- May 20, 2019
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Cage session was productive. A stance adjustment helped keep the hips closed longer and she immediately started driving the ball harder. ;-)
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DD how to fix bat drag
- Thread starter rslaubaugh
- Start date
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Do you have a smaller/lighter bat available for her? I get a strong sense that this one is a bit too much for her, and is adding to her dragging issues.
Also, her hands starting so far up and away from her rear shoulder is adding to the length of...well, everything. Take a look at video of swings by top level players (baseball and softball). Where are their hands when they launch the swing? Some move their hands to launch point, but for a young player just starting to figure things out, shortening pre-launch hand travel tends to be helpful. Very typically, players want to pull the hands way back in order to give the bat lots of time to build up speed to hit the ball harder. The problem with this is it forces the hitter to commit to their swing earlier, and if their timing isn't perfect, they miss a lot.
If I was working with this young hitter, and helping her establish a foundation, I would have her start with the barrel resting on her shoulder, her hands near her rear shoulder, and learn how to turn the barrel to the ball with her hands/forearms and body.
As I said before, I'm not sure you want to do a complete overhaul at this point. That said, adjusting the setup position of her hands might be helpful in improving her quickness.
Also, her hands starting so far up and away from her rear shoulder is adding to the length of...well, everything. Take a look at video of swings by top level players (baseball and softball). Where are their hands when they launch the swing? Some move their hands to launch point, but for a young player just starting to figure things out, shortening pre-launch hand travel tends to be helpful. Very typically, players want to pull the hands way back in order to give the bat lots of time to build up speed to hit the ball harder. The problem with this is it forces the hitter to commit to their swing earlier, and if their timing isn't perfect, they miss a lot.
If I was working with this young hitter, and helping her establish a foundation, I would have her start with the barrel resting on her shoulder, her hands near her rear shoulder, and learn how to turn the barrel to the ball with her hands/forearms and body.
As I said before, I'm not sure you want to do a complete overhaul at this point. That said, adjusting the setup position of her hands might be helpful in improving her quickness.
- Jun 8, 2016
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If you take the average of her handset and my DD's it would be perfect!! Kids, you gotta love them (at least that is what my DW tells me)
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- May 20, 2019
- 132
- 43
She is using a 29" -12 right now which she prefers but also carries a 28" -12 as a backup. She is not struggling with consistency at all as she is hitting well over .750 for the season and almost never strikes out. Her game swing bat speed is much better than her cage swing for sure. I will try to get some video of her game swing on Wed night regular season close. She is only 48" and 50 lbs so I dont expect exit speeds to be terribly fast at this stage. Just want to make sure to build a good foundation to build on.
- Jun 8, 2016
- 16,118
- 113
You asked for some tips to help with her mechanics, Eric gave some good ones imo. If she is willing to change her handset start with that. Even though that is a style thing, there are handsets which make it simpler for a young hitter to get where they need to be when they launch their swing. As I have tried to tell my DD, there is probably a reason why you don't see HL hitters have the handset she is using (or the one your DD uses).
Of course if you think she is fine doing what she is doing then just leave her alone..
Great that she is hitting the ball consistently. Nothing matters more than getting good contact.
As a young hitter starts to face better pitching (as age and skill level increase), early length of hand travel in a swing will become more and more of a limiter. Both in ability to deliver the barrel to contact quick enough to be on time, and in the ability to adjust to changes of speed.
- May 20, 2019
- 132
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I will make the big changes after tournament time for fear of confusing her. The handset issue i can probably get her to work on through the couple weeks of practice before the tournament. The hip issue discussed earlier was fairly easy to fix and she took to those changes pretty quick. I appreciate all the good tips you guys are giving.
Sometimes its hard as a beginning coach in the youth leagues to correct things when the child is having success doing it "the wrong way". Then you start second guessing yourself ;-( ..... its always a balancing act of building confidence in the player and giving constructive criticism
- Jun 8, 2016
- 16,118
- 113
Understood. Be glad that you are able to see through the issues and enjoy the successes.
I get it. I've been there. Keep in mind that the goal is to build towards what she will need to be successful in the future, not just what is successful now.
A story...
I was the AC on my DD's 12U TB team (fall season, girls had just moved up from 10U). We had a player come to us from rec ball, after having a good all-star season. She was a tall and strong kid, but had a long swing. She struggled badly against the better speed and quality of experienced 12U TB pitchers. We worked with her to improve her quickness, but the transition was difficult for her. Just as things started to come together, her parents announced that they were pulling her from the team, and they were very upset with us for ruining her swing - "she was always a good hitter until she came to this team!" They didn't seem to grasp that the swing she had been successful with was effective against 10U rec and all-star pitching, but had reached its limit.
Not for nothing, but don't let her wear flip-flops when hitting 
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