Son hitting well, but always grounding out...

[jbolt_2000]

Hi All!

My son is 10 and is hitting fairly well. He could be better - I think his mechanics are strong, but some things I've noticed is that he lacks confidence, he's looking for the walk more than the hit, and possibly just looking for that "perfect" pitch to swing at. Because of all this he tends to walk quite a bit. He doesn't strikeout very often, but when he does its because he is looking at those strikes called on the outside or inside corners.

All those pieces I am working with him to fix. I believe it is mostly mental in that regard.

Now, when he does hit the ball, it is almost always straight to the pitcher or ShortStop. He has a few few hits this year but has made contact several times, but is thrown out. He can't seem to get away from hitting grounders or liners to the middle infield.

Is this a mechanical thing, mental thing, both? What are some areas I can look for in his swing? Like I said, I think the mechanics are there (can always improve), but I can't figure out why he grounds out all the time.

Any ideas?

And as for video of him, I am working on getting some footage of him and getting it on the computer. I am just not savvy in that area and am still learning. Any ideas outside of actually seeing him swing?

[wogdoggy]

Hi All!

My son is 10 and is hitting fairly well. He could be better - I think his mechanics are strong, but some things I've noticed is that he lacks confidence, he's looking for the walk more than the hit, and possibly just looking for that "perfect" pitch to swing at. Because of all this he tends to walk quite a bit. He doesn't strikeout very often, but when he does its because he is looking at those strikes called on the outside or inside corners.

All those pieces I am working with him to fix. I believe it is mostly mental in that regard.

Now, when he does hit the ball, it is almost always straight to the pitcher or ShortStop. He has a few few hits this year but has made contact several times, but is thrown out. He can't seem to get away from hitting grounders or liners to the middle infield.

Is this a mechanical thing, mental thing, both? What are some areas I can look for in his swing? Like I said, I think the mechanics are there (can always improve), but I can't figure out why he grounds out all the time.

Any ideas?

And as for video of him, I am working on getting some footage of him and getting it on the computer. I am just not savvy in that area and am still learning. Any ideas outside of actually seeing him swing?

get the vids up here and you'll probably get the "fix" that will work for your kid from many of our knowlegable posters ..BUT when my kid pounds balls into the ground its usually cause of a horizontal bat.

[FiveFrameSwing]

Hi All!

My son is 10 and is hitting fairly well. He could be better - I think his mechanics are strong, but some things I've noticed is that he lacks confidence, he's looking for the walk more than the hit, and possibly just looking for that "perfect" pitch to swing at. Because of all this he tends to walk quite a bit. He doesn't strikeout very often, but when he does its because he is looking at those strikes called on the outside or inside corners.

All those pieces I am working with him to fix. I believe it is mostly mental in that regard.

Now, when he does hit the ball, it is almost always straight to the pitcher or ShortStop. He has a few few hits this year but has made contact several times, but is thrown out. He can't seem to get away from hitting grounders or liners to the middle infield.

Is this a mechanical thing, mental thing, both? What are some areas I can look for in his swing? Like I said, I think the mechanics are there (can always improve), but I can't figure out why he grounds out all the time.

Any ideas?

And as for video of him, I am working on getting some footage of him and getting it on the computer. I am just not savvy in that area and am still learning. Any ideas outside of actually seeing him swing?

As an FYI, I encourage my hitters to take a "walk" whenever possible.

Post a video of your kid hitting and you'll likely receive some healthy feedback.

[Three A's baseball]

[QUOTE=FiveFrameSwing;1196916]As an FYI, I encourage my hitters to take a "walk" whenever possible.

expand on this...

[FiveFrameSwing]

[QUOTE=Three A's baseball;1196960]

As an FYI, I encourage my hitters to take a "walk" whenever possible.

expand on this...

For my players I stress OBP over BA.

Consider that the most important number in baseball is "3", as in 3 outs per inning.

Unlike in Basketball, Soccer, etc., there is no time clock. Instead we are faced with trying to accomplish as much as we can before three outs are recorded.

When you obtain a "walk", your BA remains uneffected, but your OBP improves.

