When a girl bends she gives up all her power. You need good balance and a solid foundation to hit with power. Bending forward takes your lower body out of the swing entirely.
If you want to push a stalled car, do you bend over? No, the first thing you do is set your lower body and then line up your upper body with it. And then you push with your legs.
Hitting is the same kind of thing -- getting the most power into propelling an object forward.
The greatest hitter -- hitting for both power and average -- of this era has been Manny Ramirez.
Here is an excellent video on why he's able to do what he does. It will give you an idea of what to teach your dd.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4e7p6nvA6po
BTW, Manny
never bends over when he swings. Just the thought of that is ridiculous.
Also, you mentioned what you were taught when you were young -- e.g., "swing level" and "don't golf". Along with "squish the bug" and "Mike and Ike", it's all cr@p. Most hitting coaching does more harm than good.
FORGET EVERYTHING YOU WERE EVER TOLD ABOUT HITTING WHEN YOU WERE A KID. IT WAS ALL TOTALLY AND COMPLETELY WRONG.
AND DISREGARD 98% OF WHAT YOU HEAR ABOUT HITTING TODAY.
Instead, watch the great hitters and learn from what you see.
Does Manny "swing level"? Does Manny "golf"?
My dd is in her 6th year of tournament ball, and at least 10th year of organized ball. And I have found exactly
one good hitting coach and
one very good hitting coach. Two good coaches out of dozens who claimed to know hitting. That's it.
None of the others could tell a good swing from their own rear ends.
Not saying there aren't other good hitting coaches out there -- there certainly are. Only that they're few and far between.
The bottom line: You have to become an expert on hitting yourself. Otherwise you won't even know when a coach knows what he or she's talking about.
Hitting is a science, not an art. It can be taught, it can be learned, it can be practiced and perfected.
But only if you're working with a coach who knows.
