The head coach told my son that he was rotating hips as he brings his hands forward (starting the swing) instead of hips rotating, then hands.
Any ideas on drills to correct this?
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The old Stride Board drill gets the idea across. Keep the hands across the chest , stride , explode hips then turn the upper half.
quote:Originally posted by danocaster:
The head coach told my son that he was rotating hips as he brings his hands forward (starting the swing) instead of hips rotating, then hands.
Any ideas on drills to correct this?
Start with bat verticle in front of body, tilt bathead to Pitcher at release, stride and load hands at same time. His hips will be in front.
Is the coach trying to say your son actually starts his swing with his hands, followed by hip rotation? If so, that needs to be corrected. Watch your sons hips/rear leg/back foot...if he finishing his swing with a fairly straight rear leg, I'd bet good money he is leading with his hands and letting the hips just come along for the ride. Make sure your son understands that he strides to see the ball, not to hit the ball..if he is trying to combine his swing with the stride at the same time, he will have real problems in ever keeping his hands back and adjusting to pitch location.
Hips and hands isn't that bad a hitting cue in itself...watch the hands and back hip of MLB hitters and you'll see they usually are moving in unison (unison doen't mean side by side but at the same time). The back hip is physically in front of the hands but they are both moving together during the swing. If the back hip gets too far in front of the hands, you'll typically see the bat dragging (not bad lag which is a good thing) into and through the hitting zone, a bad thing when trying to hit a decent fastball as he gets older. A younger levels of youth baseball, a hitter can get away with some bat drag but will have to revamp his swing as he advances as he ages.
Not knowing your son's age, I will say the the problem the coach is talking about is fairly common with younger kids that lack the arm/upper body strength to handle some bats. The kids compensate by simply trying to let the weakest link in the swing have a head start, so they start their hands during the stride. Kids get older, they grow out of it as they get stronger and improve their swing mechanics. If your son is 8, don't sweat it; if he is 12, he needs to do some work is all; if he is HS age, he needs to bust his butt quickly because he has alot of habits/muscle memory to change in a hurry.
Hips and hands isn't that bad a hitting cue in itself...watch the hands and back hip of MLB hitters and you'll see they usually are moving in unison (unison doen't mean side by side but at the same time). The back hip is physically in front of the hands but they are both moving together during the swing. If the back hip gets too far in front of the hands, you'll typically see the bat dragging (not bad lag which is a good thing) into and through the hitting zone, a bad thing when trying to hit a decent fastball as he gets older. A younger levels of youth baseball, a hitter can get away with some bat drag but will have to revamp his swing as he advances as he ages.
Not knowing your son's age, I will say the the problem the coach is talking about is fairly common with younger kids that lack the arm/upper body strength to handle some bats. The kids compensate by simply trying to let the weakest link in the swing have a head start, so they start their hands during the stride. Kids get older, they grow out of it as they get stronger and improve their swing mechanics. If your son is 8, don't sweat it; if he is 12, he needs to do some work is all; if he is HS age, he needs to bust his butt quickly because he has alot of habits/muscle memory to change in a hurry.
