My 12 YOA DD is struggling at the plate. Hitting off the Tee and soft toss, she is a monster. Put a live pitcher out there and her timing and swing all go out of whack. She really struggles tracking and timing the ball. I have gone to pitching to her live almost daily. Still not getting better. I believe she has depth perception issues. has anyone dealt with this type of issue before and are there any drills that can work specifically on timing? She is swinging so early everything is off the end of the bat or misses entirely. I would post video of the swing, but it breaks down completely with live pitching. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Timing issues
- Thread starter joemcq51
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Do you know which is her dominant eye?
- Oct 25, 2009
- 3,339
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Put her in a "check swing" position and pitch to her. All she has to do from this position is swing. This eliminates timing issues so you can tell if it's something other than timing.
In the check swing position the hips will already be turned toward the pitcher but the hands will be back at launch position. I use this drill a lot; it is good for a number of things.
It should be very hard to miss the ball from this position.
If she hits ok with that drill I would next focus on toe touch. Have toe touch be the only focus. She must be at toe touch BEFORE the ball gets there. Many times kids have everything going on at the same time during the swing. Having them focus on toe touch simplifies their timing.
In the check swing position the hips will already be turned toward the pitcher but the hands will be back at launch position. I use this drill a lot; it is good for a number of things.
It should be very hard to miss the ball from this position.
If she hits ok with that drill I would next focus on toe touch. Have toe touch be the only focus. She must be at toe touch BEFORE the ball gets there. Many times kids have everything going on at the same time during the swing. Having them focus on toe touch simplifies their timing.
Does she "trigger"? If so, then make sure she doesn't start it until the ball is at 12'0clock above the pitchers head. The when the toe touch finishes it is time to swing. Explain that the "trigger" will be faster or slower depending on the pitcher.
R
RayR
Guest
Really need to see a clip. Could be she has a mechanic issue that she can manipulate off a tee or in soft toss. How is she against a machine? Hitting off the end of the bat could be numerous things.
- Jul 26, 2010
- 3,559
- 0
How's her bunting against live pitching?
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Has she had a comprehensive eye exam recently? A comprehensive exam will not only test her visual acuity, but also how well her eyes work together. She is about the same age my daughter was when we discovered her eyes weren't moving together. She actually went through physical therapy for her eyes that trained the muscles of both eyes to work together. Lazy eye is one type of this disorder. My daughter had what's called convergence excess. Her right eye would move too quickly when she was tracking an object moving directly at her. It caused her to literally "lose" the ball 2 feet in front of the plate. At the time we discovered the problem, she was hitting about .100. She's 14 now and has hit .350 -.400 the past 2 seasons. Puberty can cause rapid growth of all the parts of the body, eyes included. If she hasn't had an eye exam in the last 6 months or so, I would take her to get one to rule out any eye problems, especially if this appears to be a fairly recent issue.
My DD had the same problem at 12... batting average started going into a nose dive. She had an eye exam at school and they told her to see an eye doctor. turned out she had 20/100 in one eye and 20/85 in the other. I'm surprised she could see anything! We had no clue, and neither did she. When she got her glasses, she was so excited she was reading signs on the way home in the car.
Also I read somewhere years ago that girls do not develop depth perception completely untill about age 12. Don't know whether thats true or not, but that does seem to be about the age when they start hitting the ball harder to the outfield and out fielders start catching flyballs.
I would definately get her eyes checked. Whateverit is, I hope it gets worked out so your daughter starts hitting again. I know it can be frustrating.
Also I read somewhere years ago that girls do not develop depth perception completely untill about age 12. Don't know whether thats true or not, but that does seem to be about the age when they start hitting the ball harder to the outfield and out fielders start catching flyballs.
I would definately get her eyes checked. Whateverit is, I hope it gets worked out so your daughter starts hitting again. I know it can be frustrating.
Thanks for all the input. I am definitely getting her eyes checked. In the meantime, we have really gone back to basics. Started working with golf ball sized wiffle balls and timing and tracking pitches. Taking a similar approach to pitching. Trying to make her understand that hitting is much like pitching. She needs to work on the mechanics. I was able to draw a correllation to her beginning pitching years. She would practice perfect and then in games it would break down. She seemed to get that. We are actually going to video her off a live pitcher, so she can visually see the issues.
