Little help with bat selection!

[BayonneFury]

Need a little help if possible on a bat selection for my 9 year old daughter. approximately 50" in height and 90lbs. She feels good with a 19 oz so was thinking 30/19 but not many options out there for -11. Any thoughts on a 29/19? Would that be too short?

Also having a hard time with my 15 year old we are looking at a -10 32/22 but not sure if that is too short but again not much out there for -11.


Any help is appreciated.

Thank

 

[nicelag]

If would be helpful to know what is your 9 year old using now? She is really on the cusp of 29" and 30".

My daughter is also 9 (56" & 85#) and plays 10U travel and rec. She swings a 30" just fine but is quite a bit taller. What I find is that at this age most pitchers don't have a lot of control and therefor do not pitch inside very often, and when they do it is most often by accident. That being said with most pitches being outside a 29" can be a little short IMHO, but if she can't get a 30" around effectively then it doesn't really matter.

You don't want to jump up too much at once. Over and above the weight jump most people forget to take into account that each inch you go up in size is also equal to about an ounce in swing weight. That being said now is a good time to make a jump as she will have a couple of months to adjust and be ready for spring. You can't go wrong with the CF6 or CF7 -11 here either. Both very good bats which will last a while, and like a fine wine they get better with time.

As far as the 15 year old I personally like Demarini. The CF6 -10 (Balanced) or the CF6 Insane -10 (end loaded) here also. Newer models are CF7 (balanced) and CF7 Insane (end loaded). Again both are good. Some like end loaded and some don't. Depends on the swing.

 

[Coachw01]

I was going to say pretty much the same thing nicelag said. My 10 year old swings the cf7 insane 31/21 (56" & 65lbs) and loves it. A lot of girls on her team love the demarini cf6 and cf7 -11. Well said nicelag

 

[Westwind]

My standard post on bat length:

Couple nice rules of thumb IMHO:

Length of bat should be two times shoulder width.

An extra ounce too heavy might not be noticed by a hitter with good mechanics but an extra inch is much more likely to be a problem. Unless your kid is easily in the top 10% of her peer group, resist the urge to go that extra inch.

I don't agree that a longer bat gives you more plate coverage. Plate coverage comes from setting up on the plate correctly. The extra inch might give you a little more sweet spot. Maybe. Don't think it's that big of a deal IMHO.

If you use a practice bat to save your game bat, match them up as close as possible by length, weight and balance. DO NOT have a heavy endloaded bat for practice to "make her stronger" and then use a balanced light bat in games. Some kids are freaks of nature and can adjust but that is usually a recipe for failure. Massive, heartbreaking, frustrating failure.

Must parents go too big too soon. It's a tough call though, some kids are capable of swinging a bigger bat. Swinging a bigger bat is viewed as a badge of honor by parents for some reason. It is not, putting the right bat in the kids hands for games is what counts. It's great to brag in practice about how big of a bat your kid can swing but it will be a lot less fun if she struggles in games with a too big bat. No one will care if she hits bombs in practice but can't do it in games. I have seen this play out so many times already. Some of those kids take an early exit from softball because the parents "got a great deal" on a high end bat that is too big for their kid. Yes, she can "swing it fine" in practice. People, that is NOT a bargain if she struggles in games.

On the other hand, At that age, (8), I had one dd swinging a 30/21 rocketech and it was the right bat for her from day one. I did not understand that at the time. In fact, her batting coach at the time sent her to her first tryout with a 30/19 vendetta and she was struggling in the batting portion of the tryout until she walked over and pulled the rt out of her bag and good things happened.... Her four years older sister could not swing that rt well. She swung a lighter, more balanced bat better, especially before we started training hard.

Putting the right bat in a kids hands is a black art, it doesn't always follow logic, get close to the right size and try every bat you can until one clicks.

 

[vdubya]

I was going to say pretty much the same thing Westwind said. My 16u swings a 32/23 (68" & 130lbs) and loves it. Well said Westwind.

