Hitting coaches' philosophy beyond hitting mechanics

[softballphreak]

Best way, find an instructor with lots of energy who will pitch (throw the ball underhand) to your DD from behind a screen (from about half the normal distance) for most of the hour long lesson. Have the instructor throw to all locations (balls and strikes, inside, outside, up and down) and have her give hitting advice as needed throughout the whole drill. Sounds simple, but it is very effective because the student will see 100s of pitches in a short amount of time, will learn to layoff balls out of the strike zone, and will need a fast bat to make contact because of the shorter distance the ball travels. Repetition and correction. DDs hitting instructor does this drill almost every lesson and it works very well. Better hitting produces confidence and confidence is the key to better hitting.

Yes! The more incoming pitches you see the better. And they don't necessarily have to be at game speed to be effective. Also, an excellent opportunity to make video of the swing to review with the player. And compare to later video to see progress.

 

[RookKev]

This has been the primary technique used with my DD. Instructor did some side toss and worked on some setup stuff. The got very hands on and held the bat showing her the path to bring it through...then lots of half distance underhand lobs. Bucket after bucket, blisters upon blisters, to begin. Now she is moving back another step or two and windmilling some to her. It is coming along well, and dd is growing in confidence. Drilling balls into that screen has a crazy sense of accomplishment!

 

[RayR]

Front toss is a great way to see locations and learn to not let the ball get too deep...truth is that players have developed their own swing and many times as an instructor your job is to be able to work with the swing they already have and tweak so it is productive....unless the player is there for a complete overhaul (not too common)....

I had one player this past winter with a bad case of bat drag....very athletic, but dropped the hands and was late on everything....we worked hard on one thought.....hands beat the rear elbow....this one queue helped her start hitting ball out around her front foot and be able to drive the ball....from what I have heard she is leading her team in hitting this summer....in PA a couple of weeks ago she led off 3 out of fisrt 4 games with a HR....she came to me for a tuneup before the PA tourney....I didn't really want to screw with her too much since she was hitting well....reminded her to stay taller (had a habit of diving over the plate occasionally) and then taught her how to bunt for a basehit the rest of the lesson....to answer the OP....she doesn't swing like I exactly want her to, but why try and fix what aint broke....

 

[SBFAMILY]

Dana glad to have you back posting. This is another hitting coach that I respect, like Howard , and call a friend. Your home area up here is as hot as Texas.

 

[softballphreak]

Thanks for the response. Just trying to understand that if a coach thinks that the female body is athletically different than males than why wouldn't you teach different swing set-up and swing mechanics for females to get the most out of their bodies?

Maybe I am just ignorant, but I personally think that all kids, boy or girls, come in different shapes and sizes but there are some absolutles to hitting mechanics that both sexes should be taught regardless of gender.

My DS has a girl who plays on his baseball team. The coaches teach her the exact same hitting, throwing, running, fielding mechanics, etc. as the ones the boys are taught. She is a wonderful player and I have not seen any downside to teaching her just like the boys. Maybe when she becomes a teenager and her body changes, things might be different and require different teachings? I really don't know the answer to that but I am only a volunteer coach and not a paid professional.

I agree with this. The gender difference emphasis is one of my main peeves. I'm aware that we should be concerned with the physical safety of players. But this should apply to all players. I also know that the risk is greater for female players than male players at some level. But that does not mean players are at great risk—male or female.

Maybe I'm too sensitive to the issue because of the fact that when fastpitch first started in our area we were taught that girls couldn't do this, that, or the other like the boys so we taught them "shortcuts" to get the job done. For example, abbreviated swings, where they lay the bat against their bicep so they could get to the ball on time. And there was other junk.

It's fine, and very important, to teach safety, but don't mix it into every discussion on teaching hitting. No matter how good the instruction is, to me it's very distracting to have female "differences" thrown into the mix. I know it's unintentional, but it leaves a small taste of "girls are inferior" and that leaves a bad taste. Girls are as capable of achieving their goals as anyone. I know no one means to send that message but it's there when it's mixed in with instruction.

 

[RayR]

Anyone who has had the pleasure watching Bustos or Mendoza hit up close realizes that a softball/baseball swing does not discrimate against gender....good point....

