What should we focus on

[Slick]

My DD has been taking lessons for about a year now. She will be a 2nd year 10u. Her instructor is doing a great job and both enjoy her lessons. DD instructor does a nice job giving us things to work on at home, but what do you see that I can work on at home with her?

[video]http://youtu.be/5lw1_1oAXs4?hd=1[/video]

Appreciate the feedback. Thank you

 

[softballphreak]

Front toss, set the ball on the tee, fetch balls. Work on the things her instructor told her to work on at home.

Looks pretty good. Ask her instructor about the rear knee staying inside the foot.

Congratulate your DD and the instructor.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

I would slow down between the pitches. Let her get set. Encourage her not to twirl the bat (it's a girl thing.) Also, after she swings, she is whipping the bat back around toward the catcher. I call that a "weed whacker." Complete the swing, take one hand off of the bat. Step back out of the box and then, breathe and get set, again.

She is doing great. What fun.

 

[Slick]

My DD has a ton of fun at her lessons. I enjoy watching them. My daughter works hard and stays focused, but is also very sassy (in a good way). Both her hitting and pitching instructor play on that. It helps her relax and pick things up faster.

Softballphreak. Thanks for the feedback. As far as the rear knee staying inside the foot. Are you talking front foot? I think she sometimes gets "lazy" with her hips coming through and that is something we are always working on.

Amy. Thanks for the feedback. Yes, you can see that she sometimes thinks about the twirl but other times it is a reaction. Normally, I don't think they work this fast at hitting lesson. About taking one hand of the bat. I agree it is necessary to finish the swing, but why would you take one hand off the bat? Isn't finishing the swing more about allowing the body to safely go through the motion to prevent injuries and bad technique? Wouldn't you want both arms to finish through? Thanks again for the comments.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

Don't misunderstand, I am swinging completely with 2 hands. At the finish, let the bat lower, take the top hand off and do not swing it back towards the young catcher.

 

[softballphreak]

My DD has a ton of fun at her lessons. I enjoy watching them. My daughter works hard and stays focused, but is also very sassy (in a good way). Both her hitting and pitching instructor play on that. It helps her relax and pick things up faster.

Softballphreak. Thanks for the feedback. As far as the rear knee staying inside the foot. Are you talking front foot? I think she sometimes gets "lazy" with her hips coming through and that is something we are always working on.

Amy. Thanks for the feedback. Yes, you can see that she sometimes thinks about the twirl but other times it is a reaction. Normally, I don't think they work this fast at hitting lesson. About taking one hand of the bat. I agree it is necessary to finish the swing, but why would you take one hand off the bat? Isn't finishing the swing more about allowing the body to safely go through the motion to prevent injuries and bad technique? Wouldn't you want both arms to finish through? Thanks again for the comments.

Talking about the rear foot. The knee is getting outside of the rear foot toward the catcher. It should be inside the rear foot. Make sure weight is on the balls of her feet. To help accomplish this, have her stand tall, then bend forward at the hips, then soften her knees. In that order. She will feel the weight on the balls of her feet then. Balanced, light on the heels, in other words.

What Amy mentioned about releasing the top hand after contact. If you let the top hand slide off you are able to extend the bat further through the zone toward the pitcher. When you hold onto the bat with both hands you come to a point where the lead arm has to fold because the top arm can't extend any further. This is normal for most batters. But releasing after contact is better in my opinion because of the freedom from rolling the hands. Either works, though. At her age I believe most coaches would discourage the one-arm release, though.

 

[Slick]

Thanks for clearing both comments up Amy and Softballphreak. She has been called out a few times for hitting the umpire with her bat, but hasn't hit a catcher yet. The umpires don't like getting hit with a bat. Who knew?

Watching the video again, I can see what you are talking about with the rear knee and the foot.