Youth 9-10 Softball Help Hitting (1 Viewer)

[belljr]

I'm just looking for a couple ideas here. I've been coaching for awhile so I'm just looking for something I may not have thought of.

I have one girl on my team now for 2 years. She absolutely smashes the ball off the tee, and during soft toss.

When it comes to pitched balls she struggles. Her swing looks ok for the most part, I mean they are 9 and 10 so they need some tweaks.

She is just over the ball and sometimes a little late. I seriously might ask her dad to get her glasses checked.

I just need some new "magic"

Again during soft toss she hits everything. She even hits golf whiffles during soft toss.

 

[Megla]

Sounds like she having trouble picking the ball up after release, it could very well be a vision problem.

Try working her stance backwards with live pitching, take the timing out of it.

Have her start with her stride where it would be at the end of her swing, wide and have her just swing with her hips, explain that you are not worried about the results of the swing as much as you are about the timing. If that works slowly work her feet back to a normal stance and see what happens. Also you may want to try and lower her hands if she seems to be swinging over everything.

Another drill you can try

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdOZs0NJZ3Y

 

[Godsbrother]

Slow pitch or fast pitch?

 

[Megla]

Slow pitch or fast pitch?

I just assumed that it was fastpitch, didn't realize there was still youth slow pitch being played.

 

[tdog]

Been doing a good many visual hitting drills lately with my 10 year old team. I have a couple softballs with blue painters tape on them and mix them into live toss. Tell them not to swing at the blue tape ones. They really concentrate on the ball. Some do this by placing a red or green circle on the balls and say only swing at the green one (and if you want to get to the next level, start making the circle smaller and smaller). I also tried bouncing a tennis ball off the ground to see if they could hit it. Anything that causes them to think about seeing the ball rather than thinking about the swing.

I go through all this stuff to get them to have nice swing and the number thing I keep coming back to is reminding them to look at the ball!

 

[Tennessee_ATO]

Been doing a good many visual hitting drills lately with my 10 year old team. I have a couple softballs with blue painters tape on them and mix them into live toss. Tell them not to swing at the blue tape ones. They really concentrate on the ball. Some do this by placing a red or green circle on the balls and say only swing at the green one (and if you want to get to the next level, start making the circle smaller and smaller). I also tried bouncing a tennis ball off the ground to see if they could hit it. Anything that causes them to think about seeing the ball rather than thinking about the swing.

I go through all this stuff to get them to have nice swing and the number thing I keep coming back to is reminding them to look at the ball!

This is a really good idea. I'm going to steal the crap out of it for the kids I coach.

Somewhat of an aside, but I think it has some relevance:

I saw something ESPN once years about athletes and their visual systems. Tony Gwynn (I think) showed some drills he did to work on not just seeing things, but processing what he sees quickly. One drill involved shooting a baseball size circle of light onto a white wall quickly. Inside that circle were 4 random digits. Gwynn (or whomever it was) could see the numbers and regurgitate them at a speed that was unbelievable. At the fastest I could barely perceive the flashing of the light and he could see and say the 4 digits. It was amazing. There was another one that some WR did that had him standing in front of a board of little lights, maybe 100 in total. As a light would flash, he would reach up and touch it. Then he got 2 going at the same time -- one light for his left, the other for his right. It was insane how fast he could process and react to what his eyes saw. The point of the piece was that it isn't just enough to have good vision, your brain has to be able to quickly process it and tell your body what to do based on that information. Gwynn (or whomever it was) talked about the ability to see and process quickly as the single most important aspect of hitting.

 

[belljr]

Been doing a good many visual hitting drills lately with my 10 year old team. I have a couple softballs with blue painters tape on them and mix them into live toss. Tell them not to swing at the blue tape ones. They really concentrate on the ball. Some do this by placing a red or green circle on the balls and say only swing at the green one (and if you want to get to the next level, start making the circle smaller and smaller). I also tried bouncing a tennis ball off the ground to see if they could hit it. Anything that causes them to think about seeing the ball rather than thinking about the swing.