BayonneFury, a 90# nine year old is neither weak nor tiny...cross off the -11 size for the rest of her career! If necessary, re-read what WW said above about the extra inch, and also about plate coverage.

Re your 15yo: By 16u, the number of players using -11 is scant. If your 15yo DD isn't in the 99th percentile of 'tiny and weak' then -11 is IMO out of the question for her as well.

If you feel like your DD's need the feel of an ultralight, the Demarini's that others mentioned (in -10) is solid advice.

Good luck!
VW

 

[Sliced Bread]

Like westwind said, don't go to big to soon.
The plate is only 17" wide.

 

[BayonneFury]

Thanks for all of the feedback.

My 9yo DD has been playing softball all of one month. She found one of my practice bats and had to use it because all of the girls on her team had their own bat. it was 31/19 which she hacked away with. She loves the sport so I want to invest in a good quality bat that is right for her. Everyone is suggesting 31/19 because she will be able to use it for 2 years. Honestly I am only looking to get a good year out of the bat and will buy a new one each year if need be. just don't want her to ruin her swing because the bat is too big.

After all reading westwind's post I'm now thinking 29/19 for 9yo and 32/22 for 15.

 

[murphdog]

DD14 is 5'2" and swings both a 32/22 Xeno and a 33/23 LXT. She prefers the LXT because it feels as light as the Xeno when she swings it yet it has the extra inch.

 

[straightleg]

My standard post on bat length:

Couple nice rules of thumb IMHO:

Length of bat should be two times shoulder width.

An extra ounce too heavy might not be noticed by a hitter with good mechanics but an extra inch is much more likely to be a problem. Unless your kid is easily in the top 10% of her peer group, resist the urge to go that extra inch.

I don't agree that a longer bat gives you more plate coverage. Plate coverage comes from setting up on the plate correctly. The extra inch might give you a little more sweet spot. Maybe. Don't think it's that big of a deal IMHO.

If you use a practice bat to save your game bat, match them up as close as possible by length, weight and balance. DO NOT have a heavy endloaded bat for practice to "make her stronger" and then use a balanced light bat in games. Some kids are freaks of nature and can adjust but that is usually a recipe for failure. Massive, heartbreaking, frustrating failure.

Must parents go too big too soon. It's a tough call though, some kids are capable of swinging a bigger bat. Swinging a bigger bat is viewed as a badge of honor by parents for some reason. It is not, putting the right bat in the kids hands for games is what counts. It's great to brag in practice about how big of a bat your kid can swing but it will be a lot less fun if she struggles in games with a too big bat. No one will care if she hits bombs in practice but can't do it in games. I have seen this play out so many times already. Some of those kids take an early exit from softball because the parents "got a great deal" on a high end bat that is too big for their kid. Yes, she can "swing it fine" in practice. People, that is NOT a bargain if she struggles in games.

On the other hand, At that age, (8), I had one dd swinging a 30/21 rocketech and it was the right bat for her from day one. I did not understand that at the time. In fact, her batting coach at the time sent her to her first tryout with a 30/19 vendetta and she was struggling in the batting portion of the tryout until she walked over and pulled the rt out of her bag and good things happened.... Her four years older sister could not swing that rt well. She swung a lighter, more balanced bat better, especially before we started training hard.

Putting the right bat in a kids hands is a black art, it doesn't always follow logic, get close to the right size and try every bat you can until one clicks.

Nice post

SL

 

[JAD]

Need a little help if possible on a bat selection for my 9 year old daughter. approximately 50" in height and 90lbs. She feels good with a 19 oz so was thinking 30/19 but not many options out there for -11. Any thoughts on a 29/19? Would that be too short?

I am not a hitting guru, but I am a big advocate of getting players to use a -10 bat unless they are a slapper. I would look for a 29/19 or 30/20 as your next bat. If finances are tight go with a 30/20 and put a 1" choke up on the handle that will buy her a couple of months to grow into it.