Hitting up vs. hitting through

[CoogansBluff]

I just called the coach of one of the teams and apparently I wasn't exaggerating. They are teaching them to drop the shoulder to drive the ball high to encourage itp home runs. "We want sluggers for the tournament in Florida. It looks bad now, but just wait til they are sending them out!" Me:....Ok good luck with that!

I trust that what you're watching are not good swings. If it looks awkward and inept, it probably is.

But, if they are teaching players to have their shoulders tilted at contact (as opposed to level), then that would be correct, IMO. Hitters should drop their shoulders, just not during the stride or forward weight shift (although I've seen a couple of softball exceptions). Shoulder drop or tilt should occur during the shoulder/torso rotation.

Pujols below is able to create a slightly upward (Nike-shaped) swing path in part because of shoulder tilt.

 

[dadofadirtlover]

I trust that what you're watching are not good swings. If it looks awkward and inept, it probably is.

But, if they are teaching players to have their shoulders tilted at contact (as opposed to level), then that would be correct, IMO. Hitters should drop their shoulders, just not during the stride or forward weight shift (although I've seen a couple of softball exceptions). Shoulder drop or tilt should occur during the shoulder/torso rotation.

Pujols below is able to create a slightly upward (Nike-shaped) swing path in part because of shoulder tilt.

As stated before in a previous post, this was apparently the 1st scrimmage of the year, so that could be the bulk of the issue. Learning a new concept and it takes time to implement or something. Idk....just looked odd to my untrained eye.

 

[dadofadirtlover]

It probably would help for your daughter (and all players) to understand what rec ball is. It's what you make of it. If a kid wants to miss half the practices, or not give it 100 percent, or never practice on their own, that's their choice, within reason. The only consequences are that the player might not play as much in games, but they're not going to get kicked off the team. Their parents pay their money, and their kids have a right to be there.

Travel ball exists to address those problems. Travel ball is designed to bring together players of similar talents and motivational levels. Players don't have a right to be on travel teams. They are invited, and they can be dismissed.

So that's another way of explaining it to your DD. This is what rec ball is. You can't change rec ball, and you can't tell rec players what to make of their rec ball experience. But you can choose whether or not to play rec ball.

The practice ball goes to you sir. Today was the first full team practice in about a week. Practice was the same type of practice as usual. Nothing out of the ordinary and we didn't introduce anything new. Just more of a tuneup before our scrimmage. So, I put everything in the trunk and got in the car prepared to hear DD "vent". Nothing. Literally nothing. It was so quiet, I had to ask her how practice was, which I never get a chance to do normally. DD: Practice was awesome today. You were right. It's not (teammate's name)'s fault that I love softball and she is stuck playing.