critique my 9yo DD swing...

[Shawn]

Good work Shawn. Did you have to run to Starbucks? Haven't seen you for a while.

Recommend just working that back elbow erniuekru. Takes care of a lot issues mentioned before.

I need some Starbucks, I only sleep 1 hr last night. lol

Here is something that might help with the back elbow lowering to soon. She is a little ABAF, compared to Lindor who has a awesome change of direction of the knob.

She might be loading and unloading. Compared to Lindor who has a excellent overlap. Richard would say Lindor is loading throughout the swing. no load, pause and unload. I see the core/pelvis load, and then stop and move out in her swing.

Good night

 

[Quasimodo]

- Drops down to swing level to the ball/ground(see bend in front leg).

Very important point, creating or possibly contributing to a series of issues. Often fixing one major issue can fix more than one problem. Dipping down to the ball level instead of using proper shoulder tilt precluded a strong, solid front-side. She may also be reaching for the ball; not set-up at the proper position to hit off the tee. That can contribute to the weak front side as well. Others on this front page have discussed the other issues as well. But I would get her distance correct and teach her shoulder tilt.

 

[Quasimodo]

As i like to mention quite often Five, In the throw the elbow being the fulcrum, and an arm whip, does not set well in my swing thoughts.

DBSF, and Bat drag Is a throw, while swinging properly is not.


That being said, the late part of the swing is more throw like,

You are right in as much if the back elbow starts the swing, how often does the back elbow get ahead of the hands. This result in several issues:
The bat head drops unintentionally below the hands in bat lag.
The swing speed is sacrificed
The "power-box of the elbows/arms is sacrificed, creating a loss in power.
Lastly it can create a barred straight arm
The tail wagging the dog!

The first girl has rotational issues but you can see her arm frame breaking down and the dropped bat head when the back elbow leads.. Then there is Bonds mainting a perfect arm frame (power-box).

 

[erniekru]

We see so many variations of successful swings all the time.. is she having success with her current swing? Is she seeing good pitching right now.. does she have success against good pitchers? I'm all about constantly improving, but at this age you need to be very careful. Body awareness is not always the strongest attribute in a young hitter.. so changing too much at once can lead you down a path which could be very detrimental. There is a lot of knowledge on this site, but you know your DD better than anybody. So I say be very careful implementing changes in a swing where that is already a lot of success. IMO our goal as a parent is give our kids every opportunity to enjoy the game and have lots of success.... not to work towards our DD's achieving the perfect textbook swing. Not saying you are doing that.. but just be cautious.

I recommend sharing your journey the way pattar, Eric, and Clem are in the practical hitting thread.

Sorry for the late replies!
Yes, she is currently successful with her current swing as a consistent power hitter on her team but I'm in the camp that skills should always be moving forward. The team does not play often, but when they do its almost always against very proficient pitchers. I completely agree with the sentiment about making small changes and allow some "personality" to come thru on the swing, good or bad.

I continued this thread in hopes of putting it all in one place in the exact manner that @Eric F did, it makes it fun to be able to see the athletes change as they get older and also reiterate to all that consistent work across many years usually gets you where you want to be. It is so interesting to reflect back on how many "most important seasons ever" she's had. Funny that I'm currently in the mindset that this PGF season is the most important season ever, the competition level that she has to consistently perform in is mind boggling..

Thanks again to all who've chimed in, much appreciated

 

[erniekru]

When you wring our a rag full of water, using 2 hands is the most efficient way to get all the water out right? Right now your DD is just using only 1 so to speak.

Ha, this is a little cryptic to me, but is this in the same vein as increasing grip pressure on the top hand that another poster referenced?

 

[erniekru]

This is amazing! I really like the rear elbow on the left. I'm going to try and figure out a way to get DD to feel that pull.. She's a very visceral kid. Thx

 

[Eric F]

... I'm currently in the mindset that this PGF season is the most important season ever, the competition level that she has to consistently perform in is mind boggling.

It's maybe the most important season so far, but bigger things are ahead. I was quite surprised by the step up from a 14U PGF team to 16U PGF team. It was more than I had anticipated. This past fall, I saw both 16U and 18U action. It honestly seemed like 16U was better.

 

[Work=wins]

Ha, this is a little cryptic to me, but is this in the same vein as increasing grip pressure on the top hand that another poster referenced?

no. Nothing to do with the hands. She rotates to swing. She never stops. That’s why some say she drags and or arm bars, and you say she cheats to the inside pitch by opening up. It creates a longer radius of swing. She has to wait for the entire trunk to rotate to release the bat. She initiates her swing with the back leg instead of her middle. Powerful but slower and not adjustable.

 

[erniekru]

It's maybe the most important season so far, but bigger things are ahead. I was quite surprised by the step up from a 14U PGF team to 16U PGF team. It was more than I had anticipated. This past fall, I saw both 16U and 18U action. It honestly seemed like 16U was better.

Ha, every season is better than the previous, I was mostly commenting on the irony of it all. This season feels different though as our playing time has been so compromised that everyone will be judged on a really small body of work (basically one tournament July 1 and PGF nationals) when reconfiguring the team. DD really likes where she is and we're both working hard to stay there. FIngers crossed!

 

[Shawn]

Ha, every season is better than the previous, I was mostly commenting on the irony of it all. This season feels different though as our playing time has been so compromised that everyone will be judged on a really small body of work (basically one tournament July 1 and PGF nationals) when reconfiguring the team. DD really likes where she is and we're both working hard to stay there. FIngers crossed!

Ernie

I’m only making suggestions where she “could” improve.

I like her swing and her body language. My brother in-law who knows nothing about coaching, said while sitting next to me while watching a game “did you see that stance”?, I said yes I did. It had nothing to do with the stance that made her a good hitter. You could just “see” she had “it”. And “it” showed up even in the stance.

I like the comparison as well. Two different hand starting positions that get to the same place, roughly. You can see the area’s where she could improve as well.