Hitting and Hitters Discussion 14u moving to slap?

[freddieball]

Ok my daughter bats right handed, has seen a hitting coach for a few years. Her swing mechanics are awesome, she sees the ball well and she makes decent contact. She also hits the ball very hard, sometimes it shocks people watching how far she hits because she is smaller. On that note. She is about 5'1' and slender. She is very fast. She often makes first on a regular bunt from batting right handed. She has practiced some slapping, and many coaches seem to ask why she doesn't with her speed. I don't want to mess up her batting from right side. Was wandering if any other parents or coaches have ran into this and if it may mess up her regular batting if she starts focusing on slapping. She still needs to be able to bat right handed while she learns and gets reps slapping. We were going to have her hitting instructor start working on it at her lessons if its a good idea. We didn't know the importance of slapping when she starting playing years ago or I would have made the changes when she was much younger.

 

[FastBat]

My thoughts...I would absolutely have her practice/play slapping from the left side. One of the things we did years ago (seriously mid 90's) was slap and bunt a ton, as righties on the left side! I don't know why but I rarely see this now (although I see 10u's). We had fast, lean, right handed power hitters that slapped/bunted lefty. That's a tough player not to put in the line up. I would think you would want your dd to be a triple threat (slap well, bunt well, hit well)! Plus, I think it helps with tracking the ball and increases the general knowledge of the game, for your dd. Good luck!

 

[powerpuff]

I agree with FastBat. WOW!!!! What a fantastic problem you have proposed here. Your daughter can actually have her pie and add whip cream to it also. Anyway, if your daughter can hit from the right as you have indicated, GREAT!!!! If your daughter is fast and her coaches feel she should slap, WHAT A BONUS! The more your dd can do the more she is going to play. Remember softball is a team sport so there may be times that she is in a situation to hit the long ball and then again she may be able to get that girl around in a game winning situation just by slapping. T E A M! Good Luck and if I might say, this is quite a compliment to your dd.

 

[Hilliarddad3]

If you are going to commit to slapping commit to it fully. Cassie Cunningham at Ohio Weslyan runs a good camp on it as well. Her average will go down first year, but do not flip flop back and forth as it will do more harm than good. With the speed you state, slap it!!!

 

[FastBat]

I agree with FastBat. WOW!!!! What a fantastic problem you have proposed here. Your daughter can actually have her pie and add whip cream to it also. Anyway, if your daughter can hit from the right as you have indicated, GREAT!!!! If your daughter is fast and her coaches feel she should slap, WHAT A BONUS! The more your dd can do the more she is going to play. Remember softball is a team sport so there may be times that she is in a situation to hit the long ball and then again she may be able to get that girl around in a game winning situation just by slapping. T E A M! Good Luck and if I might say, this is quite a compliment to your dd.

That's right softball is a team sport, people don't realize the importance of getting up to bat and doing whatever the team needs! I.E.- bunting to get on base, sac bunting, slapping, powerslapping, sac fly, and the list can go on and on and hits every aspect of the game! Good Luck freddie!

 

[stewed71]

I know this is late but I will share our experience with having my DD switch to left this past year. She is a lot like the way you described your daughter and I will say if your DD can bring what she can do from the right side to the left side, she will be a very valuable asset to any team at any place in the hitting order. Having the ability to bunt, slap, drag, powerslap and hit for power is a tremendous offensive arsenal.

With that said, be careful especially if it's the coach asking the player to make the switch. There is a lot of hard work on your own but it also takes a committment from the coach. My DD was asked to switch at the beginning of fall ball 2013. She bought into it, we bought into it and her hitting instructor proceeded to help her make the switch. Hilliarddad3 is right, her batting average fell over the summer season. Where she was a solid above .300 hitter from the right, her average for the season that just ended was in the low .200. Though she started well, hitting over .300 in the fall and the beginning of this summer, as she saw better pitchers with speed or great movement, her batting average suffered. She was taken out of leadoff hitter spot 2 tourneys into the summer season, which is understandable. Then she was moved to 9th in the batting order. She also had the DP hit for her who had a lower batting average than she did. Of course this destroyed her confidence. And to add insult to injury, she was not invited back to the team for this fall and 2015 season due to her "offense".

She will continue with left side cause she wants to and she knows she can become a great left hand hitter with work. She is building her confidence back up and will stick with because she wants it. So it is a positive but I would just caution that if the coach asks your DD to switch that they are as committed to her as she will be. Just my experience with having a hitter switch sides.

 

[mwaddell]

If she has the speed, move her to the left side. If she can dedicate herself to put in the reps, her on base average and batting average should both increase over time (hopefully sooner than later). Use the whole arsenal (slap, drag, power slap, etc. . .). If she can do all, she will be more of an asset. I would be fine with still hitting from the right side as she gets comfortable from the left side, but the quicker she makes the move fully to the left side, the better. Best of luck with the switch, and don't let her get frustrated early on as she is learning.

 

[Rebel]

I switched mine at age 14 - exactly 1 year ago. Lefties that can hit, drag, and slap drive the defense bonkers. Be patient. Also it helps to have a coach who lets the player decide what to do based on the defense. They fully commit knowing its their choice.