Righty with power and speed switched to lefty slapper

[HoosierBBall]

Any suggestions or advice. I have a daughter that has nice power from the right side. She has very good speed also. I'm in the process of making her a slapper due to her speed and a very good ability to do it. I have noticed that her power is not as good as it is from the right side. My opinion on it, I would rather have her challenged with it while in 10's and watch it payoff by the time high school ball gets here. I'm fortunate to be part of a coaching staff with a very knowledgable head coach that has recruited on a college level. Any non bias opinions on switching a strong righty and making a very good lefty / slapper?

[slapperdad]

Here's my reply to a similar question on another board.


My two cents worth and my DD's abridged story.
9-10: I would have considered her a power hitter, good BA, good OBP, good SLG, but she also had some speed. Started teaching her to drag bunt from the left side, you know the old bat LH until she had two strikes deal. At the end of the summer of 10U we talked about switching her, I was adamant, once you make this decision, there's no going back. She wanted to learn to be a slapper.
11: Worked very hard, everyone knew what was coming, packed D in on top of her, she was getting beat at 1st by half a step. I was question #1 what was I thinking, and #2 what was she thinking. We talked a great deal about this being a process. She was firm in her decision, "I want to be a slapper".
12: It all starts coming together. She is rapidly becoming an incredible drag bunter. She's turned into a good slapper as well. Most importantly she's gained pretty good bat control and is getting better at putting the ball where the D isn't. Moves into the #2 slot because she can bunt for a hit where she has stayed the rest of her TB career.
13: Continues to work and refine her skills. Bat control continues to get better. Her ball placement continues to improve. And all along, remember the speed thing, that continues to improve as well.
14: Make the move to 16U, suddenly the game changes. Damnedest thing, these defenses are pretty good too, and they have some speed. We figure out she needs more wrenches in the tool box. She starts working on push bunting, power slapping, and the last piece of the puzzle at this point in my mind is hitting for power. Keeping in mind all the experiences here are based on playing A level TB. At 14, she's the leadoff hitter on her high school team, and leads the team in almost every offensive category.
15: Continue working on the new tools. Believe it or not, drag bunting is still her bread and butter. Her speed peaks during this time. She's a soph in high school, I have consistent numbers contact to first in the 2.75 range. Hitting for power is inconsistent at this point, but it's still a work in progress. Still playing 16U, has a great summer.
16: Moves to 18U playing in "gold" divisions in the showcases. Got taken to school quite a bit by older more experienced pitchers. I still remember some of those games. DD would just nod her head, "ya got me". But still working, honing her skills.
17: Still in 18U, has a great summer, hits well. starts to become a bit of threat with her power game. Throws the sneaky bunt into the arsenal. She now has corners really guessing. While sometime in the last two years, she's gotten boobs and hips, and may have lost a step. We're still working hard. She's not the biggest, baddest, best hitter you've ever seen. But she now has all the tools in the toolbox. She still bats #2 because she can still put a bunt where you can't throw her out. What she may have lost in speed, she's gained in knowledge and also knowing she still has another trick up her sleeve.

I guess the short story is, to continue to improve, and to move to the next level, unless you have world class speed, you need to have plenty of wrenches in your toolbox. At one point in her career she was fast enough to making a living just slapping. But whether she got slower or her opponents got faster, she's had to learn to do whatever it takes. She does have HR pop at times, but that's not her game. Hitting in the #1 or #2 hole requires that she get on base. Another key in this equation is knowledge. In the last five years of travel ball and thus far in three years of high school, she doesn't typically get any signals from the base coaches. She reads the defense and swings accordingly. In fact many times taking pitches to see where they move and how they're playing her.

Sorry for the book, I've been wanting to reply to this thread, but just haven't had time. This is the abridged version of my DD's path. I have no idea whether it's right or wrong, but it's the one we followed and it turned out pretty well for her.

