bat size

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The easiest way way to see it is watch the swing and if you dont have BAT LAG ( where your back elbow passes up your hands) you most likely can handle the weight.
I have seen it with the high school girls trying to use these monster bats we have.
their hips and elbow are trying so hard to pull the weight of the heavy bat thrue that they pass up the hands and the bat head never gets out front

Sometimes when we see this as to the elbow getting ahead of the hand we say stay strong on the back side so the elbow is directly over the hand.

I have taken a rope and knotted one end of it to serve as a knob of a bat and you stand behind the hitter and hold the other end of the bat....the hitter moves away from you so they take the slack out of the rope and provide a little tension.

Now very slowly have the hitter load and go to toe touch and start to close the gap or slot the elbow as they are simultaneously making a good first move with their lead arm elbow of about 2 to 4 inches forward or linear...the tension will increase and then see where their elbow and hand are. The lead arm elbow should be above the hands and the hands are above the plane of the pitch. If the elbow cleared the body it will be a strong move however if the elbow is close to the body they will not be in a strong position to put tension on the rope.

Next have them back up to a net so the net is in the position of the catcher then swing an actual bat...did the bat touch the net? If so look for the torque of the bat going forward then backwards to what we term bat drag verses lag. Then ask them to pull the bat or whip the bat from behind their head as described above and usually they will not touch the net and that is bat lag. The closer they can get to the net without hitting it is the better hitter in my opinion as to mechanics.

 

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thats all good but I have to say again if your back elbow PASSES your hands you physically cant get the bat head out front where it needs to be.

I understand slotting the elbow and the top of the body staying connected to the lower body, so we are not just arm swingers.

 

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thats all good but I have to say again if your back elbow PASSES your hands you physically cant get the bat head out front where it needs to be.

I understand slotting the elbow and the top of the body staying connected to the lower body, so we are not just arm swingers.

Coach I agree what I was trying to explain is how to get them to feel the difference of being connected and disconnected to correct the issue.

More than anything hitting is a feel and if they feel the difference they seem to buy into it faster to fix it. I explain it to the girls if they are going out to the mall or on a date and they pass in front of a mirror....sometimes it just does not feel right and they will go back and change something without anyone else saying a word to them. When you can get them to feel it it is huge as to teaching in my opinion.

We have a saying see it in the mirror, see it, feel it and fix it. When standing with the belly button facing the mirror they will see the elbow is ahead using the rope. With their lead shoulder facing the mirror they can see if the elbow is too close to their body and feel it.

By swinging with a net behind them they will feel the difference of lag verses drag which helps the teaching process.

I made a device called the helicopter bat that demonstrates what this feels like and looks like. If the hands are ahead the rotating piece will not rotate at contact and if the elbow is ahead of the hands it will not rotate at all. It has a rubber band attached to it so the feeling is in the hands and forearms especially.