How and what to teach

[redhotcoach]

Young girls need some basics. What are some core, easy to understand advice, lessons, dvd recommendations, step by step teaching, and etc that a basic parent could teach their daughter that will have their slugging % blowing away the rest of the kids.

 

[redhotcoach]

Just have my iphone so can't post any vids right now.

Everyone says "build the swing from the bottom up." 3/4 of the girls I work with are playing daily and weekly when I work with them. Its just simply that they have other things going on to work alot in the off season. So I start with fixing a few things before building.
Bug squishing, are they just spinning on their back foot?
Casting, are their hands staying close to their shoulder?
Bat drag, are their elbows getting way ahead and they are dragging the bat through the zone.
Head, is it staying still, not dipping or bobbing or spinning.
Balance, are they falling over, do they stay between their knees.

After fixing major flaws, and building new habits, then we work on building power and speed.

 

[CoachChuck]

Young girls need some basics. What are some core, easy to understand advice, lessons, dvd recommendations, step by step teaching, and etc that a basic parent could teach their daughter that will have their slugging % blowing away the rest of the kids.

Teach them to find a good pitch to hit.

GoingDeep has a nice post on how to in this thread...

http://www.discussfastpitch.com/softball-hitting-practical/11732-bad-pitch-selection.html

Your mechanics don't help much when you swing at bad pitches.

 

[42'sdad]

Just have my iphone so can't post any vids right now.

Everyone says "build the swing from the bottom up." 3/4 of the girls I work with are playing daily and weekly when I work with them. Its just simply that they have other things going on to work alot in the off season. So I start with fixing a few things before building.
Bug squishing, are they just spinning on their back foot?
Casting, are their hands staying close to their shoulder?
Bat drag, are their elbows getting way ahead and they are dragging the bat through the zone.
Head, is it staying still, not dipping or bobbing or spinning.
Balance, are they falling over, do they stay between their knees.

After fixing major flaws, and building new habits, then we work on building power and speed.

I agree with all those and work on them too BUT, I still think the most important part of the swing is the mental approach!! She can have the best swing ever, but if she won't use it, it was all for nothing!!

Personally I think tee work is one of the most important drill that often gets left out. While I'm working with my girls, I'm constantly talking with them about their attitude in the box. I want them to own that box and expect to be swinging on EVERY pitch, until something says NO. When the pitcher starts to move, so do you.

 

[redhotcoach]

FIXES: SQUISHING THE BUG!

Spinning and squishing the bug is one of the biggest problems with young girls hitting. I believe 99% of it comes from parents and hitting coaches preaching "use your hips, rotate you hips". Yes you rotate hips in a good swing, but early on is not the time to teach it, and just saying "rotate the hips" usually leads to spinning and squashing the bug.

Here is an idiot teaching it. Which is also a good lesson on DFP, just because someone writes long posts, doesn't mean what they say is true...DEMAND EVIDENCE.

Video: Turning the Back Foot to Hit a Baseball | eHow.com

Ms Lunceford does not spin on her back foot. Her back foot is unweighted at contact.

Annie Lockwood uses her lower half a little different then Lunceford, but once again you can see it is unweighted at contact.

A hitter needs to put force toward driving the ball up the middle, right back from where it came. Spinning on your back foot sends some of that energy backwards.


The walk through drill, while designed to work on other things, I find is a good drill to break a bug squishing habit.