WHO should learn to slap?

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So here I am getting ready to get my daughter involved with slapping. While reading this and that and so on it occurs to me.... SHOULD I? She is a natural righty that I've had swinging lefty since she was in the gestation phase in momma-coach's belly. I didn't bless her with any natural speed and if she continues to play infield it will be a corner. She runs like she doesn't really need to go where she is heading.

In rec she really crushes the ball. In travel (she does both, this year only) she is still catching up but she is progressing well. Biggest difference of course is the speed of the pitchers.

So.... do non-greasy fast players slap? Sure any extra tool in the hitters belt is useful but if she is going to spend XX amount of hours working on hitting how much, if any, should she be working on slapping?

I personally now feel that I want to just work on her driving the ball and let the faster players slap. However as I get more and more into the world of softball I need to make sure I am putting my daughter down the correct path.

What say ye?

 

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OR... should I work on the drag bunt instead of the slap? Or should I go get a Snickers Bar and drink the rest of this cold Mt. Dew?

 

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My response would be if shes a 4-5 hole and has any size or power your not gonna fool anyone , the outfield will still play back the defense would probably not go into a slap defense. Have her learn it as its always another weapon she has in her arsenal, but dont waste valuable tee time on something shes not going to do on a regular basis to help her team score. Having a big stick slap makes about as much sense to me as sending a semi thru a fast food drive thru....... you can do it, but its not what they were designed for,,,,, and it looks pretty silly to boot

 

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My response would be if shes a 4-5 hole and has any size or power your not gonna fool anyone , the outfield will still play back the defense would probably not go into a slap defense. Have her learn it as its always another weapon she has in her arsenal, but dont waste valuable tee time on something shes not going to do on a regular basis to help her team score. Having a big stick slap makes about as much sense to me as sending a semi thru a fast food drive thru....... you can do it, but its not what they were designed for,,,,, and it looks pretty silly to boot

I'd say you have experience in deciding that for your daughter so I should pay attention to those words.

Right now she is in our 3 spot. She is 10 so things could always change with her but I think if she continues down the road that I did, and my son, she will be power person and not a 100m sprinter.

I may put some slap time in to have it as you mentioned and it be fun for her. Maybe it will help her with tracking the ball better. Or hell maybe I'll have her fake one to draw the defense in.

 

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First you will see very few switch hitters in softball, so pick a side and stay there and unless she can make it to first base in 2.8 or less, slapping is not going to be much of a weapon. Good slappers can also hit for power and as Tim stated the defense has to pick a poison.

 

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She hits lefty only.

 

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I'm with SBFamily. If she isn't under 3 seconds (and we could debate all day about how to time that), work on her power game.

 

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She is under 3 seconds, but then after that still has to get from the outer edge of the batters box to first base.

Total time from contact to first base = TUESDAY

 

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I kid, she isn't that slow. But she isn't fast either.

 

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RBOE, This is something if you track slappers that they cause. Everyone ,because of the speed gets in a hurry and you see them get on base because of errors. I can't count the number of times , kids have gotten in a hurry on the throw or fielding the ball, because they know a kid is fast. So if they don't have the speed, it won't happen. She has 9 of these, which don't count toward her 538OB%. At the KSU showcase camp, she has the second fastest time, but as Carol Stated it depends on who and how they record it. She slaps as one of her weapons, and will read the defense and take what they give her. She has hit a few off the fence this year, when they were playing her to slap. Easy triples. Coach B when he was a WSU used 2.8 as a cutoff for slappers.

 

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Every hitter should learn to slap, but only the rabbits should drag from the left side.

 

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What is RBOE? Is that like ROUS?

My niece can drive the ball, slap, etc. She has a good combination of power and speed. Depending on the game situation she hits according to what the defense gives her. In the end they have to play her "neutral" so they don't dictate what she does.

 

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Ah, yes, a topic I can talk about all day ....

