How often should your DD take hitting lessons?

[PEPPERS]

GOINGDEEP

Her batting has a glitch, she is way ahead of the ball. In 12 games she hasn't struck out but everything is down 3rd base line or LF, she's always been a dead puller but this is even worse. I can't even count how many LF foul balls she has hit.

If there is a magic potion to hitting it has to contain dedication and hard work. IMO pulling balls foul is either a timing issue or more likely having the barrel of the bat too far in front of the hands which can result in hitting around the ball.

Something I would suggest is what I call the long tee which is hitting a ball from a tee and trying to hit the ball up the middle or to the oposite side of the field, I like doing it into an open field and look for balls tailing off to one side or the other. It can be done in a cage, but feed back in a field is better. Have her extension to the portion of the field she is hitting, bat and back shoe laces points toward the direction she is hitting. You can also do soft toss tossing the ball in the middle of the plate or to the outside, again hit with the goal of up the middle or opposite field. You want to see very little tailing of the ball.

Things to think about; keep hands inside the ball, Elbow first, then Knob and Barel to contact.

 

[GOINGDEEP]

GOINGDEEP


If there is a magic potion to hitting it has to contain dedication and hard work. IMO pulling balls foul is either a timing issue or more likely having the barrel of the bat too far in front of the hands which can result in hitting around the ball.

Something I would suggest is what I call the long tee which is hitting a ball from a tee and trying to hit the ball up the middle or to the oposite side of the field, I like doing it into an open field and look for balls tailing off to one side or the other. It can be done in a cage, but feed back in a field is better. Have her extension to the portion of the field she is hitting, bat and back shoe laces points toward the direction she is hitting. You can also do soft toss tossing the ball in the middle of the plate or to the outside, again hit with the goal of up the middle or opposite field. You want to see very little tailing of the ball.

Things to think about; keep hands inside the ball, Elbow first, then Knob and Barel to contact.

Thanks Peppers

We are going to the cages and field today since she has no HS practice. Got that 3 day big tourney starting tomorrow I posted a thread on a week ago. I will give your idea a try. My friend who runs the pitting/hitting academe came to watch her last night, mechanics are sound he says. ( I wanted the "buddy" system in case he saw something a father can't )

I just got off the phone with him and this is what we discussed................

You know they always say a broke bone or injured body part grows back stronger. I think that has happened to her left arm after the cuff tear, the muscles in that arm are more defined than her right now. ( for a woman ) When we started back pitching ( late November 2011 ) she had lost down to 51 MPH. Monday night I gunned her at 60, she has never hit 60 before.

He agrees with you it's her timing. Her dominate left arm ( she's a lefty / bats RT ) is pulling the bat through faster than it has in the past. And she is going to need to "retrain" her swing to compensate. So we are going to work on that tonight.

Same thing last night as far as hitting

Single hard shot to 3rd
Flew out to LF
Double to LF
Sac fly to LF
*9 foul balls over left field fence

 

[Bouldersdad]

Thanks Peppers

We are going to the cages and field today since she has no HS practice. Got that 3 day big tourney starting tomorrow I posted a thread on a week ago. I will give your idea a try. My friend who runs the pitting/hitting academe came to watch her last night, mechanics are sound he says. ( I wanted the "buddy" system in case he saw something a father can't )

I just got off the phone with him and this is what we discussed................

You know they always say a broke bone or injured body part grows back stronger. I think that has happened to her left arm after the cuff tear, the muscles in that arm are more defined than her right now. ( for a woman ) When we started back pitching ( late November 2011 ) she had lost down to 51 MPH. Monday night I gunned her at 60, she has never hit 60 before.

He agrees with you it's her timing. Her dominate left arm ( she's a lefty / bats RT ) is pulling the bat through faster than it has in the past. And she is going to need to "retrain" her swing to compensate. So we are going to work on that tonight.

Same thing last night as far as hitting

Single hard shot to 3rd
Flew out to LF
Double to LF
Sac fly to LF
*9 foul balls over left field fence

She is dead pull hitting, it could be something as simple as bat head release or it could be a weight shift issue, I would have her hit the ball on the inside first , force the bat head to release further in the zone and see if the balls start to creep back towards center. I see it happen all the time as kids lose their weight shift the body compensates. As far as pulling to hard with the front arm. Thats a good thing as long as its not her front shoulder getting her to contact instead of her front elbow. Keep us informed, would be interested in hearing what the verdict is.

Tim

 

[straightleg]

Joemcq51 ... once/wk is typical. Wouldn't recommend less. Some see me twice/wk on a regular basis, and those have improved nicely IMO. In preparation for an event (e.g., playing in a national tournament, HS tryouts, ASA tryouts) some will spend 5 or more days/wk for 2-weeks with me in private 1hr sessions ... and the better ones chart out a plan months in advance (one kid/dad 6 months in advance) where they'll visited at least 2-3 x/wk.

Once/wk is about ideal. Gives you time to seek fundamental instruction, to work on points-of-emphasis outside of formal instruction, to take your experiences throughout the week and seek improvement during the weekly hitting instruction, and to get other things accomplished in your life.

