Top Of The Ball

[mkral]

As I read through the "Hands at finish" post I started laughing as SBFAMILY made a comment about swinging down, or someone did. I almost choked on my breakfast. I have worked hard with my DD's and several other girls in our community and for the most part what I have learned here and other places have really made our kids pretty darn good hitters. But they are now playing HS ball and it gets derailed in a matter weeks.
They are taught "Swing Down", they are taught "Hands to the ball", they are taught "Finish over the front foot" meaning get your head over your front foot......HUH!! The problem is as much as I tell my DD to smile and say "OK Coach" and keep doing what you do, the constant bantering of all of the above along with "hit the top of the ball" sneaks in and the swing starts to change. It is incredibly frustrating to me and several parents that have seen how our kids preform in travel ball.
If fact yesterday my 13 year old was DHing for varsity and she was facing a pitcher that was not hitting 50 MPH. She was driving everything down the left field line and several fouls. Her coach screamed at her to stop trying to hit to left. Not "Hey keep your weight back and wait on it longer". Do you really think she is trying to hit the ball foul on every swing??? She has not seen a pitcher that slow in any 14U tournament all year so there will be some timing issues and corrections to be made.
Anyway what is everyone's thought on the "Hit the top of the ball" cue from coaches?
I have always been more of a "split the ball" kind of coach.
Thanks
MK

 

[softballphreak]

I hear the "hit the top of the ball" cue mostly when kids are popping up. If you hit the top of the ball the ball is going down. However, if you miss the top of the ball and hit the middle of the ball the pop up problem is solved. At least for that at bat.

As far as teaching kids to "smile and keep doing it your way" can be disastrous. I've coached a few kids that do that. One, in particular, has a beautiful swing except she swings down across the ball. She can't understand how a ball can be popped up if she swings down. She just smiles and keeps swinging down during games. Sad part is she's going to lose her spot to a better batter. And it will be the coach's fault. So she'll go smile at the next coach.

 

[mkral]

Well she was yelled at over and over again on Saturday to hit the ball to right field. OK I am not the sharpest tack in the box but in my opinion it is pretty hard to hit and inside pitch to right field. Keep in mind she is 13. She did just what she was asked to do on her first two at bats. She actually took two pitches that were, for the most part on the inside of the plate because that was the only spot the pitcher was pitching, and hit a dribbler to the first baseman and a dribbler to the second baseman. On the way back to the dugout she got a high five from her coach, "great job". Her next game she went 3 for 3 with a triple and a double but her coaches never told her where to hit the ball. She was pretty happy.
Softballphreak - I understand I too have been coaching for many many years and I have also faced kids that did what I am asking my child to do. I would simply challenge them to give it a try my way one time and if it did not work we would go right back to her way. I hate to coach over another coach as that is not my intention. However poor advise is poor advise no matter how or where it comes from. I am of the belief that if it is not broken don't fix it but keep working on filling in the holes that might exist.
As a whole our team pops out more now then they ever did during travel ball. But in travel ball they are asked to get the bat on the plane of the ball early and spit it in two. Now they are told to swing from the shoulder down to the front knee.
Oh well we will keep working on things as needed and we will hopefully succeed and when things are clicking the coach will feel like it was all their doing. Hey that is cool with me!!