Help with Hitting- Lefty Power hitter

[BB875]

It is true that 'bat drag' ridden swings can be powerful ... very powerful in fact ... but like you described, such swing mechanics will go through periods of struggle.

Clean up the 'bat drag'.

Thanks FFS. Do you have any specific drills you recommend?

 

[Mark H]

Drills without education are like a race car in the hands of a fifteen year old. If you ARE going to try his drills, post the early attempts on here and let him critique the way she is doing them.

 

[Mark H]

I have coached her for about a year and a half. She is very powerful, and my #1 catcher. She tends to get underneath everything which produces a backspin on the ball every time..

Irrelevant. Teach her how to swing a bat reasonably well and then the results become relevant. Right now she's not remotely close. Given she's a good defensive catcher she REALLY REALLY should be helped with her swing

After I made this post, her mom told me she's started seeing a local hitting instructor I know well and is highly respected. So, I also got some advice from the hitting coach what they have been trying to work on.

Compare anything the instructor, FFS, myself or anyone else tells you about how to swing a bat to lots of video of elite hitters. Let that be your truth detector. You can get five people with great resumes to tell you five different ways a bat should be swung. Use video to sort them out. The folks on here can cover you up with clips of elite hitters. I offered a link earlier in the thread. Do your due diligence first or leave her alone. Good for you for caring. I'm trying to keep you from operating before you get your medical degree while I encourage you to fix your lack of knowledge in order to better help the kids you coach.

 

[Eric F]

A great resource for comparing swings...NOONTIME BASEBALL | HEY BATTER BATTER… GIF BATTER!

 

[Mark H]

Like I said, this crew can cover you up with clips. How hard you willing to work?

 

[Eric F]

Thanks FFS. Do you have any specific drills you recommend?

The BEST thing you can do is start educating yourself. Read, read, read, ask questions, try things for yourself, read more, ask more questions. A couple of good topics to work on understanding first are proper sequence (order of movements), and hand use.

That said, there is some good stuff in this...

 

[tjintx]

Just curious Eric, What do you see as the good stuff in that video?

 

[rdbass]

Hope HC will address the dropping of the hands and the 'level' to the ground/ball swing. I would like to see a swing not hitting TCBalls. Hoping it might be different with regard to the lower body usage.

She tends to get underneath everything which produces a backspin on the ball every time..

Yep, dropping hands and level to the ground swings will do that to a hitter.

 

[ian]

You came to the right place for help OP. Lots of knowledgable folks here. Mark H has given good advice IMO.

I have a lefty bat dragger with pop and I am trying to cure that. So im watching hoping for some good tips or cues.

A couple of things I might try(in no particular order) with your student would be to tell her to finish higher. Get the follow through higher.

Another thing I was told here was my daughter needs to be introduced to her hands. I started focusing on the role that the hands play In the swing, five helped me with that. My daughter uses her legs and core but her hands would lag behind. I started using the cue 'use your hands to catch the barrel up with your hips'. This seemed to help the most. I tried the cue 'use your hands to 'turn the barrel' or 'turn the corner' but I didnt explain it right or she wasnt getting it.


For the lower half, which is where you should probably start (start at the ground and work your way up) do some happy gilmore tee shots(finish high). This will get her feet working and hopefully get her off that back foot. Some folks like a quiet lower half (easier to teach, less moving parts) but I see many big time hitters that get their back foot moving forward during their swing. Work towards that. I see a little 'squish the bug' with the back foot and that is no no numero uno.

I dont know if any of that makes sense.

Another thing that I have seen help my DD in the shortest amount of time is footwork drills. Google 'ladder drills' or speed and agility drills these will not only help with hitting but all aspects of her game from base running to catching.

Im no pro so dont take my word as the gospel.
She is lucky to have a coach who is proactive in helping her improve.

 

[Buttermaker]

Ian - don't take this the wrong way. But, if you are using your core correctly there is no way the hands lag behind.

For example - a hitter may be using the torso to turn really fast so the appearance is that they are using their core - but in reality they are just turning all of their muscles in one direction and yes the hands can and will be left behind.

The core works more in terms of resistance - one batch of muscles are pulling in one direction while another batch is working in another direction.