.

Things he should be thinking? Well, relax, number one. Follow a plan when he's up there. What does the pitcher like to throw and when? Look for a pitch in a spot and adjust accordingly. If he's going up there just guessing or feeling like he's lost, it's gonna be rough. If he swings at a bad pitch, and has two more strikes, think of it as at least two more opportunities, rather than getting down and checking out. That's easier said than done, I get that, but if you've got a plan going up there you're better off.

The biggest thing is that he shouldn’t be thinking at all in the batter’s box.

In practice, he should be working on being short to the ball, reducing excessive movement in his setup & swing, trying to eliminate any upward or downward eye movement, being balanced etc.... but he really shouldn’t think about any of that in games.

In games it’s “see ball, hit ball”.  Hunt fastballs.

He needs a longer look at the ball. Go. Off the plate and back. in the batter box. Eliminate the pull field.
Bob

Can’t say for sure without looking at his swing, but this sounds a lot like bat drag. What I would suggest is think “big part of the field” while hitting BP. Driving the ball to the opposite field gap helps players synch up their lower half to their upper half, all while letting the ball travel a little deeper into the hitting zone. However, once game time starts stop thinking and “be an athlete”.  

This sounds like a hands issue t ome.  My son had an issue with this for a couple of games, and what we found that helped was to remember to keep his hands loose on his bat so he didn't lose his hand whip.  During games, he would often get amped up (happens near the beginning of every season, it seems), and one of the many side effects was gripping the bat too tightly.

Other than that, there are things we would work on outside of the game.  For instance, on a tee, we would work on placing the tee farther back and hitting it to make sure his bat gets in the zone early (not forgetting to also work on it more out front as well, since ideally, a hitter could hit balls in both cases).  We would also work on slotting the back elbow earlier (trying to do so before the shoulders rotate).  This at least helped us.

He may want to practice hitting using PlyoCare Balls. Those should help improve his ability to square the ball up.

A 2-3 hole hitter with a .200 BA... perhaps he's pressing, trying to do too much.  He needs to go up there with a mindset of line drive up the middle.

I would say post a video (or send me a direct message if you don't want to go publicly).

This can have a lot of issues, both mechanics, approach or timing.

Mechanically it could be bat drag as someone mentioned or also a bat path that is cutting across the zone.

It also depends on where he is fouling them off. If it is straight back he might be a little late but there could be other issues too.

Which eye is dominate?

Bob

@Dominik85 posted:

I would say post a video (or send me a direct message if you don't want to go publicly).

This can have a lot of issues, both mechanics, approach or timing.

Mechanically it could be bat drag as someone mentioned or also a bat path that is cutting across the zone.

It also depends on where he is fouling them off. If it is straight back he might be a little late but there could be other issues too.

If I was a betting man, I would almost guarantee my paycheck that if you paused this kid's video right before his front foot lands you'll see his back elbow/shoulder/arm prematurely starting to drop. Likely not by much considering he hits in the 2 hole, but it'll be there.

However, like you said, without actually seeing the kid swing we are all just guessing....

check out this recent thread:

https://community.hsbaseballwe...wing-analysis-please

Old-timers would say, "you've got a long swing"

Thank you all.  right eye dominant Bob.  I don't think it's bat drag as the swing is really clean now (ahh... if only he was 6ft plus; 170+).  The foul balls are straight back on fastballs.  He told me he's going to try to set up just a little more open to see if he can track a better.  It's interesting.  He used to drive a lot more balls to right field but it seems he pulls more shots now.  As some have said, he might just be pushing too hard in competing for spots on the team.   I'll suggest softening the hands also. 

a slightly open stance is "good thinking". It will allow the right eye to track from the pitcher's hand. Bonds told my son he looks for the "red seams"

Bob