9 yo first try at analysis

[Johnfromphilly]

This is my 9yo son. We never videotaped before or even looked at analyzing his swing so go easy.

He is going into his second year of travel ball. Last year he made great contact but did not hit the ball hard, thus the thought of analyzing what he is actually doing.

This is just the second time picking the bat up this preseason and just a place to start.

Any positive feedback or pointers are appreciated. We are going to a hitting clinic this month.

Again, not trying to create Chase Utley here (or Pujols... LOL), just don't want to get into bad habits.

Also if he is doing something obviously wrong that can be easily corrected this could help. One on one instruction would be the next step- maybe next year if he does not hit with more power this year. Last season hit with great contact but little power.

Video 1 is just a few soft toss hits:



This second one is just him having fun after his last hit- shows he loves this stuff, it cracked me up but then again I'm his Dad:



Any drills or cues that might get us started would help.

[dominik]

Nice swing for a nine year old. He hits the ball with intent, get's the barrel moving fast(no drag or dump) which is more than most 9yo can do.

His plane doesn't look good (he hacks down) and his lower body could be improved but I think those things are secondary at that age.

[Bolts-Baseball]

In his load, he sways his weight outside his back leg... tell him to keep his weight on the inside of his back knee, and the inside of his back foot.

[mcloven]

Without commenting on the hitting mechanics...personally, I love that second video when he gives you a high five with a huge smile on his face. Perhaps it's corny, but if you keep viewing baseball, in part, as a fantastic journey with your son, you'll both wind up winning in the end, regardless of how far he goes in the game.

[Johnfromphilly]

Without commenting on the hitting mechanics...personally, I love that second video when he gives you a high five with a huge smile on his face. Perhaps it's corny, but if you keep viewing baseball, in part, as a fantastic journey with your son, you'll both wind up winning in the end, regardless of how far he goes in the game.

That is what we are doing, enjoying something together- even his Mom has taken some hacks in the basement- it is his favorite sport and he loves it. I do not want to take that away by trying to make him an allstar. We take it as far as he wants to go and just give him opportunities to do clinics , travel ball etc and he takes them.

On the comments about his swing- thanks! Those are just the type of things I am looking for. Just little cues and pointers as I don't know alot about hitting. We will work on those things- thanks again.

John

[skipper5]

Last year he made great contact but did not hit the ball hard.

Sometimes this is technical. Sometimes it's due to a lack of intent.
Did he usually swing hard (in games) like he he does in the video?
Understandly, many younger players priortize making contact--just trying to meet the ball.
As they move along in the game, they need encouragment to swing hard--"get your money's worth." Intent.
_____________________

Edited: Sometimes even accomplished older players needed to be reminded of this when they go into a phase where they're "feeling for the ball" (like a blind man with a cane).

[tominct]

Not bad, and the enthusiasm is to be emphasized. However, I think he is too upright. Posture, posture posture. Get him into linebacker stance!

[Jake Patterson]

Hi John,
I feel you are well on your way and I would warn against considering any over analysis of his swing.
That being said the key items I would concentrate on now are his posture, swing plane and weight transfer.... Other stuff will follow.
Again... don't let the miutia drag you or him down... Doing NOTHING you are still ahead of the curve.
Jake

[Johnfromphilly]

So with the general consensus being posture what am I looking for? Is it just sticking his butt out more to attain a "linebacker stance"? He played strong safety in tackle football so that would be easy to address. I will also look to get is weight on the inside of his back foot.

I really appreciate the easy does it attitude everyone is giving as that is where I want to be for a 9 year old. Thanks!

John

[Johnfromphilly]

Sometimes this is technical. Sometimes it's due to a lack of intent.
Did he usually swing hard (in games) like he he does in the video?
Understandly, many younger players priortize making contact--just trying to meet the ball.
As they move along in the game, they need encouragment to swing hard--"get your money's worth." Intent.
_____________________

Edited: Sometimes even accomplished older players needed to be reminded of this when they go into a phase where they're "feeling for the ball" (like a blind man with a cane).

I will see if I can find a game video of last year. The problem is that last year he "dropped his hands" badly before swinging and that might throw you off. He is usually pretty agressive to the ball. I will check the old video to see if there is a good example to use.

Thanks,
John

[songtitle]

John,

1. His shoulders are upside down at stance. Front should be down, and the back should be up slightly. Notice how his chin is sitting on his shoulder in stance. During the swing, he should rotate around an axis and reverse these positions. (This is causing what some are calling a 'posture' problem)

2. His hands are too far away from his body.

3. As he swings, his rear elbow is leading his hands causing bat drag.

4. As he swings, he is lunging the top half of his upper body forward as he swings.

Fix #1 and #2 first. Easy fixes. #1 may also fix #4. #2 may also fix #3.

Good luck.

[Johnfromphilly]

Thanks for the specifics. That gives us something to work on. I will review some of the pictures and video available on the site and key in on those areas so I can see what you mean. I will then try to relate it to him and see how we do.

I will be looking at:
- Hands too far from body
- weight to go on inside of back leg and foot
- Shoulder positioning is oposite what it should be

He is already focusing on starting his hips first and getting that rotation going, not that he is achieving that but he is trying not to swing with all hands. I think we have a good place to start from and will see how we do after trying these few adjustments.

Thanks again,
John

[Johnfromphilly]

OK, talked about hands closer to body, starting with front shoulder lower then switching it, keeping hands more inside. Did not talk about weight on inside of back foot as we are starting slow and the others seemed easy fixes.

He did ok at it and I think he improved his swing plane to be less chopping down action.

First video is with a 29, -11 bat that is newer. After hitting he said his hands hurt so we switched to last years bat which is a 27, -13 (14 oz) that I think is too small but he has a quick swing with it. Thoughts on bat size, as in is the bigger one causing him trouble, are welcomed.

Video one, new bat:






Video two, old, lighter bat:




Thanks, as always, for any helpful advise.

[Johnfromphilly]

Anyone have a comment on the latest swing or bat choice for the coming year?

[songtitle]

His shoulders are still upside down. He will see some gains when he fixes this.

[Johnfromphilly]

His shoulders are still upside down. He will see some gains when he fixes this.

Is this what I should be looking for?

[songtitle]

looks good john

[v1c70r]

Hey there, First of all it looks like he's enjoying the game which is what it's all about. I see that some people have mentioned some really good points and some basic things to change that will help him.

I usually do not say "see this do this" but at his age he might enjoy trying to emulate a swing like Chase Utley or someone like his favorite player. You could maybe print out some pictures to show him some basic movements or even go as far as videos. I know when I was a little older 10-13 than him I worked with a great pitching coach that had a bunch of pictures of the great pitchers that we admired. He had various pictures of them going threw their motions. (This is before video analysis got so popular) I know just trying to emulate them brought some good movements into my pitching.

Although I may be wrong because I am only 16 now and still a big kid myself.

Again most important is to have fun with the game and let him decide where he wants to take it.

[Johnfromphilly]

We had some time in a cage this weekend but I was unable to get video.
We hit last night with his old bat- 27inch, 14 oz (-13) as I am convinced the newer bat (29,19) was too heavy. I just bought a bat that is in between @ 29,16(-13) so hopefully that will be a good fit.

Here is some video of him from last night, I have been trying to get him to do the following:
Turn his hips and not swing "all hands"
lower front shoulder at setup
keep hands closer to body
not let weight(back knee) get behind his back foot
keep hands inside by bringing bottom of the bat to the ball

What do you see?




Thanks, as always, for any input

[krock99]

we see nothing as it says video is not availiable.

[krock99]

now it's working