Critique this 8yr old swing.

[$tinky]

http://youtu.be/Ole2PfU43-w

http://youtu.be/xmFyVFfTHZk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUFWyRfZj-o

never put a video on here so i'm sure i did it wrong.

[songtitle]

Classic bat drag.

After toe touch, see if you can get him to keep his hands in the middle of his elbows, with his elbows apart.

[omg]

1. There is an important tool called a pitching screen which is very helpful.

2. His lower body action is completely off. I'd be interested in seeing how he hits off of a tee, short toss, or just dry swings.

3. I'd eliminate the talking when he his trying to hit live or machine pitching.

4. His swing is just not there right now. I understand he is just eight so no big deal. Does he like to play and practice? If so, I'd just let him hit when he is facing a live pitch. Let him achieve some success, fundamentally, with some simple stuff like dry swings (maybe hitting a hit stick) and tee work and maybe eventually it will carry over to the pitching. There is too much going on right now to even begin making corrections.

[$tinky]

1. There is an important tool called a pitching screen which is very helpful.

2. His lower body action is completely off. I'd be interested in seeing how he hits off of a tee, short toss, or just dry swings.

3. I'd eliminate the talking when he his trying to hit live or machine pitching.

4. His swing is just not there right now. I understand he is just eight so no big deal. Does he like to play and practice? If so, I'd just let him hit when he is facing a live pitch. Let him achieve some success, fundamentally, with some simple stuff like dry swings (maybe hitting a hit stick) and tee work and maybe eventually it will carry over to the pitching. There is too much going on right now to even begin making corrections.

Yeah I never said he was a future mlb star. He likes to play but he's not one of these that just "loves" it. He's tough to coach, and teach or at least he is for me.

I'll put some tee work on here so you can look at it. I appreciate both of you taking time to look.

Oh and I've heard of those screen things, I'll have to look into that.

[omg]

Oh and I've heard of those screen things, I'll have to look into that.

On the other hand, he got such a kick out of nailing you. Maybe that's the key: every time he nails daddy he gets a (fill in the blank).

[pthawaii]

Just a few observations from a newbie dad.

Seem like you want him to get closer to the "plate" (black lid), however, the pitching machine is pitching inside or even off the plate (I make this assessment based on the fact he doesn't miss any balls based off of being too far away from them). If you want him closer to the plate, you might have the machine pitch over the plate.

Seems like the pitches are a bit high. Maybe aim the machine lower.

Not sure what you do before the machine, but it could be good to do tee and soft toss work to work on his swing. The machine pitch seems like a bit much for him to have a consistent swing (although I think it will look a lot better with a lower pitch).

Good luck, maybe post some vid off the tee/soft toss or machine with lower pitch location.

[$tinky]

He has issues always getting to far away from the plate. I actually will creep machine inside just to compensate. He has issues being afraid of the ball. We just went through a stretch where he was stepping out so bad and I feel like it was mainly from fear of the ball.

You are right though, I'm yelling to get closer to the plate and its throwing inside. Also correct about it throwing high. This was not like a planned video shoot. We were in a hurry and it was the one time we had his mom there to video.

We always start out with something like tee work or soft toss. Today we started with front toss from machine at 10 feet, moved to 20 then moved to 30 at 35mph. I was adjusting machine on the fly. Like I said we were short on time.

[omg]

He has issues always getting to far away from the plate. I actually will creep machine inside just to compensate. He has issues being afraid of the ball. We just went through a stretch where he was stepping out so bad and I feel like it was mainly from fear of the ball.

You are right though, I'm yelling to get closer to the plate and its throwing inside. Also correct about it throwing high. This was not like a planned video shoot. We were in a hurry and it was the one time we had his mom there to video.

We always start out with something like tee work or soft toss. Today we started with front toss from machine at 10 feet, moved to 20 then moved to 30 at 35mph. I was adjusting machine on the fly. Like I said we were short on time.

Definitely fear of the ball, no question. This will take a lot of reps but I think using an accurate machine is a plus. Does he do the "fear of the ball" (crazy legs) swing when hitting off of the tee or doing short toss?

[Cannonball]

I always have a problem trying to judge a swing when that swing is at an arc. I'm not a big fan of machines but realize their importance. However, if you want to film your son and get more reliable feedback, find a small protector and front toss to him. In that way, you can put the ball on a better plane for us to judge his swing better. JMHO!

[$tinky]

Ha ha, crazy legs! No he does not do that off the tee. The machine is accurate or as accurate as a machine is supposed to be. The pitch location was my fault. He does play in machine pitch league. 35 mph from 40 feet. That's the main reason we use a machine for practice. Well that and I actually love the machine for defensive stuff. I'm also not the best batting practice pitcher in the world either.

[omg]

Of course you can keep it simple and ask him not to do that crazy legs stuff with the machine. Maybe that will work.If he doesn't do the crazy legs stuff that would mean that he pretty much needs to plant his 2 feet solidly when he swings. And he knows if he does that then he won't be able to high tail it out of there.
Very common. Beautiful tee swing but weird gyrations when a baseball is coming. Kids are smart.