Dd three weeks into new hitting coach

[Tqracer53]

Coach's Eye
Hope it's looking better hard to practice a lot with highschool practice going on. They won't do no tee work it's for little kids coach says.

 

[crankermo]

Not trying to be mean, but any hitting coach that says tee work is for little kids isn't a very good coach. Tee work is ok for Albert Pujols.

 

[crankermo]

What is this coach telling her and you? She has severe bat drag, no separation and a shoulder/arm driven swing. I think you need to seriously question if this coach is worth the money.

 

[straightleg]

What crank said. +
Loading over top of back leg
No tilt from waist up
Circular swing

My dd and I do 95% tee work, soft toss. The pitching machine was at school for her to work on that as much as she wanted.

Even when I had a jugs and batting cage in the yard, 80% was off the tee


SL

 

[Momo'sDad]

They won't do no tee work it's for little kids coach says.

Now is a good time to move on, as you haven't wasted too much money.

Here's a quote from what many in softball consider to be a reliable source:

"I believe that there is a process for developing young hitters. The first element is gaining the
knowledge of the proper principles of hitting. The basic progression I have used is throwing drills, tee work, head
on toss and live. Machines serve a purpose but do not provide a very good timing element for hitting. There
are ways to use machines effectively by providing a arm action prior to inserting the ball into the machine. Just
remember that the basic principle is 1) stationary object, 2) moving object 3) decision making with speed, location
& movement." -Mike Candrea

 

[softballphreak]

I believe he is talking about the HS believes tee work is not good. The hitting coach is using a tee.

 

[Ken Krause]

Before we go throwing the hitting coach under the bus, it's been three weeks. Maybe the things that are being pointed out here are the things he's working on. And keep in mind it's really difficult to fix everything at once, especially during the season or pre-season. I know I approach it differently between in-season corrections and off-season work.

In-season/pre-season you're usually trying to solve the problem of she can't hit water if she falls out of a boat. That usually amounts to timing or bat path issues. Get her hitting the ball first and build a little confidence is usually the order of the day. When you have more time you can work on correcting some of the other issues.

 

[nanotech14]

IMO,I would like to she her hips lead the swing,her arms are going at the same time her hips are going.I have to go back to the way strightlegs dd holds her bat,I have my dd hold her bat the same way,since we adjusted my dd like strightlegs dd,her bat path is so much better.If I where you, I would pm strightleg and see what drills he uses.good luck and dont ditch her current BC,he might be working on things in his own way.There are several good posters on here with a wealth of knowledge,Five Frame Swing is real good too,and he has alot of good people he knows and come on here and post once and awhile.Send him a PM too.Sorry if I'am speaking for these guys but,I have been reading thier post for sometime now and I like what they say,they might noy always agree,but the knowledge is priceless.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Three weeks and the hitting sequence is still not good ... completely lacking in stretch ... coil is virtually absent ... rear leg spins ... ... ... ... just what does the instructor have this kid working on in terms of drills to improve this swing? That's a serious question ... it tells you a bit about the instructor's road-map for this kid's improvement ... if he has a road-map that is.

 

[Steve Huff]

Well, there are all kinds of kind words here. Sometimes I wonder what the objective is!

straightleg, nonotech14, and others have good points. Some points may be redundant or related, and I think all the points should be sorted out and prioritized. She isn't a wreck, but needs some tweeking.

1) As mentioned by crankermo. That back elbow is tucking and leading the swing resulting in bat drag.
2) Her hips and hands are firing at the same time as nonotech14 said. I think she needs to improve her coil and "drive" or weight transition against her front foot.
3) Hands and wrists look good, but I think that bat head needs to load a little; there isn't a lot of whip in that bat path and if you look at the finish and result, it looks like a rope wrapping around her.

I don't know what your hitting coach is trying to do, and you may know better. He also may simply need some help. But she is not some train-wreck!

Positives: Head, hands, and initial weight transfer on back leg. And she didn't squish the bug.