for a new bat but just don't want to spend money on one that isn't going to improve her hitting due to a slower swing.
I wouldn't rush into a 31. DD had a 30 through her first year of 12U and only went to a 31 to get the Slapper when Demarini brought it out. She used it up until this summer when she moved to a 32 in 16U. Mine is 5'3" about 125lbs and could swing a bigger bat strength wise but the 32" is her optimum size.

Heck my cousin played DI softball and has a WCWS ring. Her senior season she hit with a 32-22. She was a 5'10" SS with plenty of power. She went to an Easton school and hated the Mako. Unlike the UF HC who would find the Stealths online and buy them her coach wouldn't. A kid left a 32 at camp and when nobody claimed it for 6 months she used it. She ended up having her best offensive season.
 
Jul 28, 2019
75
18
I always wonder why people buy a certain bat based off what everyone else is swinging, then decide they/they’re DD don’t like it after a few weeks and go buy another. As someone already stated above, give it some time. All these bats are so closely engineered to give max performance. It really depends on the girl behind the bat when it comes down to it. Let her take the time and get used to what she’s swinging.
 

CoreSoftball20

Wilson = Evil Empire
DFP Vendor
Dec 27, 2012
6,215
113
Kunkletown, PA
Problem is, most stores dont carry high end bats, or at least a lot of them. And the ones that do get demos
dont use them for that purpose, they just sell them or jump on ebay and sell. So parents ask others and take a stab at one and see what happens. The bigger problem is, hitting is a lot mental, if a kid starts
hitting a bat and it feels wrong or they dont have success with it, its tough to convince them they need
to get used to it or give it more time. For them to continue to hit bad because the parent thinks the bat needs more time or just because they need to get used to it is a tough thing for them to reason with. They already dont like it initially, and now they are told to deal with it. Usually wont ever "work" for them...haha.
Thats why with a lot of kids, they either love it for hate it very fast..and that usually is decided by how they hit with it asap :)
 
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