Hitting and Hitters Discussion Getting DD to hit more consistently

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How do I get my DD to hit more consistently? She has some tournaments where she's on fire and hits the ball hard. Then the next tournament she won't hit with much power at all. She rarely strikes out but sometimes she just hits the dinker off the end of her bat. Does anybody have any drills I can run her through?

 

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My dd had the same problems. She uses the tee almost daily. Before I can offer anymore advice, does she use a rotational (squish the bug) or linear (weight transfer)?

 

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She squishes the bug but i think sometimes she has a tendancy to lift her front leg too much.

 

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How do I get my DD to hit more consistently?

I've heard it said that hitting a pitched ball is the most difficult feat in sports, and I believe it.

Solid mechanics are critical. If I were you, I'd hunt up a batting instructor with credentials (someone who's worked with a college program is usually a good indicator).

(Also, while I don't agree with everything that RightView Pro teaches -- I think they make teaching hitting more difficult than it needs to be -- I can't deny that the swing they teach is very good. So, as a fallback, I'd look for someone who teaches RightView Pro.)

(Or, if funds are scarce, you yourself can become a hitting expert. Go on YouTube and look for the hitting videos by Mike Candrea. And hunt up Manny Ramirez's vision drills.)

And then have your daughter:

1) Practice all the time. I mean all the time. Five days a week, minimum. And it's good that she does tee work. Tee work will help her perfect her bat trajectory. Look into Total Control balls -- we call them 'heavy balls.' They help with bat speed. And get her to work with a pitching machine of some kind. Crank it a few mph faster than the fastest pitcher she could possibly see.

2.) Don't let your daughter listen to anybody else's hitting tips. I may get barred from this site, but in my experience, most kid coaches don't know anything about hitting. They remember a few slogans (most of which rhyme) like, "high to the sky" and "Mike and Ike" and "squish the bug." These cute rhymes might be nice to hum to your grandchild to try to get him to sleep, but, at best, they are worthless for hitting. At worst, they'll do more harm than good. I've actually talked to coaches and asked them if they have hitting input for my dd, please give it to me first, since I'm her hitting coach, and I don't want her to be confused by conflicting information.

3.) Put together a hitting video. Lots of kids learn by seeing. DVR some games featuring the hitter whose swing you most admire. Then -- being sure to get the express written permission of Major League Baseball, of course -- record them with your vid camera, download into your computer and edit them into a hitting video. Have your dd watch it every night before she goes to bed. As she nods off, have her envision the swing.

Being a great hitter (why settle for "good"?) takes a major major commitment.

That's the biggest reason there are so few of them.

 

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How do I get my DD to hit more consistently? She has some tournaments where she's on fire and hits the ball hard. Then the next tournament she won't hit with much power at all. She rarely strikes out but sometimes she just hits the dinker off the end of her bat. Does anybody have any drills I can run her through?

Teach her how to use a $7 dollar hammer with her wrist and from the the wrist to the elbow is a lever and the elbow and wrist are hinges.

Face the fire dill helps to work with momentum and combine that with the hand over drill.

Then when she hits put a concrete block on the outside edge of her back foot and she will lift her heel or she will not clear the brick...look into the coaches corner and there is some good information.

 

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Teach her how to use a $7 dollar hammer with her wrist and from the the wrist to the elbow is a lever and the elbow and wrist are levers.

Face the fire dill helps to work with momentum and combine that with the hand over drill.

Then when she hits put a concrete block on the outside edge of her back foot and she will lift her heel or she will not clear the brick...look into the coaches corner and there is some good information.

Cool Thanks! Sorry for my stupidity but what is the Face the fire drill? Also, when you are teaching do you teach the girls to take a small step with their front foot or no step at all? I don't know which is better.

 

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Cool Thanks! Sorry for my stupidity but what is the Face the fire drill? Also, when you are teaching do you teach the girls to take a small step with their front foot or no step at all? I don't know which is better.

