Vid of 8 year old - looking for feedback

[FiveFrameSwing]

The position of the barrel in this picture makes it nearly impossible for her to swing around her forearm. First step is to prevent the barrel from falling so far in that direction.

The first step is to learn how to load the torso-engine ... then learn how to initiate the torso-engine such that it puts the rear shoulder in a state of semi-retraction ... this 'fusion' will then help her body's rotation send the barrel 'around' the rear forearm. Yes, there is more ... but bypassing this will lead to a lot of frustration IMO.

 

[Annesdad]

OP here again.

So can someone please let me know if I am understanding this correctly? My daughter is dropping the bat head too early and then moving the bat along her forearm to the ball. She needs to use her hands to bring the bat head to the plane of the ball path and then swing it along her forearm into the ball.

If this is correct - how do I tell an 8 year old this in simple terms?

Thanks again!!

 

[Eric F]

So you mean the top hand forearm? I'm still confused! In this pic the forearm that's on top is her left.

For the purposes of describing swing movements, there are some common terms/descriptions that get used...

"Top" = Top hand on the bat handle. For a RH batter, this is their right hand. "Top forearm" would be the batter's right forearm.

Right/left reference is in relation to the batter's right/left hand, not where we see it in the picture.

"Rear" = Side of the body furthest away from the pitcher on setup (for a RH batter, it 's the right side of their body). Rear shoulder/hip/knee/elbow/etc. will continue to be referred to as rear, throughout the swing sequence, even if it is no longer the one further away from the pitcher.

Apply "bottom" and "front" as opposites to the descriptions above.

 

[julray]

[MENTION=15253]Annesdad[/MENTION].. Speaking from experience, do not do any drills or try to explain any of this to your DD until you have absolute and complete understanding of the information on this thread. There is tons of good advice on here, but if you don't "truly" understand and try to move forward with your DD, it will lead to a world of frustration and and bad habits. I don't have the knowledge to help you with your questions, and again I see a lot of good advice but also vague for somebody not familiar with the terms being thrown around. My suggestion before passing any of this along to your DD is to pick up a bat and try some of these drills yourself. Post a vid of your swing and let the group break it down for you. I think this is the best way to understand.. JMHO

Edit: If you don't want to post a video of your own swing, that's ok. But still experiencing what you are asking your DD to do will provide you with a ton of insight

 

[Eric F]

OP here again.

So can someone please let me know if I am understanding this correctly? My daughter is dropping the bat head too early and then moving the bat along her forearm to the ball. She needs to use her hands to bring the bat head to the plane of the ball path and then swing it along her forearm into the ball.

If this is correct - how do I tell an 8 year old this in simple terms?

Thanks again!!

This is not a concept that you can easily convey to an 8yo with words in a way she can process and execute. Drills that highlight or exaggerate a specific feeling will probably be more successful. Ask her to focus on how it feels, and then try to duplicate that feeling in her own swing.

EDIT: Julray is right on. Understand it for yourself first. Know how it feels, and why one way is better than another. Also...ALWAYS compare to video of what the best are doing (Hansen Principle).

 

[Annesdad]

Shawn, there are many ways to explain this .... one simple way is that this young lady is not making the translation that the rear 'elbow' in a sidearm throw is equivalent to the top-hand 'wrist' in the swing ... she instead throws/flings the bat much like she would throw a ball.

She's simply one link away from solving the issue you see .

FFS - going back through this and realized you were talking about a link - do you mean the link from elitehitting that Eric F posted?

 

[FP26]

The first step is to learn how to load the torso-engine ... then learn how to initiate the torso-engine such that it puts the rear shoulder in a state of semi-retraction ... this 'fusion' will then help her body's rotation send the barrel 'around' the rear forearm. Yes, there is more ... but bypassing this will lead to a lot of frustration IMO.

FFS -- No disagreement here... While we use different terms, we do agree on much of this.

Annesdad -- The link that EricF posted is a very good start. Not perfect. But it can be very helpful, especially with younger hitters. I would suggest following that drill while asking her to keep the barrel higher in the air at launch. It doesn't need to be motionless. There can be some movement. I just think she has dropped the barrel to a point that is impossible to recover from. Furthermore, I would tread very lightly with someone her age. I understand those that point out that bad habits are hard to break and that often they will not be broken naturally, without assistance. However, it can also be extremely easy to overwhelm her with so much "stuff" that things would only get worse. At this age I would keep the work simple (such as the drill in the link), but allow her to figure some things out on her own as well. Provide guidance instead of instruction, if that makes sense. If I was instructing a 8 year old, I would have three goals. 1) have fun. 2) work on developing a scalable swing. 3) have more fun. And if we ever got stuck during #2, I would revert to #1.

 

[Eric F]

FFS - going back through this and realized you were talking about a link - do you mean the link from elitehitting that Eric F posted?

I don't think FFS means hyperlink. I think he means link in the kinetic chain.

 

[Eric F]

I'll take your word for it that this is "above average" for the age. I haven't worked with this age group for a long time. The youngest hitter that I am currently working with is 10 years old.

In my experience and observation, the difference between 8yo and 10yo in terms of body awareness and comprehension can be pretty significant.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

FFS - going back through this and realized you were talking about a link - do you mean the link from elitehitting that Eric F posted?

Meant one link removed within the Kinetic link.