How to tell if a bat is "dead" or if its just problems in the swing

[Little Angels Softball]

There is a pretty good chance that her coach knows she struggles with overthinking things and he is trying to help her by telling her her only problem is a dead bat. Having one problem that can be quickly remedied (new bat) just might clear her mind enough to have her start hitting well again and not worrying too much about working on a bunch of things. I've seen it work many times before, especially for girls who have hitting coaches that give them more than one thing to work on at a time.

Plus, it isn't his money.

 

[JJsqueeze]

I would take it out and hit some myself with it and a wood bat, it shouldn't take you long to see if it is dead or not.

 

[mudrunner]

I would have her take a few swings with a teammates bat and see if it makes a difference. Bats tend to be like musical chairs at our practice sometimes, but the girls get to swing different bats and sizes.

 

[KPower]

I would have her take a few swings with a teammates bat and see if it makes a difference. Bats tend to be like musical chairs at our practice sometimes, but the girls get to swing different bats and sizes.

She actually did this last week - she hit with a Xeno, an Anderson SuperNova and a DeMarini. Same result...no good hits. Then at the very end of practice she hit one bomb with her bat. But this weekend she struggled again.

I'm thinking her issues are complicated...she is a 1st year 12U player. Last year she was one of the top hitters on her team. She led the team in HRs and had the best OBP of any player on the team. She is little though (72lbs) and since she moved up to 12s she hasn't hit as well. She still has a fairly high OBP and once on base she usually makes her way around. Her coach really wants to see her start slapping because she is FAST. She decided to start working on slapping over the winter and it seems to have set her regular swing back. We decided to try to fix the regular swing and put off slapping until later...

I am thinking we are going to go ahead and buy the new bat though...she's going to need it eventually anyway!

 

[mudrunner]

She sounds a lot like my DD. She is second year 12U and about 75 lbs., but fast. In 10U she was on base constantly and a good contact hitter. First year of 12U she really struggled early with faster pitching and a little intimidation in the size difference. Not to mention she got plugged a few times early on by some hard throwers. By the end of the season she was back to form and hit somewhere around .400 as a 6th grader on the middle school team in the fall. Over winter she has worked hard on slapping, and will primarily be a slapper on her TB team this year. She worked on slapping exclusively quite a bit and it did affect her regular swing negatively. Now anytime she practices hitting it is split between the two so she can still keep decent mechanics on her regular swing.

 

[rdbass]

She actually did this last week - she hit with a Xeno, an Anderson SuperNova and a DeMarini. Same result...no good hits. Then at the very end of practice she hit one bomb with her bat. But this weekend she struggled again

Not the 'arrow' but, the 'Indian'. Pitchers get faster and better as a hitter moves up in age.

 

[Tom]

I would be surprised if a year old LXT has gone dead. Maybe developed some sort of defect, but if you don't see/hear a noticeable, crack, rattle, flex etc. I would doubt it's dead. LS is good about replacement though if you want to reassure her that the bat is good.

Before you go down the road of buying new bats and adding another variable to her hitting equation I would suggest investing some of you bat budget into a session with another hitting instructor. I am sure there are many members on here who can recommend a reputable instructor in your area. By getting a set of eyes on her who has not seen her before they may pick up on something that her regular HC is missing. A $75 investment in Zepp may be something worth looking into too. If you can eliminate any immediate mechanical issues being the cause, then you can focus solely on the mental.

One thing that did wonders for my DDs confidence when she was 11 was to have her do private BP against a good 16U pitcher who would throw regular BP and simulated game scenarios.

 

[WARRIORMIKE]

That said, tell your dd you think the bat is dead, buy a new one and tell her about the amazing reviews it has. It'll help the confidence and be good to have a new bat

Yep been down that path twice now.

 

[djcarter1966]

Anytime a girl says her bat is dead I would just pick it up and let it rip, usually with just one hand which is how I normally did fielding practice as the ball bounced off the fence I just hand it back and say nope works fine.

If you give it a little knock on the ground and it does not rattle or give and there are no visible cracks or separation at the handle odds are it's OK.

 

[CoreSoftball20]

Sounds like the coach is taking the pressure off his "changes" by saying the bat is dead