World Cup Observations

[shockcoach]

While you slam Michele Smith, remember that those coaching cues worked for her. There isn't one person on this board that can successfully argue against what she has done for the softball community.

 

[softballphreak]

I like Michele. I've even got a hitting dvd I bought from her personally. No doubt about her accomplishments, either. That doesn't mean she knows it all. And obviously some of what she says is not right.

Kind of like Candrea would be if he clung to the old ways.

We never stop learning.

 

[CobraAssist]

The day you stop learning, you're dead. To clarify on the "extending the arms" thing. This guy is teaching to get the arms extended, and hit the ball out front so you can pull it. It's absolute hogwash, and literally sent a chill up my spine (again, I was teaching the same thing a year ago, but have an open mind). My B.I.L. and I are having open practices leading up to a tryout for a 10u team. We've had some guys come up to us and ask about some of our girls hitting, and wanted to know where they were taking lessons. I explained to him that they had all taken a few private lessons, but after attending a few of my daughters, I started reading, and took over from there. I told him that if he wanted his daughter to learn how to hit, he was going to have to clear his mind, and take everything he ever learned as a kid, and throw it out the window.

I remember the first time I heard a instructor talk about weight shift. I came unglued. "You're telling me that after years of telling kids not to 'LUNGE,' now we're supposed to encourage it?" Funny stuff looking back, and that guy reminds me quite often how insanely one sided I was.

Since so many of you have been there....what is that 8u to 10u jump like? Is that the most difficult transition? I personally can't wait, cause now I feel like it's real.

 

[starsnuffer]

I couldn't "root" for USA this time around. I was actually hoping Japan would win, just to drive a nail home about how inferior this team is to USA teams of the past. It's a shame that USA got away with so many mistakes and still came up on top. I hope that they still realize that they have a long way to go before they really earn the uniforms they're already wearing.

-W

 

[softballphreak]

The day you stop learning, you're dead. To clarify on the "extending the arms" thing. This guy is teaching to get the arms extended, and hit the ball out front so you can pull it. It's absolute hogwash, and literally sent a chill up my spine (again, I was teaching the same thing a year ago, but have an open mind). My B.I.L. and I are having open practices leading up to a tryout for a 10u team. We've had some guys come up to us and ask about some of our girls hitting, and wanted to know where they were taking lessons. I explained to him that they had all taken a few private lessons, but after attending a few of my daughters, I started reading, and took over from there. I told him that if he wanted his daughter to learn how to hit, he was going to have to clear his mind, and take everything he ever learned as a kid, and throw it out the window.

I remember the first time I heard a instructor talk about weight shift. I came unglued. "You're telling me that after years of telling kids not to 'LUNGE,' now we're supposed to encourage it?" Funny stuff looking back, and that guy reminds me quite often how insanely one sided I was.

Since so many of you have been there....what is that 8u to 10u jump like? Is that the most difficult transition? I personally can't wait, cause now I feel like it's real.

Do NOT encourage a lunge! Weight shift is not a lunge. A lunge is when your weight ends up over the top of your front foot; usually with the top half ahead of the bottom half.

The proper weight shift maintains the balance against a firm front leg, with minimal weight left on the backside.

 

[CobraAssist]

Perhaps I was misunderstood.

Not saying that I'm encouraging a lunge by any means. But, that is how I perceived the concept of a weight shift. I thought it was a lunge, and we were all of a sudden telling kids to do the very thing I had always heard not to do. It was just a reflection on how bass ackwards I was.

 

[Bouldersdad]

That announcer was Michele Smith. She was one of the best pitchers in her day. But she will drive you crazy with her game comments.

At the time the coach called for that ground ball they hadn't scored yet. With a slapper at bat you would think she would be able to put it down and bring that run in.

A few years ago when everyone was being taught to swing down I used to demonstrate to the girls how you can swing sharply down and still hit a rising line drive. You can really put some heat on a ball by swinging down BUT you have to be pinpoint accurate. The necessary accuracy is what makes swinging down less efficient than staying long through the zone.

About the only thing she said all evening long I agreed with was the catch phrase: Short to the ball long thru the zone............ other than that she just fills dead air time. But its hard not to use a legend I guess when the end goal is to try and sell the sport to the masses.

Tim

 

[undergroundga]

I noticed several blown calls at first throughout tournament.
ESPN Sports Science did a promo on sliding into first and proved that it is actually faster to run through the bag than it is to slide. From my own observation the slide does tend to kick up more dust and cause more confusion, sometimes creating a blown call (the game within the game)

 

[Hoover's Dad]

I just wish Michelle Smith would get a 2011 haircut, she looks like she starred in the movie Fame from the 80's.

 

[stiksdad]

She also said the batters who were hitting home runs were doing a good job keeping their weight back on the back foot at Point of Contact. I thought the point of the stride and toe touch was to get to a firm front side (i.e. weight shift) and not to stay back on your back foot? I'm confused.

This confused me as well, I have been told she meant keep your weight back as you move forward to heel plant and then drive into a firm front side.