November progress?

[vdubya]

Vdubya ... I keep coming back and looking at your daughter's 'before' & 'after' swings. The unhinging process is so much better ... as is the rolling of the wrists and fluidity. Well done!

Thanks FFS, but...the 'before' was live game, "take what you get from a couple of at-bats" video. The 'after' is in the cage at home, with the luxury of choosing the better of 6-8 swings that I collected. There are still plenty of swings that don't look so good in the cage, and of course there is still plenty to improve upon.

Thank you for the side by sides. I see that the 'flattening' bat wrap hasn't changed much. Despite the more vertical starting point, the barrel still gets loaded to the same behind-the-head position. How much effort should be put into changing that? Is it critical or for style points? The goal is to be successful against better and better pitching over the next several years, so is that barrel load position something that needs conquered? If so, sooner is better, but I ask because it still looks REALLY awkward when she doesn't wrap.

Thanks all for the helpful comments!
VW

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

There is a big difference between those two swings in terms of energy transfer to the barrel. The cage swing is much more along the lines of what Williams was speaking of wrt the hands & wrists.

I'm not so sure I'd call her barrel loading 'wrap' in the cage swing. I don't recall directing you to work on that .... although it is true that I prefer a two plane swing ... especially with the barrel tilting up as the coil takes place. Did I recommend that something along that line? Her "barrel slot" in the cage-swing could be effective. Someone that has worked on that here with notable success is Brooke ... perhaps the dad will speak up on the topic.

 

[vdubya]

I think RHC pointed it out first, but now I continually see in the MLB clips that most keep their bat more vertical than DD, and more on the home plate side of the body/head. Whether we call it bat wrap, barrel load, or any other term, it is pretty ingrained. When this athlete is left to hit or simply asked to hit hard without any advice/critique, that cage swing is the natural 'don't think-just hit' result, barrel position being what you see. I just wonder how much emphasis you/others would put on a 'fix' given the good results she has had.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

True ... very true. You will often see less vertical barrel usage in FP ... although I do favor it and many of my hitters do have a vertical barrel ... but I don't push it beyond a certain point, and so I do have hitters with a less vertical barrel than I prefer. I will re-introduce the concept from time-to-time to hitters without a vertical barrel ... but certain hitters resist it. Hitters that see more for more frequent 1-on-1's often end up having more of a vertical barrel ... perhaps as a result of seeing too many demos, or perhaps because I truthfully do favor a vertical barrel.

 

[redhotcoach]

I think RHC pointed it out first, but now I continually see in the MLB clips that most keep their bat more vertical than DD, and more on the home plate side of the body/head. Whether we call it bat wrap, barrel load, or any other term, it is pretty ingrained. When this athlete is left to hit or simply asked to hit hard without any advice/critique, that cage swing is the natural 'don't think-just hit' result, barrel position being what you see. I just wonder how much emphasis you/others would put on a 'fix' given the good results she has had.

Make sure you watch mlb hitters video from "catcher's view" also. While every good top mlb hitter has a near vert bat, alot of clips that I thought the barrel was vertical, I watched same swings from "catcher's view" and some bats was closer to 45 degrees then 90 degree vertical.

My goal for my dd over winter isn't a Bond's 90 degree vertical bat, but getting halfway between the typical fp flat bat and Bond's vertical bat.

 

[softballphreak]

MTS, I think DD flattens the barrel by a 'radial deviation' move, while the AP clip shows she needs to instead do the 'extension' of the wrist without 'deviating' the barrel, yes??

RHC, your post and several of yours to other threads is quite helpful. I think the top hand-only part will be helpful and we did recently buy a $9 walmart bat in 16oz for that purpose. Thanks!

SBPhreak,and all: I whole-heartedly agree with the throwing comparisons you suggest. The hangup here is that she is right handed and bats left. Like you, me, and the rest of the right handed world, throwing left-handed is super-awkward. Some of the stuff we have done this month has had her swing looking like the first day she switched from right to left, lol. She hasn't looked 'un-natural' like that for a couple of years.

MTS said: "basic flaw is the top hand/wrist allowing barrel to drop behind her." Are we talking 'behind her' as in towards the umpire or referring to the posterior side of her body? I think from watching MLB clips that you mean that the barrel should stay on the plate side of her head/body, and not go to the posterior side. Is that correct?

Along those lines, when I watch Siggys fastpitch clips, Benyi and all except Bustos seem to wrap the bat to some degree. Benyi was the model for my DD for a long time. I now see that the majority of females don't treat the barrel/hands like MLB men (and Bustos)do.

Thanks again for the help and Happy Thanksgiving all!

VW

I understand with the left-handed batting that the throwing's not a great comparison. I've got a kid with the same issue. I do have her throw left handed when we do the throwing the bat drill. The drill where you literally throw the bat.

 

[vdubya]

Update after around 2500 November swings: We haven't attempted to fix EVERY flaw, but have made progress on a couple of fronts.
Thanks all!
nov 30 - YouTube

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

The barrel twirl made me think of Jen Yee.

 

[softballphreak]

Looking good! Very similar to Yee's swing.

 

[rdbass]