Age to start switch hitting in games

First, welcome to the site. I think you will find some very valuable information here. I hope I don’t scare you off with my direct opinion here...

I must say, IMO, there are so many red flags here. You have a 9 year old who I believe you may very well be racing toward burnout well before he hits his teen years.

“has always been a great fundamental hitter”, “His mechanics are excellent from both sides”, “We have had him taking private batting lessons weekly for 7 months”, “his team coaches do not believe in letting him switch hit”, “The coaches do not allow my son to even practice left”

Please take a step back and read these bites from your post. Your son is nine. He should not be overly concerned with mechanics at this stage, he should be enjoying playing the game with his friends. If he has been working on mechanics for as long as indicated and he is taking that many private lessons, IMO, you are way over the top with this. I’m sure you’ll say he is really into it and he loves the lessons but is this REALLY his idea? Is HE pushing for the continued lessons or is he being "encouraged"? Every 9 yr old I’ve ever been around just wants to play. Sure, they’ll think it’s cool if they are getting a few private lessons from an ex-pro/college player or whatever, but they have little interest in going weekly for 30 straight weeks. A few pointers or adjustments here and there, great. But, 30 straight weeks of private lessons?

If he wants to switch hit, he should. There sure as heck shouldn’t be coaches telling a 9 yr old he can’t. They don’t ALLOW him to practice left? Really? I could see where they wouldn’t allow extra time or extra cuts. That’s a different subject. But to not allow it, period? Again, he’s nine! If a coach of a 9 yr old is telling a child (yes, CHILD) he is not allowed to hit RH or LH, he is over the top for this age. And, be aware, there are many of those out there.

“he has great speed but does lack power” – of course he lacks power, he’s NINE. I'm pretty sure that will change by the time he's playing HS ball.

“He has a natural swing both right and left” – Finally, something that has a good ring to it... then why does he need so many lessons at this age? Allow him to enjoy his natural talents.

As reference, my perspective is that of a HS varsity coach who has also coached 18u club all the way down to minors LL and has raised three kids who have all played multiple sports, including baseball/softball. My kids' interests and purpose with sports run the full spectrum from "social outing" to highly decorated HS athlete working toward college ball.

Look, I hope I’m totally wrong here and you have a kid that is one in a million and completely driven to be the hardest working, most fundamentally sound 10 yr old ball player in the country. But, if I’m even just a little bit right, I hope you can take something from it. Enjoy your 9 yr old and let him enjoy being a 9 yr old.

There are many threads that touch on things like appropriate age to take lessons, to play club ball, to switch hit, etc. throughout this site. Please search and read. Many have been down the same path and have words of wisdom.

Cabbage:

At 9 he should be playing multiple sports and chasing frogs. (or lizards)

I appreciate your insight. It is very hard to paint the whole picture on a web posting. And I can see that on the basis of this posting we look like we are nuts. He takes lessons because neither his dad or myself have a baseball background and he wanted to switch hit. Our son desires to play baseball and practice. He does play other sports (football and basketball). He does catch lizards and toads. And records MLB games so he can watch them over and over. The coaches don't want to waste practice time on something they are not going to use in the games. The batting coach does not think our son needs weekly lessons. But I continue to bring him because I know he will be working on hitting from both sides there, he loves to go and frankly it's easier than me trying to pitch to him in the back yard. I don't want to burn my son out and I don't want to put pressure on him to perform. He is 9. He is a child and we do control the situation. If he had his way, he'd be playing on a majors team year round. I am worried about the switch hitting. I don't want to wait too long to try it in games and wreck his confidence. I have spent hours looking online and find conflicting information. I'm really just seeking opinions as to the switch hitting. I am not a crazy competitive mom and neither is his dad. We are both new to the sport and are trying to help our son grow in the sport he loves so very much.

He wants to hit left. But he is nervous about striking out more often than he does when hitting right. Which is normal, I'm sure. I do not think he should hit left everytime the batter is a righty. Maybe just once per game to see how it goes. and then gradually grow into a more consistent pattern with rh pitchers hitting left. I'm just not sure if I should press the coaches on this or if it really won't matter if he gets his at bats left later on. As a teacher, I can see that the earlier you do something the easier and more natural it is. But perhaps that does not translate to baseball.

quote:

Cabbagedad said....."If he wants to switch hit, he should. There sure as heck shouldn’t be coaches telling a 9 yr old he can’t. They don’t ALLOW him to practice left? Really? I could see where they wouldn’t allow extra time or extra cuts. That’s a different subject. But to not allow it, period? Again, he’s nine! If a coach of a 9 yr old is telling a child (yes, CHILD) he is not allowed to hit RH or LH, he is over the top for this age. And, be aware, there are many of those out there."

