Hitting and Hitters Discussion Switch Hitting

[default]

This post is somewhat related to the "Lefty Slappers" thread, but I didn't want to take it off topic.

I'm teaching my lefty slapper to hit from the left side so that defenses will have to play her honest. My question is, should I continue to have her hit from the right side and turn her into a switch hitter? Or... should we focus all of her time in learning how to hit exclusively from the left side?

 

[default]

Switch hitting is a bonus in the major leagues, when you have a 160+ game schedule, and are playing nearly every day for 9 months, not so much in HS or travel ball.

I had a girl that worked on switch hitting for 4 years on my HS team, but probably hit left handed less than 5 times in those 4 years. She never hit with any consistency from the right side, and I often wonder if she had focused all her effort on one side or the other, if she might have had a better HS career.

 

[default]

You might say I went thru this last year. At 12 my dd became a bunter , slapper from the left with speed. She would switch to the right to bat for power.. We switched her about 5 months ago to hit only from the left side. I agree with Lady_Knight. I did this only after talking to many college coaches and some very good hitting coaches. They all told me not to have her as a switch hitter , but since she had speed keep her on the left. That at 13 it was a good time to do this. Lady_Knight and I watched her hit last weekend as a left handed hitter. The college coaches told me if they have a girl that can bunt/slap and hit from the left with speed, it puts great pressure on the defense. If you want to pm me I can give you some names that I contacted.

 

[default]

I would have her turn 100% to the left so she becomes natural. ?A great device to use is the bat action. ?It will not work correctly unless you use good techinique and really develops hand eye coordinations.

http://hit2win.com/bataction_pro.html

Probably one of the best training pieces I have ever used. First unit was purchased in 1999 and still working like a horse and 2nd unit purchased last spring.

 

[default]

my dd is 16 and can hit either right or left. She started working on this last year so she is pretty efficient at it now. Her travel coach wants her to only go from the left, in essence to make a commitment. She is very fast and slaps, bunts etc from either side. I have told her to continue to practice and it is a good thing. She has a new hs coach this year and he informed them they wouldn't be slapping at all. He didn't like that and would not call for it. She could drag or bunt, but not slap. He didn't say anything about hitting away, so she will do that instead. I don't know how old your daughter is, but until she becomes proficient at hitting away left, I would have her practice both. Once she becomes proficient committ to the left. It will get her noticed.

 

[default]

my dd is 16 and can hit either right or left. She started working on this last year so she is pretty efficient at it now. Her travel coach wants her to only go from the left, in essence to make a commitment. She is very fast and slaps, bunts etc from either side. I have told her to continue to practice and it is a good thing. She has a new hs coach this year and he informed them they wouldn't be slapping at all. He didn't like that and would not call for it. She could drag or bunt, but not slap. He didn't say anything about hitting away, so she will do that instead. I don't know how old your daughter is, but until she becomes proficient at hitting away left, I would have her practice both. Once she becomes proficient committ to the left. It will get her noticed.

She's 12. We've been working on it since fall ball ended and she is pretty proficient in the cage. We haven't really had enough real at-bats to gauge her progress yet. We recently had a lesson with a respected hitting coach and learned some good stuff, so we're working on the small stuff to get better.

It's a shame your DD's new coach doesn't appreciate how effective of a weapon a slapper can be. It amazes me sometimes how some coaches are so set in their ways that they refuse to try something different.

We'll probably do 75%-85% of our practice strictly from the left side, yet still devote some time on the right so that she can, on the occasion the situation calls for it, still perform on the right.

 

[default]

Our daughter hits from both sides. HS coach likes right; summer coach likes left. We too go to the batting cages a couple times a week to get in the lefty part of batting practice.

Our chiropractor has emphasized to us on several occasions that it is important to hit from both sides in practice. I don't know all the medical stuff behind his instruction, but he is basically trying to keep her left and right side balanced.

We figure it doesn't hurt to continue to go both ways as she is not giving up practice time for one direction to work on the other direction.

 

[default]

If you are going to commit, then just commit and take the loss in average the first year. Don't flip flop back and forth as it will make her average on two sides vs good at one..... Well worth it in the long run.

 

[default]

my dd is 16 and can hit either right or left. She started working on this last year so she is pretty efficient at it now. Her travel coach wants her to only go from the left, in essence to make a commitment. She is very fast and slaps, bunts etc from either side. I have told her to continue to practice and it is a good thing. She has a new hs coach this year and he informed them they wouldn't be slapping at all. He didn't like that and would not call for it. She could drag or bunt, but not slap. He didn't say anything about hitting away, so she will do that instead. I don't know how old your daughter is, but until she becomes proficient at hitting away left, I would have her practice both. Once she becomes proficient committ to the left. It will get her noticed.

sftbllmom, sometimes you can take the boy out of baseball, but not necessarily the baseball out of the boy. Shame, that your dd will not get a chance to develop this very effective tool at her HS.

I'm not sure if all the posters have developed a consensus yet, but I think one thing is certain, having left handed skills are very valuable now-a-days. No doubt it is in high demand.

 

[default]

If you are going to commit, then just commit and take the loss in average the first year. Don't flip flop back and forth as it will make her average on two sides vs ?good at one..... Well worth it in the long run.

Yeah, you're right. I keep flip-flopping on this a little. We practiced tonight and it was all from the left side.

She's getting better. She hit the ball pretty well, but is still pulling the ball some and swinging around it. Seems like she is making a bad first move sometimes. When she keeps her hands back at toe touch she drives the ball up the middle.

