Megan 1-Tee

[straightleg]

Immortal

Any chance you can film her from behind.

Looks to me that she needs work on her hand path. I believe the knob is going to the ball. She looks to be hitting balls off the neck verses the sweet part of her bat
Check her bat to see where the marks from the ball are.

Clean the bat before the next time you hit.


FFS said some thing about grip. Take a close up of how she holds the bat at setup.


Straightleg

 

[Immortal1]

FiveFrame, Megan has the following bats: Miken Halo Light - 31/19 2008 Model (Really likes this bat for faster pitchers), DeMarini CF4 32/22 (her favorite all around bat), Miken Icon 33/21 (Mostly used in the cage, she thinks it swings heavier than the CF4, more end weighted). Definitely had an amateur running the pitching machine while I was filming - did not understand "getting themselves set in between pitches. Don't rush them")

 

[Immortal1]

Wellphyt - Agreed in not "over powering them". Probably should get more "T" time and "soft toss" time in before going to game speed. I seem to remember an earlier comment regarding "patience" LOL. Again, had a rookie running the pitching machine. She even said she wished I would have jumped back in after filming. Oh well, will continue to learn from you guys and improve!

 

[Immortal1]

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Straightleg, just happen to have that video for Sunday. Will work on a "hands" video tonite (hopefully).

FYI, she is using the Halo Light in this video.

 

[straightleg]

Thanks
How about 3 - 4 swings from behind off of a pitching machine. She what she does while watching a ball coming in.

Thanks
Straightleg

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

FiveFrame, Megan has the following bats: Miken Halo Light - 31/19 2008 Model (Really likes this bat for faster pitchers), DeMarini CF4 32/22 (her favorite all around bat), Miken Icon 33/21 (Mostly used in the cage, she thinks it swings heavier than the CF4, more end weighted). Definitely had an amateur running the pitching machine while I was filming - did not understand "getting themselves set in between pitches. Don't rush them")

I didn't put a lot of weight into the cage swings. I agree completely with Wellphyt ... heck, at least one time you see that she was caught completely off guard. Another time she was ahead. Just a mess relative to timing. Unless you have someone running the pitching machine with a windmill motion ... who also drops the ball ahead of time so that it comes out of the machine as the pitching hand reaches release ... then the pitching machine is of limited value. Why? Because hitting is about 'timing' ... and you begin the timing element by dancing along with the pitcher. It was clear that she wasn't timing the person running the pitching machine well.

I'm pretty strict about allowing people to run the pitching machine. I make them go through a dry run and demonstrate how they feed the ball. I explain to them that the hitter's lower body mechanics are hugely important ... and that if I see hitters repeatedly screwing up their lower body mechanics that I generally look first at the person running the pitching machine. I also add that they can actually make my hitters worse if they do a poor job feeding the machine. I don't hold back either ..... not only do I make the person running the machine practice & demonstrate, but I'll yank them in an instant if I feel they are damaging my hitters.

Regarding the bat. The CF4 is such a well balanced bat that it will 'feel' lighter. I see that she was using the CF4 in the tee-swing. Can't blame the lack of barrel weight on her finish. I therefore have to blame it on either not having sufficient momentum (which it looks like she had) or on her mechanics at 'contact' (which is what I'm leaning towards).

I'll be interested if you can shed any light into what she is doing going into 'contact'.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Thanks
How about 3 - 4 swings from behind off of a pitching machine. She what she does while watching a ball coming in.

Thanks
Straightleg

I'm with SL ... that view would likely have shown that the person running the pitching machine should have been booted off of the premises.

Typically, when I collect video from this angle, many of my hitters will be going into their load (i.e., coil) when the pitcher is just reaching their 'K' position. You can learn a lot about a hitter's "timing" from this position.

p.s.
I laughed when I heard the positive comment when Meg squared a ball and the barrel instantly stopped at 'contact. Didn't the guy realize that if the barrel is stopping at 'contact' that it must have been slowing down prior to contact?

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

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Straightleg, just happen to have that video for Sunday. Will work on a "hands" video tonite (hopefully).

FYI, she is using the Halo Light in this video.

Very interesting.

Does your daughter understand the role of the bottom hand/arm?

Does she understand that 'bat barrel' basically serves as an extension of the "lead arm" at 'contact'? Does she understand that the "upper lead arm" + "lead forearm" + "bat barrel" represents a three-piece hitting lever ... and that those three pieces should all be roughly aligned at 'contact'? Does she understand the importance of squaring the ball with that hitting lever?

I ask ... because she looks to be doing something strange with her lead arm going into 'contact'. Could be because of the top hand. Sure would appreciate hearing what she thinks she's doing going into 'contact'. What I'm looking for is more of a "release" through contact, and not a last ditch effort to further power the ball ... often those with a habit of making a last ditch effort to further power the swing end up destroying their ability to make square contact.

Are you familiar with the "reverse top hand drill"? Here is SL's daughter giving a decent demonstration of the drill. Let's see Meg's bottom hand/arm action when she reverses the top hand.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

This kid has style.

 

[Wellphyt]

Wellphyt - Agreed in not "over powering them". Probably should get more "T" time and "soft toss" time in before going to game speed. I seem to remember an earlier comment regarding "patience" LOL. Again, had a rookie running the pitching machine. She even said she wished I would have jumped back in after filming. Oh well, will continue to learn from you guys and improve!

LOL! I have a parent that helps sometimes when we're short handed and you'ld think our players were training for international play based on how hard he throws front toss. Before we hit on Sunday I made sure everyone was on the same page and understood that the object of Sunday's session was to work on mechanics rather than to prepare the girls for game speed condition.