Batting Progress for my DD

[Michael N]

So my hope here is to share my Daughters progress as we work both on our own and with a batting coach . I will try and post a short new video of her hitting each week so that folks more knowledgeable than me in the art of hitting can help us improve her hitting .

Here is a short video from her last practice .

 

[Jim]

Is her coach having her load at all during her workouts. Was this just a drill where she was swinging without a load?

I also think that her front elbow should be a bit lower that her rear elbow in her set-up. I like how her hands are higher than both elbows but I like having the rear elbow a little higher than the front. This helps to set the top hand's wrist into a position to throw the barrel with more force through the hitting zone.

 

[Michael N]

Right now he is concentrating on getting her to turn her back foot and keep the front foot planted with the leg straight as well as turning her hips . I am not sure where he will be taking her from this but bear in mind she is just getting started and trying to overcome 7 years of Dad teaching her the wrong swing .

 

[Wellphyt]

This thread has the potential to be very educational.

Right now she is spinning. Which is the same as saying she has no weight shift. Her hips turn, but they aren't contributing much to her swing. Despite what the instructor says after the first swing, I don't see any torque in these swings. Getting her to hit against a straight front leg is probably the instructor's attempt to get her to keep her weight back as she swings. He's making sure she doesn't get onto her front foot and lunge. In this regards he has done a good job. However, as I said, he has done it at the expense of a proper weight shift and proper hip action.

It will be interesting to see where the instructor goes from here. Can't wait.

I agree with Jim regarding the position of her arms and elbows in her stance. I still haven't figured out why most girls setup this way. This is my least favorite setup and I find it almost impossible to get the hitter to establish connection from this setup. Ultimately how she chooses to hold her hands in her stance is a style choice, but some style choices are better than others when learning.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

Michael N. What did you teach her? If it was posted here, I have forgotten.

At my lessons, I always use a batter's box and a home plate. I have students set up in the box, the same way every at bat. It is important to me to teach point of contact, with the batter knowing where she should be in the box.

I wish you were here to tape one of my lessons and we could compare the two. You did a very nice job with the video. I am always interested in hearing what other people charge for lessons, if you care to share that information. I realize being at an indoor facility, has some overhead to it. I teach at local parks.

He seems to be teaching her to hold her back hand up, like she needs time out. I don't really understand that - and if it is not granted, she is at a disadvantage compared to the pitcher, who is going to pitch, whether your DD is ready or not.

 

[Michael N]

I don't have any video of what her swing was like before we started but I do have a picture of an at bat from later in the rec ball season this year . She wasn't turning her hips much , if any , and contact was very weak . What I taught her was pretty lame but I never played baseball or softball so what I taught her was to see the ball and hit it .

This facility charges $25 for a 1/2 hour or $40 for an hour of instruction . This was her second 1/2 hour lesson so I don't really know where she should be with less than an hour of instruction .

She does come into the box with her hand asking for a time so that she can get set and I haven't seen a local ump not honor it yet but I guess there is a time and place where it may occur . Almost all the girls here locally do it the same way and I think she just started emulating what she was seeing .

He was working with her after this on hitting the ball different directions and where she needs to stand and how to move her hands and arms to make that happen . He used a base then but not a batters box . I can review the other 30 minutes of video but my recollection is of him showing her where in relationship to the plate .

 

[Michael N]

OK , we went out this morning for some hitting at the local High School . Figured I would post a short video of the DD . We have narrowed up her stance a little bit and she is getting some of her weight back . She didn't seem to be hitting quite as far today but she is not typically a morning person either . Sorry I cut off her bat but some days I am a better videographer than others

 

[Amy in AZ.]

Well, she is doing exactly what the hitting coach showed her. I don't teach spinning on the back foot or level shoulders and a level swing.
It would be my opinion that she will not get much power behind the ball, that way.

Oh, one little hint. Move that tee off of the plate. That is a very common mistake. But, she wants to have a point of contact that is about 3-6 inches, in front of the plate - for a pitch down the middle.

 

[Michael N]

Can you post a video or some pictures to help me see what you would be doing different ?

The Tee was sitting on the leading edge of the plate but she knocked it over a couple times and may have moved it back a little bit .

 

[softballphreak]

You want the ball on the tee inside the front foot at point of contact. It should be relative to the foot—not relative to the plate. You don't want to hit off the tee way out front. The hits will feel better there and probably go further but it causes the batter to not let the ball get in deep enough when facing actual pitching.

I see her hitting from a dead stop. Not good. She needs to learn to coil, stretch, stride, swing; with a good weight shift (up on the back toe).

Go to the thread Megan 1-Tee. It is a long thread but it has really great info scattered all the way through it. Post #12 has a good drill for the coil, i.e. But there's much more. It's really good so don't take it lightly. And those same posters will give you feedback on your video if you ask.