I go through all this stuff to get them to have nice swing and the number thing I keep coming back to is reminding them to look at the ball!

I have balls with numbers and shapes on them. They have to call them out when they swing.

it's "fastpitch" it's not fast but the intent is fastpitch

I also do the Mike and ike drill with them a lot

 

[parrot]

Is your soft toss side toss? I would try some front toss with wiffles and see if that helps her get her timing and angle down.

 

[The Commish]

Have her do extra work at the batting cage? Making contact with a moving ball takes repetition. I doubt you can give her enough reps during practice without boring the crap out of everyone else.

 

[Football Menace]

Have her do extra work at the batting cage? Making contact with a moving ball takes repetition. I doubt you can give her enough reps during practice without boring the crap out of everyone else.

Bingo! My son was having trouble early in the year making consistent contact. At first, I was thinking it was a visual problem. But then I realized that this was really his first full year actually hitting pitched balls because we were focused mainly on defensive baseball for the last couple years. I went out and brought a bucket of baseballs and a manual pitching machine and we went at it. We would go out at least 3 days a week and I'd give him 120-150 swings each day. He's gone from hitting at the bottom of the lineup to the coach moving him up to the #2 hitter. At this age group hitting is mostly about confidence. And the only way to gain confidence is through repetition. Now, I have the time to work with my son. The question is. Do you or the parents have that same time?

 

[The Commish]

If you really think it's hand/eye related, make her bunt...a lot.

 

[belljr]

If you really think it's hand/eye related, make her bunt...a lot.

yep done this. She does have some trouble.

There is only so much time in practice so I can only work with her so long. Her dad is working with her too. It's just baffling.

 

[The Commish]

If you really think it's hand/eye related, make her bunt...a lot.

yep done this. She does have some trouble.

There is only so much time in practice so I can only work with her so long. Her dad is working with her too. It's just baffling.

I remember a time where I was stuck and not able to hit X type of pitch (I think it was a change up or a slider. Anyway, my coach made me put down 30 successful bunts in a row before I was allowed to swing away. I figured it out....stuff like this just takes time.

 

[tdog]

If you really think it's hand/eye related, make her bunt...a lot.

yep done this. She does have some trouble.

There is only so much time in practice so I can only work with her so long. Her dad is working with her too. It's just baffling.

I remember a time where I was stuck and not able to hit X type of pitch (I think it was a change up or a slider. Anyway, my coach made me put down 30 successful bunts in a row before I was allowed to swing away. I figured it out....stuff like this just takes time.

Interesting. I always have considered the bunt that next thing I need to teach or the thing that I have only my better players doing now. So are you saying that practicing the bunt for girls still learning the basics of hitting is something that is helpful or do they need more skill before moving to this? I had never thought about taking my bottom 3 hitters and working on the bunt but I could see how eliminating the swing and focusing just on the ball may be useful at an early stage.

I will also stop making fun of the uber-competitive coach in my league who basically makes half his team bunt every at bat because 1) they can't hit and 2) fielding is still an adventure. OK, the guy is still a #####.

 

[belljr]

if you can learn the bunt then you can learn to hit Bunting is all about keeping the eye on the ball

 

[The Commish]

If you really think it's hand/eye related, make her bunt...a lot.

yep done this. She does have some trouble.

There is only so much time in practice so I can only work with her so long. Her dad is working with her too. It's just baffling.

I remember a time where I was stuck and not able to hit X type of pitch (I think it was a change up or a slider. Anyway, my coach made me put down 30 successful bunts in a row before I was allowed to swing away. I figured it out....stuff like this just takes time.

Interesting. I always have considered the bunt that next thing I need to teach or the thing that I have only my better players doing now. So are you saying that practicing the bunt for girls still learning the basics of hitting is something that is helpful or do they need more skill before moving to this? I had never thought about taking my bottom 3 hitters and working on the bunt but I could see how eliminating the swing and focusing just on the ball may be useful at an early stage.

I will also stop making fun of the uber-competitive coach in my league who basically makes half his team bunt every at bat because 1) they can't hit and 2) fielding is still an adventure. OK, the guy is still a #####.

