ssarge wrote:Been waiting on the sidelines on this thread hoping to add my .02 with some relevant info. Here's the thing. I truly believe it is the Indian and not the arrow as Tumble has said before..maybe Sarge either way both seem to know their stuff as I do not know them personally. But if you could pick an arrow the Anderson bats are good place to end NOT start. Follow me on this. Finally purchased the Techzilla for DD in June. Took DD to BP and did teework. Daughter could not get the feel of bat as endload weighting made it feel heavier then 31/21 to her. Tried again in next two sessions and still could not get comfortable although when squared up-that sweet ping noise is followed by a drive that leaves dad wanting more. Alas, no cigar and DD goes back to Halo Light. Summer ends, DD finishes middle of pack on team in hitting. Fall begins with a move up in age..after first tournament our defense wins us games but clearly our hitting needed to pick up. Finally decided to think out of the box and take DD to hitting instructor outside of team coaches. First 3 lessons worked on mechanics, balance and timing with the idea of increasing bat speed..Different methods employed by instructor..TECHZILLA comes out of the bag to use as heavier bat to increase bat speed in training, uses it for teework and live BP. The proper mechanics and confidence she gains has her wanting to swing the Techzilla in live games as the ping noise becomes more common.
Instructor advises DD for this tournament swing your normal bat(Halo Light) so you concentrate on the basics. DD goes 5-8 on the weekend with solid singles. DD asks if on her last AB she can use the TECHZILLA. Fine. I thought she deserved it. Double to left center! Same location as previous hit but in the gap. There are many fine bats out there no doubt but the Anderson bat has become the end goal for dd. Take a lesson, put the work in so your dd can get comfortable with swinging an end loaded bat such as the RT or Techzilla. Then let her reap the rewards. I can't wait for her to swing Techzilla fulltime. My .02.
Good post, and entirely consistent with my experience. I don't know the details of what your instructor told your DD, obviously. But as I have posted - I think recently on this site, maybe even on this thread - end-loaded-bat comfort is GREATLY related to swing mechanics. "Traditional" softball hitting mechanics, which emphasize creating force with the arms and "taking the hands to the ball," create relatively little bat speed, make it easy to disconnect the arms from the body, and make an end-loaded bat feel very heavy. Change the mechanics to typical baseball mechanics - certainly the trend in elite softball - and the force is created by the body, and the job of the arms is to remain connected and deliver the power. When a hitter does this, she barely notices the weight of the bat. Another couple of ozs may be a lot if the arms are doing everything. It isn't much if the body is creating the force.
My guess is that you found a solid hitting instructor and are on the correct path mechanically. GReat! Further, I would imagine you'll be very pleased with your Anderson bat. If you can handle a slight end-load, the result is very gratifying.
Wishing you and your DD well,
Scott
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