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Was working with my son yesterday. I let him watch clips of Manny and several other hitters. In fact we just watched clips for probably 15 minutes. I then asked him (he's 12) to try and tell me what thing(s) ALL the hitters we looked at, had in common.

And probably since I've mentioned this several times lately, he mentioned the "bat position" when he showed me what he meant, he was talking about the hands "cocking" the wrists / bat. Or as I've seen some refer to it "tipping" the bat head toward the pitcher.

So we took some dry swings and BP swings, and I told him the only thing I wanted him to think about was get the hands up / cocked when the stride foot hit the ground. Making sure to get the feeling of "walking away" or keeping the hands back and loaded when the stride foot hits.

We both immediately noticed the difference.

I've also noticed that since he grew so quickly over the last few months, his swing has gotten 'longer' of the law few months..so we talked about him making sure his hands staying closer to his body...

What keys can I use to help him picture the correct elbow slot?

I'm thinking that if the posture is close, and the hands are up and in the correct spot when the stride foot hits...maybe telling him "take the rear shoulder to the ball" would help?

We'll try to post some more swings shortly. Here's the newest I have...maybe 3 months old.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ox3StA2wfiY
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ctandc,

The simplist way I have found to get my hitters elbow in the slot is to have them throw a bucket of balls sidearm right back to the pitcher. Don't tell them anything else, just let the natural movements of the body take over. Resist the temptation to correct anything until they have throw a whole bucket (40 balls). The natural throwing motion will get the elbow in the "slot." After he has thrown the balls ask him where his elbow ended up before release? He should say the slot. Then when he is hitting, just tell him to throw the bat sidearm at the pitcher. The elbow will naturally slide into the slot.

I have some thoughts on your son's swing, I think it is great that you are working on the correct fundamentals. I can tell you know what you are doing. Please watch the video of Manny posted below.



Watch how when Manny gets to toe touch (slide #56) his bat is angled behind his head, and it is closer to his body. Your son swing is getting "longer" because the arms are getting "disconnected" from the body at the begining of the swing. His backhand should be the the same position at toe touch (hitting) as it is at toe touch throwing. This is also the same position it would be in if he was throwing a punch. Your body knows where it is most powerful. It is our responsibility to let the body get into those positions.
ctandc,

The simplist way I have found to get my hitters elbow in the slot is to have them throw a bucket of balls sidearm right back to the pitcher. Don't tell them anything else, just let the natural movements of the body take over. Resist the temptation to correct anything until they have throw a whole bucket (40 balls). The natural throwing motion will get the elbow in the "slot." After he has thrown the balls ask him where his elbow ended up before release? He should say the slot. Then when he is hitting, just tell him to throw the bat sidearm at the pitcher. The elbow will naturally slide into the slot.

I have some thoughts on your son's swing, I think it is great that you are working on the correct fundamentals. I can tell you know what you are doing. Please watch the video of Manny posted below.

Manny

Watch how when Manny gets to toe touch (slide #56) his bat is angled behind his head, and it is closer to his body. Your son swing is getting "longer" because the arms are getting "disconnected" from the body at the begining of the swing. His backhand should be the the same position at toe touch (hitting) as it is at toe touch throwing. This is also the same position it would be in if he was throwing a punch. Your body knows where it is most powerful. It is our responsibility to let the body get into those positions.

www.understandbaseball.com

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