Need advice for hitting slumps

IMO a hitch is a upper body move to change the weight distribution in the lower body. In other words many players drop their hands to load more weight to the rear foot. Try starting more 60 /40 and try preloading the upper body/ shoulder more. Make sure his front shoulder in under his chin, his rear elbow is up a little and internally rotated more behind his body , and the lead elbow is still bent and positioned behind his belly button from a first base view.
With his weight back and his upper body loaded proper he will feel some positive coil in the right places and it will not be such a random event.Let him take BP like this. We will be sirprised how consistent and powerful he is. He can stay like this or maybe identify where he is breaking down and go back to his "style". Caution: style can be the problem

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Ramjet...13 years old? Did you listen to your Dad when you were 13? I know that I didn't and my 14 year old is the same. ( He can be really grumpy at times as well. )

Do you know an 18 to 21 year old friend who can soft-toss to him while you stand back, watch and keep your mouth shut? Your son will look up to this guy, have a lot more fun hitting, show more motivation and, immediately go back to crushing the snot out of the ball.

What you are experiencing is just nature taking it s course. As hard as this is for dads to accept, boys start separating from their fathers at this age. This is the time for us to be the adults and wisely but gently begin to let them go.

My wife is pretty wise in these things. She suggested the "older mentor" (kid) solution and it worked almost overnight. (Last night he one hopped the 405' fence in straight away center field for 3 bagger. Went 4 for 5 in the game with 2 doubles, a single (bunt) and the triple. Three weeks ago he wasn't hitting anything well. It's fun to see him back to his old self again.

Oh, well. They do grow up.

Ramjet42

To be a good hitter, the player may be able to ajust him self when things are not going well. Five games ago he was hitting well, and now that he is having problems you say that he is doing something wrong. If the kid do batting practice without correcting the problem, the repetition will get him worst, so let him practice on a Tee trying to avoid the hitch you talking about, and when his swing is OK come back to live batting practice.

Tend to agree with Wheelhouse's approach on this one. Every time I note something my 12yo does wrong with his swing he just gets angry. We got to our tournament game early yesterday and I was throwing BP to the kids. My son got angry right away and didn't look ready for the game. I asked one of the other coach's to take over and throw him a few while I headed over to the field. He got his confidence back and hit well in BP and in the game.

Good observation guys. It is much harder at 17 so get some knowledge in those thick skills before they can drive off an leave you. My son had a so-so year with the bat. He struck out less than 10 % of the time and went to 3-2 during many at bats. I think he took too many decent balls for strikes in he process.It was also one of those years when you did tatoo it; it was right at them. He still finished above the .300 mark but in HS many do much better.

He was helping me work on something with the swing today. I said" see these new balls; I bought them in Feb and you never hit one." They get hot and cold on the game and yes when they separarte from you, baseball will be included too! Chronic success takes it's toll on practice too. A not so stellar series of games or entire year can bring some focus back. They don't like seeing others get those hitting trophies.

I'm not a family counsellor, but here's what they say in The Complete Book of Hitting Faults and Fixes on hitching. First they say that hitching isn't necessarily bad, as long as you complete it before get into the launch position. Then they say that curing a hitch is one of the easier corrections to make. Their correction drill is called the Walk-Up Tee Drill. "Take 3 or 4 steps back away from your stance position (as if you were standing deep deep in the batters box). Take slow steps up to the tee. Stride and swing in one continuos motion. Your natural instincts will be to push your hands back to your rear shoulder-the power position-before swinging. Repeat until the hand movement becomes habit." Hope that helps.

Und**g*ound

Can'* disag*** sinc* Bonds hi*ch*s bu* *h*** migh* b* a qualifying s*a**m*n*. You mus* g** *h* ba* *o *h* **O*** launch *osi*ion a* swing b*ginning which I b*li*v* is on* of *h* bigg*s* **obl*ms wi*h hi****s. ***** said " im**o*** a*m and hand ac*ion *uins mo** swings *han any*hing". Hi*ching do*s no*hing bad if you g** *h* ba* in *h* co***c* launch *osi*on in *im* *o swing. No* many do *ha* w*ll IMO. If a guy is *x*cu*ing i* w*ll I would l*av* i* alon* if no* I would **y *o fix i*. I* can b* a ha*d fix.
Ano*h** guy *ha* launch*s *h* ba* f*om a ***f*c* *osi*ion migh* b* A*lan*a's J.D.D**w. Unlik* Bonds , h* s*a**s *h***.

Great point swingbuster.

I like watching both Bonds and Drew. Lately I've been using Drew for just what you said.....getting to that spot for launch.

Did somebody mention J.D. Dew...

J.D. Drew

Enjoy!

