Swing hard vs making contact

[FiveFrameSwing]

Speaking of high or low numbers of KOs, with lack of other information, isn't overly helpful.

A strikeout, is just an 'out' ... and in some situations it is the 'preferred out'.

Tell us the number of KOs, along with BBs, and then we can begin to formulate an opinion.

 

[fballchgup]

On a similar note ... create a mindset that is more "process oriented" than "results oriented".

This sounds like simple, fly by advice but it is very important imo. "Process oriented, not results oriented." She will see the "results" when the "process" is optimized. In other words, focus on trying to make a good swing every time and not simply trying to hit the ball.

 

[SCDad]

When my DD was young, her coach always stressed, and yelled a million times "swing hard" to every player.

He then worked diligently on the swing mechanics of a hard swing.

If a player slowed down, just to hit the ball, he would not accept it, ever.

It was his opinion a player should be trained to swing hard. The mechanics can be worked on after that. He also felt that nothing was gained by slowing down to get better mechanics. Because he did not think it was of any use. Once the player had good, but slow, mechanics ... he had to start all over again to get the same while swinging hard.

He made my DD the best, and most powerful, hitter around.

I am not a hitting coach, just explaining how he did it, and I was very satisfied with the results. He made her.

 

[seedamin]

Situation:

DD does a great job of making contact. She has a great swing, however I'm not going to post it. During her hitting sessions she hits the ball hard and does very well.

The trouble comes during games. She has struck out less than 20 times in the past two full seasons. She slows her swing down in order to make contact. I'm trying to change her focus to not worry about striking out and hitting the ball hard. She went from a .500 power hitter to .200 this past year. Even less this fall. WAY less.

Any thoughts or helpful advice to achieve this? I will take some blame for stressing not striking out. Okay, I will take a lot of blame for that.

My daughter had this exact same problem all the way up until this past summer when we switched batting coaches. She would crush the ball in batting practice and lessons but rarely hit it out of the infield during games. She was able to get away with it in Rec Ball at younger ages using mostly her speed to beat out throws from SS/3B. Once she moved to TB and up an age group, beating out infield hits became a rarity. Like a lot of the folks in the thread have mentioned, her problem was poor mechanics. The new hitting coach had her swinging right in 3-4 lessons and hitting lasers in the games.

 

[CoogansBluff]

My daughter played 10u as a 7 year old and struck out three times. Im just saying the pitching isnt hat good at those ages most times.

In travel or rec?

That was not my experience in 10U. The teams that my daughter has played on struck out more at 10U than 12U or 14U. Obvioulsy 10-year-old pitchers aren't as good as 14U pitchers, but neither are the hitters. And it's only 35 feet, and a smaller ball, and hitters' decision-making (when to swing) is not very refined, and they're not that experienced and as confident. The pitchers are wild. Batters are sometimes scared. A 10-year-old with decent speed and good control can be pretty dominant at that age, IMO.

 

[CoogansBluff]

Speaking of high or low numbers of KOs, with lack of other information, isn't overly helpful.

A strikeout, is just an 'out' ... and in some situations it is the 'preferred out'.

Tell us the number of KOs, along with BBs, and then we can begin to formulate an opinion.

People dwell too much on strikeouts, IMO. It doesn't always follow that you will strike out less the better that you get as a hitter. It's been the opposite for my daughter. Her OPS has improved each of the past four seasons while her strikeout totals also have risen. Kielani Rickets struck out 131 of 503 career at-bats at Oklahoma. Jennifer Fenton, the leading hitter (for average) on Alabama's national championship team and one of the fastest players in the country that year, struck out 41 times in 197 at-bats. The goal of a hitter is to hit the ball hard, or on a line. I've got two friends whose daughters lead their teams in putting the ball in play. That's fine, but they had exactly one extra-base hit all summer between them. The goal is not to put the ball in play. It's to drive the ball, at the risk of striking out.

 

[HOF86]

In travel or rec?

That was not my experience in 10U. The teams that my daughter has played on struck out more at 10U than 12U or 14U. Obvioulsy 10-year-old pitchers aren't as good as 14U pitchers, but neither are the hitters. And it's only 35 feet, and a smaller ball, and hitters' decision-making (when to swing) is not very refined, and they're not that experienced and as confident. The pitchers are wild. Batters are sometimes scared. A 10-year-old with decent speed and good control can be pretty dominant at that age, IMO.

She played select and still does. Yes in rec league even most avg pitchers can dominate. But most of the time you don't even get to swing. She played three Games of rec. I was against select at such a young age but she works to hard to not get to swing. She played three games and basically got one at bat. I changed my mind and she actually gets to play now. She is nine now. It just wasnt any fun. Why work on hitting and not get to play? Plus she hit two girls.... one in the chest and one in the face. I pulled the trigger on select way dinner than I wanted too. But its ok.

Good luck I'd say just absorb the info you get here and elsewhere and make your own decisions based on what your dd can do. If you have a decent rec league where you are.... Nothing wrong with that either.

 

[CoogansBluff]

Imo. You may be hung up on to many things that dont matter, measure bat speed etc. who has the fastest. None of that matters if she is slowing her bat down purposely and hitting weak grounders. You said twenty times she has struck out in a couple seasons...thats a ton if its 10 or 12 u. How old is she. My daughter played 10u as a 7 year old and struck out three times. Im just saying the pitching isnt hat good at those ages most times. I definately would not slow her down. Swing...hit. Id say the opposite. Sounds like she is swinging and not hitting. I guess you have to have the swing first though so maybe fiveframe makes a good point. Who knows because we cant see her.

Thanks, HOF. I think you might've combined my thoughts w/ the original poster. My DD is 14 now. In fact, what I said wasn't helpful to anybody, really. I was just commenting on how I saw more K's at 10U than I do now. And perhaps because of that K risk, and the fact that the fielding isn't good and putting the ball in play is rewarded moreso than at older ages, many kids do find ways to put the ball in play at the expense of a better swing.

 

[HOF86]

I m following. Lol

 

[pizza-boy01]

In my experience, its not so much about "swinging hard", as it is about picking a pitch you can hit solidly. Not all strikes are created equal. As far as the OP, assuming her fundamentals are sound (hard to tell without video), maybe she would benefit by being a bit more selective with her pitch selection. Make sure she's not settling for whatever the pitcher happens to bring. Tell her to look for a pitch she can hit hard; and when it arrives, put a good swing on it. We call it looking for a "pitch you can drive".

ps- Don't sweat a few SOs. You show me someone with no K's in a season, and I'll show you a batter who could benefit by being more patient