Quick hands
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Could mean different things depending on the coach's belief system. Hopefully he's just saying she needs to get her bat thru the zone quicker. Batspeed is crucial in hitting . Mass of the bat is also crucial but batspeed is something you can improve with practice.
From time to time someone posts a link to a system that involves swinging with heavier bats some days and lighter bats on other days. He has a regular sequence to go thru. Because I don't know that system, I would have my kid do dry swings every day. A friend who was a BB player used to do 100 dry swings every day.
Maybe experiment with a slightly heavier bat one day, a lighter or regular bat the next. I would adjust reps, bats, % of effort, etc. depending on how it goes. Heavier bat will build strength, a lighter bat will develop quickness. I read somewhere (a long time ago) that Japanese ballplayers train with lighter bats to improve their quickness.( Don't practice swinging back quickly. Swing all the way through, from start to finish.return to set position comfortably)
post a video of her swing if you want some good, unbiased feedback.
From time to time someone posts a link to a system that involves swinging with heavier bats some days and lighter bats on other days. He has a regular sequence to go thru. Because I don't know that system, I would have my kid do dry swings every day. A friend who was a BB player used to do 100 dry swings every day.
Maybe experiment with a slightly heavier bat one day, a lighter or regular bat the next. I would adjust reps, bats, % of effort, etc. depending on how it goes. Heavier bat will build strength, a lighter bat will develop quickness. I read somewhere (a long time ago) that Japanese ballplayers train with lighter bats to improve their quickness.( Don't practice swinging back quickly. Swing all the way through, from start to finish.return to set position comfortably)
post a video of her swing if you want some good, unbiased feedback.
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I tell girls to "swing fast, not hard". I notice that when some girls try to "swing hard" they tend to tense up, pull their hands back, twist their torso, etc before they start moving the bat towards the ball and end up being late to the ball.
Cues like that can get you into trouble with a young kid. I agree with the above statements, depending on what the coach is actually saying. We don't want her to actually take her hands to the ball.
Is she standing straight up during her swing or is she tilting, properly? If she is straight up and down, that will slow her swing down. Another thing that would slow her down is if her shoulders are level and perhaps, if the swing is level.
We really need to see a video. Good luck.
We really need to see a video. Good luck.
The hands stay inside the path of the ball and the knob of the bat absolutely stays inside the path of the ball. The hands also must be higher than the ball and you adjust the bat to make contact. We explain it as Elbow, then hands, then bat in the plane. It is not a level swing that some post. Even to hit a rise ball the elbow and hands still must be above the plane of the ball. To generate more bat speed here is a drill : Progression ball drill for bat speed: Hit a tennis ball, hard ball 5.25 oz., regular softball 6.25 oz., and finally a TCB ball that is around 15 oz,. and then repeat for bat speed. Note Amy they changed the TCB balls the new ones I just got in are slightly larger then the batch I got over a year ago The still weight the same, but have different brighter logo.
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kstur, I know you intend this as a simple question, but there is no simple answer. Hit takes lots of practice and a knowledgeable instructor. On any given website, including this one, you will hear some disagreement among even the most veteran students of hitting. I am not trying to start a debate here, so hopefully I say this with respect to others' thoughts.....
The best way to get the bat to the ball quicker is to learn how to rotate the hips (and shoulders) quicker. I'm oversimplifying efficient rotation is essential to bet speed.
Again, folks may debate this, and there are many valid points, but if you google "Mike Epstein" "Steve Englishbey" "Mike Candrea" you'll get some good information. Also, there are a lot of folks here who can provide you with other good resources.
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