Posted by: Jim (jwelborn@lexcominc.net) on Sat Jun 4 20:22:24 2005

> My 13 year old daughter is a lefty with a relatively slow sweeping swing. She has a terrible habit of dropping her hands. She has started slapping this year with pretty good success as she can chop at it with pretty good eye hand coordination. The problem is I'm having a hard time speeding up her hands and keeping them on a level/downward plane.
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> Any suggestions? Drills?
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> Also what is the best youth fastpitch bat? The Synergy?


It's common for a 13 year old to experience this problem which probably stems from lack of strength. We find that youth players (boys and girls) grow up swinging bats that are actually very heavy in relation to their body weight and strength. Even the most expensive, lightweight bats are actually too heavy for most pre-adolescent players. This creates bad mechanics as the kid is forced to accelerate the bat the best way he or she can.

Your daughter is at an age where she should be able to begin to make rapid improvements with proper attention to correct mechanics. I find that tee drills are of great benefit when correcting such problems. You should address her basic swing mechanics before slapping.

Begin by insisting that she swing properly, keeping the hands up and most importantly not allowing the barrel of the bat to drop behind the shoulders. Pay close attention to this during the loading or negative move phase where the wrists should cock and the barrel should go to a position near her ear. Do not allow her to take multiple cuts rapidly on the tee. Between swings she should pause, and each swing should begin with a new stance. Take some slow motion cuts, then progress to half speed, the full speed. DO NOT EVER allow an improper swing to occur during tee drills.

One handed cuts on the tee will be helpful in building arm strength and helping her find where the bat and hands should go. When the bat and hands are in the proper relationship to one another, the bat will tend to not pull the wrist over. Don't overdo this. Out of a bucket of balls, have her take 5 or so one-handed cuts with each hand, then finish the bucket with two-handed cuts. A bucket should hold about two dozen balls.

Be aware that creating correct muscle memory takes much time and many, many repetitions. I do not recommend using a pitching machine or live pitcher to attempt to correct swing problems. If you have access to a protective screen, you can progress to short front toss to provide some variety. Toss from around 12-15 feet in front of her. We also find that typical short toss drills (tossing from the side of the batter) are of little or no use in attempting to correct problems.

After her basic swing mechanics have improved the next step is to begin the process of speeding her up. This will help her swinging as well as slapping.

At age 13, she probably faces pitching around 50. If you have access to a pitching machine, set it on 58-60 MPH (at 40 feet). Its important to feed the ball as smoothly and consistantly as possible so she can learn to adjust her timing. Have her take 3 cuts, then move her up to 30 feet. Give her no more than 5 pitches to make contact, then move her back to 40' for the next dozen or so cuts. You should see immediate timing improvement. Do not have her slap until the end of the drill, and never from 30'. Don't let her take too many cuts. Twenty are plenty. Quality is much more important than quantity.


As for the best bat, its a matter of choice.
The Synergy is a good bat. However, one cannot pry the Anderson Rocket Tech and Louisville Catalyst from the hands of our high school varsity! I believe the Catalyst is offered in various weights. At age 13, stick with a 10 oz. drop.