Every time you put the ball in play you risk the potential of an "out".

When you take a "walk" there is no possibility of an "out".

There are multiple studies that conclude that OBP is better correlated to scoring runs than any other single factor. OBP is better correlated than SLG or BA.

When you take a "walk" your team's OBP increases and your chances of maximizing the runs scored increases. Encourage your entire line-up to take any "walks" that are offered to them. You'll force the opposing pitcher to pitch strikes, and a good hitting team will take advantage of that.

Be selective!

[Chris O'Leary]

As an FYI, I encourage my hitters to take a "walk" whenever possible.

Me too.

This is something I took away from Moneyball; that taking a walk is a valuable skill. That is because at the youth level a walk is as good as a triple (or even a home run).

When doing the batting order, I factor hits, walks, and HBP into On Base Percentage in roughly descending order of OBP, while taking power into account.

[Stealth]

Me too.

This is something I took away from Moneyball; that taking a walk is a valuable skill. That is because at the youth level a walk is as good as a triple (or even a home run).

When doing the batting order, I factor hits, walks, and HBP into On Base Percentage in roughly descending order of OBP, while taking power into account.

Keep in mind you have to teach your kids to HIT. A college coach told me one time that he gets to many kids who can only hit a ball right down the middle. The problem is they don't get to many pitches right down the middle. I am all for having kids have discipline at the plate but at the youth level - let them HIT!

[LAball]

Taking a walk is ok.. But Id rather see my son pup the ball in play at U10, even if its an out.. of course this is if we are ahead.

[FiveFrameSwing]

I am all for having kids have discipline at the plate but at the youth level - let them HIT!

I want to force the pitcher to throw strikes, and then punish the pitcher for doing so.

[Chris O'Leary]

Keep in mind you have to teach your kids to HIT. A college coach told me one time that he gets to many kids who can only hit a ball right down the middle. The problem is they don't get to many pitches right down the middle. I am all for having kids have discipline at the plate but at the youth level - let them HIT!

My guys swing when they get a ball in the kill zone.

However, they don't swing at balls or pitches out of their kill zone unless they have to protect the plate.

Again, plate discipline is a skill than can and should be developed in hitters.

[Stealth]

My guys swing when they get a ball in the kill zone.

However, they don't swing at balls or pitches out of their kill zone unless they have to protect the plate.

Again, plate discipline is a skill than can and should be developed in hitters.

And all I am saying is be careful at the youth level about being too disciplined.

[hawkiirock]

walks are great. Batting average is really just an overrated stat imo

[FiveFrameSwing]

walks are great. Batting average is really just an overrated stat imo

Biggest problem with using BA is that it fails to reward "walks".

The advantage of using OBP is that it factors in "walks" to one's BA.

[mudvnine]

Again, plate discipline is a skill than can and should be developed in hitters.

100% correct Chris, teaching only the physical aspect of hitting is only producing half a hitter.

Every hitter (at any age) needs to understand the mental aspect of hitting and must have a "plan" when approaching the plate on every at-bat.

Granted "the plan" needs to be age appropriate, but every hitter needs one all the same or they're not going to the plate with all of the available ammunition.

[callyjr]

my boy has taken 35 at bats, walked 7 times and no k's this year. 1st part of year he hit a lot of balls into the ground to pitcher and the right side of the field, It think he has a very good swing, better then most HS kids IMO, some of you have seen it. I could tell he He lacked confidence, playing against kids 2 and 3 years older. He was still getting on base a lot so I just let him continue to go up and hit, but only 1 hit in the first 15 or so was not a grounder. I didn't think he was ready for a good pitch when he got it and in turn seemed late on a lot of balls. I told him to think every pitch was going to be perfect and I wanted to see him looking to swing at every pitch and only stop if its not a good pitch. The very next game he hit his inside the park HR(triple with an error) a nice drive down the rf line, after that he started getting around on the pitches more and has even started poping balls into LF and LC.

not sure if it applies in your situation, maybe he is not picking up the pitch early enough or maybe he simply is not thinking he will get a good pitch and when he does it too late to get that good swing on it.

Cally