Posted by: Dave P (pzone@telus.net) on Mon Jul 24 17:24:18 2006

> > I coach girls softball. Many of the girls I coach have what I would say good mechanics. I use your DVD as an example, in fact showed it to the whole team. But when it comes to the point of making contact, the bat head drags, we don't seem to develop the torque necessary to drive the ball. Many of the balls we hit go to the right side of the infield. Is there a couple things I can do or look for with their swings.
>
> I had the same question re: my daughter back in May
> http://www.batspeed.com/messageboard/30136.html
> In her case I found the hips were opening too early. I let her know and we worked on it a bit - she ended the season hitting long balls to all fields. She hadn't pulled a ball all season and her last at bat was a triple to deep left.

Hi All

Most girls have been shown to squish the bug with their back foot. This action causes their hips and shoulders to open too early and creates more of a slice across the ball when they try to apply BHT. Study the lower body movements and you will notice that the back knee actually goes toward the pitcher with the back foot just lifting its heel NOT rotating. This allows the hands to stay back and the hips to lead the swing without the spinning out or falling back onto the back foot.

When Jack talks he concentrates on the upper body and hands more but with girls (especially smaller girls) they need the lower body to work more efficiently for the swing to become more powerful. Concentrate on the lower body motion. Here is a drill that works. Have the player put their foot on a 4-6 inch high step while in their normal stance. Have them hit a ball off a tee or soft toss and their goal is to stride and get the back foot off the step before hitting the ball. THey do not step off the step but rotate/drive their hips toward the pitcher while trying to get off it.

If you need a demo I will see if I can find one and you can reach me via email.

DAve P

Good Luck