Well, every person is different, but I teach all the kids how to bunt on my team. At first I did it for pure selfish reasons. Teams we play against don't practice how to defend a bunt so it's a good tool for several cheap runs in a game as the other team throws the ball all around. But I began to notice practicing it also helped in ease of contact when they were swinging away. These are 7-8 and 9-10 year olds I am talking about. The memory for me was when I was in middle school beginning to face breaking balls etc. So, I guess I'm sorta like the guy in your league, but I never did it because they couldn't hit. I always did it to help them hit. I also don't put my worst hitters at the bottom of my lineup. They are alternated in starting at #5 in the line up. In a league where the rule is "everyone bats" and they're developing, I've found that, for some, putting them up at the top gives them the confidence to swing away.

 

[belljr]

I'm the only coach in my league that teaches bunting and when I was young my dad made our whole team do nothing but bunt and bunt and lbunt You can bunt a full swing becomes a lot easier

 

[The Commish]

I'm the only coach in my league that teaches bunting and when I was young my dad made our whole team do nothing but bunt and bunt and lbunt You can bond a full swing becomes a lot easier

Are you my brother??

 

[tdog]

Thanks for the bunting advice. Did a big bunting push at practice and the girls were seeing the ball great at Saturday's game. We didn't bunt but they kept their heads from flying out and were making great contact. Also, really worked with several girls who continually fall back into the golf swing thing (big low looping swing), Did the swinging against the fence drill and hitting off a tee with another tee behind it.

Played the bunting team again. Two best things against the bunt, a ready defense and high heat. Crushed them. Improved pitching changes everything. I guess the next move for them will be to improve directional bunting, as my best fielders are pitchers and catchers. We'll be ready for them in the playoffs when I install a full on wheel play for bunt coverage.

I think we won the game in the parking lot where we had team pictures at the same time as them. Their girls had heard two of our pitchers had mowed down the best team in the league Thursday and were pointing out our fireballers. By the time I put in our soft tosser in the 3rd (who is accurate but hitable) they were too scared to square around. Glad we didn't hit anyone. Some of the pitchers get upset by that.

Seeing them go down so easily, I am still left with the idea that pushing the bunt so hard in a game leads to passive hitting approach at this age. This is likely more because the coaches were pushing the "swing at good pitches" mantra than the bunting I am all in with the "swing if you can get a bat on it." I think that is the right attitude to prepare them for the better pitching. It was apparent that their team team was all about either getting a bunt down or walking. That worked a bit in 3rd grade when we started kid pitch but doesn't work now.

 

[WainiacS]

9 & 10... Don't get to carried away.

During practice I had all the girls say outloud just before the pitch "I'm, gonna hit that ball - I'm, gonna hit that ball"

It started out kind of silly but soon enough the whole team was buying in and would say it as each girl would go out to bat during the games. From the top to the bottom of the order solid contact and improvement - it was hilarious.

Good luck - Have fun with it!

 

[The Commish]

Thanks for the bunting advice. Did a big bunting push at practice and the girls were seeing the ball great at Saturday's game. We didn't bunt but they kept their heads from flying out and were making great contact. Also, really worked with several girls who continually fall back into the golf swing thing (big low looping swing), Did the swinging against the fence drill and hitting off a tee with another tee behind it.

Played the bunting team again. Two best things against the bunt, a ready defense and high heat. Crushed them. Improved pitching changes everything. I guess the next move for them will be to improve directional bunting, as my best fielders are pitchers and catchers. We'll be ready for them in the playoffs when I install a full on wheel play for bunt coverage.

I think we won the game in the parking lot where we had team pictures at the same time as them. Their girls had heard two of our pitchers had mowed down the best team in the league Thursday and were pointing out our fireballers. By the time I put in our soft tosser in the 3rd (who is accurate but hitable) they were too scared to square around. Glad we didn't hit anyone. Some of the pitchers get upset by that.

