stuck on hitting

[mozzy]

14 year old player (playing 16U this season), has always been good consistent hitter with some power. Since last season, and into this season so far as well, can not get a base hit. EVERY at bat so far this season (5 games), she has put the ball in play--center field, left, right, bunts, never striking out. Sometimes has 10-pitch at-bats. Only time in 10 at-bats in the last 5 games that she has gotten on base was due to a throwing error. She's good at laying off pitches out of the zone, but it's frustrating to watch her hit every ball right to a fielder. How do you overcome this?This is her 3rd year of travel ball, her 14U team last year played in a few 16U tournies, did well defensively and moved runners (not a lot of running speed). She's a catcher for her 16U team, and gets a good look at how the junk pitches move. I have video footage of one of her more recent at-bats :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shGHnt_5Ajs

I apologize for the angle and having to shoot through a fence (this was shot at an indoor facility)
I know that she has some hitting flaws, but what adjustments does she need to make? Where should she start?

[Stubs]

I'll take a shot at this. I know I am treading on sacred ground here but here goes...

When she takes her practice swings she is swinging down. The ball she put into play she swung down. Has she been hitting alot of balls on the ground? I think a slight elevation of her swing plane would result in more line drives. One way IMHO she could eliminate the downward swing is start with her hands lower. Her hands start the swing from above her back shoulder which (I believe) promotes a downward swing. I have my DD start with her top hand thumb no higher than her back shoulder

Also in her practice swings she is rotating hips and shoulders alot more than when she swings at a live pitch. Trust the rotation!

I also think that she should widen her base more. It may be the camera angle but IMHO I think she starts with her feet too close together which does not allow her to generate a good "push start" from her back leg which leads to more of an all arm swing. It also does not promote the batter "setting" on her back leg which is key in rotation.

Hope this helps.

I welcome constructive criticism too!

[greenandblue]

In your DD's video, I noticed two things pretty quickly. Her left shoulder at the point of contact is completely open (to the sky, or ceiling in this case). The other thing is that she seems to be standing too tall. If she sticks her butt out a little more, staying over the plate at contact, maybe her left shoulder will stay closed longer. When the shoulders are open, the arms are pulled up at contact and she will pop up or foul a lot.

[3Bsnag]

The very first thing she needs is a bigger shirt. Your DD is very self conscious about her jersey riding up past her hips and she's thinking a lot about it as evidenced by the several tugs pulling it down at each at bat. Us girls notice these things.

As for what I noticed about her swing:
Her warmup swing is pretty but I think it differs from her at bat, mostly on follow through. As soon as the ball hits, it looks like her bat dips down, then whips up for an "O" shape. If that happens to early, she will see more fouls. I know everyones trying to be faster out of the box, but finish the swing.

Thanks for the footage. I've never seen indoor softball before.

[Gone in 2.6]

Mozzy,

First I recommend you check out the following thread viewtopic.php?f=2&t=754

and look at the picture of the girl posted there. That is the position you want
your dd in at contact. However, how you get into that position is just as
important as getting there. There is a free forum at http://www.englishbeyhitting.com/ .
Try posting your Youtube video there. You are probably much more likely to to get advice that
will address the problem.

Or you can hope that Ssarge sees this thread.

Best of luck to you.

[mozzy]

One more video of her. 1 pitch at-bat, hard-hit, out at 1st (better view from above to see the width of her stance and distance from the plate) same weekend.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_izyHaRo3v4
What do you see? What adjustments does she need to make? Thanks for your input

[Gone in 2.6]

One more video of her. 1 pitch at-bat, hard-hit, out at 1st (better view from above to see the width of her stance and distance from the plate) same weekend.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_izyHaRo3v4
What do you see? What adjustments does she need to make? Thanks for your input

One thing that jumps out immediately is your daughter needs to get off her back side. When rotating properly, the "momentum" to the front side causes the back foot to lift up onto the toe. For a brief moment around contact, there should be nearly zero weight on the back side. Attached is a pic of a hitter in near perfect position. This was an absolute monster home run against 18 Gold competition in So Cal.

[Gone in 2.6]

Here's another. This is an inside pitch. Notice how the hitter is keeping her handpath "tight" inside the ball to hopefully still get the meat of the bat on the ball while still letting the ball get pretty deep in the zone. This results in maximum power (arms still bent at contact) and keeping the inside pitch FAIR. This flies in the face of conventional fastpitch wisdom that says to hit the inside pitch....or any pitch..."out in front". Also notice once again, almost no weight on the back side near contact. I don't know this kid but judging by the position she gets to at contact, she probably hits the snot out of the ball (assuming she gets to this position the correct way).


Picture courtesy of Student Sports Softball