swing eval

[joeR]

I would appreciate any input on my son's swing.
Is there a way I can help him with balance other than lots of swings?
video

Thanks

[bbjunkie]

Two quick observations. Others, I'm sure, will answer in far more detail. First, he's pulling his head off the ball. He will have a lot of difficulty hitting a moving ball if he can't see it. Second, that bat looks too heavy for him. He's exerting himself just to get it around.

[Mark H]

Forget balance. It's an over rated concept and over used term in the context of hitting and not something I see in ML hitters. Control, yes. Balance, no. THIS is a pretty @#$% good swing for this age IMO. I'd talk to him a little about athletic position before and during the swing. Start with his butt a little more out and a little more tilt of the torso. As Steve says, think deadlift position. Oh, and work on eliminating the counter rotation of the upper torso before the swing. Common in tee swings. Do that and then let's see what his rotation and connection look like after that.

[Slapper23]

Joe, nice looking swing from the little guy. He looks quite young, so I'm impressed that's he is in the ball park of the swing you are after. Think dynamic balance and I don't see a balance problem. The kid looks great at contact. He may not be as athletic in his stance as he could be, but again, at contact he's right there. I wouldn't push the issue too much. You can tweak it a little (the stance) but let him work into it himself...with your guidance, of course. He does start somewhat counter-rotated and gets worse as he load, but as bbjunkie mentions, maybe it's related to bat size and weight...not sure.

Mike

[joeR]

Thank you much for the feedback and I will share your complements with him. When you say counter rotation are you talking about torso counter rotation where he raises the back shoulder, or tilting the bat towards the pitcher, or is one the cause and the other the effect? I think that may be overcompensating from dropping the hands down before the swing previously.
I'll have him play with stance some more and of course head movement. He changes stances like the wind as he emulates his favorites, so he will enjoy that. Are there any player clips you would recommend for stance?

[Mark H]

I'm talking about him turning his chest toward the catcher. Bad idea.

[joeR]

ok, thanks again.

[Stealth]

Forget balance. It's an over rated concept and over used term in the context of hitting and not something I see in ML hitters. Control, yes. Balance, no. THIS is a pretty @#$% good swing for this age IMO. I'd talk to him a little about athletic position before and during the swing. Start with his butt a little more out and a little more tilt of the torso. As Steve says, think deadlift position. Oh, and work on eliminating the counter rotation of the upper torso before the swing. Common in tee swings. Do that and then let's see what his rotation and connection look like after that.

Mark H - I read the second part in bold as a way to be more balanced in the swing. Is that a correct assesment? Can you clarify the two parts in bold?

[Mark H]

Before I answer, would this fall under your definition of balanced? http://imageevent.com/siggy/hitting/...=0&w=4&s=0&z=9

It wouldn't fall under my definition of balanced. If it does yours then I need to understand your definition before I can give you a meaningful answer.

[PhilliesPhan22]

He's just a little kid. Let him hit and have fun. His swing isn't terrible, work with him when he gets a bit older.

[virg]

His head moves too early. Likely a result of the counter twist move. The "athletic position" idea is right for a starting (stance) position. Later struggle to correct balance is natural, and good, if it boosts the turn of the stroke while maintaining footing.

[CoachHenry]

His swing is pretty good already for his age. Two things I would do right away, then do a re-evaluation in a few weeks.

1 - Get is stance a bit wider. That will help stop his upper body moving so far back. It will also help promote some better rotation.

2 - Have him work on not wrapping his bat so much. Take a bit more neutral starting point with his hands back and try to get him to swing from that point. That will take time because as he starts his swing he may wrap it without realizing it. Remember that as a pitcher (when he gets that old) starts to throw and the batter starts his motion, any wrapping of the bat is going on while the ball is on the way. Then you have to rush everything else to get to a good contact point. Sometime in the future if you feel his bat need to be wrapped a bit it should be there BEFORE the pitchers delivery is made. That way he isn't going back then fighting to get it going forward again.

[Mark H]

Before I answer, would this fall under your definition of balanced? http://imageevent.com/siggy/hitting/...=0&w=4&s=0&z=9

It wouldn't fall under my definition of balanced. If it does yours then I need to understand your definition before I can give you a meaningful answer.

And that's a sincere question. I just want to avoid discussions over misunderstanding of terms.

[hiddengem]

Forget balance. It's an over rated concept and over used term in the context of hitting and not something I see in ML hitters.

Why would he forget this? Its one of THE most common areas of hitting that professionals talk about and work on. Having good balance means you stay on your backside well, you don't lunge forward toward the pitcher and are able to stay under control of body even when you are looking fastball and get something offspead. I know you mentioned control..but balance and control go together.

What is normally happening when a hitter (at least at the higher levels) is going bad? He's late on the heater and early on the offspeed, why? Because he's off balance, going to get the ball, not under control.

Here is an example of good balance.

[4for4]

Why would he forget this? Its one of THE most common areas of hitting that professionals talk about and work on. Having good balance means you stay on your backside well, you don't lunge forward toward the pitcher and are able to stay under control of body even when you are looking fastball and get something offspead. I know you mentioned control..but balance and control go together.

What is normally happening when a hitter (at least at the higher levels) is going bad? He's late on the heater and early on the offspeed, why? Because he's off balance, going to get the ball, not under control.

Here is an example of good balance.

Forget balance. It's an over rated concept and over used term in the context of hitting and not something I see in ML hitters. Control, yes. Balance, no. THIS is a pretty @#$% good swing for this age IMO. I'd talk to him a little about athletic position before and during the swing. Start with his butt a little more out and a little more tilt of the torso. As Steve says, think deadlift position. Oh, and work on eliminating the counter rotation of the upper torso before the swing. Common in tee swings. Do that and then let's see what his rotation and connection look like after that.

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