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my son is a 15 year old sophmore varsity catcher.play behind the dish has secured his spot, but he has major struggles hitting. coaches are happy with his swing, but he continues to struggle with letting the ball get deep. not sure if it is visual tracking or technique related. he is not only struggling in game situations but practice hitting also. very passionate about the game and is really letting his struggles with hitting affect him mentally. we went to hit last night and his frustration was the worst i have ever seen. need advice on any drills we might utilize or thing we might try. appreciate everyone who takes part in this website, the last year we have learned quite a bit from reading the forums. thanks in advance.
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If the coaches really like his swing, then to me it sounds like a timing issue (of course, this is without seeing his swing....but I'm no hitting expert either). I would suggest a lot of live arm hitting (i.e. not off of a machine). This can be BP type hitting or even underhanded short toss from the front, but he will need to hit a moving ball and practice "letting the ball travel"
Dynamic Pepper Drill :
This is a soft toss drill. The batter brings the bat straight to the ball and on contact freezes, highlighting forearm and wrist strength through bat control. Additionally, the batter will bring bat to ball and then retract in a straight path. Again highlighting and improving bat control through forearms and wrist strength. Next, the batter will swing utilizing just his upper half, then finally a full swing with upper and lower body.
The person running the drill will also position the batter and the ball in such a way to simulate an outside pitch which should be hit opposite field and an inside pitch to be pulled and locations in between.
If the swing is sound it may be just the trigger. Make sure he's fully loaded when he sees the pitchers back pocket and steps, or up and downs, early. As long as he keeps his weight back an early stride won't kill the swing. It's better to be in front than behind. If you are behind you have no chance at a hip rotation and weight shift.
If your son is "jumping" at the ball and taking head, hands and body forward (this is how I would interpret), I would set up drills that focus on the load and stride/reach. "You must go back before you go forward."

A drill I use is a 1-2-3 drill. Off a tee, soft toss or even BP short toss, the feeder/pitcher calls 1 - load, 2- reach 3 - release ball and hitter swings. it's a great drill to break the swing down and teach the young hitter what it feels like to put the body in a good hitting position and allows them to let the ball travel. give it a try - it's a very effective drill.

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