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Switching my 10u from right to left???

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by Baller18 » Sat Apr 19, 2014 9:51 pm

This is my first post and only been around softball for about three years. My 10u player who currently is on the right side, has tons of power and speed. She plays RF and occasionally first. Her biggest struggle has been her batting. When she connects she can get the distance but she tends to hit it to the ground or pop it up. Her coaches and batting coach all agree that her right hand is dominating her swing. So she is not pulling through her swing. She pushes her hands and which ultimately beat her hips. I can't help but think that she should be switched to left which would allow her to pull with her right hand and allow her to swing with her lower body correctly. She has tried batting left on a Tee at home and isn't awkward or clumsy at all. She seems quite comfortable there. Her coaches want her to stay on the right but now I am seeing her become frustrated and some what regress. I know the challenges of switching as my younger 8u is a lefty slapper and currently learning the art of it very well. This will be my 10u's last year before moving to 12u, at this point I don't see how switching her can be any worse then keeping her some where that she is not seeing payoffs from all of her hard work. She is very coachable and determined. Any help or suggestions would be welcomed. She has been playing rec ball on a very competitive team for the last three seasons, they usually come out on top. Thanks again for any help.
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by cuzmail » Sun Apr 20, 2014 5:56 am

Sounds familiar.

DD switched at the end of 10U which was 2 years ago. She was a good hitting righty with lots of speed and could hit to the deep outfield/fence area. Hitting coach at the time suggested we switch her then while she was still young and her success at the plate really wasn't as important as it would be later on. FWIW, current hitting coach says it was a great move. You can't deny a well rounded lefty with speed. A great hitter will always get interest, but a lefty with speed can get away with only being good.

Get ready for about 6-8 months of frustration as she adapts to the left. It took about a year for my DD to get completely comfortable and consistently hitting the ball with authority. Now (approximately the two year mark) she has a decent bat speed of 55mph and has good control hitting the fence, soft slapping, power slapping, and drag bunting. Now she can read the defense and work with what they are giving her.

It's fun to watch the sequence against teams that haven't played against her. The usually play her in the first time at bat since she is small and a lefty so she will either hit away of punch a slap into the grass. Second time up the give her a little more space so she power slaps one to the left or over the LF head if she comes in. Third time they back up to a more normal depth and she will drop a drag bunt down. When she executes it is really fun to watch.
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by Sam » Sun Apr 20, 2014 10:39 am

Ask her what she wants to do.......she's 10 for Christ's sake. What is the insanity that makes people turn a relatively fun game into life or death decisions about what side of the plate to hit from......and having to consider what a coach would think. If she is playing 10u TB, you are already hurting her. If she lasts long enough to play 16u or 18u, her body is likely to be a wreck from all of the games.

If she isn't playing TB, good for you. Keep her in rec until she is an older 12u player.

Don't sweat the small stuff and enjoy watching your little girl having fun while you can. These years disappear before you know it.
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by Battle » Sun Apr 20, 2014 11:31 am

Baller18 wrote:This is my first post and only been around softball for about three years. My 10u player who currently is on the right side, has tons of power and speed. She plays RF and occasionally first. Her biggest struggle has been her batting. When she connects she can get the distance but she tends to hit it to the ground or pop it up. Her coaches and batting coach all agree that her right hand is dominating her swing. So she is not pulling through her swing. She pushes her hands and which ultimately beat her hips. I can't help but think that she should be switched to left which would allow her to pull with her right hand and allow her to swing with her lower body correctly. She has tried batting left on a Tee at home and isn't awkward or clumsy at all. She seems quite comfortable there. Her coaches want her to stay on the right but now I am seeing her become frustrated and some what regress. I know the challenges of switching as my younger 8u is a lefty slapper and currently learning the art of it very well. This will be my 10u's last year before moving to 12u, at this point I don't see how switching her can be any worse then keeping her some where that she is not seeing payoffs from all of her hard work. She is very coachable and determined. Any help or suggestions would be welcomed. She has been playing rec ball on a very competitive team for the last three seasons, they usually come out on top. Thanks again for any help.

If I had it to do over again, I would have never started my DD on the right side. She was pretty good on the left and would have been as good on the left as she is on the right... now. You know her better than anyone so do what you think. The longer you wait, the harder it gets so keep that in mind.

This will be my 10u's last year before moving to 12u


She has been playing rec ball on a very competitive team for the last three seasons

Good for her. You shouldn't have to say that again...
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by Baller18 » Sun Apr 20, 2014 4:25 pm

Sam wrote:Ask her what she wants to do.......she's 10 for Christ's sake. What is the insanity that makes people turn a relatively fun game into life or death decisions about what side of the plate to hit from......and having to consider what a coach would think. If she is playing 10u TB, you are already hurting her. If she lasts long enough to play 16u or 18u, her body is likely to be a wreck from all of the games.

If she isn't playing TB, good for you. Keep her in rec until she is an older 12u player.

Don't sweat the small stuff and enjoy watching your little girl having fun while you can. These years disappear before you know it.


She always asks about hitting on the left and slapping. She watches her younger sister and wants to try. We don't do TB, we think that is too much at this age. They have both subbed for a tourney here and there but it was mainly for the experience and to get a taste of select ball.
Her biggest habitat is dipping her bat because she powers through her swing with her right hand. It has been a consistent issue with her. I think if her right hand wants to do all the work maybe switching will work in her favor. I really just want her to have fun and enjoy it, she is very good and has potential to be better, plus her attitude makes her even better.

Thank you for the info.
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by Lunatic Fringe » Sun Apr 20, 2014 8:12 pm

There are a bunch of slappers I've seen at the 18U level who are a step and a half too slow to slap at this level. Unfortunately for them, its hard to rebuild your swing and learn how to drive a ball from the right side in the 11th hour of their playing career. Be real about how fast your kid really is and how fast she probably will be at 16, 17 and 18.
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by exD1dad » Sun Apr 20, 2014 9:55 pm

Hey Baller18 for me softball is a game & it's supposed to be fun, (just my humble opinion & what Sam was trying to say in his own way) let the kid do what she wants, how about both ? Why not it just means twice as much work & twice as much time with your kid! Nothing ventured nothing gained.

My DD didn't even play until 10, when she was young ( 4 or 5) she got whiffle ball in the back yard with her sister & I had her switch hit but stuck with righty after she was 6 or 7 yrs old. In her 2nd year of wreck the all star coach switched her around to slap cause she was fast. 1st time she slapped she got a hit but said it wasn't as fun for her...& never did it again.

If you or your wife are ex athletes who are/were fast runners or if she has older siblings that can really motor & you believe she has the potential to be in the less than 5% of all players her age to make it to the next level & if she wants to do it then by all means give it a shot with the caveat's expressed by those earlier who've been down that road.
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by Bookend » Sun Apr 20, 2014 10:08 pm

We need a "Like" button Lunatic Fringe. Perfectly stated!
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by jonriv » Mon Apr 21, 2014 9:29 am

I would have to concur with Lunatic- unless she is REAL fast

exD1 and Sam also make great points too- if it's not fun, they will stop playing at some point

If the issue she is not following through fully on the swing, would it not be easier to work on that then changeing the side of the plate??
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by coachjwb » Mon Apr 21, 2014 11:34 am

If she is truly fast, then what do you have to lose working with her some on slapping? You don't know till you try, right? There are some good videos out there about how to do it properly. Ultimately, she may decide she doesn't want to do it, but it's worth working on some at home and then asking the coach if they mind she tries it a few at bats in games.
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