Hitting and Hitters Discussion improving swing

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My dd is 9 and isn't swinging the bat as hard as she can. I need some tips to improve the speed of her swing. Do bat weights work? Any techniques? Thanks

 

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Practice practice practice and so on and so on. Main thing is make sure her swing mechanics are correct, and then hit from a tee over and over if live pitching is not available. I wouldn't use anything like bat weights at her young age. Her swing not being as hard as it can be due to the mechanics being off more than strength to swing the bat. A drill I have been having my daughter do, and she hits off a tee almost every day is that I put a pool noodle about 1 foot behind the tee just below the ball. When she swings she needs to not hit the noodle. It helps with the muscle memory of her dropping her hands because she got into a bad habit of dropping her hands and looping her swing.

 

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Video would help, is she using both the bottom and top half in her swing? A weighted bat isn't going to help bad mechanics and good mechanics with a proper sized bat should need an increase in bat speed.

 

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Its not how hard but how fast your swing is while hitting the sweet spot. Of course I've seen check swings going out of park.

almost sounded like a fortune cookie.

 

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Its not how hard but how fast your swing is while hitting the sweet spot. Of course I've seen check swings going out of park.

almost sounded like a fortune cookie.

Those half swing bombs are only from xeno right? :cap:

 

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Her mechanics are good, her bat size is good....she has no bat speed. I have no clue what to do for her.

 

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If bat speed is what your after that comes from turning the knob from catcher at load to pitcher at lag. This is achieved by pulling with the front elbow and not pushing with the back hand. It's also driving off the back side. Not just the hip but pulling every thing thru. It's loading both hips and hands and then unloading them at contact. The drills I would recommend most to start is the walk thru drill. Just u tube the name the drill will pop up

Tim

 

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Many girls simply lack the aggression to swing hard at that age. I have read a few things that suggest that at an early age the focus with the girls should be teaching them to swing hard. Once they are are at the point where they understand what that means, then start teaching them proper techniques??

One thing you might try is to use a partially deflated volley ball on the tee. She will really be able to feel the contact with the volley ball and realize she has to swing hard when hitting it. Make it a game to where she has to try to hit it farther each time, than the time before. Reward her if/when she does. Work your way from the tee to soft tossing it to her from the side.

On the mental side, try to pound into her head that it is OK to strike out. The world will not end and everyone will still lover her the same. A lot of girls are afraid to fail and therefore I think they translate that into not wanting to swing hard for fear of striking out. I have a 14 year old that I'm trying to get over that hump right now.

OR.......you could take her to Tim Duncan and he will set her straight!

 

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DaytonFP:
Four good points. You should be able to do aggression and technique at the same time, just emphasize the one you think is more important at that moment. (Obviously for MacieC that would be aggression.)

 

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This has worked for me.

Use an adult tennis racket and a bucket of tennis balls. Swing it like a bat. Do soft toss and let her wail away. Full extension and good technique but mainly enjoy the ball sailing to the fence. I suspect that she trying to remember all the stuff you are telling her and attempting to be perfect. (a common ailment of young women) the tennis racquets are extremely light and have a very forgiving sweet spot. Buy a bucket of tennis balls and just hit the bejesus out of them. Try very hard not to criticize her technique let her drive those balls to the fence and beyond, let a little joy creep into her life. As she improves you can switch to a very light bat (for speed) and still use the tennis balls, every one can feel like Babe Ruth. (We use tennis balls indoors for my high school team and they really look forward to scrimmage, no gloves and everything is in play, chaos reigns and happiness abounds)

Remember that softball is mental game, you can trick her into swinging hard, I always find that joy is a great motivator.

 

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Do not use weighted anything at that age! Follow what Tim posted. He is a good hitting instructor. Most kids do not use the bottom 1/2 at that age and swing only with the arms. The power and speed comes from the legs.