Seeing them go down so easily, I am still left with the idea that pushing the bunt so hard in a game leads to passive hitting approach at this age. This is likely more because the coaches were pushing the "swing at good pitches" mantra than the bunting I am all in with the "swing if you can get a bat on it." I think that is the right attitude to prepare them for the better pitching. It was apparent that their team team was all about either getting a bunt down or walking. That worked a bit in 3rd grade when we started kid pitch but doesn't work now.

I wouldn't worry about the "swing at good pitches" stuff. You'll get a HUGE smile on your face when one of your kids squares around to bunt with two strikes because they want to put the ball in play. It's awesome

 

[tdog]

Thanks for the bunting advice. Did a big bunting push at practice and the girls were seeing the ball great at Saturday's game. We didn't bunt but they kept their heads from flying out and were making great contact. Also, really worked with several girls who continually fall back into the golf swing thing (big low looping swing), Did the swinging against the fence drill and hitting off a tee with another tee behind it.

Played the bunting team again. Two best things against the bunt, a ready defense and high heat. Crushed them. Improved pitching changes everything. I guess the next move for them will be to improve directional bunting, as my best fielders are pitchers and catchers. We'll be ready for them in the playoffs when I install a full on wheel play for bunt coverage.

I think we won the game in the parking lot where we had team pictures at the same time as them. Their girls had heard two of our pitchers had mowed down the best team in the league Thursday and were pointing out our fireballers. By the time I put in our soft tosser in the 3rd (who is accurate but hitable) they were too scared to square around. Glad we didn't hit anyone. Some of the pitchers get upset by that.

Seeing them go down so easily, I am still left with the idea that pushing the bunt so hard in a game leads to passive hitting approach at this age. This is likely more because the coaches were pushing the "swing at good pitches" mantra than the bunting I am all in with the "swing if you can get a bat on it." I think that is the right attitude to prepare them for the better pitching. It was apparent that their team team was all about either getting a bunt down or walking. That worked a bit in 3rd grade when we started kid pitch but doesn't work now.

I wouldn't worry about the "swing at good pitches" stuff. You'll get a HUGE smile on your face when one of your kids squares around to bunt with two strikes because they want to put the ball in play. It's awesome

Agree totally. Swing away kids. Been on this train for the last couple of seasons. The other team was the one talking about good pitches.

 

[Nathan R. Jessep]

 

[pizzatyme]

One thing I've done with my teams for bat speed is instead of doing soft toss from the side, I have them stand about 5' from the backstop and face it. I stand near home plate and toss balls towards the backstop (like the pitches are coming from behind them). This makes them pick up the ball, eliminate "noise" in their swing, and hit the ball.

At first I toss it slowly and then speed up the tosses as they get the hang of it.

Bat speed and eye/hand coordination should improve immediately.

 

[The Commish]

One thing I've done with my teams for bat speed is instead of doing soft toss from the side, I have them stand about 5' from the backstop and face it. I stand near home plate and toss balls towards the backstop (like the pitches are coming from behind them). This makes them pick up the ball, eliminate "noise" in their swing, and hit the ball.

At first I toss it slowly and then speed up the tosses as they get the hang of it.

Bat speed and eye/hand coordination should improve immediately.

This also helps in hitting breaking balls FWIW...at least in baseball it does.

 

[belljr]

One thing I've done with my teams for bat speed is instead of doing soft toss from the side, I have them stand about 5' from the backstop and face it. I stand near home plate and toss balls towards the backstop (like the pitches are coming from behind them). This makes them pick up the ball, eliminate "noise" in their swing, and hit the ball.

At first I toss it slowly and then speed up the tosses as they get the hang of it.

Bat speed and eye/hand coordination should improve immediately.

so you are the jerk that is warping the fencing....

 

[belljr]

It clicked tonight for that one girl. She went home and bunt ed 100 balls with her dad. She got 3 hits tonight.

my daughter on the other hand went from a nice smooth swing to literally swinging as hard as humanly possible.

I appreciate her effort because she wants to smash the ball but she went from never missing a pitch and hitting nice ground balls and line drives to barely hitting.

She won't listen