parent to coach question

[jasonbarr18]

My daughter is ten and plays on a 10u travel team as well as a allstar team were headed to state in a few weeks. she plays first and pitcher but mostly first . 4 pitcher in rotation. my dd is 5 foot 2 and weights 115 for the last few years shes swinging a easton synergy speed 29\19 a week ago i got her two new bats a new 2012 speed and a 2011 xeno 31\21. She has hit with both at practice with her hitting with a 2 inch bigger bat she hasnt hit well a few more missed swings when she does make contact she is hitting as far as with her old bat do i let her use her new bats or since were headed to a turnament in just two weeks. and how if any is there a way to get her adjusted to the new bats faster

 

[obbay]

I don't have an answer for you, but a 2" jump in bat length is a lot for a kid to adjust to. based on her height, the 31" sounds reasonable but for her age it sounds big. she's tall for a U10- did she have a growth spurt? if so has there been enough time for her muscles to catch up?

 

[Amy in AZ.]

Yours is a common question. Most parents have elected to keep their daughters where they are at, until the All Star games end.

 

[BaldNBeautiful]

IMO the bat length has very little to do with it. It is the two additional ounces of weight that has an effect on her swing. She is swinging a heavier bat so her bat speed is most likely going to lag behind where she was before.
If she is strong enough to handle the heavier bat, then use it exclusively. This would be very hard for any of us to determine on here. But I would think dropping her hands or a greater proportion of popups, or right field/ 1st foul balls (assuming she is right handed) would be cluses that she is dropping or not getting the bat around as quickly.
If not stay with the lighter one until after tournaments, or mix the two in practice.
Good Luck!

 

[PA SB Dad]

2 inches and 2 ozs is a big jump in a short period of time. I would be more worried about the weight than the length. If she can swing the bat with the same speed and mechanics, the heavier bat will give her 10% more power which should translate into greater distance. Since she is hitting the ball the same distance, I would suggest that her swing speed is actually slower with the heavier bat, and affects her mechanics accordingly. I would stick with the bat she has now and work with her through the fall and winter with the heavier bats.

 

[TheStrike3yourout]

My daughter is ten and plays on a 10u travel team as well as a allstar team were headed to state in a few weeks. she plays first and pitcher but mostly first . 4 pitcher in rotation. my dd is 5 foot 2 and weights 115 for the last few years shes swinging a easton synergy speed 29\19 a week ago i got her two new bats a new 2012 speed and a 2011 xeno 31\21. She has hit with both at practice with her hitting with a 2 inch bigger bat she hasnt hit well a few more missed swings when she does make contact she is hitting as far as with her old bat do i let her use her new bats or since were headed to a turnament in just two weeks. and how if any is there a way to get her adjusted to the new bats faster

If you were chopping down a tree, you would use an axe that you would know would get the job down as efficiently as possible...an axe that feels comfortable to use. Same with the bat. Let your daughter decide which one feels better for her, which one she feels more confident with. Personally, I'd slowly progress into the longer bat. I agree with one of the other posts that 2 inches is a lot to handle in 2 weeks for any age.

In addition, I'd do a lot of T work ensuring that her feet while using the T are in the same exact position she normally sets up in the batter's box...this will help her to become comfortable with the new length when making routine contact.

I hope her Xeno lasts longer than my 3rd baseman's did; she got it pulled from the ump during a Sectional Championship because the knob was coming loose. It's too bad because I really love the "pop" the Xeno offers.

 

[jasonbarr18]

She likes the speed I like the xeno and the coach likes the old speed. When she hits with either she pulls them down to third or short stop most all are Smoken hot some popups to center or deep short stop

 

[David Carter]

Definitely let her use whatever she is most comfortable with at least until your state tournament in a few weeks. Fall ball is usually a good time to break in new equipment, things slow down all the big state/national tournaments are over, in some areas weather becomes a factor and also kids prepare to age up.

 

[skully]

I would have to agree with the others that it might "too much too soon".
We are going through the same situation with my 12u daughter. She was swinging a 32/19.5 with good success. Got her a new 32/21 a few weeks ago. Used it at a few times at practice and was popping them up, not going as far, etc. With only 2 tourneys left before State, we went back to the old bat that she was more comfortable and CONFIDENT in.
We will save the new bat to get used to this winter.

 

[YOCOACH]

Although I agree with everyone else, it may be something as simple as a slight adjustment in swing mechanics. I noticed when I took my DD to a 2 oz. upwards adjustment that she was also popping up a lot of balls than she did with her older/lighter bat. This was due to her overstepping on her timing step-out with her swing. In other words, she was stepping much further out with the heavier bat thinking that she had to swing it harder than with the lighter bat. She was almost lunging at the ball. A little tee work fixed that quickly enough. That being said, I would still let her use the bat she is most comfortable with and practice exclusively with whichever bat she chooses.