ahead of the pitch

Here you go!

If you will take the time to understand and practice the "Dynamic Pepper" drill, your son will make the adjustment.

http://hsbaseballweb.com/eve/f...=122100604#122100604

Take him to the cage or the field and make him hit everything and I mean everything to the backside. Tell him to be late.

Bounce the ball to the plate. Bounce it where it will come up late and he will have to wait for it to come up to hit it. This will make him have to wait in order to hit it. He will fail miserably if he is early.

Teach him that if he doesnt learn now to track the baseball deep he will continue to struggle against all levels of pitching but especially better pitchers the longer he plays.

Another drill is the ladder drill. Stand on a ladder and place a plate down under the ladder. Drop the baseball down and tell him he can not swing until the ball gets below his waist. He will have to wait on the baseball. He will struggle with this drill but it will help him.

Backside toss. Get behind him and toss the baseball soft toss to his back thigh. He has to hit the baseball backside. Get him to think "see the baseball deep" "let the baseball get deep" "see the baseball and think deep in the zone"

On the bounce drill bounce it close to the plate where the ball comes up really late and he has to wait and see it really deep. Slow down the bp. Throw him cream puffs and force him to have to wait a long time to swing. Then gas him from a close distance. I mean gas him from really close. Then mix him up. Force him to learn how to hit and not hack.

He is jumping the ball and not truly hitting. He is predetermining his swing and he has no timing working. Some kids learn this by being thrown the same speed bp over and over and over again. Hitting off t's constantly and getting the same speed bp over and over again.

Good luck

Thanks for the tips, I will try anything. He is a great hitter, it is amazing to me that he is always way ahead of slow pitching and can't time it.

Deep Tee Drills. letting the ball travel and get deep in the hitting zone. Use wood and he will realize he has to let the ball travel

http://bluecollarbaseball.com/?p=255
this is for pitch location

I posted this to someone else with same problem :

My suggestion to you is to use a tee but do a drill we call the "deep tee" drill. Place the tee in front of there belt buckle and have them drive the ball up the middle. It will be tough at first because anyone with a long swing will struggle, and it takes some getting used too. But remember different drills work for different players so ill give you so more. Tell them to let the ball travel and get deep in the zone before swinging. Obviously it will take more than saying it but at least they can visualize what you mean. I also use a bungi cord on some of my hitters, I tie one around their waste, and the other to a fence behind them. They move up until there is tension in the cord. Now I underhand toss, or regular BP and anything off-balance (as in way out in front) will be magnified. One last thing is they have to imagine themselves striding on ice, keeping everything back until the ball gets deep in the zone (the deeper it is, the more power and drive you will get out of it)

Blue Collar Baseball:

How do you program "let it get deep" into the hitters mind? What should actually be going through their heads? Wait longer before you start your swing? Get the barrel in the zone at the belt buckle? Just hit it the opposite way? I've always had trouble with the "let it get deep" hitting tip.

quote:

I've always had trouble with the "let it get deep" hitting tip.

That's good, you're on the right track, then....

"Let it get deep" is not what you should do....Hitters have a natural contact point....Don't mess with it....

If a hitter lunges, you've got a sequencing problem....

there are definitely different contact points.. metal vs wood is a prime example. Let it get deep means let the ball travel and dont jump out to hit it. It helps with keeping the weight back and not leaning forward( where you lose power). a metal bat contact point is out in front as opposed to wood where you have to let the ball travel and start later in order to get drive.

quote:

"Let it get deep" is not what you should do....Hitters have a natural contact point....Don't mess with it....

What is "natural (meaning normal, common, inate, repeatable) about contacting" a baseball thrown from various angles, with different spins & movement, at vastly varying speeds, to varying lateral points across a 17"W strike zone that can measure 24" horizontally by HITTERS with greatly varying natural and learned skills?

If it were natural great hitters could do better than a .300 BA...

Isn't the phrase "let the ball travel" a metaphor, for those that understand the game, that suggests one should get as long a look at the pitch, as is possible, before pulling the trigger? Does that concept need to be debated? How literal do we need be to satisy those on this Forum who should already understand?

quote:

Originally posted by Prime9:

quote:

"Let it get deep" is not what you should do....Hitters have a natural contact point....Don't mess with it....

What is "natural (meaning normal, common, inate, repeatable) about contacting" a baseball thrown from various angles, with different spins & movement, at vastly varying speeds, to varying lateral points across a 17"W strike zone that can measure 24" horizontally by HITTERS with greatly varying natural and learned skills?

