My daughter is a second year 12U player, and has just finished trying out for travel teams. I got feedback from the coach of a team she tried out for, but did not make, and it included the following statement:
"I am worried about her hitting mechanics, it appears she has been taught the typical power baseball swing, which doesn't really translate to softball in my opinion. I bet she crushes the slower pitchers. I feel she might struggle with the faster pitchers we will be seeing."
Now, I am not an expert on hitting mechanics. At all. Her hitting coach says he's making too big of a deal of it, and there is nothing wrong with her swing. From a cursory examination of what's on the Internet, it looks as though the use of "baseball swings" is controversial.
The hitting coach for the team she did wind up making did not agree that she was using a "baseball swing," but agreed that she will have trouble hitting off faster pitchers because of the mechanics of her swing ("long" to the pitch vs. "short") and holding her bat horizontally vs. at an angle. He suggested bringing her elbow in so that her arm is more compact and using more of a hip rotation to generate power.
Although she's been playing rec for years, this is the first critique of this sort we've heard, so we want to do the right thing to help her improve as she ages.
Can anyone offer an opinion on this "baseball swing" issue and whether you feel we need to start over from scratch with her swing? See attached photos of her swing.
"I am worried about her hitting mechanics, it appears she has been taught the typical power baseball swing, which doesn't really translate to softball in my opinion. I bet she crushes the slower pitchers. I feel she might struggle with the faster pitchers we will be seeing."
Now, I am not an expert on hitting mechanics. At all. Her hitting coach says he's making too big of a deal of it, and there is nothing wrong with her swing. From a cursory examination of what's on the Internet, it looks as though the use of "baseball swings" is controversial.
The hitting coach for the team she did wind up making did not agree that she was using a "baseball swing," but agreed that she will have trouble hitting off faster pitchers because of the mechanics of her swing ("long" to the pitch vs. "short") and holding her bat horizontally vs. at an angle. He suggested bringing her elbow in so that her arm is more compact and using more of a hip rotation to generate power.
Although she's been playing rec for years, this is the first critique of this sort we've heard, so we want to do the right thing to help her improve as she ages.
Can anyone offer an opinion on this "baseball swing" issue and whether you feel we need to start over from scratch with her swing? See attached photos of her swing.
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