Posted by: Jim (jwelborn@lexcominc.net) on Thu Jun 9 21:47:52 2005

> I have a 14 year old daughter who is currently playing fastpitch softball and is a good hitter but has only occasional power. Recently she has gotten into the habit of swinging under the ball which has resulted in pop up's and lazy fly balls. After watching her at the cage today I noticed that her lead elbow was dropping. After discussing this with her she worked on keeping her lead elbow level or slightly up and she hit more line drives and hit the ball harder then I have ever seen. In fact, she was hitting the ball hard and consistant at 60 mph. Was she just on today or is the elevation of the lead elbow that important. With the results from today I would think the the position of the lead elbow is a key to swinging the bat on plane with the ball. Am I grasping at straws?
>
> Phil C.


Elevation of the lead elbow is absolutely critical to efficiently transmitting the power of rotation to the bat head. If you were to video your daughter from her front (ie. right handed batter viewed from the first base dugout) and watch in slow motion, you would probably find that when she swings with her front elbow above her hands and her hands above the barrel of the bat, she is able to transmit more energy to the ball. The exact relationship will vary somewhat depending on the location of the pitch.

If you video her from behind you can really see the plane formed by the elbow, hands and bat head and their relationship to the plane of the pitch.

Failure to get the lead elbow in the proper position can cause premature wrist roll. Rolling the wrists at or before contact causes weak ground balls. A palm up, palm down grip will help put the forearm in the correct position.

Taking one handed cuts off a tee is a good way to get her lead elbow working correctly. Use a full size bat. Holding the bat as close to the knob as possible will aid in developing arm strength as well.

An interesting way to demonstrate the importance of this concept is to grab a hammer and drive a nail waist high into a vertical surface with a back hand motion. The elbow and hands and hammer must assume this relationship or it is very difficult to drive the nail. When you get it right, the nail can be driven with relative ease becuase maximum energy is being transmitted under control, with maximum efficiency.

There are many factors critical to acheiving a correct swing. There may well be other important factors that are coming and going affecting her power. Age fourteen is a great age to begin bringing out the best in your hitter. When she gets it right, you will see dramatic differences. The older she gets the more difficult it will be to correct hitting flaws. Work hard and keep seeking good advice!