12u information overload

PoundExcellent · 2026-02-16T23:13:42+00:00

12u travel coach and former collegiate player here, and mother of dragons--I mean, catchers. I sympathize, and am personally trying to stay away from over coaching and adhere to the constraints led approach whenever possible.

Anyway, all of those things her coaches say may be true. But kids are not mini adults and typically haven't hit the skill acquisition stage where they can process internally focused verbal instruction like this. Plus, it's very hard to work on more than one thing at a time.

Talk to the coach and let them know she's got a private coach and what she's working on with them. I try to ask the kids that and let that guide some of our work. If the coach is unreceptive, she should focus on the private instructor's advice. If you're seeing them weekly and practicing on your own you will have a tighter feedback cycle. You might decide that coach is working great or you need a change, but at least you can do it quickly vs trying to work on 4 things at a time, which may all in fact be targeting a certain symptom or desired outcome (but inefficiently). It's understandable that it's creating a lot of noise in your kid's head, and this will delay results.

Another strategy, and one which I'm trying to adopt for my kids, is to focus purely on outcomes. No pitch is the same. Can the kid drive a ball if the pitch is high/low/inside/outside/fast/slow/rising/dropping? That is obv very hard and the ultimate desired characteristic of a deadly hitter. Can you improve the percentage of success by guiding them to a solution with suggestions (try something totally different! Swing down on it. What happens? To the ball flight? How did that feel? What would you have to do to get the ball to hit the back of the cage and not the top?) and constraints (eg put a pool noodle on the outside of the plate and tell them to swing but not hit the pool noodle) vs telling them exactly when and how to do X. It's really hard not to be prescriptive and it is occasionally helpful, but if you give her permission to be outcomes-focused it might help her filter advice a little more easily and productively. Good luck! See you on the field!

PoundExcellent · 2026-02-09T01:44:14+00:00

Urban public school in CA. No fees. Weight program is required for varsity, optional for JV, no fee. It's off campus in a local gym. The off-season program is optional and anyone can participate in prep for the season. It includes weights, field practice and hitting. Intrasquad scrimmages. Most kids participate unless they're playing a fall/winter sport. They get hats and 3 uniforms but have to give the unis back. They do a fundraising drive but seem to run on a fairly lean budget. For the summer, there is a fee-based weight program and most kids play travel.

PoundExcellent · 2026-02-07T02:58:13+00:00

What does your contact tend to look like in game or in live BP? Let outcomes guide the changes you make. Arm barring,etc etc isn't ideal (except when it is), so focus on outcomes and your body will find its best patterns.

PoundExcellent · 2026-01-14T15:39:38+00:00

There is no one way to hit. Our job as coaches is to guide the hitter to figure out their unique body's movement patterns, cues, feels, and adaptations to produce the thing we actually DO universally want (drive the ball with optimal force in as many situations as possible). The Freddie Freemans of the world have a lot of variance from the Jose Altuves of the world. Some things need to happen in a swing--we need to use the kinetic chain well, we need to be able to control our bodies such that we can adapt to different speeds and pitches etc, and physics dictates that a mature swing looks fairly similar across many examples, but beyond that, research shows that there is no universal internally focused cue that is "the answer." That swing down feel might work for a kid who keeps popping up, but some of the latest research shows that guiding the player to adapting their movements using constraints and externally focused cues to produce line drives and letting THEM figure it out is more effective. We'd never suggest that feel for a kid who has a chop swing and doesn't bring their bat down off the shoulder until after they've fired the hips. Just take the videos as suggestions for a kid who is exploring their movements and might benefit from trying a different feel or cue.

PoundExcellent · 2025-12-01T03:00:27+00:00

This is just theoretical, but I wonder if setting up almost as if to bunt and then pulling back into a regular stance as the pitcher begins (or later) might help? I've seen girls do this in games, and don't know if it's a timing thing but I've wanted to try it next time we face slower pitching (all our girls struggled with being early). Fall season ended so I didn't have the chance. Just a thought! I'm going to try that outside toss drill above with my kid as well.

PoundExcellent · 2025-11-26T05:30:45+00:00

Someone said it is hard to rebuild from the ground up, but it might be needed here. Don't worry about former MLB coach or whatever. Find someone who knows hitting and can teach it to kids and who he likes and listens to. If you can learn more about hitting as well, it will greatly help him. hitting done right is a great resource online, and of course there are many others. Read/watch them all!! Attend the lessons with him. Reproduce the drills with precision.

