My son needs to work on not moving or bouncing when he is hitting. Basically he needs to keep his torso from moving up and down. Is there a drill he can practice at home to work on that? Or is there something I can do help him learn to keep his body on the same plane?
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Have you shown him video that demonstrates what you're seeing? How about hitting off the tee on one knee? Takes the lower half out of the equation. Posting video here might get you some good advice.
He's 10? Does he have a leg kick or stride? Best to keep both feet on the ground at that age. That should solve the issue unless he's doing something very funky in his swing.
I think you actually want to sit down a little while launching the swing. Not collapsing front leg of course but think sitting down a little.
He is 12, going to be 13 in April so he is playing 13u. I will try and get some video next week and post it.
OK, here is one video, I can upload more if needed. Any thoughts are appreciated. I have a 0 baseball IQ, so nothing is unappreciated.
Thanks
Dadof3 posted:My son needs to work on not moving or bouncing when he is hitting. Basically he needs to keep his torso from moving up and down. Is there a drill he can practice at home to work on that? Or is there something I can do help him learn to keep his body on the same plane?
Says who? The one thing that aggravates me more than anything else in the baseball world is all of our children being trained to swing alike. We aren't asking all the pitchers to deliver a pitch alike, so why are we trying to fit all swings into one type of box? When I was younger we had very specific types of swings to emulate, now everyone tries to swing the same, but not everyone is built the same!
Are his hips tight? Are they loose? Does he need the motion down to get the bounce up because of a weakness in his legs? Is he about to enter a growth spurt which are making his tendons tight?
Jimmie Fox, Lou Gehrig, Rodgers Hornsby, Babe Ruth.....they all swung DRASTICALLY different and yet they were some of the best. Let your kid learn his natural swing, if it isn't effective as he gets older you can have a qualified person alter it in small increments later.
Dadof3 posted:OK, here is one video, I can upload more if needed. Any thoughts are appreciated. I have a 0 baseball IQ, so nothing is unappreciated.
Thanks
Hey Dad, I agree with you. He can accomplish the same thing with his stride without lifting his hip/body so much. Just stride out laterally to the same spot with a bit less upward motion. It's fine to lift the foot but no need to do it to the point where it also lifts the whole torso. He otherwise looks really good!
Caco, there is a reason some things should be the same. The problem with having any excess with the head going up and down in the load/stride phase is that this means the eyes are going up and down and, as a result, less likely to be able to focus and see the ball as well. The better the pitching gets, the more important this becomes. Also, a slightly quieter load will typically allow younger hitters to maintain better balance and adjust to varying pitch speeds and pitch types.
"My son needs to work on not moving or bouncing when he is hitting. "
Whoever told you this is repeating an old wives tale (not that there's anything wrong with old wives).
Your kid has the same flaws as most hitters.
His first move is to uncoil his torso, which opens him up too soon, and he starts his swing before toe touch (rear forearm is vertical), which leads to bat drag (hands behind the rear elbow).
1) As he moves forward (the stride) he must coil his hips and shoulders inward and hold this as long as possible before his front foot/toe lands. Practice this every day without a ball.
2) Pull the rear elbow back toward the catcher (like a bow) until he lands.
3) Never let his hands get behind his back elbow.
Do these three simple and free things and he will better than 99% of kids.
I'm not saying it has or will happen here, but a parent asking for baseball swing advice on the internet can run into a gauntlet of differing opinions from various often anonymous experts. So what is a non-baseball savvy parent to do? Well other than get professional coaching where you live, take everything with a grain of salt, and also use widely available video to compare top level players against your son and while comparing with what the online experts say.
In this case I (not an expert, just a dad) I think that Cabbage and Sultan are both correct. Head bobbing up and down makes it very hard to square up on the ball, and your son is "dragging" the bat pretty badly.
This video of Buster Posey shows that a RH hitter can have a big stride while still keeping the eyes level, and also shows how Posey's right elbow never gets in front of his hands.
BTW looks like your kid is trying to mash as hard as he can with every swing, and that is very good thing.
CaCO3Girl posted:Dadof3 posted:My son needs to work on not moving or bouncing when he is hitting. Basically he needs to keep his torso from moving up and down. Is there a drill he can practice at home to work on that? Or is there something I can do help him learn to keep his body on the same plane?
Says who? The one thing that aggravates me more than anything else in the baseball world is all of our children being trained to swing alike. We aren't asking all the pitchers to deliver a pitch alike, so why are we trying to fit all swings into one type of box? When I was younger we had very specific types of swings to emulate, now everyone tries to swing the same, but not everyone is built the same!
Are his hips tight? Are they loose? Does he need the motion down to get the bounce up because of a weakness in his legs? Is he about to enter a growth spurt which are making his tendons tight?
Jimmie Fox, Lou Gehrig, Rodgers Hornsby, Babe Ruth.....they all swung DRASTICALLY different and yet they were some of the best. Let your kid learn his natural swing, if it isn't effective as he gets older you can have a qualified person alter it in small increments later.
Keeping the head steady keeps the eyes steady, you’ll then have a chance to square one up, especially as the pitching Velo increases.
Thanks for the buster video, that is awesome
I the words of Jake Epstein... " I don't care if the kid does a cartwheel from the on deck circle to the batters box before the pitch, as long a they get to the right launch position at heel drop"
Coach_TV posted:I the words of Jake Epstein... " I don't care if the kid does a cartwheel from the on deck circle to the batters box before the pitch, as long a they get to the right launch position at heel drop"
Exactly!
We can't really judge that without video.
