drill or advice for correcting making contact too far out in front of the plate?

[KneeHighSocks]

DD is a strong hitter and has been working hard on hitting for over a year. She has come so far. BUT every now and then her hits are wonky. If I video her and slow it down I can see that she sometimes is either swinging early or too fast and is therefore actually making contact with the ball like a foot or so in front of the plate, almost at the beginning of arm extension. She's seen the video, and understands what she is doing and how she loses power when this happens as well as sometimes fouls it off, but HOW do we fix it? are there specific T drills we can focus on? Her mechanics are good otherwise, it's just this one thing

thanks

 

[JAD]

One drill we do is to bounce the softball up to the plate during front toss (works better in a cage with a concrete subfloor). This teaches the batter to wait on the ball (like a change up) and we challenge them to see how deep they can let the ball get before swinging. It becomes a contest between the girls to see can let the ball get the deepest.

 

[CoogansBluff]

Most hitters make contact too far out in front, IMO. It's a common issue, and one that my DD has worked hard to alleviate and still struggles to master. For a drill, you could place a tee deeper in the zone, that is, with the ball closer to the catcher. Keep working deeper and deeper.

But it's one thing to 'force' a hitter to let the pitch travel. It's another to ensure that they have the correct mechanics to get to that point of contact efficiently. Hitters need to be able to turn the barrel and get behind the ball. They need to understand how hands, shoulders and trunk work. If that's the issue w/ your young hitter, I'll yield the floor to others who understand that concept better than I do.

 

[KneeHighSocks]

she knows the mechanics. Has had 2 really good hitting coaches since last September. She has a really pretty swing. While not 100% (who is at 11) she is really powerful (even with the hitting at extension sometimes). She would just like to be more consistent if that makes sense.

 

[nanotech14]

Not trying to be a jerk, but just because she has worked with a hitting coach since September, that is hardly a blip on the screen. The best hitters work on their swing for the life of their career. I glad she is doing well for 11yo, but she has a long way to go. Post a video of her hitting.

 

[guero_gordo]

IMHO there's no such thing as swinging too fast. Too soon is another matter.

 

[alexander58]

One drill we do is to bounce the softball up to the plate during front toss (works better in a cage with a concrete subfloor). This teaches the batter to wait on the ball (like a change up) and we challenge them to see how deep they can let the ball get before swinging. It becomes a contest between the girls to see can let the ball get the deepest.

I really like the bouncing ball drill for letting the ball get deeper. I have never had success using tee work for timing.

 

[CoogansBluff]

I really like the bouncing ball drill for letting the ball get deeper. I have never had success using tee work for timing.

I like the bouncing ball drill also, but just to clarify my post, the tee drill that I mentioned is not designed to teach timing, per se. It's designed to teach or to reinforce getting on plane with the pitch early, and turning the barrel. Hitters who develop those skills then have a better chance of timing a live ball, IMO.

 

[CoogansBluff]

Not trying to be a jerk, but just because she has worked with a hitting coach since September, that is hardly a blip on the screen. The best hitters work on their swing for the life of their career. I glad she is doing well for 11yo, but she has a long way to go. Post a video of her hitting.

I'd have to agree. I don't see many 11-year-old swings that are really great. I see many 11-year-old swings that are really great for an 11-year-old, but I'd be surprised if there was not something in the mechanics that could be tweaked to help with timing. Heck, there's a clip of a former SEC freshman of the year on another thread, and even she's getting advice on mechanics that would help with timing.

 

[iMlearning]

imho there's no such thing as swinging too fast. Too soon is another matter.

amen brother! Amen. !