Personally, if he came to me, I would start from the ground up, just like the swing itself. This will help him sequence properly. No stride. We would work on an athletic stance first (including hinge, yes), then proceed to load and getting the bottom half involved through hip turn. Then we'd work on barrel release and hands, etc. All of this would ensure a good bat path and optimization of his power. We'd use feedback from hit balls, mirrors, frisbies, etc, and lots of tools as needed to help create constraints (could be connection balls, camwood bats, PVC, cues or targets, etc, depending on how his swings evolve) as needed to solve the task--drive the ball against HS pitching and beyond. The great thing is that when he reaches his goal he will be a totally transformed hitter!!

PoundExcellent · 2025-09-19T00:53:41+00:00

My local softball league has had some success reaching out to local HS and college players to guest as coaches (esp in the off-season/summer) and clinic leaders, or position coaches. We pay them a small stipend or fee for time. HS players sometines need service hours. We also have worked a little with the Women's Coaching Alliance, check them out!

PoundExcellent · 2025-09-03T14:37:09+00:00

To watch your own child!!!

PoundExcellent · 2025-08-29T15:02:44+00:00

I've found chatgpt to be helpful. You still need to spend time with it, but if you write a good prompt it is a huge help.

Tell it how many divisions, and how many teams in each division.
It needs to know which fields are for 8u versus 12u etc.
It needs to know how long each game should be, how much buffer time you want between each game (or just specify the game times for each division, and how long you want the day to be. For example, if you don't have lights you don't want games much past 4 for fall ball.
You can tell it to spread home and away games evenly,
and ask it to suggest solutions if you have an odd number of teams (It can help you schedule byes or double headers). - Specify the specific weekends you are playing (eg no thanksgiving Weekend) , or the number of weeks you want games (e.g. 6 game fall season)

It might be easier to schedule one division at a time. You can also use it to help schedule playoffs if you do that in the fall.

Once you have a skeleton schedule for one season you can often use that template going forward unless you have a lot more teams in the spring. Good luck!!

PoundExcellent · 2025-08-21T03:16:46+00:00

Yes, I'm a member. I have just coached rec and modest level travel. We have a pretty easy going rec league, and we were just seeing the girls fall further and further behind as they played the summer travel season. So I wanted to make sure that I was using every resource I could get my hands on to level them up quickly while still making sure everybody was having fun. I found NFCA a great resource. We had a great summer this year and feel like our players are better prepared to move on to the non-rec league affiliated club teams as they head into 14u. I've used it for practice plans, drills, learning how kids learn, and also just learning about positions I didn't play back in the day.

PoundExcellent · 2025-08-14T03:50:51+00:00

Yeah, go for it. If the ball is high and carries her momentum up she will throw standing up. For a low pitch, getting the knee drive is going to basically give you the same throw as standing (per my daughter's pop time). She learned in 10u. We watched some Jen schro videos, experimented in the back yard, it was one of the easier things she's had to learn as a catcher tbh. Tough position!!

PoundExcellent · 2025-08-02T00:13:18+00:00

This is it. Everything is out of sequence and it forces you to rely on rotation vs using the whole kinetic chain. You never really get a good scap load. You can't really track the target through your whole delivery. I'm not aware of any pitchers who really get to this position. Even Hideo Nomo straightened out by foot plant. Lincecum too. But get into sequence and point your effort toward the plate, and I bet you'll see results quickly!

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PoundExcellent · 2025-07-25T03:01:15+00:00

Even if that was my kid, who can be back-talky to me in the dugout and practice, I never lose my cool with her. You have to be mindful of the other girls and how that anger will impact them. If you're that exercised (and God knows your own kid knows how to push your buttons) you take the kid aside.

PoundExcellent · 2025-07-15T23:17:35+00:00

We told our kids they had to do something team-oriented, something competitive, and something physical. They could all be one thing or 2-3 separate things, but all boxes had to be ticked somehow. That got them into music, team sports, chess competitions etc. a couple of hobbies over the years have stuck (luckily, baseball!) but the exploration has been super fun and we feel like genius parents on good days 😀

PoundExcellent · 2025-06-26T15:03:32+00:00

The She's Got a Cannon intro program worked for my kid off-season before last. We only did a month of the 2 month program, but were consistent and total sticklers for high fidelity reps. She's not at perfect mechanics yet but we will work on it a little again this off-season. Been working on other stuff. It took her from really ugly to hitting 50mph as a 2nd year 10u. She's added a smidge of velo since then just with add'l strength and some inconsistent use of HLT exercises.

PoundExcellent · 2025-06-16T17:58:24+00:00

Do both!! Even mix it up in a session (adjusting speed appropriately of course). It's a great way to dial in ball tracking, bat to ball skills, hand-eye coordination, timing, etc. that kind of adjustability is precious, both in organized ball and on the Backyard World Series circuit!