[GoldElite]

Slapperdad, great story. My DD is 2nd yr 12s and goes contact to first in 2.7-2.8 from the right side fairly consistently. We are considering a switch to lefty (she actually wants to, as its ultimately her decision). But we are going to wait until this Fall.

I think the key to this switch comes down to the work ethic of the DD AND the parents. Like you described, I see this switch as a commitment that will not be pretty without lots of hard work, desire, and commitment.

I believe my DD has that. And look forward to yet another reason to spend more time with her.

I know this forum isn't for the kiddos. But she will be reading your post. Can you post the link to you "non-abridged" version?

"Knowledge is power". Thank you sharing yours!

[slapperdad]

Gold Elite, that is the entire post. I tried to make it as short, yet detailed as possible.

I believe the key to it is the kid HAS TO BE COMMITTED to doing it. You have to understand particularly at the younger ages, it's going to be trying at times and you're going to question your decision. It's a process, understand that going in, deal with it, and be positive with them.

Good luck with your quest, I certainly don't know everything there is to know about it, but there's anything I can help you with, feel free to PM me.

[softball65]

Not sure my advice is any better but I am a huge advocate of lefty hitting. My DD throws right and bats lefty. Always has. She is a hitter primarily but she knows how to do all of the different slaps, drag bunt, push bunt, power bunt, etc. She is average speed, maybe slightly above average prior to puberty. Assuming puberty doesn't transform that speed, she probably will be less than neck break speed. That said, she can still do all these small ball things. So defenses can't cheat on her. Or if she wants to pull them in or move them around so that she creates more hitting lanes, or the one she wants, she can bluff a drag or a soft slap. So to me, even if she never slaps or only does so occasionally, it is another tool in the tool chest that puts pressure on the defense. It's worked well for her because like I said she is a hitter and so she is played more as a hitter than a slapper, but then she will fake a slap or hit one foul and now they don;t know what she is going to do.

On power, I've seen several girls flips sides once they get to the 14u level. All of them initially dropped off in power. But it comes back as the swing becomes better and as the mature. Hitting with power, IMHO is more about mechanics and bat speed than anything else. That's why 5' 2" girls can hit the ball 250 feet. So my advice, look at the big picture. The power will come as the swing develops. So as a lefty she has 5, 6, 7 different things she can do as a hitter. As a righty...not as many, maybe 3.

[spleenINfishers]

Have you asked John Feld?

[HoosierBBall]

SlapperDad,
Thanks for the reply. It definitely helps getting advice from someone that's been there..done that. She understands it will come with time and not to second guess . The easiest way I explained it to her was, a baseball player makes $25 million a year to only hit safely 3 out of 10 times. You make a very good point that I really haven't thought about until now. The boobs and hips. If her genetics and Croatian heritage come into play, she'll be 6' plus. I'm 6'8" and between my siblings, parents, and grandparents, there's no one under 6'. Since you have the experience I don't, how many 6' plus girls do you see with speed? I'm with you when it comes to filling the tool box, the more tools... the more dangerous. Any specific drills you would recommend for slapping or to build power? We already work pretty hard on footwork speed drills during basketball season. I'll be the first one to tell you, I'm an excellent bball coach, but that means absolutely nothing for softball and I'm learning a lot as we go. I'm all ears, open minded, and definitely willing to learn from good advice. All is appreciated, thanks.

[RetiredDI]

To keep it short: one name Natasha Watley. Very tall slapper. Someone who can bunt for a hit and also swing away and hit a BOMB over the fence.

I myself was a division I slapper.

10u - play around, switch hitters are great at this age. 75% normal side, 25% of her "not so good" side.

12u - start limiting her switching, one inning go right, next inning left. Split the time 50/50.

14u - it's time to pick! is she a slapper or is she a righty? My opinion you can NEVER go wrong on the left side. She's automatically closer to 1st now (whether her speed increases or stops). You can teach power on the left side. It only takes time, like it did on the right. My story, I'm barely 5'0" and when I would hit away I had multiple doubles and triples in high school + travel.

16u - start mastering the triple threat game!