Use of a "baseball swing" in fastpitch?

[CMMom1740]

Let me dig around on my phone and take a look. If I don't have a good one, I'll generate one at her next hitting lesson.

 

[CMMom1740]

OMG, I have two good ones, but I am so technologically challenged that I can't figure out how to get them from Photos to my desktop so I can upload them here (on a Mac). If you have a clue how to do that, let me know.

 

[Eric F]

OMG, I have two good ones, but I am so technologically challenged that I can't figure out how to get them from Photos to my desktop so I can upload them here (on a Mac). If you have a clue how to do that, let me know.

A commonly used method is to upload the video to YouTube, and post a link.

 

[djcarter1966]

[MENTION=13497]CMMom1740[/MENTION] you have come to the right place. Upload the video and then just be prepared for honest and straightforward advice. People here will be honest but don't let that come across as harsh we all really enjoy watching girls whose parents come here for advise improve over the months.

As others have stated the most glaring thing from the stills is how completely flat her bat is so early in her swing and this is a problem but after you post the videos it should no time at all before you get feedback and drills to help, also if she is seeing a hitting coach feel free to talk with him about what people on the site are telling you, once you have all this information my guess is you can slowly work on one or two things at a time and watch her swing improve over time.

 

[CMMom1740]

Good idea. Let me try that.

 

[Eric F]

...slowly work on one or two things at a time and watch her swing improve over time.

I want to highlight this ^

It is common for parents who are freshly full of wonderful new information to try to download it to their kid as quickly as possible. Hurry up, let's get you hitting like a pro!! It doesn't work that way. It's a process. Only work on one or two changes at a time. Keep working on them until it takes root before moving on to the next thing. Changing muscle memory takes time, as does mentally connecting the dots to understand how the new movement is supposed to feel. If you can swing a bat yourself, and try to understand how it feels in your own body, it will help a lot in trying to explain it to your young player.

 

[CMMom1740]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1pnmeiIg7g: From June, 2015

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWZasu8rzHQ: From Spring, 2015

Ugh, I had another one in the Photos folder on my laptop (it's no longer on my phone), and I just can't get it moved anywhere else.

 

[Eric F]

She looks like a very strong and athletic girl. I have no doubt she is able to hit the ball very hard when she hits it square!

As we thought, she is dropping the barrel behind her shoulder/back while reading pitch location, adjusting to the level of the pitch, before launching the swing in a flat plane, and pushing the barrel to contact. This pattern takes a long time to execute, which is where the struggles happen against fast pitching. It also short-cuts the body's ability to generate maximum bat speed.

Looking at the clips I posted before, we can see that the swing is launched from up by the shoulder, with the barrel pivoting around the hands, and being whipped through contact. In short, turn the barrel to the ball. Hands stay above the ball.

This is going to feel totally foreign to your DD, but her current pattern has to change if she wants to be successful against fast pitching. We want to create a pattern that has a short and direct hand path to contact.

 

[rdbass]

 

[CMMom1740]

This makes a lot of sense. I had noticed how she holds the bat while waiting for the pitch, but had not noticed how she drops it behind her back before. No wonder she was having so much trouble with the pitching machine at that tryout (which was set for the mid 50's). She was always just a microsecond behind the ball, and got so frustrated she was in tears. Poor thing.