Swift Stick

[Jblanchard]

What do you think of the swift stick with the bolt balls for 6-7 year olds.

[jbolt_2000]

What do you think of the swift stick with the bolt balls for 6-7 year olds.

Having had one go 'round with my older son at that age and now doing the same with my youngest, here is what I did and learned:

With my oldest, I bought the swift stick, the hit'n'stick, the one that wraps around a pole, the insider bat (when my son was 11 or 12) and so on and so on... I tried using them as much as I could because I thought they would help my son and all the boys on the team with different mechanical flaws . I found that nothing beats (or even comes close) to live pitching and soft toss. Mechanical flaws were fixed better with live pitching, but those other tools did help identify those flaws. As the kids got older I used them less and less and stuck with live pitching, soft toss and tee work.

Now that I am doing it again with my 6y.o. we focus mostly on the three I mentioned earlier; pitching, soft toss and tee work. I will take out my swift stick occasionally to mix things up and keep it fun and interesting, but do not use it as a regular drill (at 6-7 they have a hard time hitting consistently and get discouraged. At 10-11 they hit better with it). I no longer use the one that wraps around a pole (can't remember the name) - this one was a waste in my opinion because it forces the player to use more hands than getting their hips/body engaged. I use the hit'n'stick for the younger kids maybe once a week or before games to help work on mechanics and get a few swings in before a game (don't have to chase any balls!).

Overall, I say if you can find it cheap then go ahead and buy it, but use it sparingly and just to keep things fresh. Don't expect to change mechanics significantly at this age, with this tool. If done too much, it can definitely feel like a chore (when they miss alot it becomes discouraging).

Hope that helps.

PS. Although there are different opinions on the Insider Bat here, I find it to be useful at the older level. I use it for those kids that arm-bar too much but don't ask my better hitters to use it unless they want to get in on the drill every now and then. But not necessary for 6-7 y.o's IMO.

[DerekD]

I found that nothing beats (or even comes close) to live pitching and soft toss.

^^^This. Instead of a swift stick, you could use a real bat with a smaller barrel. Do a google on "Cal Ripken training bat" to find an example of one.

[ralanprod]

The swift stick / mini-ball combo is good for working on eye-hand coordination, but I wouldn't rely on it too much.

The bat is so much lighter than a regular bat that kids can generate good bat speed just using their arms, which can create issues once they get back to a real bat. Of course there is the ability to use a swift stick to work on proper mechanics because the lighter weight allows kids to get in more swings without tiring.

Like most of the other gadgets, used properly it has some value. Used improperly it can cause issues.

As was said above - nothing beats hitting off a tee, doing front toss, and hitting live pitching. Those three things give you all you need to develop hitting skills.

[The Uncoach]

To change muscle memory takes hundreds and hundreds of swings. Good luck doing that in one session with the players regular bat. Once one understands that, the value of the swiftstick and other similar products increases.

[Jblanchard]

I have used the swift stick and bolt balls with side toss. I do front toss some, but he only hits about 40% so he gets frustrated. It seems to really help my sons hand eye cordination. I have a little concern that it is hurting his mechanics and causing him to get out on his front foot.

[The Uncoach]

You should ask yourself how any bat of any weight could possibly be "causing him to get out on his front foot."

[Jblanchard]

I do not know what is causing him to get out on his front foot. I do not have a ton of baseball experience. He practiced all winter with a travelteam that pitched from forty feet and now is playing coach pitch. He did not do this before. Any tips or drills to get him to stop doing this. Thanks

[johnlanza]

I do not know what is causing him to get out on his front foot. I do not have a ton of baseball experience. He practiced all winter with a travelteam that pitched from forty feet and now is playing coach pitch. He did not do this before.

Was the travel team coach-pitch or kid-pitch? And is he getting out on his front foot now in the current coach-pitch league? If yes, maybe he needs the coach to speed up the pitch. I know my son hits much better when the pitch is hard and straight. I don't know the exact distance, but I'd say our coach pitches from about forty feet.

[Jblanchard]

The travel team was coach pitch from forty feet. He is now at coach pitch from about eighteen feet. I think that the coach and I pitch at very close to the same speed and we have been practicing outside for about a month and he just started doing this. We recently tried a larger bat that was a little to big for him. It hurts his confidence because he is losing all of his power. I was thinking of drawing a line in front of him and telling him not to stride past it, but that may be to much for a six year old or maybe the wrong fix. Maybe I should just leave it alone as I don't want to something to screw him up myself.

[pthawaii]

The travel team was coach pitch from forty feet. He is now at coach pitch from about eighteen feet. I think that the coach and I pitch at very close to the same speed and we have been practicing outside for about a month and he just started doing this. We recently tried a larger bat that was a little to big for him. It hurts his confidence because he is losing all of his power. I was thinking of drawing a line in front of him and telling him not to stride past it, but that may be to much for a six year old or maybe the wrong fix. Maybe I should just leave it alone as I don't want to something to screw him up myself.

If he's six, I'd say just let him go back to the smaller bat. Move up 1 inch or 1/2 oz at a time. Or play with the smaller bat, but sprinkle in the larger bat so he can get used to it over time. I'm reading between the lines a little and figuring that he was doing okay with the smaller bat.

[CoolHandLuke]

The travel team was coach pitch from forty feet.

It amazes me that there are actually "travel" coach pitch leagues. I hope I never hear of a travel tee ball league.

[bbrages]

I was thinking of drawing a line in front of him and telling him not to stride past it, but that may be to much for a six year old or maybe the wrong fix.

If he's doing what I think he's doing (where's the video!?) then I don't think the problem is that his stride is too big. Perhaps he's swinging too early and trying to compensate by shifting his weight over the front foot... I would use a cue like, "stay back, let the ball get to you, wait for it."

How is the trajectory of the pitch coming in? If you toss underhand, does he do the same thing? Maybe he's compensating for a bad pitch trajectory....

[The Uncoach]

It amazes me that there are actually "travel" coach pitch leagues. I hope I never hear of a travel tee ball league.

Cover your ears. They already exist.

[The Uncoach]

..........I was thinking of drawing a line in front of him and telling him not to stride past it, but that may be to much for a six year old or maybe the wrong fix. Maybe I should just leave it alone as I don't want to something to screw him up myself.

You're messing with his personal style that he's already developing. Let him stride the length he wants. He just needs to start his stance a little wider so the stride takes less time. He also needs to start earlier. IOW, he needs to be getting ready to swing at every pitch and doing it smoothly and sooner. Another option...place his feet where they would be after he strides. Now instead of striding just have him lift his front heel up. Then drop it and go. It sounds like he's struggling with the timing which is getting him out onto his front foot. That said, at six years old I wouldn't be too detailed.