If it were natural great hitters could do better than a .300 BA...

Isn't the phrase "let the ball travel" a metaphor, for those that understand the game, that suggests one should get as long a look at the pitch, as is possible, before pulling the trigger? Does that concept need to be debated? How literal do we need be to satisy those on this Forum who should already understand?

Thank you prime. I figured when I wrote "let the ball travel" that everyone on here knew what it meant. And absolutely correct statement about contact points. I did not understand natural contact points, but gave it a try lol

Poor kiddies trying to learn.....It's tough for them nowadays....

quote:

If a hitter lunges, you've got a sequencing problem....

And if you mis-step, you do so because you have a sequencing probelm. Right foot first dummy!

And the fix is, according to Blue, "sequence properly!" Who knew? There goes all those Hitting Coach jobs .... and unemployment rises some more.

If only you were President! Are you?

I realize what "see/hit it deep" means...

My problem is I have no idea how to do it. I will be the first to admit that when I'm not swinging it well its because I'm "out in front". I agree with BlueDog in that when I'm like that it feels like I have to lunge out to get the baseball before my bat leaves the zone. Rollover City.

I think "out in front" or "ahead of the pitch" is the effect of a swing flaw, not the cause of the swing flaw. That's why the cue "let it get deep" never helped me. It's like telling me to swing like a major leaguer. Of course thats what I want to do...but how? What changes in my approach/thought process/swing do I make?

On a different issue I have wondered before if there truely are two different most efficient swing patterns...one for wood and one for metal. BlueCollar's comment about different contact points seems to argue that there are two different swings for metal and wood.

I'm still open to possibilities and Blue Collar's post made me think, but ultimately I disagree. I think there is just one pattern. When I think about it, I don't see why anything would change between a metal bat and wood bat swing. The objective of both is the same, deliver the barrel with the most batspeed possible to a specific point in the zone as quickly as possible. Metal bats just a give more room for error/inefficiency in the swing.

Greenmachine, you know more than the guys giving you advice.....

quote:

Originally posted by greenmachine:
On a different issue I have wondered before if there truely are two different most efficient swing patterns...one for wood and one for metal. BlueCollar's comment about different contact points seems to argue that there are two different swings for metal and wood.

I'm still open to possibilities and Blue Collar's post made me think, but ultimately I disagree. I think there is just one pattern. When I think about it, I don't see why anything would change between a metal bat and wood bat swing. The objective of both is the same, deliver the barrel with the most batspeed possible to a specific point in the zone as quickly as possible. Metal bats just a give more room for error/inefficiency in the swing.

Im sorry if it came across as two different swings. That is not wat i meant. I sat down and spoke with Ron Polk last year for a while and we were discussing wood bats in HS in NYC and then going to metal at the D1 level, and the first thing he brought up was point of contact. Not different swings, but more margin for error I guess would be the proper term. You can be out in front of a ball with metal and itll still go. Since HS in NYC is all wood now, the difference is blatantly obvious. I appreciate youre reply and think its great people can disagree and be mature about it lol

Greenmachine, don't let any of these people tell you where your contact point needs to be.....

Nowadays, they'd try to change Ted Williams, Ruth and Bonds.......Very few hitters develop these days 'cause the ill-informed are trying to change a really good swing and turn it into a really bad swing....

green machine - best of luck and most baseball guys just offer advice so take it for what it's worth. always beware of the guy crticizing other people esp on here lol. have a good season.

Greenmachine - I would say that lunging and getting out in front can be two different things. They both don't have to occur in the same swing. I would have to see your swing to know more.

Lunging is normally a consequence of too much weight shifting forward. That's why coaches use the 'stay back' cue. Lunging means improper weight shift in my book.

Hitting out in front can be good or bad depending on pitch location. Hitting out in front does not necessarily mean that the hitter has to roll his wrists over before or at contact. If the hitter keeps his front elbow high during the swing and follow through, then the wrists cannot roll over and the power-V occurs after contact.

All of the drills suggested will lead the hitter in the right direction. And yes, if everything else stays the same, then starting the swing later will allow that ball to get deeper. Most hitters find that trying to hit oppo, regardless of location, will have the effect of letting the ball get deeper.

It takes work. Experiment with some of the drills. Try a DIFFERENT thought process. You will start to find little things that start to work and that you can build on. I don't think there is a magic bullet.

Greenmachine...there is an old saying that is really true based on a couple of the comments on this thread.

"Beware Greeks bearing gifts".

Enuff said. PM if you need clarification.