Posted by: Mark H. () on Thu Jan 9 22:15:18 2003

I have a daughter who is extremely competitive in 11-12 year old boys little league baseball. I understand physically she won't be able to do that at some point in the future and will need to go to fast pitch softball. My question is will she gain more from the baseball at this point or should we make the move to softball as soon as possible. I believe she will be challenged more in the baseball and hope that will make her continue to improve. Any advice on which way to go to improve her as a ball player would be greatly appreciated.
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > Good question.The main thing to work on in girls who switch late from bb to fp(in high school because bb opportuniyies dry up or they want to get an fp scholarship)is hand-eye coordination for hitting since they are not used to picking up the release point and recognizing pitch trajectories.Otherwise they are usually quite skilled and transition easily.Quite a few of these have played both bb in spring ball and high level fp in Summer which is a good way to go.
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > High level fastpitch can be just as challenging as any bb.Make sure hitting mechanics are the same for both or there will be great confusion.Refined rotational mechanics as detailed here are the way to go for most(?quick lefties excepted?).
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Perfect advice. If you need help looking for a strong summer team, since as Tom said you can do both since LL is winding down just when summer ball is ramping up, check the announcements section on eteamz fastpitch for your state. You will be looking for an A team with national aspirations.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > http://eteamz.com/fastpitch/announcements/index.cfm?m=1,2,3,4
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Mark H.
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > You should be very careful when you move your daughter to fast-pitch softball. You will find that many softball hitting instruction teaches that the swing for softball is different from the baseball swing. While this is not true this happens because "softball people want to maintain their "turf" as a "different" game. This difference allows them to sell tapes and instruction. Coaches pick up on these methods and try to teach them to their players.
> > > > >
> > > > > Because of this perceived difference there are many strange ideas about hitting a softball. You daughter will be bombarded with changes to her swing by "experts." I warn you that no explanation or logic will change their thinking. This will be a big problem for your daughter unless she hits well over 400 and they leave her alone. But even then don't bet on it.
> > > > >
> > > > > S. Procito
> > > >
> > > > Sad but true. But...it's getting better. Gotta watch out for your kid in baseball too. Even in HS and college you will see some strange ideas sometimes. Do they not have a VCR? Can they not operate the slow motion function on it? There are no excuses anymore with slow motion video and all the clips avalable on the internet.
> > > >
> > > > Mark H.
> > >
> > > Mark H.
> > >
> > > You are correct that better technology will allow any one to observe athletes in slow motion giving them the opportunity to study movements and make corrections.
> > >
> > > But, before a slow motion tape can be helpful, the observer must first have an idea of what the proper movements are. This image of the proper swing can be compared to the tape and correction can be made.
> > >
> > > As you can see from this site, there is little agreement on what the proper mechanics are, therefore a slow motion tape is of little use.
> > >
> > > Toledo Jim
> >
> > I looked at slow/stop motion clips of MLB players to decide if Mankin/Epstein/Nyman/Guerry had a clue or if they were the space cadets I first thought they were. Son of a gun, even though I started off with a negative bias, there in the clips were the things they talked about. And the things the linear proponents talked about were not. Thus my mantra, compare anything anyone tells you about hitting or pitching to slow/stop motion video of the great hitters and pitchers.
> >
> > Mark H.
>
> Mark H.
>
> You may be right but it is also possible that they viewed the tapes then made up an explanation for what they are seeing.
>
> T. Jim

ROFLOL!

As opposed to the advice I read on most boards where they apparently skipped the viewing the tapes part. Of course that's what Jack did! It's right there in his website. He studied tape and came up with the explanation he thought made sense. And this whole discussion is about, to a great extent, whether or not he got it right. : )

Mark H.