10+ days in a row with you. What does something like that cost??
Is there a payment plan?

Know someone who might fly out.



SL

 

[Ken Krause]

I generally tell the parents once a week is sufficient with me. The important thing will be what happens in between visits.

A good hitting coach will see things most people won't. He/she will be able to help the hitter get the fundamentals right while allowing for differences in body types, strength, height, weight, etc. Getting the basics right isn't the challenge. It's what happens after you get the basics down that makes the difference. I find there's always something to tweak.

Creating a good hitter is kind of like building a high-performance race car. The pit crews are constantly tweaking this or that to try to wring a few extra mph out of that engine.

In The Talent Code, the author says that research shows one of the keys to developing a high-level anything is quality and frequent coaching -- someone to guide the player/artist/musician and ensure that he/she is continuing to practice properly on his/her own. It can be a parent if the parent knows what he/she is doing -- I worked with all of my kids -- but most don't.

 

[GOINGDEEP]

Hitting went good tonight. Used some advice from my fellow members.

Got a bigger fish to fry, just found out gonna face a stud tomorrow in an away tourney in a pitching dual. My Undefeated big lefty against Middle TN #1 ranked pitcher On maxpreps. Opposing stats over 1000 career K's, last 2 games 30 K's, last two seasons pitching record of 82-10, signed to UT, 2011 set national single season for strike outs.

I'll let all of you know results ( with online proof ) win, lose, or draw.

 

[DonnieS]

As a pitcher's dad, I totally agree with gd, what a joke going on a regular basis to professional hitting coaches. What a waste of time and money ! Let DOD (dear old dad) teach, everyone knows that a kid takes lessons and instructions best from DOD, specially one who learned how to hit 25-30 years ago. Nothing has changed in that time, still hitting a ball with a bat, duh. Quit wasting that money, what do all the professional teams, the top college teams , the elite 18g and premier teams know, that DOD doesnt already know.

 

[GOINGDEEP]

As a pitcher's dad, I totally agree with gd, what a joke going on a regular basis to professional hitting coaches. What a waste of time and money ! Let DOD (dear old dad) teach, everyone knows that a kid takes lessons and instructions best from DOD, specially one who learned how to hit 25-30 years ago. Nothing has changed in that time, still hitting a ball with a bat, duh. Quit wasting that money, what do all the professional teams, the top college teams , the elite 18g and premier teams know, that DOD doesnt already know.

Haha, I do enjoy the sarcasm. But I think people like yourself are missing my whole point. When I grew up we didn't have a "hitting or pitching" coach on every corner like they do now.

How did we learn? From sweat and hard work, the basics were taught to us by my father ( who still plays at 68 YO for fun ) who used most of the same principles 40 years ago that we talk about on here in the present tense. Only difference is we give them the fancy little names on the forum. DOD ( dear old dad ) did pretty well in my book, my brother and I never went to an official HC or PC and yet we both played D1 baseball. I owe it all to my father who loved us and this game enough to spend his free time teaching.

So I try to "play it forward", pass on the skills I acquired to my daughter. No fancy word besides I love her and enjoy the hours of training we spend together. While the rest of you are watching American Idol or Teenage Moms, we are spending bonding moments "working" that will last a lifetime.

The stories I hear of parents driving 2 hours away ( 4 hours round trip ) for a single hour lesson, for us that would mean 5 days of multiple one on one lessons together.

I'm not a crazy nut who can't ask for help when needed. I've said this many times on here, DD never took pitching lessons but I have spent a few hours with Ernie Parker sitting on my tailgate talking and getting advice. ( free ) In this thread I stated DD had a glitch in hitting since her injury, I asked my acquaintance ( 7 years in MLB ) to come watch her Tuesday night. ( free ) I get advice from members on here. ( free )

Unfortunately people think throwing money at a problem can fix anything. Instead of investing time, resources and old fashion elbow grease.

Just like working on a car, I could take it to the dealer and say "fix this thing" and pay out my behind. But I'd rather grab my tools, get dirty, and have the pride of "I fixed this".

EDIT****

The team Lefty is pitching against today ( and hitting ) the pitcher was ranked #3 in the country on strike outs last year. I had the wrong info last night and said she was #1.

 

[PEPPERS]

As a pitcher's dad, I totally agree with gd, what a joke going on a regular basis to professional hitting coaches. What a waste of time and money ! Let DOD (dear old dad) teach, everyone knows that a kid takes lessons and instructions best from DOD, specially one who learned how to hit 25-30 years ago. Nothing has changed in that time, still hitting a ball with a bat, duh. Quit wasting that money, what do all the professional teams, the top college teams , the elite 18g and premier teams know, that DOD doesnt already know.

Are you kidding my 17 YO never listen to a thing I say!!!!!

 

[Bouldersdad]

Are you kidding my 17 YO never listen to a thing I say!!!!!

Thats why i told my oldest child when she was 18 to hurry up and move out of the house while she still knows everything. She is 26 now. And told me not to long ago what all fathers crave to hear from their kids once they have grown up...... Dad you were right............... I wanted it on film but she toid me not to push my luck.