 

[default]

When we convert righty to lefty we work on the ball in a hand drill by throwing left handed with both hands at once. If you have RVP you'll understand the drill.

This seems to help get them get coordinated and on a fast track to hitting left handed in my opinion.

Howard

Howard, I think I'm starting to understand the importance of the ball-in-hand drill more. Seems like simulating a top hand release by pointing the finger where you want the ball to go helps.

 

[default]

There are at least 2 girls on our team with speed and the ability to slap, but like I said the coach told them they would not be slapping. This is a very effective tool for getting on base. Her travel team has 3 or 4 really good slappers so that is what I told her to concentrate on. The summer coach wants her to commit to left, but if she isn't allowed in hs then she must practice both. Actually, I think it is a good idea anyway. When she first started learning to hit left, the hitting coach had her do only left and nothing else. She was frustrated at first but got the hang of it and can now hit as well from the left as from the right. But, after practicing only from the left for so long, it took her a couple of times in the cage to "pick up" the right swing again. I am talking for about 6 months all she did was hit left.

 

[default]

cshilt: Pulling is common , when they switch. Howard had to work on my dd to break her of it. We are still doing some drills to break her of some habits. The good news all the bad habits they did on the right side are gone, in that everything is new on the left side. If anyone wants to see how important left handed batters are on college teams. Pull up the players on a college team. Look at how many throw right bat left. It will convice you how important college coaches place on left handed hitters with speed.

 

[default]

My dd is 12 years old and has gone to a hitting coach since she was 8. She is pretty good at both sides of the plate. I was certain that that was kind of a commodity for college. Her travel coach wants her to go only right and will not develop her any further on the left. I'm not so sure that is a good thing. Am I wrong? I see that some of you think so.

 

[default]

My daughter's college team played a team this past weekend that had six lefties in a row. Two in a row were power hitters, and it made things difficult to pitch around them. Their team is ranked in the top 25 for their division.

 

[default]

My dd is 12 years old and has gone to a hitting coach since she was 8. She is pretty good at both sides of the plate. I was certain that that was kind of a commodity for college. Her travel coach wants her to go only right and will not develop her any further on the left. I'm not so sure that is a good thing. Am I wrong? I see that some of you think so.

There are a few of these type of posts in this thread where the coaches want to do something contrary to the parents/players desire to hit from the left side. I think you should talk to the coaches and make your long-term goals understood with them. It probably would be better to make the commitment to one side or the other, but if you or your DD want that side to be the left side the coach should respect that decision.

Of course, it may affect her playing time or spot in the order while she make the switch, but as a player/parent you need to be prepared for that and put in the work to get better.

 

[default]

What Chris stated is correct. Couple of ?
1. How fast is she to first base?
2. If she has speed and your travel ball coach will not let her bat left, then you need to do what is best for the dd? If your goal is college and she has speed and you stated she is working with a hitting coach in Northern Ohio, why stay on a team that is holding your dd back?
Many teams are still posting for talent at the 12U level. It's your choice, but I would talk to your coach and let him know your feelings.
Keep in mind not all travling ball coaches as well as high school coaches, are aware of what it takes to play at the next level. You might find out they have never had to coach a lefty/slapper/bunter. If they came from baseball, they might not understand how softball is geared toward speed.

 

[default]

I am sure it wouldn't effect her playing time.

She was always able to get on base from either side of the plate. She rarely strikes out. However, since she joined this team she has gotten so much stronger from the right. She has never swung through the ball at the plate (she always does from a pitching machine) until now. But she can hit, drag, slap, and bunt from the left. She is swinging through from the left as well but is not as strong. Would it be better to make her stronger from the left and forget the right all together? She has gained a lot of speed to first base over the winter but I have certainly seen faster girls.

The coaches on this team are all first rate. I am going to talk to him about it, but I want to know what to ask. Some of the other coaches do not agree with him totally.

 

[default]

I am sure it wouldn't effect her playing time.

She was always able to get on base from either side of the plate. ?She rarely strikes out. ?However, since she joined this team she has gotten so much stronger from the right. ?She has never swung through the ball at the plate (she always does from a pitching machine) until now. ?But she can hit, drag, slap, and bunt from the left. ?She is swinging through from the left as well but is not as strong. ?Would it be better to make her stronger from the left and forget the right all together? ?She has gained a lot of speed to first base over the winter but I have certainly seen faster girls.

The coaches on this team are all first rate. ?I am going to talk to him about it, but I want to know what to ask. ?Some of the other coaches do not agree with him totally.

All I can say is that if she can do it all from the left side she'd be a sought after commodity at the next level. If, however, she has a lot, and I mean a lot, more power from the right she might be better there.

How long has she been batting left? Natasha Whately said on a blog that she didn't get real power from the left side until later in her high school years.

 

[default]

Well she just started swinging through the ball this winter. She would always stop swinging when the bat hit the ball. So the power just started because she doesn't stop swinging anymore. She doesn't stop swinging on the left either now. She started batting left with a private coach when she was about 8 years old. She is a lean 12 year old but she is not "skeleton" skinny. So there is definate potential when she fills out. She is already pretty tall. I just thought that switch hitting was the commodity. Even if she can power hit from the right, wouldn't it be beneficial if a run is needed or to advance a runner she could also drag, bunt, slap or hit from the left? Even if all her power isn't there, she is at least good for a base hit.