I agree with this. The gender difference emphasis is one of my main peeves. I'm aware that we should be concerned with the physical safety of players. But this should apply to all players. I also know that the risk is greater for female players than male players at some level. But that does not mean players are at great risk—male or female.

Maybe I'm too sensitive to the issue because of the fact that when fastpitch first started in our area we were taught that girls couldn't do this, that, or the other like the boys so we taught them "shortcuts" to get the job done. For example, abbreviated swings, where they lay the bat against their bicep so they could get to the ball on time. And there was other junk.

It's fine, and very important, to teach safety, but don't mix it into every discussion on teaching hitting. No matter how good the instruction is, to me it's very distracting to have female "differences" thrown into the mix. I know it's unintentional, but it leaves a small taste of "girls are inferior" and that leaves a bad taste. Girls are as capable of achieving their goals as anyone. I know no one means to send that message but it's there when it's mixed in with instruction.

 

[ifubuildit]

Hi Dan

I have really been too busy to spend time on any bulletin board. I thought I would stop in and see whats going on in here since its been a while. Hope to get up your way again this year in the fall.

Dana.

 

[SBFAMILY]

I feel lucky to have got to talk to some of the best female players that play the game. Almost all well tell you they wish they knew now what is being taught by the best hitting instructors, because they would not have gone thru the injuries they suffered playing the game. I have never heard any hitting instructor say girls can't do something. I think any hitting instructor that works with females should understand some basic issues. I would be the first one to admit I never thought of some of them till I worked with a professional trainer. 1. Issue at a select time of the month, females should be very careful, since most knee injuries happen then. Interesting enough female coaches understand this . This was pointed out at our PEP program and they have studies that support the data. So should we ignore this information, or share it . I know we all complain about coaches that still teach like it's 1990 and one of the things that cause girls to have knee injuries was squish the bug. If you read how the knee is weaker in females on my prior post, think what this action does to the knee area. This is just one of the many things that tears away the knee over the years . I could list a bunch more practices that we did to kids that was just wrong and probably caused a kid to suffer an injury when they got older. The recipe for ACL issues is being baked and when it gets served up it is a disaster.

I will let Dana address the other pet peeve of hitting coaches that have kids hit punching bags and basketballs.

 

[RayR]

Would be interested to hear exactly what methods of hitting cause knee injuries....

I feel lucky to have got to talk to some of the best female players that play the game. Almost all well tell you they wish they knew now what is being taught by the best hitting instructors, because they would not have gone thru the injuries they suffered playing the game. I have never heard any hitting instructor say girls can't do something. I think any hitting instructor that works with females should understand some basic issues. I would be the first one to admit I never thought of some of them till I worked with a professional trainer. 1. Issue at a select time of the month, females should be very careful, since most knee injuries happen then. Interesting enough female coaches understand this . This was pointed out at our PEP program and they have studies that support the data. So should we ignore this information, or share it . I know we all complain about coaches that still teach like it's 1990 and one of the things that cause girls to have knee injuries was squish the bug. If you read how the knee is weaker in females on my prior post, think what this action does to the knee area. This is just one of the many things that tears away the knee over the years . I could list a bunch more practices that we did to kids that was just wrong and probably caused a kid to suffer an injury when they got older. The recipe for ACL issues is being baked and when it gets served up it is a disaster.

I will let Dana address the other pet peeve of hitting coaches that have kids hit punching bags and basketballs.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

I agree with this. The gender difference emphasis is one of my main peeves. I'm aware that we should be concerned with the physical safety of players. But this should apply to all players. I also know that the risk is greater for female players than male players at some level. But that does not mean players are at great risk—male or female.

Maybe I'm too sensitive to the issue because of the fact that when fastpitch first started in our area we were taught that girls couldn't do this, that, or the other like the boys so we taught them "shortcuts" to get the job done. For example, abbreviated swings, where they lay the bat against their bicep so they could get to the ball on time. And there was other junk.

It's fine, and very important, to teach safety, but don't mix it into every discussion on teaching hitting. No matter how good the instruction is, to me it's very distracting to have female "differences" thrown into the mix. I know it's unintentional, but it leaves a small taste of "girls are inferior" and that leaves a bad taste. Girls are as capable of achieving their goals as anyone. I know no one means to send that message but it's there when it's mixed in with instruction.

Very well stated Softballphreak.