Righty to Lefty slapper

[MadBandit22]

Any coaches out there ever turn a righty with speed into a lefty slapper?
Daughters friend who is a yr older was just told by new coach it would be easier to teach her to slap lefty then fix all her mechanics as a righty.

 

[Vertigo]

My dd was turned into a slapper at age 16 about 8 mos ago. She could crush the ball in the cage as a righty but put her in a game and her brain got in the way. She has had great success as a slapper - saw her BA climb by over .150 in school ball and travel ball. Even better - her OBS improved dramatically.

My only recommendations - she has to go lefty all the way - that includes bunting, slapping, and swinging - and find a good slapping coach. There are little nuances that only those who have done it can teach.

 

[MadBandit22]

My dd was turned into a slapper at age 16 about 8 mos ago. She could crush the ball in the cage as a righty but put her in a game and her brain got in the way. She has had great success as a slapper - saw her BA climb by over .150 in school ball and travel ball. Even better - her OBS improved dramatically.

My only recommendations - she has to go lefty all the way - that includes bunting, slapping, and swinging - and find a good slapping coach. There are little nuances that only those who have done it can teach.

Ok thanks. Sounds like it worked out great for you guys. This girl is 15 going into sophomore season. My first reaction was ok try it but still work on righty in case things don’t go as planned.

 

[Vertigo]

Ok thanks. Sounds like it worked out great for you guys. This girl is 15 going into sophomore season. My first reaction was ok try it but still work on righty in case things don’t go as planned.

Yes, that was the hard part - letting go of hitting righty. During school ball in the beginning when she got 2 strikes on her she’d switch back to the right side. Her slapping coach told her not to do that because since she’d be working on slapping so much in practice she eventually would stop “seeing” the ball as well from the right side. Made a ton of sense to me.

 

[MadBandit22]

Yes, that was the hard part - letting go of hitting righty. During school ball in the beginning when she got 2 strikes on her she’d switch back to the right side. Her slapping coach told her not to do that because since she’d be working on slapping so much in practice she eventually would stop “seeing” the ball as well from the right side. Made a ton of sense to me.

This kid used to be a gap hitter. She struck out more than she should have but when she made contact it was solid contact.
Recently I noticed her bat speed was way down and mechanically she was all over the place.
She was seeing a hitting coach and he screwed her up pretty bad.
I think she is fixable from the right side but not my kid so it’s on her and her parents.
Just hate to see a pretty good hitter quit when I feel it’s not that hard of a fix to get her hitting well again.

 

[55dad]

Any coaches out there ever turn a righty with speed into a lefty slapper?
Daughters friend who is a yr older was just told by new coach it would be easier to teach her to slap lefty then fix all her mechanics as a righty.

I always love the term "lefty" slapper. Do you know a lot of "righty" slappers? Just giving you a hard time. If you are turning them around start them early if they are fast and then hope they stay fast when they get older. How fast they need to be depends on their age and what level they play. Some girls can't ever do it or don't have any success. If she can't hit right handed it will be hard for her to effectively slap. You are turning her around and expecting her to put the ball where she wants it while running as opposed to standing still. They might be able to put balls in play and run which might be an improvement over their right-handed effectiveness but they aren't really slappers. It is very hard to learn to slap at older ages if the defense is good because they will not help her out with errors and can do things to neutralize a slapper who can't put it reasonably deep in the OF if needed.

Expect them to struggle a lot early on.

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[Vertigo]

Yes - I have to agree with 55 - dd’s Travel coaches were shocked she learned to do it successfully so quickly. I think for her she concentrates so hard on seeing the ball now that she is able to get bat on ball better - and since she learned from an excellent slapping coach she had no mechanical flaws from the left side. She can drag, soft slap, hard slap, chop slap, and hit now all from the left. Her coaches have given her the green light to read the defense and do what she needs to so. 18U Gold level.

 

[MadBandit22]

I always love the term "lefty" slapper. Do you know a lot of "righty" slappers? Just giving you a hard time. If you are turning them around start them early if they are fast and then hope they stay fast when they get older. How fast they need to be depends on their age and what level they play. Some girls can't ever do it or don't have any success. If she can't hit right handed it will be hard for her to effectively slap. You are turning her around and expecting her to put the ball where she wants it while running as opposed to standing still. They might be able to put balls in play and run which might be an improvement over their right-handed effectiveness but they aren't really slappers. It is very hard to learn to slap at older ages if the defense is good because they will not help her out with errors and can do things to neutralize a slapper who can't put it reasonably deep in the OF if needed.

Expect them to struggle a lot early on.

Sent from my LG-H820 using Tapatalk

See when I think Lefty I don’t necessarily think slapper. I think more from a baseball perspective I guess. I think of guys that are tough on pitchers, see a lot of pitches and put the ball in play like Rod Carew, Wade Boggs, Ichiro, Don Mattingly, to a lesser extent Brett Gardner.

 

[MadBandit22]

Yes - I have to agree with 55 - dd’s Travel coaches were shocked she learned to do it successfully so quickly. I think for her she concentrates so hard on seeing the ball now that she is able to get bat on ball better - and since she learned from an excellent slapping coach she had no mechanical flaws from the left side. She can drag, soft slap, hard slap, chop slap, and hit now all from the left. Her coaches have given her the green light to read the defense and do what she needs to so. 18U Gold level.

Does your DD throw righty?

 

[Vertigo]

She does. She’s a RHP.