Softball vs. Baseball swing

[oswegoponysoftball]

Sport Science: Hitting a softball - YouTube

 

[barlowjames]

Teach the right way to begin with,there should of never been the notion that the swings for both sports were different.I take it you are in the softball swing camp then?

I'm actually in the "They are both the same camp". The basic mechanics of getting the most power on the bat thru the zone don't change because of the type of ball being thrown.

I just think it's important to remember, at least in my case, that I'm dealing with girls who are all at different levels of physical development and there is no one size fits all solution to get each girl to play to the best of her ability.

 

[barlowjames]

So Barlow is there a height and weight that you would teach a different swing at?

Baseball Rotational Hitting And Softball | The ParkerTraining System

Just to be clear I don't think we should teach a different swing. In a perfect world the first time they pick up a bat they should be shown the best way to swing. This issue really only comes up with girls who have been playing for a while without a lot of organized instruction. My comment isn't directed at how we teach as much as what do we do with players who are already hitting.

I just need to ask myself how nit-picky do I want to be. If I do try and make changes to a players swing what will the benefit be to the player. I simply don't like the idea of making changes just for the sake of matching the ideal without believing the change will be a benefit to the player in relation to the effort to make the change. This is the 80/20 rule. If working with a player on their swing for a few weeks only get's them another 5 to 10 feet of travel is it worth it or could that time have been better spent on other areas and just leave the swing until they are physically able to benefit from the change.

 

[Greenmonsters]

Just to be clear I don't think we should teach a different swing. In a perfect world the first time they pick up a bat they should be shown the best way to swing. This issue really only comes up with girls who have been playing for a while without a lot of organized instruction. My comment isn't directed at how we teach as much as what do we do with players who are already hitting.

I just need to ask myself how nit-picky do I want to be. If I do try and make changes to a players swing what will the benefit be to the player. I simply don't like the idea of making changes just for the sake of matching the ideal without believing the change will be a benefit to the player in relation to the effort to make the change. This is the 80/20 rule. If working with a player on their swing for a few weeks only get's them another 5 to 10 feet of travel is it worth it or could that time have been better spent on other areas and just leave the swing until they are physically able to benefit from the change.

I understand what you're saying but it reasonates a little with me as passing the buck - let someone else fix the issue as long as the kid is having some degree of success. If you don't work to improve poor mechanics when you identify them, you allow them to become more ingrained and make them that much harder to correct when the player does mature and could take advantage of proper mechanics. This is why its so important to teach players correctly as early as possible. IMO, W-L record be damned, there's nothing more important than teaching players to throw and hit properly. Unfortunately, a coach can effectively limit a player's potential when they see, but don't work to correct faulty mechanics because the player is experiencing a modicum of success at their current playing level. Same is true if the player isn't willing to recognize that change is necessary to improve and be successful at the next level (or more successful at the same level).

 

[Jim]

A swing is a swing is a swing... Baseball/Softball, Strong player/Weak player... same swing. Swing it hard in case you hit it!

 

[redhotcoach]

A swing is a swing is a swing... Baseball/Softball, Strong player/Weak player... same swing. Swing it hard in case you hit it!

Agreed! I would add the addition that the weaker the player, the more important the mechanics of the swing.

 

[CoogansBluff]

IMO, W-L record be damned, there's nothing more important than teaching players to throw and hit properly. Unfortunately, a coach can effectively limit a player's potential when they see, but don't work to correct faulty mechanics because the player is experiencing a modicum of success at their current playing level. Same is true if the player isn't willing to recognize that change is necessary to improve and be successful at the next level (or more successful at the same level).

Good comments. This is a different subject, but as a coach, what discourages me from pushing hard to fix a swing is not that it will affect W-L record (which is truly might), but that the player won't work enough on her own and believe in the process enough to make it pay off.

 

[redhotcoach]

Good comments. This is a different subject, but as a coach, what discourages me from pushing hard to fix a swing is not that it will affect W-L record (which is truly might), but that the player won't work enough on her own and believe in the process enough to make it pay off.

You just described 3/4 of my team. A shame I have more players not on my team that hit with me off season then are on my team. With the system I am under all I can do is just sit back, try to help them in the few practices they come to, and give their folks indifferent looks at their lack of success.

 

[Wellphyt]

Just to be clear I don't think we should teach a different swing. In a perfect world the first time they pick up a bat they should be shown the best way to swing. This issue really only comes up with girls who have been playing for a while without a lot of organized instruction. My comment isn't directed at how we teach as much as what do we do with players who are already hitting.

I just need to ask myself how nit-picky do I want to be. If I do try and make changes to a players swing what will the benefit be to the player. I simply don't like the idea of making changes just for the sake of matching the ideal without believing the change will be a benefit to the player in relation to the effort to make the change. This is the 80/20 rule. If working with a player on their swing for a few weeks only get's them another 5 to 10 feet of travel is it worth it or could that time have been better spent on other areas and just leave the swing until they are physically able to benefit from the change.

The guy I coached with last year had a similar attitude. Every time I would bring up the importance of hitting mechanics, his typical response was "not all girls are going to be HR hitters". I tried all season to get him to understand that good mechanics are not about hitting the ball further, but hitting the ball harder. Harder as in line drives over the infielder's heads or top spin grounders that make it through the infield. It's about hitting more balls square on the sweet part of the bat. It's about getting better at adjusting to different pitches and getting fooled less. It's about generating the highest bat speed possible, while having the barrel path on the same plane as the pitch over the greatest distance. When a hitter combines good bat speed with a big zone barrel path, they increase their chances of getting the joy spot of the bat on the joy spot of the ball.

I would agree that teaching an average size player to hit a fly ball 5 to 10 feet further, is not worth the effort. However IMO it is totally worth it to teach the girls how to hit more balls hard.

 

[rdbass]

If the girls want to progress to the next level the sooner they learn the correct swing the better prepared they will be for the next level.I have seen/see the next level for my DD who is in 14u.The pitchers, pitch faster. The hitters hit harder and further.The fielding in much better.If a player is not hitting the ball the game is no longer fun and she will quit.If not now then when should someone learn to swing the way it will give them the best chance to succeed in the future?