OK, so my 10, soon to be 11 year old is dropping his hands as he loads then brings them back up for his swing. Couple of questions, does this even matter right now? I don't feel I know enough about baseball/batting to help him and part of me wants to get him lessons, but sometimes I feel he is too young for lessons - so why even bother?
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Try a drill where he just loads 2 times, making sure his hands don't drop, then on the third time he swings. Keep doing this to build the muscle memory.
Many great MLB hitters do this. Why would you want to change it?
There are sooooo many reasons kids drop their hands, but the simple reason is comfort. Are you sure he's using the correct weight bat? Is it a drop 10 like it should be for that age? Is it appropriate for his height? The worst case of dropping hands I ever saw was on an 11u kid, who was a shrimp, and his dad had him swinging a BBCOR drop 3.
As to your question does it matter right now, well, yes and no. Any unnecessary movement during a swing takes time. Will that matter when he is looking at a 50mph fastball, no not really, but when he gets that pitcher that is throwing 65mph it can make the difference between contact and being late.
Swings change a LOT between 9-14, he could just be in a transitional phase. I would also agree that lessons at that age aren't worth it.
SultanofSwat posted:Many great MLB hitters do this. Why would you want to change it?
I had the same thought. Does he drop his hands as low as this guy's, down near his waist: www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPtLtFbk-1Q
Or check out this dude's hands at the 40 second mark: www.youtube.com/watch?v=302SYEjg1Ac and he brought them back up for his swing.
But seriously, I don't think 11 is too young for lessons. Better to get solid technique now rather than ingrain bad habits -- not to say he has bad habits, but if you are concerned, have someone who knows what he is doing take a look.
Dadof3 posted:OK, so my 10, soon to be 11 year old is dropping his hands as he loads then brings them back up for his swing. Couple of questions, does this even matter right now? I don't feel I know enough about baseball/batting to help him and part of me wants to get him lessons, but sometimes I feel he is too young for lessons - so why even bother?
Video would be helpful. Make sure you only "fix" what is causing a problem. So what is his problem -- what are you trying to fix? If he brings his hands back up for the swing, he should be ok (per Sultan's post) as long as there is no timing problem.
As for lessons at 11, I see nothing wrong with a session here or there to make sure the basics are there. Good luck.
Tee work. Take 100 swings daily on the tee. He doesn't need lessons he just needs daily reps with proper bat/weight and mechanics. On second thought, if you don't know the proper mechanics on hitting then find yourself someone who does. Make sure the bat isn't to big for him. Better he swings a light bat now and work on proper mechanics. I see plenty kids swinging bats that are too heavy for them. Heavy bats at 9/10 is bad for the kids, creates bad habits like dropping hands/shoulders during their swing. Find him a -10 or if he's a small kid -12 for now.
See if this works. I can get better video when we hit next. We are just easing into preseason now, so only hitting once or twice a week.
I wouldn't worry about the hands right now. He needs to establish a better base, get balanced, and stop twirling around. Keep his weight between his feet.
Since you don't feel you know enough, I would definitely get some lessons if available. Start good habits now.
Dadof3 posted:
OK, so my 10, soon to be 11 year old is dropping his hands as he loads then brings them back up for his swing. Couple of questions, does this even matter right now? I don't feel I know enough about baseball/batting to help him and part of me wants to get him lessons, but sometimes I feel he is too young for lessons - so why even bother?
Dadof3,
Take a look at a few Home Run Derby episodes from the 1960’s. You’ll get the opportunity to see many of the greatest power hitters of all time, and Dadof3,
Take a look at a few Home Run Derby episodes from the 1960’s. You’ll get the opportunity to see many of the greatest power hitters of all time, and you’ll probably notice most of them drop their hands during the load phase. If it doesn’t impede the start of the swing, it’s nothing but a timing mechanism and doesn’t do any harm.
Yeah, kind of one of the reasons I didnt want to put the video up, he was just kind of having fun and doesn't typically "twirl". However, the hand drop thing he does whether goofing around or not. He is able to hit in the 80 mph cage so maybe it is not affecting his timing. I will get some video of him doing it serious and post it this weekend.
Taking lessons isn't at all a bad thing, as long as you don't have to spend an arm and a leg. Hitting is a pretty hard thing to master, Don't know what level of baseball your son plays -- whether we're just talking rec ball with daddy coaches or what. But he won't necessarily get the best coach from whoever it is that is coaching whatever team or teams he plays on.
He doesn't appear to be coiling inward as he strides forward.
Don't mean to sound harsh, but after watching the video, yes, get lessons. It's not too early. There is a whole lot more going on than dropping the hands. You don't need 50 of them, but once a week for 4-6 weeks and you will have plenty to work on for a month or two, then maybe one every 2-3 weeks during the season for maintenance.
Why get lessons? The kid is 10! Lessons can be $50 per half hour, you are talking about a hundreds of dollars to get a 10 year old "on track", why??? Is he on a baseball team? Is the team even holding practices yet? Does the team have a coach that is knowledgeable about hitting? Does the coach think your kid has a hitting a problem? If the coach is not knowledgeable will the team be getting in a paid coach to address the entire teams issues?
At 10 years old you let the coach handle it. If the coach isn't handling it you find a better coach next year. I guess I am in the way minority that throwing away hundreds of dollars to teach a 10 year old how to "swing properly" is just a waste of money. His entire stance and swing will change once he grows into his new body anyway....so what's the point in paying for lessons before that?
