Hitting for power

He's 14! IMO as he matures he will get stronger and as result hit the ball harder. Power hitters are a rare commodity. If he is hitting for average and hitting the ball hard, I would be very satisfied with that.

Also, working on his conditioning and hitting the weight room will greatly help also. I noticed with my 2 sons that the weight room was a significant part of their improvement.

Be your best every day...

Not an expert by any means... but is he getting to full extension prematurely? If he gets to full extension too soon, his bat speed will be slowing down as opposed to speeding up, and if he gets to full extension prior to contact his batspeed may be slowing.

I believe that is what is meant by "Short to the ball, long through it".

Work on a shorter more compact swing, that explodes at contact and drives through the ball.

I won't even talk about his swing because there are many more qualified to discuss that.

I have a 2016 as well and I would echo the stregth training. I have seen some improvement with my son as he has worked to strenghthen his legs and his core specifically.

I heard his fall coach comment the other day something along the lines that boys are babies until about 16 and then they start becoming men.

I don't think one can tell much based on a single pitch and swing as this video looks like the ball was up and out and probably inducing a swing that may not be normal for him. So. . .base ONLY on what can be seen here, floridafan is correct in that he looks "long" where a "shorter more compact swing" is really more desirable. A "short" swing is more desirable and more effective as he gets older and faces pitchers with more velocity and control.

As Sdlefty mentioned, conditioning in gaining strength is very important too, which contributes to being able to control the bat head.

And lastly, I'll just say that from what I see here, I'd work on using the lower body more and making sure he keeps both hands on the bat on his follow through, which will help him reach more pitches and apply power there too.

Thanks guys, yes this should be the fall/winter of taking weight training seriously. Starting to see kids on the field that are obviously packing on the muscle.

I can see early extension in this swing. Not sure that's his habit or if he's reacting (maybe incorrectly) to an outside pitch?

Even on an outside pitch you do not want to extend prematurely. If he is doing this regularly it is often termed an "arm-ey" swing. Much of the explosive power that might be generated has "leaked".

I will be interested to hear others analysis. I have been around high level instruction for many years, but none-the-less remain a dad...too often watching where the ball goes...lol.

He has a nice "trigger". But check his front shoulder to make sure he is not "flying open". A good cue is to drive the ball with his Back Shoulder. This is where the power will come from and allow him to stay closed longer.

He does an excellent job using his hands/wrists/forearms. His problem is in the lower body.

Help me visualize what needs to change. I've read about coil, c**k, etc. Watched videos but it all seems so subtle to me. (maybe it is?) Would it be like attaching a ping pong paddle to your belt buckle and trying to hit? Rotating. Or trying to break open a door with the force of your hips. Back to front movement. Something else?

To clarify, if the lower body move was to be over exaggerated what would it be?

Good points!

From a Lefty to another Lefty, we tend not to wait on the outside ball. It is the toughest ball for us to hit. He needs to work on letting this ball get deeper and as a result will square it up better and hit it hard.

Simple tee work can help with this.

SDLefty is correct!

Stay away from the rotational purists. Let his hands work as Low Finish noted above. I still believe the idea of driving the ball with the back shoulder is valuable. Although I should have been more careful not to point out the importance of the lower half regarding generating power.

He's throwing his hands way too soon.

In frames 5-7, his hands are moving out/forward, without any hip turn.

His hands should still be at his shoulder, and his back elbow should be close to his body, through roughly frame 8 (1/2 hip turn).



Have him practice taking swings without throwing his hands at all, at least until he slows them down a little. Make his hip-turn do more of the work.

After further review and after slow mo from Sultan, this is a 2 seam fast ball that initially looks middle and tails outside. A great pitch. The lefty hitter in my opinion does a good job handling a tough pitch.

Bottom line is, this is not a pitch that many young hitters are going to hit for power.

quote:

Originally posted by Sdlefty:
After further review and after slow mo from Sultan, this is a 2 seam fast ball that initially looks middle and tails outside. A great pitch. The lefty hitter in my opinion does a good job handling a tough pitch.

Bottom line is, this is not a pitch that many young hitters are going to hit for power.

i agree with you,i think the kid did a nice job on this particular pitch..I LIKE this kids hand CALK very much BUT I think he can load his bottom better.

quote:

Originally posted by 2016Dad:
Help me visualize what needs to change. I've read about coil, c**k, etc. Watched videos but it all seems so subtle to me. (maybe it is?) Would it be like attaching a ping pong paddle to your belt buckle and trying to hit? Rotating. Or trying to break open a door with the force of your hips. Back to front movement. Something else?

To clarify, if the lower body move was to be over exaggerated what would it be?

Simply put, he needs to feel like he's one-legged.

Get into the stance and pigeon-toe the rear foot. An extreme pigeon-toe, about 30 or so degrees. Now, turn the hip around the back leg. Pick up the front foot, and pull back "around" with the pelvis/ lower back. In reality, you're pulling back with the iliac crest. Now, retract the scapula towards the spine, and have him do what he's doing with his hands.

He could be very good. This is probably among the 3-4 best swings I've seen on this site.

I agree with the poster who said not to judge the swing by one video.

If it was a 3-2 count,or 0-2 or 1-2. I would say he did a great job on a tough pitch, especially if there was man on third and less than 2 outs.

On a 3-1 count, IMO, he should look for something to drive, or as mentioned earlier, let the ball get deeper on him.

Lefties, for the most part, like the ball middle in.

He does not use the lower half very much on this swing, which actually is okay if the goal was to just make contact with 2 strikes.

But, I did not see any indication that he was ready to use the lower half?

His front hip is flying open. No weight behind swing.

Try to practice him hitting the ball directly over the plate. This will keep the hips in, the weight back and extension as he enters the zone.

The hand/eye practice coupled with the pitch speed will have him making contact for good drives as well as improve his contact on the 'sweet spot'.

Thanks for everyone's input. We'll be working on this over the coming months. I'll post an update in about 6 month at the start of Freshman ball.

quote:

Originally posted by 2016Dad:
Thanks for everyone's input. We'll be working on this over the coming months. I'll post an update in about 6 month at the start of Freshman ball.

go to you tube and search SEVIN the move,,your boy shows great potential so check it out and see what you think..

quote:

go to you tube and search SEVIN the move,,your boy shows great potential so check it out and see what you think..

Sevin the rapper, or Sevin the skateboarder?
What am I looking for exactly?

quote:

Originally posted by 2016Dad:
[QUOTE]go to you tube and search SEVIN the move,,your boy shows great potential so check it out and see what you think..

Sevin the rapper, or Sevin the skateboarder?
What am I looking for exactly?[/QUO

I apologize try sevam the move..heres the link don't know if it will take..or you can look for fastpitchnut
and check some of his stuff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAXNglCDcz4

Great comments here from the forum. As some others mentioned seems that he is a little late with his lower body, however he made an excellent adjustment with his hands and was able to put the sweet spot on the ball going the other way. That’s what usually good hitters do….they adjust on the last millisecond with the hands even when they are fooled by the pitch or by their own mechanics.

katyhittingcoach.com