Hitting video - like to get your thoughts

Need in slo-mo. Put this on youtube. Can't download from here.

Looks like linear to me. Not sure though.

Ask your instructor if they are teaching linear or rotational.

His lower body is very good for this age and the only thing I would change with it would be to slow it down some. What I mean by that, is load the weight back sooner and see how long he can keep his front foot off the ground and make it land softly. His upper body needs work, but it doesn't need much for this age to be successful even against the best Pitchers. He needs to create some separation between his rear hip and hands. To do that, he needs to pull his hands back and around (meaning toward the dugout, not the Catcher) with the fingers of his top hand like he's pulling the string of a bow as he strides out. The timing should be, hands fully back as front foot lands.

These are just small tweaks to a pretty darn good foundation.

Any other input or thoughts - Thanks

Nice video work Dad.... always good to hit lefty!
I'm with Sultan in that you can better interpert what you see when you have the ability to slow the film down.

Let me react to the good I saw; pretty good balance, almost no stride, relaxed stance, head nor body moving forward..

The one improvement to work on that I would be telling my son, from the video would concern "posture." The flaw is that his head seems to dip down sideways (tilt) during his swing. Just as in pitching, you see the target (ball to a hitter) better if the eyes remain horizontal.

The other thing I wonder about is that he seems to be getting "bound-up" during the swing. I can't tell much about his grip, ensure it's proper and he's not gripping too tight, slowing him down. He is finishing low vs. high which doesn't allow the bat to travel. Power noted and I agree, hips are in the way not letting his upper half travel (another reason he is bound-up).

IMO, working a the basics of a linear swing, at this age, isn't a bad thing; athletic stance, some concept of load, barrel to the inside of the ball, balanced high finish ... etc. is enought to focus on. Incorporating more rotation from the hips, power generation and sequencing, can come later.

How does he hit in games?

He hit well last year. Makes pretty good contact. He won the Silver Slugger Award for his 10yr old AAU team.

Try the insiderbat

If he hits well, dont change anything to drastic. Silver Slugger sounds like a nice title...

Get him a LIGHT medicine ball (4-6 lbs).

Look up a good routine for that, he'll be dropping bombs

His hands finish too low.

Otherwise he looks pretty good.

We are working on him to stay on top of the ball and to finish higher - down the hill-through the tunnel-back up the hill.

What kind of things can he do with the medicine ball? I do think his power will come as he gets older.

Any other input or thoughts are welcomed

I don't like the medicine ball as much as I like to see a kid throw a small tire. Have done both and the tire is easier to focus on the core than the ball. A very small car tire or lawnmower tire.

The easiest thing to tell a kid is to finish every swing at the shoulder. Very simple language that seems to be effective.

Like alot of what I see. Kid is off to a good start.

Just bear in mind it takes alot of leg/core strength to handle his stance's width; few kids that age have it. Get too wide and there is a tendency to see the hips not get through the hitting zone properly, though this young man isn't too bad.

Looks like he is trying too much to hit everything out in front off the front foot and wants to reach for some pitches; slightly narrower stride/stance width may help him let the pitch get deeper instead of him thinking he has to "go out after it". If he has the mindset of having to go out after the ball, rotational mechanics can break down as he may develop a habit of reaching for everything. I think it may help him finish a bit higher with his swing as many of his real low finishes were low pitches that he seemed to be reaching out forward to hit.

Like the comment about slowing down (would include the pitch frequency); would like the stride to be a bit smoother/softer and not a "step".

Whole lot more good than bad with this kid. Little patient tweaks would all I would do to his swing; don't let him become a coach's "experiment".

Thanks for the input

What can I do to have him to finish higher? Any other little things (adjustments)I can work on with him?

kaos,

I am no expert myself, but I'll tell you what the guy that my son takes lessons from does:

1. Hit off of a tee, and hold the finish EVERY swing. He checks himself at that point- finish high, back knee down, front foot closed, etc..
2. swing in front of a mirror- hold the finish.

I think if he does it enough, muscle memory will take over..

Tell him to finish his hands at his lead shoulder on every pitch.

quote:

Originally posted by kaos:
What can I do to have him to finish higher? Any other little things (adjustments)I can work on with him?

Use shoulder tilt instead of shoulder rotation.

quote:

Originally posted by danocaster:
kaos,

I am no expert myself, but I'll tell you what the guy that my son takes lessons from does:

1. Hit off of a tee, and hold the finish EVERY swing. He checks himself at that point- finish high, back knee down, front foot closed, etc..
2. swing in front of a mirror- hold the finish.

I think if he does it enough, muscle memory will take over..

Just because you finish in a certain position, it doesn't mean you got there the right way.

quote:

Originally posted by powertoallfields:

quote:

Originally posted by kaos:
What can I do to have him to finish higher? Any other little things (adjustments)I can work on with him?

Use shoulder tilt instead of shoulder rotation.

Please explain - not sure if I understand? Tilt ...?