I agree with Cabbagedad. My two cents...I think it would be a good idea to step back and let your son drive this as far as he wants to take it. My oldest son would pester me to take him to the batting cage or play catch since he was 5. He was not obligated. It was something he always wanted to do, and he is still doing it now a bunch of years later. He is 19 (college pitcher) and we've played catch and gone to the batting cage every weekend this summer. I guess what I'm saying is make it fun, not work is the best way I can put it. I understand working hard can be fun for driven people, and your son may be a very driven person...but let him be the one making the decisions. I guarantee it will pay off in the end.

The quote above I really agree with. If your son wants to switch hit, he should. It will be twice the work, but if that is what he likes to do, he should do it. Baseball at this age should be about skills development, not about limiting his skills development.

I had a young man learn to switch much later. So, he practiced all of this and then was scared to do in in games when he thought that the "stats mattered." One day we were playing against an opponent who was struggling. Very sheepishly he comes up to me and I knew what he wanted. I told him to go for it. I asked him if he practiced it knowing he did. So I said if you practice it then do it. He got a hit and the rest is history. He graduated this year from a D-I school where he had a great career.

If your son practices it, LET HIM DO IT. JMHO!

quote:

Originally posted by Summermj:
I appreciate your insight. It is very hard to paint the whole picture on a web posting. And I can see that on the basis of this posting we look like we are nuts. He takes lessons because neither his dad or myself have a baseball background and he wanted to switch hit. Our son desires to play baseball and practice. He does play other sports (football and basketball). He does catch lizards and toads. And records MLB games so he can watch them over and over. The coaches don't want to waste practice time on something they are not going to use in the games. The batting coach does not think our son needs weekly lessons. But I continue to bring him because I know he will be working on hitting from both sides there, he loves to go and frankly it's easier than me trying to pitch to him in the back yard. I don't want to burn my son out and I don't want to put pressure on him to perform. He is 9. He is a child and we do control the situation. If he had his way, he'd be playing on a majors team year round. I am worried about the switch hitting. I don't want to wait too long to try it in games and wreck his confidence. I have spent hours looking online and find conflicting information. I'm really just seeking opinions as to the switch hitting. I am not a crazy competitive mom and neither is his dad. We are both new to the sport and are trying to help our son grow in the sport he loves so very much.

He wants to hit left. But he is nervous about striking out more often than he does when hitting right. Which is normal, I'm sure. I do not think he should hit left everytime the batter is a righty. Maybe just once per game to see how it goes. and then gradually grow into a more consistent pattern with rh pitchers hitting left. I'm just not sure if I should press the coaches on this or if it really won't matter if he gets his at bats left later on. As a teacher, I can see that the earlier you do something the easier and more natural it is. But perhaps that does not translate to baseball.

Thanks for the added perspective. Things make much more sense now. Great to hear that his love of playing is the primary driver. I love being wrong with these types of things.
So, the primary advantages of switch hitting for a naturally RH hitter are...
1.) Better utilization of exceptional speed - 2 steps closer to 1B.
2.) Matchup advantage against RH pitchers - better view at breaking balls, no pitches coming straight at you that you have to stand in on.

Your son shouldn't be overly concerned with either at this point. The matchup issue should be a non-issue for a few years as 9-11 yr olds should not be throwing breaking balls or dropping down and throwing sidearm.

So, my point is, if he wants to learn how to hit from both sides, at this age, it really doesn't matter whether the pitcher is LH or RH. He should start hitting LH in games when he feels comfortable enough to do so. And, if he has worked on it as much as it sounds, he's probably there. IMO, you shouldn't have to press the coach to let him. If he wants to do it, he should. If questioned, that's the way he hits. Unless the coach feels that he is really much weaker hitting LH, I would question why he would have a problem with it. If he does, then it's time to question what his coaching objectives are for this team. To win or to develop and have fun (Yeah, I know, winning is more fun, but what is the proper balance for this age)? From there, you can make your own decisions.
By the way, we had a HS soph last year that has been switch hitting for maybe three years. Just this last year, his LH strength has gotten to the point where he can drive the ball similarly to the way he can RH. This led to a great deal of success this year. My point there - if your son is not comfortable switching in games yet, there's certainly no rush at this point.
I do agree with your "teacher" analysis - it does translate to baseball. The only difference to keep in mind is that it's not class and he doesn't have to get an A. He just needs to have fun. If fun, for him, is competitive driven, he'll work at it and enjoy it.

