Drill Suggestions: too early with swing

[corlay]

So, DD is a good hitter, but as we ramp up from our COVID hiatus, her timing seems to be too early.

This is a chronic trait in her, to a degree.
Not sure if she just gets amped-up in a game situation or what,
but last few weekends all her ball contact is a few feet out beyond her front foot.
So results are: yanked deep to LF dead ball territory (when hit squarely) , or "sliced" pop-ups to the 1B and shallow RF area (when hit under the ball). Very few K's, but not a lot of solid, fair-territory contact, either.

When we practice and I front toss from half-distance with some speed (48-50mph or so) she lines the majority up the middle, which is what I want to see.
But in games it changes for some reason.

Looking for suggestions for work-out drills we can try to get her feel and perception to allow her to look to make contact a bit deeper.

Thought about some side-toss, where I force the ball deep relative to her position with my toss.
Good idea?

And perhaps re-visiting a concentration on TTB.
Her swing has been a bit knob-to-ball-ish and that also probably contributes to her wanting to make contact too far out in front?

 

[MadBandit22]

So, DD is a good hitter, but as we ramp up from our COVID hiatus, her timing seems to be too early.

This is a chronic trait in her, to a degree.
Not sure if she just gets amped-up in a game situation or what,
but last few weekends all her ball contact is a few feet out beyond her front foot.
So results are: yanked deep to LF dead ball territory (when hit squarely) , or "sliced" pop-ups to the 1B and shallow RF area (when hit under the ball). Very few K's, but not a lot of solid, fair-territory contact, either.

When we practice and I front toss from half-distance with some speed (48-50mph or so) she lines the majority up the middle, which is what I want to see.
But in games it changes for some reason.

Looking for suggestions for work-out drills we can try to get her feel and perception to allow her to look to make contact a bit deeper.

Thought about some side-toss, where I force the ball deep relative to her position with my toss.
Good idea?

And perhaps re-visiting a concentration on TTB.
Her swing has been a bit knob-to-ball-ish and that also probably contributes to her wanting to make contact too far out in front?

Bucket drops. Get your sock net, bucket with a lid, and either softballs or tennis balls.
Drop/bounce the balls of the bucket lid. To simulate fastballs hit the balls on the way up at your waist, to simulate change-up/off speed hit the ball on the way down again at your waist not chest.
Load, hold, & explode. Teaches patience and proper timing when to attack the ball.

 

[julray]

Hi Corlay.. If you are pitching the ball at 48-50 MPH at 20-25 feet I can understand why your DD is early in her game swing. I strongly believe in a trajectory that matches a game pitch, so I understand why you put some hmpf on it. I know coaches who have pumped a pitching machine up to 60 when the kids weren't going to see anything over 45. Coaches figured if they can hit 60, they can hit 45. I'd suggest taking a little off, simulate the game speed, mix in some change ups(at first you can even let her know you are throwing and progress from there) let her get a feel for it and understand how she needs to wait a little. If she can hit your slower pitching no problem, then maybe you need to look at some other things, for example is she rushing her sequence in the game because she's amped up or anxious.

Surprised she didn't strike out more considering she was so far out front. I would of fed a steady dose of outside and low pitches with the change up for the knockout pitch.

 

[BigSkyHi]

Game load sequence and timing the same as practice?

 

[Towny9]

I would slow it down in BP and REALLY make her wait on it. While you have to be able to hit the hard throwers there are a lot of adjustments you can make if you are late (get a lighter bat, move back in the box, get started earlier, etc..) but the only thing you can do to wait is to wait.

Having her slow her feet down or quiet them down some may help too.

 

[Fury_Mike]

Have you ever thrown a fastpitch player pitches like a slow pitch pitcher throws? toss them from a distance and add an arc. It helps them understand the waiting, load, and front foot timing. most really struggle at first, then adapt.

Tennis ball bounces from a front toss position work well

Last, set up a jugs machine from 75' away and adjust the ball release angle so the pitch goes just high enough to get the ball to the plate. Again the waiting is painful for a fastpitch player, but the wait and timing piece of the drill pays dividends.

 

[YOCOACH]

Many hitters subconsciously time their swing based off of the pitchers release. I train my hitters to judge the speed of the ball itself and not base their timing off of the pitchers release. I do this by using a tool I came up with called the board. It's basically a 2 foot by 4 foot sheet of 3/4" plywood with an 8"X14" rectangular hole cut out of the middle and it rests, slightly tilted back on a stand I made. The only thing a hitter sees is the ball pop out of the hole and not the hand itself. Vary the speed of the pitches. She'll hate it like my hitters do but every single one will tell you it works and works well. They now base their swing initiation off of the speed of the pitch and are rarely early or late let alone fooled by a change-up.

 

[fanboi22]

Many hitters subconsciously time their swing based off of the pitchers release. I train my hitters to judge the speed of the ball itself and not base their timing off of the pitchers release. I do this by using a tool I came up with called the board. It's basically a 2 foot by 4 foot sheet of 3/4" plywood with an 8"X14" rectangular hole cut out of the middle and it rests, slightly tilted back on a stand I made. The only thing a hitter sees is the ball pop out of the hole and not the hand itself. Vary the speed of the pitches. She'll hate it like my hitters do but every single one will tell you it works and works well. They now base their swing initiation off of the speed of the pitch and are rarely early or late let alone fooled by a change-up.

I like this idea. One concern, how does a player know when to start their gather/stride? Me and DD are trying to work on timing issues, and this is interesting to me, just curious as we are trying to start earlier and be smoother and more balanced to toe touch. However if she didn't see the pitcher going around the arm circle, not sure she would start soon enough. thanks.

 

[YOCOACH]

You would still do the complete arm circle but they just wouldn't see the release. Therefore, they can only judge the speed of the ball but still have the time to gather. Thus, if they have to sit and wait in their gather on a change up, so be it. The off speed pitches, again so be it. The fastball is straight through. It takes time and repetition but they'll get it eventually. Like I said, they'll hate it but it definitely works.

I like this idea. One concern, how does a player know when to start their gather/stride? Me and DD are trying to work on timing issues, and this is interesting to me, just curious as we are trying to start earlier and be smoother and more balanced to toe touch. However if she didn't see the pitcher going around the arm circle, not sure she would start soon enough. thanks.

 

[fanboi22]

You would still do the complete arm circle but they just wouldn't see the release. Therefore, they can only judge the speed of the ball but still have the time to gather. Thus, if they have to sit and wait in their gather on a change up, so be it. The off speed pitches, again so be it. The fastball is straight through. It takes time and repetition but they'll get it eventually. Like I said, they'll hate it but it definitely works.

Got it thanks.