My daughter is struggling at hitting. I was wondering what I can do to get her back on track. I have been doing live pitching instead of pitching machine. Last night she was swinging under the ball. I would be happy if I could get her back on track and making contact with the ball. I have done a ton of front toss with her. I would appreciate any drills that would help us. I would also appreciate any drills that would help her in picking up the ball when coming in. Thanks for all the help.
Need help with DD swing.... Drills needed!!
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It sounds to me like she's not bringing the bat to the ball. Probably starts her swing in the direction of where she expects the ball to be, but then takes her eye off the ball before contact (probably looking toward where she expects to hit it). It sounds like she could really benefit from some Tee work. also try using the hittin stick. if you use the latter, after she gets proficient at hitting the stick, have her close her eyes, you set the target and say "open", she opens her eyes, sees the ball, hits the ball. very good practice for getting players to focus on contact. Don't let her rush- some kids will start swinging before they open their eyes. we want quality swings, not quantity.
Well, you could post video and we could try to see if there is a loop in her swing, or if her head is moving around.
I see young kids all the time that swing just under the ball nearly every time. This might sound dumb but the very first thing I would have her do is challenge her to swing just above the ball. I'll bet $1 she'll swing under the first one. Have her tell you every pitch where she missed it, or if she hit it, what part of the bat hit what part of the ball. After the first pitch, explain again the challenge is swing her bat exactly so that the bottom of the barrel skims the top of the ball. Another $1 says she hits that pitch and her eyes get real big.
I see young kids all the time that swing just under the ball nearly every time. This might sound dumb but the very first thing I would have her do is challenge her to swing just above the ball. I'll bet $1 she'll swing under the first one. Have her tell you every pitch where she missed it, or if she hit it, what part of the bat hit what part of the ball. After the first pitch, explain again the challenge is swing her bat exactly so that the bottom of the barrel skims the top of the ball. Another $1 says she hits that pitch and her eyes get real big.
- Oct 12, 2009
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What do you mean? What is the telltale for this?
If she is young she needs to be spending most of her time hitting off a T . If you want instant feedback use TCB balls and it forces her to hit the sweet spot of the ball. Now does she struggle in a game or just when you are pitching to her. There can be many different things causing her to struggle and we are just guessing unless we see her swing. Plus I like the two ball drill for kids that are not reading the ball. Two Ball Drill: Get off at about a 45 degree angle and slightly up the first base line if it is right handed hitter. Hold two balls in your right hand and as you lower your hand down and back the hitter loads as you begin to bring your hand forward to toss call out top or bottom and try to keep the balls as close as possible and this come with experience doing the drill. You can also use colored whiffle balls and call a color.
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Loop was maybe not a good term. I was just talking about not getting the bat on the plane of the pitch and keeping it on plane. Bad grip, hands too far forward in the setup can be a sign of a swing-down-on-the-ball swing about to happen. Back elbow firing early toward the front elbow (bat drag) can cause the barrel to dip excessively, creating the need to uppercut to meet the ball. There's probably other ways to cause yourself problems
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