Help with DD swing

[Schwepped]

New to the boards and looking for help. I will post a couple videos of my DD swing. Both are swing and misses, she's 8 years old and plays 8U but both of these videos are from her playing up in 10U. In 8U she's been hitting the ball hard but just missing the middle of the ball. She's been either pounding it into the ground or popping up. Any help on issues with her swing and/or drills to correct issues are appreciated. She's never had a hitting coach it's always been me working with her but sometimes it's hard to get her to listen to Dad. She has her first real hitting lesson tonight.
Emily's swing - YouTube
Emily's swing 2 - YouTube

 

[Eric F]

What I am seeing is a swing pattern that is extremely common for young girls - DBSF, arm-powered swing with bat drag. Now for a bit more detail...

DBSF (drop-the-barrel-and-swing-flat)...As the ball is coming to her, her hands and arms travel downward bringing the barrel level to the ground behind her shoulder, and the swing is launched from there. This creates a long swing pattern that will struggle badly as she starts facing faster pitching. Also, this swing pattern limits the amount of power she has available. Strong hitters will get by - and even be successful - at lower levels with this pattern, but isn't a pattern that will scale upwards.

Arm-powered swing with bat drag...Although she does turn her hips better than a lot of girls her age, the hip turn is a reaction to what her upper body is doing, rather than leading the swing. As is typical for young girls, the bat is being powered by the arms pulling the bat around the torso. In this swing pattern, we can see the rear elbow get in front of the hands as the arms drag the bat.

7 months ago, my DD (8yo at the time) used the same swing pattern as your DD...
Maddie - 2013 08 06 17 41 58 - YouTube

From that point, I decided to educate myself in order to help improve my DD's hitting. I found - as plenty before me have - that the DBSF, arm-powered, bat-draggy swing is THE most common swing pattern for young girls who haven't been taught otherwise. Thankfully, there is a cure...

Turn the barrel

There are LOTS of threads here about the topic. Read. Learn. Absorb. Ask questions. We're here to help. The BEST thing you can do to help your DD is to start educating yourself.

If your DD is hitting the ball hard already, this is a good sign that she's strong and athletic. Helping get her swing working in a better pattern will be a positive step towards making her even more powerful and consistent at the plate.

As for listening to dad, this is a battle we all face when working with our own young DDs. I have come to the conclusion that the closer the relationship, the less they are willing to listen. In my own experience ,the biggest challenge is finding a way to convey all this complex information in a way that can be understood by a young mind. Sometimes, the dots don't connect until weeks - months, maybe - later. Remember that there is a long road ahead of you, and the changes you will be trying to make don't happen instantly. Keep at it, and keep it fun.

Also...Welcome to DFP!

 

[FrozenRope]

She looks like she's got a decent swing for a young girl. What I would attribute as her biggest flaw right now (as I've been mentioning in a few other posts) is she's trying to start her swing when the ball is already in the air and she decides it's a hittable pitch. It looks like a panic stricken hurry up and get that bat out there. In my opinion, if you worked with her on getting her swing started a little earlier, she would be just fine. There's no load, coil, or tempo to her swing because all she's got time to do right now is just what Eric describes. Drop the barrel and let it fly....and she's still late. Once she starts timing the pitches a bit better, you're going to see a HUGE improvement. Then you can start tweaking mechanics.

Try the drills in here...post 1 and 10 http://www.discussfastpitch.com/softball-hitting-practical/18038-need-help.html

 

[Schwepped]

I agree with what both of you have said. These are both things I've been trying to correct with her. Frozen Rope what you've said is what's been driving me nuts big time. She doesn't start until after release so when she is playing up in 10's on her off days she rarely can keep up with the ball because she starts so late. There is no rythem to her swing, she's even taken her stride out of her swing on her own to try to speed things up. I would like to see a toe touch at the pitchers release or a hair before to get her rhythm and timing.

 

[Schwepped]

Here is a video from last years All Stars.
Emily's swing AS2013 - YouTube

 

[Eric F]

For getting her swing started at the right time, she needs to learn a new mind-set...

Expect that EVERY pitch with be one to hit, and only stop when you see that it's out of the zone.

Starting the swing process takes a long time. Stopping is fast. You MUST get the process started EVERY time or your swing will be rushed/panicked and good mechanics will disappear.

Mig starts exactly the same on EVERY pitch...

The other part of the equation is having swing mechanics that allow the hitter to see the ball well before committing. An arm-powered, DBSF swing includes a lot of hand travel and arm movement to swing the bat. Hand travel and arm movement is slow. Barrel travel caused by the hands pivoting while connected to the rotation of the torso creates a short hand path. A short hand path is a key part of a quick swing.

Mig again...

The bat rotates around the HPP (hand pivot point) - turning rearward first, in an arc to contact. Hand travel is out-from the rear shoulder. The hands do not move backwards behind the rear shoulder or forwards across the centerline of the chest (until after contact).

 

[lhowser]

Take a moment and consider comparing hitting to throwing.

Look at your daughters swing and how she starts a such a static position and then tries to swing and turn all at once. Now try to throw the ball that way...you can't do it effectively.

Now throw the ball. Feel the sequence of coiling around the back hip, striding while making a negative move with the upper body and then at toe touch releasing all of that energy into the throw. It's a rhythm. Now create that same pattern with your swing.

Look at some of the model swings and look for that rhythm and pattern. Understand that idea and you will be well on your way.

 

[Schwepped]

Well she had her first hitting lesson tonight and a lot of the focus was eliminating DBSF as well as rolling over and over rotating. She took instruction very well which I expected from her. She usually does when it's from someone else. Here's a clip of her tee work this evening.
Emily Tee Work - YouTube

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Static start, lacks sequence, lacks rhythm and drags the barrel.

 

[Eric F]

Well she had her first hitting lesson tonight and a lot of the focus was eliminating DBSF as well as rolling over and over rotating. She took instruction very well which I expected from her. She usually does when it's from someone else. Here's a clip of her tee work this evening.
Emily Tee Work - YouTube

They ALWAYS listen to coaches more than dads.

What I'm seeing is a new pattern starting to be created...out-front bat speed, hands leading the swing, pushing the knob to the ball.

This is the goal...

Turn the barrel behind the corner - early bat speed, hands connected to rotation of torso, hands are the pivot point for bat rotation, barrel is whipped through contact, hands stay back as hips start to rotate.