No Follow Through

[HeinekenMan]

My boy is large for his age and packs some punch in his swing. But he does not always finish his swing. During the spring season, there were many times when you would hit a ball about 160 feet with a swing that stopped 4-5 inches past contact. I have an old tether ball in the garage. Should I use a tee and a plunger to work on this or is there another, better way to get him to swing through a ball?

[Jake Patterson]

My boy is large for his age and packs some punch in his swing. But he does not always finish his swing. During the spring season, there were many times when you would hit a ball about 160 feet with a swing that stopped 4-5 inches past contact. I have an old tether ball in the garage. Should I use a tee and a plunger to work on this or is there another, better way to get him to swing through a ball?

Do you have access to a hitting stick??

[HeinekenMan]

Do you have access to a hitting stick??

Ya. We've never used one. Everyone has always marveled at his swing, and I was hoping to see him hit one out this season. But he needs to swing through the ball a little more. He also has had a habit of pulling his top hand off the bat a little early. I wonder if I should do a one-arm drill with him.

[Jake Patterson]

Ya. We've never used one. Everyone has always marveled at his swing, and I was hoping to see him hit one out this season. But he needs to swing through the ball a little more. He also has had a habit of pulling his top hand off the bat a little early. I wonder if I should do a one-arm drill with him.

Film him hitting a normal ball - then use a hitting stick concentrating on follow through and a proper swing plane and show him the difference... He might be able to figure it out himself.

[songtitle]

Jake, good idea.

Also, he can try simply taking a bat from shoulder to shoulder (without a ball).

[Jake Patterson]

Jake, good idea.

Also, he can try simply taking a bat from shoulder to shoulder (without a ball).

While a problematic drill - getting the chin from the front shoulder to the back shoulder might also be helpful.

[CircleChange11]

I have forever been trying to get my son to "finish high", y'know like Prince Fielder. Full swing. With authority. Too often the swing looked incomplete and he hit the ball a long way because he's strong.

The problem was that our emphasis was on the finish, or end product, instead of what CAUSES the result. In other words, i was looking to "treat the symptom".

When we focused on "pull backs" (via advise from a hitting instructor), pulling the elbow back (scap loading to be specific), the "finish" took care of itself. He couldn't "stop the swing short" even if he wanted to.

A video clip of the swing would be interesting.

What you're wanting to find out is why the swing stops short, not just how to "continue the swing".

[HeinekenMan]

Ya. I was trying to figure that out myself. When I pitch to him, I usually don't have a good opportunity to watch his swing mechanics. I have wondered about him not rotating the shoulders enough. That mention of the chin is something I'll watch for. I don't have video except on my phone, and that's not very good at all. I'm hoping one of my parents can shoot some video this weekend. I was following along a few days ago when I heard people talking about the back elbow, and I was able to help another kid who had been casting. He is a monster of a kid who has near-homer power with an all-arm swing. Keeping his elbow in the slot brought instant results. He's probably going to hit lots of homers this season. And he's a great kid. He deserves that.

[CircleChange11]

Bemont33.gif

Here is what I am referring to.

We only watch videos now. When I was trying to watch him while pitching, too often what I thought I saw wasn't really happening ... and you can't watch too closely while trying to throw strikes and defend yourself.

Warning: Shea was right, once you start recording video clips, you can't stop. But, I have found it to be the best thing we've done. When we hit, there's just hitting no coaching, arguing, You're doing this no I'm not, type stuff. We come home, get a drink or snack and sit down and watch. By this point he can see for himself when he does the right things and when he doesn't. The challenge is getting him to "keep the feel" so that it becomes something that happens on its own.

I would recommend getting a camera. Our recently broke due to being dropped, but I'll pick up another at a local pawn shop or just go to Wally world. It's that valuable.