My 8YO Hitting

[The Flush]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SGQz...ature=youtu.be

This is the first video I have made of my 8 year old hitting off the tee. I am clearly not a hitting coach, so I would appreciate some help with helping him. Bat drag appears to be a problem, along with early wrist release (can't think of proper term for that). Please let me know what you think of his swing and let me know what drills might help him.

Thanks.

-Jim

[songtitle]

Here he is at toe touch.

bbf-theflush.JPG

1. Back elbow is down - should be up (causing most of his bat drag, and losing power)

2. Hands are not near his armpit/shoulder (causing front elbow to straighten too much, too soon- armbar)

3. He is not coiling back as he goes forward. He coils, then goes forward. This is causing him to open up his hips too soon.

Have him get in front of a mirror, and practice moving into toe touch.

[pthawaii]

It's interesting because over the years, reading these forums, it's starting to actually sink in for me! At least I was thinking that as I read Song's post.

I think your son looks very athletic, so that's good. I agree with Song, and if I had to pick one thing to focus on, it would be #2. His hands are pushed far back and then he starts to turn his shoulders, front arm bars out and then he has some bat drag. Here's the hard part, how to improve it. If he can start with his hands near his left ear and not push his hands so far back during load, then keep his hands in front of his shoulder (don't let the shoulders rotate and leave his hand behind), that might be better. Try the same tee shot, and tell him that you don't care how far the ball goes, but rather that you want him to focus on the above. This is my thought, although to be honest with you, I haven't even really figured it all out with my own 7 (almost 8) yo.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

PS There is a part of me that thinks this is easier to fix once they start kid pitch, since the ball will come in quicker and they won't have time to swing with a straight front arm and bat drag. But again, I dunno, I just know it's hard to fix with a young kid playing coach pitch (at least that's been my experience helping coach my son's team).

[The Flush]

Thanks for the suggestions Songtitle and pthawaii. We have worked on this a little bit, but still have a way to go. I think he might look a little better when he just practices going to toe touch, but when he goes to full swing, he pushes his hands back with a big shoulder turn, which results in the arm bar. He also looked a little better when standing a little closer to the plate, probably because it was necessary to get the barrel onto the ball. Do you have any suggestion to prevent pushing the hands back and the big shoulder turn? BTW, he has a nice looking back swing when he golfs. Maybe that is part of the problem.

http://youtu.be/W7YWlb3H3mA

[pthawaii]

Do you have any suggestion to prevent pushing the hands back and the big shoulder turn?

I don't have any suggestions that will work to fix it quickly. But somethings I've tried are:

1. Have him hold/pinch his shirt on the front of his shoulder with his hand, so if he pushes his hands too far back, it will pull on his shirt.
2. Repeat, "it doesn't matter how far you hit it, only that you don't fully straighten the front arm before swinging."
3. Start with the barrel on the side of the deltoid (shoulder).
4. Buy a "connextion" hitting aid (haven't tried this one, but seems like it would solve the problem).
5. Lots of tee work with the ball high and inside (it's hard to hit this ball with an arm bar).

Again, good luck. I'd love to know how you do, as I'm seeing similar things in my son's swing.

[The Flush]

I had already planned on your first suggestion to hold his shirt. Team practice on the next 2 nights, so we might not get much chance to work on this until Friday. We will keep working on it.