One hand swinging drills. (Top hand and Bottom hand)

[Jim]

Jim I just checked. Looks like the new rule 3-1D under ASA allows this. NCAA and NFHS , still have not addressed it.

Interesting. I will have to check on that as well.

 

[RichK]

When my DD was at 10U several years ago she used a choke up knob, several umpires made her remove, not sure under what authority : >

 

[SBFAMILY]

The knob falls under a different rule. 3-1B and 3-1C. Here is a quick check list that shows ASA-NCAA- NFHS side by side.

http://downloads.asasoftball.com/umpires/pdf/NCAA_NHFHS_and_ASA_Rule_Differences.pdf

 

[Mr T]

Jim we have ordered some and are trying them. We don't use bats when we do our one handed drills. We hit tennis balls and use a device made out of PVC pipe,( that hitter invented) that is weighted. Many young girls do not have the arm strength to swing a bat with one hand. We use them in Bustos's clinics.

I like one handed drills and plan on buying a bat jack. Going on a tangent though with your strength comment, personally I like to do 1 handed drills with real bats and expect them to be able to do them if they use the proper sized bat, the proper grip, and use their body. I could be in a very small minority on this one.

It's all right if they choke up a bit.

No one has ever come up with a good metric that I know of to know when a bat is too big for someone but this seems as good as any to me. I mean think about it, if you couldn't swing a bat one-handed effectively at all, wouldn't that bat be a bit too big for you? Why is it different for a little kid?

 

[SBFAMILY]

If you work with young girls you will find out they cannot swing bats with one hand without risking an injury. That is why we use a small wooden bat or a device that Howard Carrier invented made out of PVC pipe. We only hit tennis balls and whiffle balls with one hand with the younger kids. There are ways to measure if a bat is too big for a kid. All you have to see is hand path. Just worked with a young girl from KS that I changed her bat from a RT and her dad sent me an e mail she no longer was dropping her swing and hitting pop ups. She went 5 for 5 in her first game. I can watch a kid swing a few times and tell right away if the problem is the bat. I will tell them to swing the heaviest bat they can swing correctly, without losing bat speed. Because if you understand the physics of hitting a ball, the bat is one part of the equation.

 

[Mr T]

I found that strong 8U can handle a bat one-handed, don't do it for 6U. But still will take your injury comment under consideration. What sort of injury are we talking about?

I certainly would not use a weighted bat for one handed drills, but I can see your point if you are saying a normal bat is like a weighted bat when used one handed, and thus doing drill with normal bat actually hurts batter's timing.

Exit speed and bat speed charts are interesting, but not sure how you are applying them to one handed drill discussion.

 

[SBFAMILY]

Perhaps this is a better way to explain it. Do we allow baseball players to throw curve balls at young ages, due to the elbow developement? Before we put stress on young kids I suggest you see a porfessional trainer. We have one that my dd is now working with and they don't suggest this type of stress at the early ages.

 

[starsnuffer]

I just use t-ball bats for 1 handed drills for newer students, or right handed hitters converting over to lefty. After a while the girls do get strong enough to use their regular bat, especially if they hold it at the top of the grip. Granted, most the kids I coach use balanced or just slightly end loaded bats, I imagine doing it with a RT or an insane would be difficult.

My daughter, for instance, is a natural righty with good power. She was able to do the one handed drills (full speed and matrix time) just fine with her -10 Xeno. When she converted to a lefty earlier this year, she couldn't do them at all with her normal bat, so we used a t-ball or 28 inch bat. Now she's able to use her regular Xeno again for the lefty stuff.

-W

 

[coach D'E]

Using "the reverse top hand grip" in Tee Work or with practice swings does not necessitate using a lighter bat.

 

[Jim]

The Bat Jack helps the swing plane stay more true with one hand. It helps to keep the bat from rolling over too soon due to a weak grip.