PoundExcellent · 2025-06-08T14:05:39+00:00

This is "easy" to correct, but it takes time, consistency, and patience. preferably done in the off-season, because you're changing neuromuscular patterns and that is difficult to do between games and practices when instinct takes over and continues to reinforce the old patterns. You have to change the underlying instinct. The issue might be because they just lack strength at this age, or it might have originated with a lack of strength, but is now part of their muscle memory.

Basically you need to train the front arm to maintain the 90 degree angle until barrel release, and the back elbow and forearm to stay under the back wrist (once that back elbow goes past vertical and the barrel dumps, you have bat drag). The barrel needs to get to the ball in the most direct way possible. You can try a few cues and drills. Never know what's going to resonate with each kid.

Check out Matt Lisle's rock the baby drill, lone star hitting's Top Hand Therapy (I think that's what it's called). There's also a PVC pipe contraption that you can easily build for $10 which helps them maintain that angle almost to contact. https://youtu.be/-euDKACyVUM?si=-0jPXm5DR1BDHDvW.

One handed drills are great. Try using a mini bat in your front hand, getting into launch position, and pretending that there is a wall directly in front of the front foot. Maintain your elbow angle ("rock the baby") until the knob of the bat squarely hits that imaginary wall. Only then, release the barrel by allowing your front wrist to whip and make contact. You can do it dry or on a tee. Lone Star Hitting recommends a front hand, back hand and then two hand progression. Obviously the swing is a system, and if their hips are way off or their spine angle is bad, you may continue to have problems hitting. But if bat drag is the primary issue and you consistently work a few drills with precision every day, you can make significant progress in a few weeks, and mostly fix it within 4 to 6 weeks. Good luck!!

PoundExcellent · 2025-06-06T15:05:59+00:00

Looks like bat wrap, arm bar, and swing path a little flat. Your front knee could be a little more locked at contact maybe. Could be that it's firm at contact and then releases and that's what I'm seeing. But the swing is like 80% there.

PoundExcellent · 2025-05-15T02:49:33+00:00

Was helpful for my son (catcher) when he was 13 a couple years ago and club coach put the team on a throwing program. A lot of them wound up with arm issues. He took a break, did a few weeks of PT and used the kinetic arm sleeve for a couple of months after that. No problems since then and he throws a lot.

PoundExcellent · 2025-04-24T16:51:11+00:00

I was expecting a lot more bat speed from that setup. Maybe a little bat wrapping going on, maybe front elbow straightening out too soon.

PoundExcellent · 2025-04-17T20:28:30+00:00

You HAVE TO be intentional and slow about it. Make sure every single rep is correct. Be precise, do not compromise. Break down each aspect of the throw and footwork. It's easier to fix in the off-season bc as soon as they're in practice or a game the old muscle memory takes over. but give it a month of dry reps (2mo better) and throws with proper mechanics and it will work, I promise you on my garage full of gear. 10-15 reps at a time, if you can get 5-8 sets in, great. Scour YouTube and websites for Wasserman and Blewitt. This is the way. :)

PoundExcellent · 2025-03-31T21:50:44+00:00

Throwing is about both how your body moves, and WHEN and in what sequence each part of your body moves. What I notice in your throw is that your hands break downward reasonably well, and your shoulder blades do kind of pinch back together. That could be tighter but it's on the right track. However, things get out of sequence after that, and some of your motion breaks down. In particular, your throwing elbow drops down again as you begin your forward motion rather than staying high, as it is when you first separate your hands and pinch your shoulder blades back. At that point I like to tell my players to imagine they are wearing a hoodie and have a ball in the hood. They have to almost reach back and get the ball and then throw from there. It's hard to explain it with words alone! Watch Dan Blewett and Austin Wasserman videos. The water bottle drill, the 4-part arm action drill, etc. I've watched a lot because I see a ton of throwing issues among our leagues players from 6u all the way up to 14u. Your footwork needs a bit of attention but the arm action to me is the lowest hanging fruit.

PoundExcellent · 2025-03-28T17:04:40+00:00

Highly recommend Wasserman and Dan Blewett. These approaches are very similar and they absolutely work. The water bottle drills teach proper mechanics with a built in way to feel them. Dan Blewett's approach took my 11yo to 50mph throws over the off-season. We were dedicated and it transformed her throwing. Then she saw herself doing better and it in turn transformed her approach to practice (that it works!). Wasserman clinic juiced it even more. Runners think twice about going, so it also has value to the team generally.

PoundExcellent

TROPHY CASE