I appreciate the comments. I would have to agree with you RBR09, at times my DD's swing can get very gate-like. I think her follow-through is normally pretty good but is affected by her lack of flexability. When she does top hand release drills she has great follow-through. Her performance last season was inconsistant. I personally felt like the problem was her trying to swing way too hard but wasn't sure. She has always been really strong in the upper body and not very flexable so I feel like she wants to just overpower the ball at times. She is still a work in process!
I would try the following to get the top half and bottom working together....bend at the waste first and soften the knees in that sequence. The shoes should be on the ground and heels of the feet will be off of the shoes and she should be able to feel that. Now push on her back and chest alternately and she should maintain her balance. Look closely when she softens the knees that her butt does not go down and her back becomes erect. If this happens take bat and place it under her butt and if she feels like she is setting on the bat she will feel it. Have her maintain the tilt of her upper body verses the sinking down. This method of balancing engages the core muscles and connects so to speak of connecting the top half to the bottom half.
The next thing I would work on is landing on a flexed front knee on the inside edge of the front foot. Have her take her shoes and socks off. Now get her balanced again and load (going back to go forward) we do what is termed a knee cock or inward turn. Then have her step to toe touch....did she land on all 5 toes or on the inside edge of the foot? If the baby toe is off the ground and the heel is slightly off the ground she will feel a little bounce or springiness in her hip and make sure the knee is flexed or slightly bent. If you slap her gently on the lead leg thigh she will wiggle like Jello on a plate and if the leg is too firm you will you will feel the resistance.
The hand over drill would be next and I think we covered that in a PM and that will get her to extension which we often see lacking in most girls as they tend to give up on the ball at contact and or roll their wrist. Evidence of this can be seen when they slap the shoulder or back or finish sharply between the back shoulder and neck with the bat.
Without actually being able to see her swing in person this should help generate more power number and sharply hit balls....not knowing how she grips the bat would be my next focus.
When she throws does the back foot release from the ground and come forward? If not she is not flexing the knee and I would fix that first as that is an indication of the disconnect of the upper to lower body. Look at photo's 3,4,5 and you see the weight shifting at separation as the hips are moving and have not stopped....now visualize they are throwing and it looks the same. For girls especially this is a common trait, if they hit poorly they usually are poor throwers because they do not transfer their weight properly.
Howard
