Extension after contact

[Coach Fastpitch]

Try some slow motion swings to air, no tee. Sometimes you have to set it to a count or tempo to make sure the player goes slow to build muscle memory. You can stop at different points in the swing and fix whatever is incorrect (for example are the kids rolling wrists immediately after the point of contact in the swing, if you are going very slow mow motion, it can be fixed and repeated). After they get comfortable going slow to a tempo you can go in reverse. We do this as a quick warm up drill to get kids reminded of what their swing should feel like.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Try some slow motion swings to air, no tee. Sometimes you have to set it to a count or tempo to make sure the player goes slow to build muscle memory. You can stop at different points in the swing and fix whatever is incorrect (for example are the kids rolling wrists immediately after the point of contact in the swing, if you are going very slow mow motion, it can be fixed and repeated). After they get comfortable going slow to a tempo you can go in reverse. We do this as a quick warm up drill to get kids reminded of what their swing should feel like.

"If you are going very slow mow motion" then you can muscle virtually anything. It can be an easy way to fool yourself into doing something that is not proper. Slow motion is not a guarantee that "it can be fixed and repeated" ... not at all. We've seen a fair number of slow motion swings here at DFP which don't resemble what should actually be occurring in a swing ... more an indication that the swing wasn't well understood by the person performing the slow-mo swing.

 

[MountieSB]

rdbass - That's exactly what my daughter is doing! At contact, an immediate roll of the wrists, quick left turn as bat wraps around the body, and the bat goes down towards her legs.

MountieSB - Is the #1 drill you describe done as just a warmup (i.e., no ball/pitch)? The #2 drill sounds good, but I think I'd screw up the placement without seeing it.

Any additional drills to stop the wrist roll at contact would be a huge help. As I'm sure the OP would agree, this is VERY frustrating and has been really tough to correct.

Thanks!

Grogger, I use it as a station for my kids who perform the incorrect mechanic (I have a "differentiated instruction" station where kids work on the drill that corrects the particular area of need during batting practice). I have them do it from a tee (and the tee needs to be set slightly higher and closer than normal because of the short bat). Front toss could certainly be added and would probably be ideal once they figured out the drill off of a tee. I'll have to add that!

 

[MountieSB]

Good post RHC.

Extension should be a result.

Actually, extension doesn't have to be thought of as the extension of the arms ... notice how this golf instructor catches himself when he says to 'extend the arms', and goes into 'body extension'.

I really like the "body extension" cue. I'm going to try that instead of "arm extension." That makes more sense to what I want the girls to do. Thanks.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

I really like the "body extension" cue. I'm going to try that instead of "arm extension." That makes more sense to what I want the girls to do. Thanks.

Don't be surprised if the arms extend as a 'result'.

 

[FP26]

Ok. I am trying to follow the advice of RHC, RdB and others in this forum by looking at the start of the swing instead of the result. After doing this, I believe what I have found is that my DD has a good bit of bat drag. Her back elbow is leading her hands. Obviously that is something that needs correction and I have found numerous posts here concerning it. Is it possible that the bat drag could be leading to the lack of extension I was talking about in the original post, or are they completely unrelated problems? Thanks again for your advice.

 

[rdbass]

Ok. I am trying to follow the advice of RHC, RdB and others in this forum by looking at the start of the swing instead of the result. After doing this, I believe what I have found is that my DD has a good bit of bat drag. Her back elbow is leading her hands. Obviously that is something that needs correction and I have found numerous posts here concerning it. Is it possible that the bat drag could be leading to the lack of extension I was talking about in the original post, or are they completely unrelated problems? Thanks again for your advice.

Yes, learn to 'turn the barrel'. Alot of post on 'turning the barrel'. Extension is a result of what happens/happened upstream of the swing. Bat drag can be quickly cured, or not. Learn to 'turn the barrel'. Then you will see long through the ball and extension.