First don't ever feel stupid for asking questions!! That is how we become better Coach's and better parents. Consistency usually is from pulling eyes off ball during swing. Two great drills I do that help with consistency on players and my DD. 1. Bean drill- soft toss any kind of bean to her (pinto, navy,blackeyed peas, ect.). Helps with hand-eye and don't have to chase balls or clean up too. Make sure they do the same routine every time and don't rush each swing. 2.Also, Tape Drill - Tape masking tape to there sunglases on lower half of glasses, then have them swing in the batting cages, have to keep eye on ball, pull head can't see it. Really good one for cages to break up same old swinging sessions. Great challenge too! My DD loves that one.
Good luck work hard!
Practice how you play, play how you practice!

 

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Thanks! I'll have to try that. She usually hits it just not solid every time. She needs to get her swing more consistent and keep her eye on the ball. She doesn't seem to hit the center of the ball every time. Is there anything I can say to her to get her to swing hard every time. I know I am making it sound like she does everything wrong when she doesn't but I am being nit picky on her stuff. I always tell her that the only reason I correct her is because I know what she is capable of. The other thing I tell her is that I will never get mad at her if she tries her hardest but if she doesn't give full effort that is when I will get upset.

 

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Cool Thanks! Sorry for my stupidity but what is the Face the fire drill? Also, when you are teaching do you teach the girls to take a small step with their front foot or no step at all? I don't know which is better.

Never feel bad about asking questions...Look in the coaches corner section and if is not there I will post it for you.

My feelings are if you step to throw you step to hit as it is easier to develop momentum in my opinion.

 

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Never feel bad about asking questions...Look in the coaches corner section and if is not there I will post it for you.

My feelings are if you step to throw you step to hit as it is easier to develop momentum in my opinion.

So work on proper throwing before we do hitting? The theory is that once she learns to step when throwing then stepping to hit will be more natural? I will check the coaches corner also.

 

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Proper footwook is essential start there and work your way up. If your not seeing anything terribly wrong with her swing mechanics it may be that shes young and inexperienced. DD still will have a tourny here or there where she doesnt hit that well,the rest of the time she tears it up. Its like baseball some people can be streaky.

 

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A lot of good drills, anybody have any video (YouTube) for these drills. I'd like to see them before working with my DD. Thanks.

 

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If you are wanting to start learning the art of hitting and it sounds like you are, here is a short list of references to start building your knowledge base. There are other but these are my favs. On the web check Siggys hitting clips and tips, read Steve Englishbey's public forums, look at Chris O'Leary's web site, also Hitting Illustrated, get a copy of Ted Williams book "The Science of Hitting", go to the coaches forum on this forum and read everything by Hitter then go to Discuss Fastpitch and read everything by Hitter, Tewks, O'Leary, MarkH. etc. Also of interest is Batspeed.com You will get some conflicting info but you will be able to sort and recognize the absolutes in hitting. And as a wise poster often said, as you get advice from various sources regarding your DD's swing and how to teach her, compare what they say against what the elite hitter's swing looks like. Good luck.

 

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Then, after you study all that, get your hands on a video camera and a tripod (it is extremely difficult to shoot quality analysis video by hand-holding the camera). You use video for a reason - it is nearly impossible to see what the batter is doing at full speed with the naked eye. Shoot video when she is doing tee work, soft toss etc. You'll eventually want "game swings", but those are not as useful at this stage. You can get those AFTER she has fixed stuff - to check the results. See what her swing looks like with no stress - you'll be surprised!

Then, compare, compare, compare. Look at the best hitters (Siggy's clips, etc.) and see how your DD's swing compares. Of course, you'll want to slow your video down to about half speed - most newer camcorders can.