Varitek did not switch hitting until high school and only started because his brothers would not play wiffle with him until he hit lefty.

He should be swinging from the left side on games. The one taking things too serious is the coach. If the kid feels comfortable on his lessons from both sides, let him try in games. I would let him swing from the left side only on games unless a lefty is pitching and keep practicing form both sides. My son started practicing from the left side at 6 and six months later was hitting from the left side on games. Jorge Posada Sr. one day told his son to go from the left side prior to a game without even trying before in practice. He struck out 32 times in a row ubtil he got his first hit. Posada Sr. said... "son this to prepare you for the Big Leagues , I don't care if you strike out 40 times in a row at 9 years old".

I don't believe one can make reasonable "talent" evaluations, relevant to other players, at age nine.
However, if he enjoys it, and is fairly proficient then support his efforts. However, Coaches may see his switch hitting ability differently and until it's apparent to them that he DOES NOT have a weak side, you can expect push back.

As a so called "ambidextrous" athlete myself, I can tell you that there is always a dominant side! Do you really want your son to spend one-half of his repetitions on the weaker side?

I suggest considering the pros and cons many have contributed on this subject here, and in other postings before getting too caught up in what many believe may be a waste of time and effort.

I'd say practice it as early as he is interested, and let the game rep situation take care of itself. He will be able to determine when he feels good enough to take a stand with, or against Coaches, regarding switch hitting. Most often those decisions come when they are mature enough mentally and physically to make them; after puberty.

Just tell the coach he's made a permanent decision to bat lefty and take all his AB's there. Take a whole season at that side and see waht happens. You may not ever want to go back. If they won't allow it finish your commitment and look around for another opportunity.

I wish I had done this with my son. His first AB from the left side in a game was a double and he showed potential. His only problem was he didn't want to put in the extra time to be a switch hitter. I wish now we had just moved him to lefty permanantley.

Don't be concerned about switch hitting at 9 yrs old in games. Have him practice it on his own as much as he wants. I didn't start switch hitting full time until after my freshman year in college and I made it to AA. Mostly it was just Wiffle ball and stick ball with friends and BP with my dad up until then. At this point, don't push it, be content with what your son wants to do, and just let him have fun.

BaseballByTheYard.com

Another perspective. My son started on his right, at 7u he started switching on his own. At 11 his left side is emerging as his strong side.
If he was restricted from trying and practicing all those seasons we/he would have never known that the left would possibly be the better side. Where he goes from here is up to him, or future coach(s) but he continues to take cuts on both sides.

quote:

Originally posted by Coach Atl:
Another perspective. My son started on his right, at 7u he started switching on his own. At 11 his left side is emerging as his strong side.
If he was restricted from trying and practicing all those seasons we/he would have never known that the left would possibly be the better side. Where he goes from here is up to him, or future coach(s) but he continues to take cuts on both sides.

IMO; one very positive aspect of what your son is doing is that swinging from both sides builds the body and protects its from injury by working both sides evenly! That's a very good thing for a youn developing athlete and an essential training protocol in all Martial Arts.

Since mine was a wee one, he has always been required to take swings from both sides while training. He does not switch hit and to date, no obligatory it seems these days, "oblique" injury!

These guys are right! Let him hit from whatever side he wants to. He's nine! He should be encouraged to do this in games as well if he truly wants to. If the coaches don't allow him to for their own gain, then they need to be challenged on this point.

What, are they afraid that they're going to lose a little league game played by nine year olds because one of the players wants to switch hit?! It's the kids' game, it's their turn to play. The dads' turn to play is over. The dads need to let them play and encourage them. Not discourage.

If he really wants to do this, I say let him.

Hi Summermj!
Our son didn't start switch hitting until his freshman year in college and he made it to the Bigs.

My advice is to let your son hit from which ever side he wants and encourage him to simply enjoy each game. Try not to worry too much about preparing him for the future, as far as hitting goes. He will need to make adjustments every year, as his body grows and the competition increases, and too much information can be overwhelming and even confusing. What works for a 10 year old probably won't when he's 12. Also, power is usually the last to develop. Our son didn't hit his first HR until he was a junior in high school.

Check out this video that shows how to speed up the process of learning how to switch hit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_qOCE_Oj5s