Before trying anything mechanical, focus on the mental first! We tell our players in slumps to try and hit a hard ground ball to the SS or 2B. Now, I am dealing with 17-18 yr. old, not 13. We tell them to wait for a fastball on the inner half, and to hit that ground ball. If they are successful, one of two things can happen. One, the ball goes to the fielder and they are convinced they are seeing the ball and can be successful with a little more focus. Or two, the ball will go to the left or right of the fielder and now the player has a base hit. Start with the simple...

Did someone say Bonds?

He wears that to protect his pitching arm!

That is too funny Callaway. That protector is almost as big as Boomer's entire arm. Save that picture. That is priceless!

Later!

Jason

FlippJ

I "beaned" him one day in BP directly on the tip of his elbow and it made a "pop" that sent shivers down my spine. I was sure that I had just ended his pitching career. He was ok, but I immediately purchased that arm guard after practice and insisted that he wear it. He argued at first but soon realized some additional benefits that we had not anticipated.

First, he no longer arm-bars and is much shorter and quicker to the ball which has helped improve his hitting. He batted an incredible .785 in Dixie and is maintaining a .450+ BA in USSSA/AAU.

Second, he is absolutely fearless at the plate. He puts both toes on the batter's box chalk and has been HBP many, many times. He simply turns toward the catcher and the balls deflect off the guard.

His walk totals have also gone up dramatically because the pitchers apparently are very uncomfortable with him hanging over the plate. Maybe too because he looks like Darth Vader!

He has a lot fewer K's because his weakness was the outside strike. Now, there is no such thing as an outside strike. His hitting strength has always been the inside pitch. Now most of the strikes he sees are of the "middle-in" variety.

So, his BA has gone up, his on base percentage has gone up, he has better plate coverage and his ENTIRE pitching arm is protected.

I highly recommend the arm guard! Particularly if a kid is timid at the plate. That was never an issue for Boomer, but the added confidence it gave him to "crowd" the plate would probably benefit any young batter.

R.

IMHO, wearing protective gear to gain an edge (i.e. to let pitches hit the guard or to be able to crowd the plate more) is rather bush. Next we'll see full-body armor and everyone will have "confidence".

Sandman

That isn't the reason that he wears it. He wears it to protect his pitching arm (I believe that I mentioned that). The result however is that he has become even more fearless at the plate and will take a hit if the situation warrants it. Nothing "bush" about it, unless you consider guys like Biggio "bush" (guys that get hit a lot).

I actually posted this for you as much as anyone because I remembered that you had asked about dealing with fear at the plate. Lots of kids are afraid of the baseball and an arm guard might help psychologically. Sorry that you missed the whole point.

Also, trying something a little different may help a kid get out of a slump (my attempt to get back on topic). Sorry Ramjet. LOL.

R.

I don't care with the kids, but I do consider big league players who wear body armor so that they can crowd the plate bush. I consider David Eckstein who gets hit a lot but doesn't wear body armor a ballplayer. How well would Bonds handle the outside pitch if he was getting out of the way of the inside pitch? Not quite as well as he does now.

Ross,

I appreciate that you thought of me when posting this. And I can certainly see how the thought of if I get hit in the arm now, it won't hurt so much could help a kid struggling w/ fear.

Nevertheless...

He simply turns toward the catcher and the balls deflect off the guard.
That's doing more than adding confidence; it's getting something that he might not (sounds like DID not) actually get as much of before using the guard. Does Biggio wear one too?

He puts both toes on the batter's box chalk
Did he do this as often before the arm guard? (Doesn't sound it.)

His walk totals have also gone up dramatically because the pitchers apparently are very uncomfortable with him hanging over the plate.
This implies that he is gaining an advantage from the device because he has altered his strategy.

I can see what you're saying Ross about doing something to gain confidence. And if he were a kid susceptible to bailing out and this device - tho he may not even get HIT on it - gives him the confidence to stay in there, then I'm all for it. But if he's altering his tactics to take advantage of it - i.e. leaning out over the plate to distract the pitcher's concentration and/or getting more walks by letting pitches hit the device - then I see a big difference. One merely gives confidence by offering a sense of additional security. The other is actually gaining from it (more balls than strikes due to being able to stand closer).

My 2 cents.

Sandman

.................. never mind.

R.

Really applies more to football players. We need to quit letting them wear those helmets. Just creates overconfidence and changes the game.

No such thing as a slump, his timing is just off. Hitting is timing, pitching is upsetting the hitters timing.

If swing mechanics are fine, all he needs is more BP to get his timing down.

When the pitcher gives him something good to hit, he needs to make him pay. May be a hit, may be an out. As long as he is giving the ball force, direction and line drive elevation, his is fine...the hits will come.

"Don't think! Baseball is fun...just have fun!" - Benny "the jet" Rodriguez.