- Apr 18, 2015
- 54
- 6
With my 10U DD, I have been using the Nike symbol as a visual in her mind, short to the ball, on plane to contact, with a slight upward swing on the follow through.
Be careful with allowing that attitude towards her teammates to develop. They might not be at her level, but they are still her teammates.
Last spring, my DD played her final season of rec. Maddie was not only the best player on her team, but one of the top 2 players in the league in 10U. We knew that the game wouldn't be particularly challenging from a physical aspect, so we found a new focus - leadership. She learned a lot about how to be a leader on the field, and in the dugout. We talked a lot about how a good player works on elevating their own game, but a good leader works on elevating the level of their entire team. She was a good example of hard work and dedication during practices, she inspired her teammates to push themselves towards her level, and she made efforts to help the new players learn the skills of the game. As the catcher, she learned how to really be the Field General during games, and how to get the best from her pitchers. One of the best compliments I've ever heard about Maddie came from the mom of a first-time player. She called Maddie "patient and gracious". Her development as a ballplayer took a significant step forward that season.
Now, some hitting thoughts which I try to avoid. The vast majority of swings involve what many players describe as "swinging down on the ball" which, in reality is swinging on an upward plane. I understand the geometry of those critical and want the pitch plane to match the swing plane but in softball, that ball is coming slightly upward unless it is a high riseball and will level out at some point. I am not a proponent of swinging down like chopping a tree down. I've posted a couple of swings of my dd before on this site. I've posted some stills. My dd's back shoulder is definitely tilted downward and significantly below her front shoulder.
I don't know what you mean by slower coach pitch? She never played slower pitch from a coach. She hits front toss from me and so, that is the slowest she ever sees. My dd trained to beat the best from the start. She was hitting an old Jugs machine turned up to "60" from 35 feet at a very young age. Now, we all know that those old jugs machines didn't throw 60 on those old settings but still, that is what she trained on. She was taught that if/when she faced slower pitching, look to sit on the ball and drive the ball to right. Trying to pull slow pitching is a recipe for disaster. She was taught to drive the change up up the middle at the pitcher.
As an FYI, look at my signature. I've grown tired of trying to convince anyone that what I did with my dd was beneficial and could help their child. I've grown tired of defending how I taught her so I make posts and state what we do/did. My new advice, and included on my signature, is to avoid my recommendations.
They were getting all of the ball pretty much every time.
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've never seen a softball player get all of the ball and hit an infield popup. I'd like to see video of that. It's certainly possible to have too much upper-cut and to drop the shoulder too soon, however.
Yep. That's what I thought. If you're going to coach pitch. Get it there on a near straight line. Not a rainbow.IMO, any coach that throws a ball on an arc to any hitter be it baseball or softball does not know what they are doing. It makes it significantly harder to hit that ball. It also makes teaching the swing a lot harder for those attempting to give lessons. JMHO!