After all that comes the most difficult part - the "fixing it" part. If you are really serious (and she has college ball aspirations) I strongly recommend seeing a knowledgeable instructor who has studied this stuff, and can explain WHY she needs to do certain things. If the instructor cannot explain the WHY part to your satisfaction, find someone who can. Not being able to explain why they are having her do certain things is a dead giveaway that they are just copying someone else's methods without even knowing if they work or not. From my experience, I would recommend Howard Carrier (Hitter) in the Cinci area.

I'd wish you good luck, but luck has nothing to do with it! It's all about discipline and QUALITY hard work.

 

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If you're truly "squishing the bug", then your weight is too far back to generate any force on the ball. You're better off with a slight linear weight shift into the front side to allow rotation around the front hip, not the back.

Hitting little dribblers can also be attributed to swinging early and/or pulling off the ball. Fine tuning your timing to the ball is done at release (elbow, then wrists.)

Lots of good advice in this thread.

 

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Here is a short video of her swing. Any suggestions?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kgBOJCpXP0

 

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There are some things in the video that I THINK Hitter will address because it does relate to throwing. These will not only help your DD be a better hitter but also keep her healthy. I know this first hand as Hitter identified some of the same things in my DD.

I can see how your DD will hit it hard sometimes and off the end of the bat other times. She seems to be a more hands to the ball hitter which some can do really well for contact. I could not slow the video down but did notice she gets her back elbow ahead of he hands and then has to role her wrist to get the bat head to release. this would put her bat in hitting zone for only a short distance and in turn missing the ball/hitting it off the end of the bat. I would guess when your DD hits the ball it comes off the bat with allot of downward spin (seems spinning toward the pitcher). Even hard hit balls over the infield would dive because of this spin.

You DD looks like a good athlete and I commend you for putting her video on here. With her athleticism and better technique she could blast a ball more consistently. I have witnessed this first hand with my DD and several other kids thanks to Hitter's (and his merry Lemmings) advice/help.

 

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Hitting barefooted is great...I can see with that she has her weight on her whole foot, (both feet) rather than being on her toes. This causes a lack of balance and is also why she hits "inconsistantly". You are to be commended for recognizing her not being "consistant"...many times parents file away in their memory that "one weekend" where she hit great and lable their DD a great hitter. Being an "elite" hitter takes exactly what you have shown: An honest evaluation and desire to be better. Batting average is tied directly to having "one swing", having one swing takes lots and lots of practice. If that needs more of an explanation feel free to PM me.

Coach Jack

 

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Here is a short video of her swing. Any suggestions?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kgBOJCpXP0

In my opinion the tee is not being used correctly. This type of tee needs a throw down plate or be on top of a home plate. Her stance position would in my opinion be causing her too hit the ball too deep in the box because the tee is too close to her as to depth in box. We start our kids by placing the tee about two to three inches in front of home plate and in the middle and the hitter measures off the back corner of home by laying the bat across home plate so the bat head is exactly on the outside corner and then you place your lead foot toe at where the knob is. We like using the width of the shoulders plus half and add two inches. For example if the shoulders are 16 inches wide, divide by 2 and add the the 16 and that equals 24 inches, then it has been my experience that adding two inches usually gets you pretty close to start with.

Hang a line in the middle of the net vertically and see if she is hitting everything to the left or is she staying close to the line and then we can make more adjustments.

 

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Her depth at the tee does not appear to be the main problem, but she seems to be too far away from the ball. Yahtzee is correct in that she drags the bat and her hands are too low. Her shoulder also opens up too soon, causing a barring (straightening) of the front arm and the lack of space between her lead elbow and her left ribcage. Your daughters swing also ends low, wrapping the bat around her below her front shoulder.

Your daughter attacks the ball with her hands. Once the batter loads, she should attack the ball with her front shoulder as she takes a forward step, followed by attacking the ball with the sweet spot of the barrel of the bat by starting her hip rotation and pulling the bat through the hitting zone with her left arm, simultaneously. The front elbow should be higher than the hands, and the hands should be higher than the barrel of the bat. The swing should finish high....her hands should end up somewhere around her left ear.

Hope this helps
Len