After contact...

Very

You must swing through after contact or you will find yourself hitting alot of grounders.
I think keeping both hands of is the best way.It helps keep your weight back,and it keeping you level during your swing.Sometimes,when a player releases his bottom hand,they tend to pull their head or be ahead of a pitch(at this level anyhow)

There are two things you want to do--- see the ball hit the ball--antiquated isnt it- but it works

(1) Top hand drags the system after it reaches the belt.
(2) Can get to extension better with top hand release.
(3) If you hold on you have a greater tendency of rolling over, which causes the barrel to pick up, which causes ground balls (BlueDog)
(4) It is less strain on your lower back to let go. It takes the load off. As hitters swing faster this is important.
(5) 90% of great hitters have a top hand release, 90% of coaches don't seem to like it. Do the math.

Am I correct that you should try and have a high finish to the swing? Above the shoulder? Or is that too high? I guess I need to look at some clips, but I thought I would ask fo ropinions as well.

bluedog,I cpuldnt tell if you were joking or not.If youre not,then I hate to tell you but its pretty basic knowledge that if you just stop your swing after contact,you wont be much of a hitter.

Deacon,you might want to hear a few pros at this from the site,but you should always follow through with your swing and encourage your son to keep both hands on the bat at all times.

You can't chop and stop with a woodbat!! You will not have as much carry in distance of ball with a woodbat. Maybe with metal but not wood!
Peace, Shep

Aidan swings...

Any comments? Advice? I am not the best instructor so anything that you think could help him get more enjoyment out of his hitting is appreciated.

The videos have been a great tool, as poor as they are. He loves watching himself hit. He gets to see the results of both good swings and bad. He swings for the fences and thinks he can get there. All in good time big man, all in good time.

So basically how you get to the ball is what's important and the rest is just your momentum carrying forward? If he can release his top hand and still keep his head down through contact that is ok? This is probably a very fine line especially at his age, but it may make staying balanced through the swing easier. I don't know?

I know this is a high school site and I am sure you tire of looking at a young kid swing, but thanks for the time.

Tim

Deacon

He is extending his front arm too much too soon which will cause him to develop bad hitting habits. We call these hitters "sweeper swingers". Arms should not be this extended which I believe can be attributed to the bat he is swinging which is obviously too heavy for him at this age.

Get him a lighter bat and work on maintaining angles in arms by pulling hands and wrists along with handle of bat in close to his body when coming forward. This will help Adian stay inside of baseball as hitter. Have Adian also lead out with lowerbody and keep bat back until his frontside is in hitting position. Good instructors call this, "HITTING AGAINST A FIRM/RIGID FRONTSIDE". Key to Success, IMHO.

Hope this helps out Peace, Shep
PS(In the book, "Prophet of the Sandlots" you will gain valuable inforamation and I highly recommend this book for anyone serious about baseball and hitting. The lowerbody constitutes more than most realize in baseball related movements whether it be hitting OR throwing. The foundation of the strongest muscles in the body is impirical in the unlocking mechanism of the "Total Swing". Peace, Shep

Thanks Shep, means a lot that you took the time. The bat is too heavy. He has a lighter one and should be swinging it instead. The bat in the video should probably not come back out for a few years. Problem is he knows it's here. He cares not for what kids his age and size are into. He sees his big friends swinging there big bats and that is all that matters. I am doing him no favors there I know and I will have to discipline myself better to help him. I'll do it.

Is the straightening of the arms what they call catsing the hands? I think I know what you are talking about there. He sees it too and we both know that he hits better when he can keep them in close. We were talking about that while looking at videos this evening. I go back and forth between his best vids and some clips of pros hitting shots. He's a smart kid and is a sponge when it comes to this stuff.

Thanks for the comment on the bat. I needed that. The bigger bat has more "pop" when he does connect. It may make him feel good, and his dad as well, but it's not doing him any favors.

And thanks for the heads up on the book.

Tim

Rather than emphasizing swinging thru the ball would focus on maintaining posture and holding the swing plane as this seems to be a problem area with kids breaking down during the swing.

Thanks Deacon, I need to start posting down in Hitting Threads again, I've just been so darn busy lately but I vow to do better here

Casting the bat is another no no for sure. Some coaches teach their players to throw the barrel out at the ball on middle to outside pitches which is an incorrect teaching cue which leads to relying on arms and hands too much without setting the firm/rigid front side before what I think should be described as "COMING Forward by turning" in order to take the barrel to the ball correctly in pitch location which should be batspeed created from lowerbody foundation.
Sounds like Adian is teachable which is key
I've seen a lot of hard-headed ones through the years-lol! Peace, Shep

Anyone looking for an almost brand new Kelley N. Fuego 29/20? If you know anyone send them my way. I was fooling myself by thinking he might be able to handle this thing. I can see that it might do a lot more harm than good. I think it would be best to just get this thing out of the house until he is ready.

Deacon, pretty good swing. I agree with Shep, barring the arm and will be a hard habit to break the longer he does it. I however, do not see any casting. A barred arm doesn't always mean casted hands. I also, think he rolls his top hand over to soon after contact. I'll disagree with the DOG, which I don't often do, about the finish. Its important to finish with the hands in the direction of contact and to do so with the top hand facing palm up. Once the arms are extended and the swing begins to move in the diection of the shoulder then will he role is top hand over. It's also important to finish high. 2 hands or 1 is more of a style and comfort to each individual hitter.

Let me ask you this, How heavy is the bat he is using and how old is he? That bat just looks like its heavy as he swings it.

It is heavy. It's 29/20. He is only 7 and a little over 4'2" tall. I know. Bad dad!! He practices a lot with his bigger, older friends. When he was swinging their bats of about the same size he was hitting well. I got the bat with the intention of not taking it out at least until this coming Spring season. I messed up and let him swing it a couple of times and now he grabs it when ever we go out.

He hits the ball pretty well with it, but that is not the point I know. I have had him watch videos with that bat and with his lighter bat as well. He knows he is faster with less effort with the smaller bat, but he is 7. Dad has to be the adult here.

Thanks very much for your input Vance.

As for barred arms. I was showing him some videos tonight of a few pros. The way the bat seems to stay in the same position. The hands and bat are the same distance from the shoulder or head. The shoulders may ease back into the catcher a bit, but the bat stay in th esame relation to the body. As the hips and shoulders rotate forward the arm then begins to straighten some as the shoulder begins to pull it around. It does however stay bent allowing for adjustments to be made during the swing. Am I getting this at all?

A high finish and good rotation of the hips and shoulders should allow him to keep the hands from turning over until well after contact, correct?

Tim

Here is the other bat this morning. It's 28/17.5 and still may be a bit heavy, but he caught this one.

Another swing...

I really see the arm now I think. Especially when I slow it down or catch it on pause. We'll keep after it. I have noticed this before. He seems to do it more on slower pitches or off of the Tee. I guess it is just kind of natural to think the farther you reahc back the harder you will swing. He'll catch on and we'll have a blast learning together.

Thanks again,

Tim

Tim...wrist rolling is a function of the hips not turning in front of the swing by some margin.

It is easy to prove by keeping you back foot on the ground throughout you whole swing. Having the back foot stay on the ground will stop the hips and you top hand MUST roll over to keep the bat moving.

That will allow you to see what is happening.

You need to teach mechanics with that Swiftstik more for now. That bat is too heavy for him.

Got it. Thanks for your time everyone.

Tim and Aidan