I believe there are certain attributes that make a young player a candidate for slapping.
1. Speed
2. Speed
3. Speed
4. Willingness to give up batting from the right side altogether
5. Heightened hand-eye coordination and body awareness
6. (this one's not a requirement but increases the chances of #4) Average or less hitter from the right side; or even a bit above average hitter but with limited power

First and foremost in importance is speed. WM, based on your original inquiry, you seem to sense that this is a critical element, and you are correct. It's sometimes difficult with young kids to project how their footspeed may improve as they grow; however, in most cases, the really fast kids were really fast as soon as they hit the ground as toddlers. Suffice to say, if you are confident that a kid will never have more than average speed, I would not recommend wasting time even teaching them how to slap.

My list above is somehwhat facetious (listing speed as #1-3), but it really is all about speed. The notion of "another tool in the toolbelt" doesn't fly, because one cannot become an effective slapper without spending A LOT of time doing it. Moreover, that is time taken away from practicing right-handed swinging. So, technically, by toying with slapping, a player is almost certainly going to be a worse right-handed hitter (simply due to splitting time/ reps). This is why #4 is so important. My DD split her time batting R and L until she was about 14. She was a decent hitter (350-400) before committing 100% to the left side - after giving up righty and working her tail off for several years, her average starts with a 4 in summer and 5 or 6 in HS ball.

#5 is important because slapping is inherently difficult for most players. Think about it, you take a tough chore (hitting fastpitch softballs) and add more moving parts to the equation. Hand-eye coordination is a must and is obvious, but the other factor is body awareness. This is different from simply hand-eye - you need to be aware of all parts of your body (shoulders, feet, hips, etc) as it's moving through the batters box. That's even before thinking about getting your hands to where the ball is struck. I can't overstate how much practice time it takes to master this. If you tinker with slapping, you are wasting time (back to #4) that could be spent becoming a better regular hitter.

Slapping is not only not for everyone, it's probably truly mastered by very few who attempt to do it. The best advice is to commit to it 100% (no more right-handed hitting; in fact, learn to swing away lefty to complete the package).

This subject is dear to my heart, because if it was not for slapping, my DD who is a senior would otherwise be in her final weeks of playing competitive ball. Her God-given speed and hard work learning and finally mastering the short game has provided her with a "4-year pass" to play softball at the next level. I am 90% sure she would not have received a D1 scholarship if she did not commit 100% to slapping 4 years ago.

 

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reached base on error. It does not figure into OB%. RBOE

 

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This subject is dear to my heart, because if it was not for slapping, my DD who is a senior would otherwise be in her final weeks of playing competitive ball. Her God-given speed and hard work learning and finally mastering the short game has provided her with a "4-year pass" to play softball at the next level. I am 90% sure she would not have received a D1 scholarship if she did not commit 100% to slapping 4 years ago.

She hits lefty. Natural righty but hits lefty.

Thanks for the reply. Time is short for practice, especially during the season and I would hate to see her not improve at driving the ball to learn how to slap. Especially if she would only do it in special circumstances.

 

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reached base on error. It does not figure into OB%. RBOE

I should have known that one.

 

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I wish I tracked RBOE after they already beat out a clean play....in my experience it increases dramaticly. For my DD I kept track of AOB % leaving out FC. So hits, ROE, BB and HBP.

 

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I agree with a few others and say it's all about speed ... if she's not in the top 5-10% of girls speed-wise (I never believe all the times I hear), then I think it's a waste of time.

 

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riots--- good post . we need move experienced people who have been thru the grind of recruitingto share their experiences , come back often. MD

 

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I liked your post but I have to ask a question . Why dosent it fly? I stated not to waste precious tee time on it but what does it hurt to learn it. Any time a kid gets a chance to learn a new skill it only makes her more proficient at her game as a whole. Will she ever use it. probably not, but when she attends a college camp and they ask her to bunt or slap it sure wont hurt her in the eyes of the coach to know how to be able to do it.
Ask Bustos to slap and watch her reaction, the First thing she would probably ask is where do you want it?
I congratulate your dd on going to college and playing ball at the D1 level and believe me I understand the time and commitment it takes to get there.