My 7 year old son getting a hit on Wednesday night (10/3/12)

[The Glovedoctor]

I think he's striding a little long, and casting - but I love watching my kid hit. Please, feel free to critique and offer suggestions.

[lancers]

Where is the vertical bat setup?

Pretty good swing for a 7yo. He seems to stride with his front leg before he got a chance to coil more. But for a 7yo I wouldn't worry that too much.

[The Glovedoctor]

Where is the vertical bat setup?

Yeah - right?! I had to verbally remind him, but you know kids - hard to break habits. Here is a picture from one of the other at bats that same night....

Fall Ball 10032012 067.JPG

[Ursa Major]

Looks pretty dang good to me. As far as casting, it's not bad, particularly in that the pitch is away from him. You can work on that with a high tee drill to get him used to swinging with his front arm bent. And, yes, he is letting the bat drop down onto his deltoid (which is very common and can take years to overcome), but that's far from critical. The important thing is that he's got some load, he's remaining balanced, he's got some tilt ('posture') and he's letting the ball run pretty deep. Here's as close as I can get to capturing the point of contact.
GloveDrJr01.jpg

Lots of good stuff going on there. I'd put him in the top 5% of 7 y/o's I've seen. More importantly, the balance and tilt is an extremely good foundation on which to build for years to come.

[The Glovedoctor]

Thanks Ursa, that's very encouraging. Here is another picture (from the same game) of point of contact. I'm just noticing the SOUND of the ball meeting the bat, and wondering if somehow a soft baseball got mixed into the game. They are supposed to be using real baseballs.

304359_10151080425826918_1939324791_n.jpg

[syidewayz]

The Last photo Looks Perfect, Heads Still Down, Top Arm close to body, Almost a stiff front leg at contact.

Im Trying to get my 5 yr old to swing the same way. hes playing 5/6 FALL ball.

Only problem is when he makes contact his arms giveout they use hard balls.

Anything to fix that? hes just to small and weak. lol
hes the smallest kid in the leauge

You can see here.


Make Full screen to see

[The Glovedoctor]

One drill I use with the boys is to let them hit partially deflated mini basketballs. Hit them off the tee, and I will bounce one into the strikezone for them to swing away at (trying to hit the ball through me). It helps strengthen them, amoung other things.

[lancers]

One drill I use with the boys is to let them hit partially deflated mini basketballs. Hit them off the tee, and I will bounce one into the strikezone for them to swing away at (trying to hit the ball through me). It helps strengthen them, amoung other things.

It's very normal for youth players. Just a matter of strength. The problem will go away when they grow up.

[pthawaii]

Thanks Ursa, that's very encouraging. Here is another picture (from the same game) of point of contact. I'm just noticing the SOUND of the ball meeting the bat, and wondering if somehow a soft baseball got mixed into the game. They are supposed to be using real baseballs.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]115529[/ATTACH]

Looks terrific for his age from what I can tell.

[Hi Chunky]

Looks terrific for his age from what I can tell.

x2
Looks like he goes up to the plate with some serious intent!

[Ursa Major]

Im Trying to get my 5 yr old to swing the same way. hes playing 5/6 FALL ball.
Only problem is when he makes contact his arms giveout they use hard balls.
Anything to fix that? hes just to small and weak. lol
hes the smallest kid in the leauge

You can see here.

Syde, it's tough to be sure because of the distance, but it looks like he's suffering from the age old problem of bat drag - i.e., the back (right) elbow is leading the hands into the ball, so there's nothing supporting the hands when they make contact and they "give", allowing the ball to shove the bat backwards. Notice in the picture in Post #5: the back arm is in what is called the "Power L" position, bracing the top hand at contact. The key is to get the kid focusing on turning the bat into the ball with his bottom arm and back shoulder, with the top hand de-emphasized until it's time to snap the wrists.

This may help a little: Here's a skinny UCLA softball player named Caitlin Benji smacking a home run - it's one of the most instructive clips ever:
CaitlinBenji2005UCLA_SView.gif
Now, here's the same swing stopped just before contact; notice the back arm also in the power L.
CaitlinBenji2005UCLA_SViewlag.jpg

Getting to this point obviously requires a lot more explanation and years of work, but it will get you an idea of what to aim for.

[tradosaurus]

Why are you comparing a softball swing to a baseball swing when there are plenty of MLB swings that are better?

[Bolts-Baseball]

Why are you comparing a softball swing to a baseball swing when there are plenty of MLB swings that are better?

Your total ignorance is comical...

[tradosaurus]

Total ignorance? Aren't we exaggerating a bit?

How is it ignorant to want a kid to emulate a MLB swing?

Or do you enjoy calling names? :chainsaw:

[mr. potato head]

Syde, it's tough to be sure because of the distance, but it looks like he's suffering from the age old problem of bat drag - i.e., the back (right) elbow is leading the hands into the ball, so there's nothing supporting the hands when they make contact and they "give", allowing the ball to shove the bat backwards. Notice in the picture in Post #5: the back arm is in what is called the "Power L" position, bracing the top hand at contact. The key is to get the kid focusing on turning the bat into the ball with his bottom arm and back shoulder, with the top hand de-emphasized until it's time to snap the wrists.

This may help a little: Here's a skinny UCLA softball player named Caitlin Benji smacking a home run - it's one of the most instructive clips ever:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]115560[/ATTACH]
Now, here's the same swing stopped just before contact; notice the back arm also in the power L.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]115561[/ATTACH]

Getting to this point obviously requires a lot more explanation and years of work, but it will get you an idea of what to aim for.

So basically holding on and turning while pulling with the lead arm? Why no emphasis on the top hand early on in the sequence?