Drills to increase bat speed?

[Sonny]

My son is playing middle school baseball this season. He is a 7th grader and is 5'3 and 125 lbs. At times, his swing looks slow and lethargic. Since we knew he'd have to swing a -3 bat, I purchased him a wood bat months ago so that we could take some B.P with it hoping he'd be prepared for the transition. He's a strong kid, but like I said, sometimes his swing looks slow. Are there any drills that you would suggest to help increase bat speed?

Thanks.

[jamesh23]

My son is playing middle school baseball this season. He is a 7th grader and is 5'3 and 125 lbs. At times, his swing looks slow and lethargic. Since we knew he'd have to swing a -3 bat, I purchased him a wood bat months ago so that we could take some B.P with it hoping he'd be prepared for the transition. He's a strong kid, but like I said, sometimes his swing looks slow. Are there any drills that you would suggest to help increase bat speed?

Thanks.

a 7th grader having to swing a -3? where and how old is he? when I was in 7th grade I was 12 and still in little league.

[Drill]

paralysis of analysis


Some times you just need to tell your son to swing at the ball and remind him to forget all the swing cues and lessons. His body should be prepared do to all the practice/t work, batting practices, because of just plain muscle memory. Tell him to just swing hard and trust his body to follow what it has learned through all the hard work.


respectfully yours,

drill

PS my son went through the same thing, JV coach told him what I described above and told my son to trust his great mechanics. A light went off in my son's head and he knows now the difference between BP drills, and when its time to swing hard to put those drills to use.


a swing cue for your sons age

turn your belly button to the pitcher,
if you want you can add "fast"

Make sure his mechanics are correct.

[gwynnfan]

For a 7th grader. He should a have process with lots of drills. I believe he should not focus on bat speed drills. They need to be mixed in with a complete baseball swing developmental program. Kids that age loose their mechanics trying to just swing harder. Faster does not always mean harder and it definitely does not mean more effective or efficient.

[old perfessor]

I'm not a professional hitting coach, just a dad of a 7th grader like you. But my unprofessional advice is that proper mechanics (efficient swing) should enable him to get the bat barrel to the ball in the optimal hitting zone. Check out the Right View Pro instructional series (model IP300-AS) rightviewpro.com. It's a great program that my 13 year old son is going through now and is presented in logical and easily comprehensible way for dads and sons to understand. My son is 5'7" 135-140 lbs. He's swinging a 32/29 Sam Bat and right now is murdering the ball during indoor hitting sessions.

Also, make sure he's had an eye exam in the last year. The need for corrective lenses makes reacting to ball a bit slower.