Hitting critiqu 12u.

[treeguy]

I just found this site a few weeks ago, and have learned a lot from you guys. I'm looking for a little input on my DD's swing. She just started going to a hiiting coach a couple of weeks ago. We are really revamping her swing. She's struggled with the changes a little, but coming along okay. Just wanted some expert opinions on what things look like they need attention. Thanks for any input.

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[Ken Krause]

I got a message that this is a private video, so was unable to watch. I'd love to view and comment, but you have to make it public first. Thanks.

 

[treeguy]

Sorry about that, should be working now.

 

[lhowser]

Looks nice off the tee. Have you been able to compare video off pitching and game footage? If she is swinging like this in the game and getting to the ball with confidence i bet she is doing prtetty well.

 

[treeguy]

Looks nice off the tee. Have you been able to compare video off pitching and game footage? If she is swinging like this in the game and getting to the ball with confidence i bet she is doing prtetty well.

She has always hit the ball very well, just not with the most technically sound swing. She had slowly developed some bad habits over the fall and winter. She was getting her lower half WAY ahead of her upper body. She ended up swinging with mostly arms by the time she made contact. She hasn't done a a lot of live hitting since working with the hitting coach. I'm a little nervous of how she'll do. I expect she might fall back on her old swing in a game situation, or have too many things running through her head and struggle at the plate. Hopefully I'll get a chance to get some live pitching video soon.

 

[go4fpsb]

She has always hit the ball very well, just not with the most technically sound swing. She had slowly developed some bad habits over the fall and winter. She was getting her lower half WAY ahead of her upper body. She ended up swinging with mostly arms by the time she made contact. She hasn't done a a lot of live hitting since working with the hitting coach. I'm a little nervous of how she'll do. I expect she might fall back on her old swing in a game situation, or have too many things running through her head and struggle at the plate. Hopefully I'll get a chance to get some live pitching video soon.

Treeguy, Two things I see. One is posture at contact which she needs to address when she takes her stance. As Hitter teaches, bend at the waist and soften the knees but don't curve the back to get into position. If you watch her at the beginning of the first clip she only bends her knees and sits a little into a stance. She needs to be more athletic with her setup which will allow her to improve her shoulder and spine angle at contact. I think she is a bit flat at contact, not enough tilt to get into the plane of the pitch. Also have her stride to land on the inside of her foot with the little toe and heel slightly up off the ground. As she strides the front knee should be pointed in a little to help load the hips. Landing slightly closed keeps the hip from unloading too early. As she starts her swing and hip rotation her heel will plant into the 45 degree position and allow the hips to unload. In the second clip her tilt looks a little better but still could be better. Her bat path needs to be a little more uphill. The ball flight off her bat is slightly down when she hits the ball squarely. She does a good job of not swinging down on the ball, just needs to improve what she is doing. Get the ball to fly with a slightly upward path. Line drives and home runs. She does a lot right to my eye.

 

[treeguy]

Treeguy, Two things I see. One is posture at contact which she needs to address when she takes her stance. As Hitter teaches, bend at the waist and soften the knees but don't curve the back to get into position. If you watch her at the beginning of the first clip she only bends her knees and sits a little into a stance. She needs to be more athletic with her setup which will allow her to improve her shoulder and spine angle at contact. I think she is a bit flat at contact, not enough tilt to get into the plane of the pitch. Also have her stride to land on the inside of her foot with the little toe and heel slightly up off the ground. As she strides the front knee should be pointed in a little to help load the hips. Landing slightly closed keeps the hip from unloading too early. As she starts her swing and hip rotation her heel will plant into the 45 degree position and allow the hips to unload. In the second clip her tilt looks a little better but still could be better. Her bat path needs to be a little more uphill. The ball flight off her bat is slightly down when she hits the ball squarely. She does a good job of not swinging down on the ball, just needs to improve what she is doing. Get the ball to fly with a slightly upward path. Line drives and home runs. She does a lot right to my eye.

Two of the very things that her hitting coach as been asking her to work on. She was originally taught to squish the bug and take the hands straight to the ball. Resulting in a downward swing and a lot of grounders to the SS. She's doing much better at keeping her hands above the ball now compared to where she was. Still have some more to go though. We'll continue to work on the things you mentioned. Thanks for your input.

 

[Chris O'Leary]

In the CF view, you can see some tilt and plane issues.

Basically, her spine is too erect at the Point Of Contact (because it's too erect at set-up), so she has to drop her hands a bit and her shoulders and bat are rotating in two slightly different planes.

I'd love to see a CF view of her hitting a low strike. I bet she'd drop her hands to get down to the ball.

She needs to tilt over the plate more and then stay tilted.

P.S. She looks athletic, and moves well, but she's going to have to overcome some stuff.

P.P.S. I just noticed in the first swing of the CF view that her back elbow is leaking forward quite a bit at the POC.

 

[Chris O'Leary]

To go with what I said above, in the clip above two things really pop out to me.

1. She pops up through the POC, which suggests a posture problem.

2. Her plane issue isn't as bad at the POC as I first thought, but that's because her POC isn't where it should be. Notice how far her back elbow has slid forward at the POC, which puts her in a very awkward position.

3. The frame right after the POC says, 'Dropping the hands," to me.

4. Her spine is too upright at the POC, even for a pitch up.

P.S. Again, I'd like to see a CF view of her hitting a strike at the bottom of the zone. Odds are the results would be ugly.

 

[treeguy]

Thanks for the info Chris. Will definitely work on her posture. We have been changing a lot and have a lot still to work on. I'll really try to emphasize to her not be so upright. And yes, when working on inside outside pitches at practice, she struggle with the low and away pitch. She almost tries to pull it instead of going the opposite way.
What program do you use to slow down the video? I wanted to do that myself but was having trouble with the program I have. Thanks again for the help.