If you can swing it (pun intended) I would opt for a few lessons, ask around for someone well recommended. At this age you dont need many, pay attention to what is being taught and why, ask questions, if he has a problem with that then get a different instructor. If your going to be responsible for him you need to learn as well, after a few lessons and some self education you will be able to take over and help him stay the course on the basics until he's a little older. Small steps, dont expect everything all at once.
CaCO3Girl posted:Why get lessons? The kid is 10! Lessons can be $50 per half hour, you are talking about a hundreds of dollars to get a 10 year old "on track", why??? Is he on a baseball team? Is the team even holding practices yet? Does the team have a coach that is knowledgeable about hitting? Does the coach think your kid has a hitting a problem? If the coach is not knowledgeable will the team be getting in a paid coach to address the entire teams issues?
At 10 years old you let the coach handle it. If the coach isn't handling it you find a better coach next year. I guess I am in the way minority that throwing away hundreds of dollars to teach a 10 year old how to "swing properly" is just a waste of money. His entire stance and swing will change once he grows into his new body anyway....so what's the point in paying for lessons before that?
IMO, bad habits are very hard to break, the sooner the better.
CaCO3Girl posted:Why get lessons? The kid is 10! Lessons can be $50 per half hour, you are talking about a hundreds of dollars to get a 10 year old "on track", why??? Is he on a baseball team? Is the team even holding practices yet? Does the team have a coach that is knowledgeable about hitting? Does the coach think your kid has a hitting a problem? If the coach is not knowledgeable will the team be getting in a paid coach to address the entire teams issues?
At 10 years old you let the coach handle it. If the coach isn't handling it you find a better coach next year. I guess I am in the way minority that throwing away hundreds of dollars to teach a 10 year old how to "swing properly" is just a waste of money. His entire stance and swing will change once he grows into his new body anyway....so what's the point in paying for lessons before that?
What age do you believe it is ok to start to learn how to swing? Would you rather the kid struggle in LL and give up on baseball, or perhaps he could excel with a "little" instruction. Age 12-13 is generally when kids give up on the sport. 10U travel coaches or LL coaches don't have time in the 1-2 hour practices twice a week to teach one kid how to hit. They can tweak at best. Why would his entire stance and swing change as he grows into his new body? If taught correctly early, nothing has to change, you just get bigger, stronger, faster. Look at last years LLWS, there were a couple kids there with very high level swings. If money is an issue, there are approaches to mitigate this. This doesn't have to be a dedicated instructor twice a week for a year. A couple hundred bucks at most would get him well on his way, and could be done even cheaper.
Dropping hands does not always mean its bad, is he on time? is he where he needs to be when he launches? Don't confuse absolutes with style.
azcoyote posted:CaCO3Girl posted:Why get lessons? The kid is 10! Lessons can be $50 per half hour, you are talking about a hundreds of dollars to get a 10 year old "on track", why??? Is he on a baseball team? Is the team even holding practices yet? Does the team have a coach that is knowledgeable about hitting? Does the coach think your kid has a hitting a problem? If the coach is not knowledgeable will the team be getting in a paid coach to address the entire teams issues?
At 10 years old you let the coach handle it. If the coach isn't handling it you find a better coach next year. I guess I am in the way minority that throwing away hundreds of dollars to teach a 10 year old how to "swing properly" is just a waste of money. His entire stance and swing will change once he grows into his new body anyway....so what's the point in paying for lessons before that?
What age do you believe it is ok to start to learn how to swing? Would you rather the kid struggle in LL and give up on baseball, or perhaps he could excel with a "little" instruction. Age 12-13 is generally when kids give up on the sport. 10U travel coaches or LL coaches don't have time in the 1-2 hour practices twice a week to teach one kid how to hit. They can tweak at best. Why would his entire stance and swing change as he grows into his new body? If taught correctly early, nothing has to change, you just get bigger, stronger, faster. Look at last years LLWS, there were a couple kids there with very high level swings. If money is an issue, there are approaches to mitigate this. This doesn't have to be a dedicated instructor twice a week for a year. A couple hundred bucks at most would get him well on his way, and could be done even cheaper.
Well if my first answer is unpopular, this one will have people wishing there was a thumbs down button on this website.
In my opinion coaches can tweak swings, or even overhaul swings, even with a group of 10-15 kids on a team. You do it one piece at a time, but it can be done IF you have the right kind of kid. It is my opinion that generally the naturally talented kids are the ones that make it to the next level. Can it be learned through very hard work rather than natural ability, yes, but the kid who wants it that bad is the kid listening to every word the coach says like it is gospel and implementing it on his own. As I said earlier, if the coach doesn't know anything about hitting find a better coach.
To your question of would I rather the kid struggle in LL and give up baseball, truthfully, yes. If baseball isn't the kids thing then it isn't their thing. There is no shame in that, we tend to gravitate to what we do well. If the kid has such a hard time at age 10 with 50mph pitchers that his parents are contemplating hundreds of dollars worth of lessons why not let the kid try out soccer? Why spend that money to make the kid a better baseball player when the kid could maybe find another sport that he is better at and would enjoy more?
As to what age I think it is okay to get paid instruction of any kind...well my first criteria is if the kid is accidentally hurting himself phsycially due to a form deficit, then it is perfectly acceptable to get lessons. My second criteria is if the player is above 14u and has a real shot of making it onto his HS team with his fielding skills but his hitting needs a little bit of help and he's begging mom/dad for help him achieve HIS dream/goal. It is not okay if it is the parent who wishes their kid was more or better.
My kid has been obsessed with baseball since 6u, he lives it breathes it, eats it night and day....but at 10 if I said "I can only buy one, either you can have a 30 minute hitting lesson or you can have a new pair of Nike's which one do you want?" he would have gone for the shoes.
