DD and her hitting coach

[FiveFrameSwing]

Case in point... but I am sure this varies by region and size of school.

DD's 16u team has 12 players with significant softball experience for their age (6+ years of experience and none are over 15 years old. Several are still 14 years old). Over half of them lettered for their high school varsity teams as freshmen. Several played very little at JV because they were primarily varsity players.

DD's JV team is mostly made up of players with less than 3 years of experience and only includes 3 players with any travel ball experience. 3 of them have never played organized softball. Ever....

Honest assessment. Our 16u team would be competitive with many high school VARSITY teams in our area, and I would consider us an average 16u team...

A solid 14A team would be able to compete well with many of our area's Varsity teams.

Many HS ball programs, at the Varsity level, are well below the level of play seen on decent club-ball programs. JV-HS is often substantially below that.

Someone going from JV, to a decent 16A club program, should expect to struggle.

 

[Mosmom24]

You can't compare 16U travel to high school JV. It's very possible for the same hitter to bat .500 in JV and .200 in 16U travel.

I totally and wholeheartedly agree! I didn't mean to compare that way. The pitching we saw was a different league. My DD has been playing and since tee ball and on TB since 10u. We have a very strong Varsity team and JV team. Most players on both teams do TB. But the pitching we see on the TB circuit is outstanding.

What didn't help her hitting was the assistant TB coach in her ear before each at bat. You just don't mess with a player that way. You are setting them up to fail and lose confidence. She never thought she had a problem until he did this, then she was so upset that she was doing everything wrong from the beginning, she lost her confidence in what she believed worked for her. Girls all hit different, but if it's working, why fix it?

Her HC is getting her old swing back with added hip action. She does solo tee work at home every day. With that, him and muscle memory excerizes, I am hoping we see a more confident DD this coming season. I will talk with him to work with her more during the off season to keep her up to her potential. He is a great hc and coach and he does what's best for the players.

Thanks for all of the advice.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

I'd have to see the player's swing before concluding if excuses are being made. As others have suggested, a reference to "JV results" means very little. Not uncommon to see a productive JV player goose egg at the Varsity level. Why? Because often a player's production at the JV level is not a result of using mechanics that will scale.

Regarding the "solo tee work at home every day" ... studies have shown that "block training" is a poor approach to go about implementing swing improvements into one's game swing. Often a player fools them self when engaging in a large amount of "block training" to gain enhancements ... and gains false confidence ... i.e., confidence that will easily crumble under pressure.

Through "block training", what you get good at is the particular aspect you are working at via "block training". Said differently ... "tee work" will get you good at "tee work" ... and little of the enhancements being worked on will carry over into one's game swing.

Block training (e.g., tee work) is a great way to introduce a new concept, or to warm up ... but beyond that, if the goal is to carry the enhancement forward into one's game swing, then random training needs to be embraced.

 

[Shelbylynn]

I'd have to see the player's swing before concluding if excuses are being made. As others have suggested, a reference to "JV results means" very little. Not uncommon to see a productive JV player goose egg at the Varsity level. Why? Because often a player's production at the JV level is not a result of using mechanics that will scale.

Regarding the "solo tee work at home every day" ... studies have shown that "block training" is a poor approach to go about implementing swing improvements into one's game swing. Often a player fools them self when engaging in a large amount of "block training" to gain enhancements ... and gains false confidence ... i.e., confidence that will easily crumble under pressure.

Through "block training", what you get good at is the particular aspect you are working at via "block training". Said differently ... "tee work" will get you good at "tee work" ... and little of the enhancements being worked on will carry over into one's game swing.

Block training (e.g., tee work) is a great way to introduce a new concept, or to warm up ... but beyond that, if the goal is to carry the enhancement forward into one's game swing, then random training needs to be embraced.

What is "random training" versus "block training" and would you please cite examples? Thanks.

 

[canyonjoe]

I think if you were once a good hitter a hitting coach can get you back to that level in a few lessons. Not everyone and not every time, but often someone who knows your swing can notice something you were doing wrong. You see pro golfers who will fix putting based on a phone call from their dad the night before. I do agree with most here that level of play can affect performance, but many (not all) parents can tell when DD is just lost. A lower BA is one thing, but striking out all the time is a signal that you are either doing something wrong or that you may be over matched.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

What is "random training" versus "block training" and would you please cite examples? Thanks.

An example of "block training" would be performing a high tee drill for the purpose of working on hand path. The environment remains virtually the same from swing-to-swing. The ball is placed on a tee in virtually the same location ... there is no timing taking place.

An example of "random training" would be live pitching, or front-toss, in which the hitter still works on hand path, but the environment is randomized in terms of pitch location and timing must be utilized.

Random training is more difficult than block training, but a larger percentage of what is learned is brought forward into one's game swing.

 

[Rocketech1]

I think if you were once a good hitter a hitting coach can get you back to that level in a few lessons.

But the end goal should be constant improvement. If you are staying at the same level you were previously at, you are losing ground to the other players that are working harder and smarter than you. Good hitting coaches push you to get better and because they work with many players they can see swing flaws that are often overlooked by the individual player and/or parent.

For most players, I don't think you ever get to a point where you can completely give up professional instruction.

 

[TMoney]

It took me countless hours over a year and a half to get my DD where she should be. Now, its just an occasional use of video to correct some minor issues. I would guess if we didn't correct the issues as they arrise, they would turn into bad habits that would be harder to break.

 

[quincy]

I think I am in the minority here.

A little bit reverse of the OP but the school coach can do whatever they want to DD’s SB game for the short time they have her, it is easy enough to change her back if I do not like it when the season is over.

So to the OP, if she had a good swing she liked and it got broke I bet they can get it back in shape after a few lessons and some practice.

You better be confident you can hit the ball or it does not matter how good your swing is.

 

[canyonjoe]

But the end goal should be constant improvement. If you are staying at the same level you were previously at, you are losing ground to the other players that are working harder and smarter than you. Good hitting coaches push you to get better and because they work with many players they can see swing flaws that are often overlooked by the individual player and/or parent.

For most players, I don't think you ever get to a point where you can completely give up professional instruction.

I did add not everyone and not every time. I wasn't trying to imply that you don't need to constantly get better, but if my hitting dropped to nothing getting at least back to where I was would be a short term goal of mine. I'm not saying they should stop, merely that it's possible that a few lessons can get her hitting again.