BP with Manny

Learn to coil, he transfers forward THEN swings in these clips. Let the backside open up the front. Keep the coil until GO!

Now, with that "hitch" he does, I love it. That is a tremendous action to have. I hope he still has it. However, tell him to launch when he gets to max tip/the bat gets vertical. Do it by a slight pull back with the top hand.

Good hands, fluid stroke , decent bat speed for a kid his age. I think Manny is explaining two things maximum extension through the zone , first few swings he was pulling off then stayed inside the baseball and through causing him to drive it back through the box or left center. He is also telling him not to "leak" his front hip or drift on the front side. The is a common theme for left handers tend to drift on the front side which causes a boat load of problems that tend to do pull you off the ball and hinder your ability to create leverage. (basically instead of driving the ball you hit weak ground balls to second lol)

But overall nice left handed stroke ,

I may disagree with Low Finish on the hitch a bit , im a high hands guy keep as little movement as possible. But if it works it works , Ole number 9 used a very similar hitch and he wasnt bad

Frank Robinson, Hank Aaron, Jimmie Foxx, Babe Ruth, Barry Bonds, and many more used a hitch. They were decent hitters

Thanks for the comments. By hitch you mean the hand movement before the swing? I checked out Bonds and Ruth clips and see that in common. Recently I told him I thought his hands were moving too much. I should keep my mouth shut. I'll try to get a current in game swing to see how it compares today. 12 in this video, he's 14 now. Bats left, throws right. Coaches have told him this combo has to work extra hard since the stronger right side is dominant causing its own set of problems (in so many words).

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Originally posted by 2016Dad:
Thanks for the comments. By hitch you mean the hand movement before the swing? I checked out Bonds and Ruth clips and see that in common. Recently I told him I thought his hands were moving too much. I should keep my mouth shut. I'll try to get a current in game swing to see how it compares today. 12 in this video, he's 14 now. Bats left, throws right. Coaches have told him this combo has to work extra hard since the stronger right side is dominant causing its own set of problems (in so many words).

Tip n' rip, hitch, whatever you want to call it, that's the hand movement he does. And it's good. Don't listen to anybody who tells him that he should stop doing it. But, tell him to launch when the bat reaches max tip. Don't tip it, get it in place, and then rip it. That's a worthless Tip n' Rip.

I think the main reason many coaches go away from the hitch is 1) only certain special hitters can do it and too many coaches nowadays "cookie cut" all their hitters. 2) Its high mantinence it takes many many hacks to perfect and can really screw up your whole approach when your timing is off. Big league hitters take hundreds of hacks a day so they can get away with it, your casual high school hitter isn't going to be successful with that kind of movement.

But Again I really like your sons hack and it seems guys who throw right hit left have a little natural upper cut which if you read the science of hitting isnt a bad thing. Also watch switch hitters Chipper Jones has more of a fluid stroke with natural lift from the left side.

Here's a current clip. 14U team. Still has the hitch. Low Finish, is he launching at max tip? lambo, coaches pretty much lay off. Some have suggested more stride, more knee bent stance. It works well, not huge power especially since switching to BBCOR.

quote:

Originally posted by 2016Dad:
Here's a current clip. 14U team. Still has the hitch. Low Finish, is he launching at max tip? lambo, coaches pretty much lay off. Some have suggested more stride, more knee bent stance. It works well, not huge power especially since switching to BBCOR.

Yes, he's launching at max tip. But he's pushing with his hands and hips, so it doesn't matter.

He needs to learn to "coil" or to "c o c k his hips".

Doesnt look bad I can see where a little knee bend and a tad wider base might help. But more stride will just add another element that can be off to screw him up. When kids start striding too far they lunge or their head changes planes making fastballs faster and gives hooks a lot more hook.

Ya know Ive never seen this kid in person obviously but hes short to the ball , inside it , good extension. I also like how he opens up his front foot on the stride allowing his hips to be free and open up.

I wouldnt let coaches do too much with him just focus on getting stronger esp the forearms hands and core. Then also get him thinking about the mental aspect of hitting. He has a great base to work from mechanically let him be for awhile and see how he develops still very young with a natural left handed stroke, would be very interesting to see where he is at in a few years and some added muscle.

His chin needs to contact to his shoulder while getting ready. It also looks like he is getting ready to late, which caused him to get ready a littel to fast. Looks like he saw the pitch well, but could have seen it better by doing those things. I would also say, that pitcher must not have been very good because he got away with not doing those things.

quote:

Originally posted by lambo: Big league hitters take hundreds of hacks a day so they can get away with it, your casual high school hitter isn't going to be successful with that kind of movement.

Robert Stock did it in High School. So did Josh Hamilton. It's a natural motion for some players, and some players need to be taught it. But it's a good motion, and a reasonably athletic player can do it with great success.