My son is playing high level summer ball before his senior year and struggling horrendously after some swing changes last year. So many swings/misses at good pitches after being a great hitter up until 16U.
Please see the below / attached and let me know your opinion and what he can do to fix it.
https://youtu.be/_NMFII2Mj0Y
https://youtu.be/ggjv_V1NRk8
Thank you in advance!
Steve
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Well take this is a big chunk of salt, as I'm not a coach, just a fellow baseball dad, but I like his swing a lot. However, I do not like the stride. I'd rather see him just pick the foot up and get it down near where it started, like Buster Posey and a zillion other guys. I also really don't like the way that it causes his head to bob around, especially on the first swing. Compare that to Posey too. It's hard to square the ball up when your eyes are in motion.
Thank you for that...I agree that his stride has caused him some problems with his timing and as you mentioned his head moving. We will definitely try it...he swings under the ball almost always and I am trying to get him to stop from dropping his hands and swinging so armsy.
I’m not a hitting coach either but it looks like his rhythm and timing are off. I don’t think he did anything wrong in the first video. To me, it looks like he just got beat. It happens!
The second video looks like tthe coach threw him a changeup because he’s way out front.
Obviously, it’s hard to make a determination after seeing only two swings.
What were the changes? What type of instruction is he getting and what are the primary one or two focus points currently? PM if you want.
BTW, you can probably delete your other post... the way this site is set up, I think most don't view by category so they see duplication.
I wouldnt grossly alter his swing at this point. I dont see a hitch or anything major. First swing he is way late, get on time. Second swing he swings across the middle and is trying to pull a low and outside pitch. He seems to have tense wrists and hands, clutching the hell out of the bat. Loose wrists are fast wrists. Get the bat out into the hands a little more. Two drills come to mind. BP at about 20-30 feet and throwing fairly hard so he is loading early and is not late. The second one is what I call the Tony Gwynn drill. Soft toss from behind the batter and about 30 degrees to the outside. Batter waits for the ball and hits the ball on the front part of the plate and hits it up the middle. You have to wait, load/explode, and have the bat in the swing plane long to continuously drive line drives into the top back portion of the cage. I like the middle approach on this drill instead of going oppo.
I'm not a hitting coach, but I did notice he drops his right elbow after loading, which could be causing some bat path issues.
The top swing looks fine to me. Stride isn't as long as in the bottom one. Barrel stays up during the stride. Honestly doesn't even look like the same person. In the bottom swing if you slow it down frame by frame almost as soon as he lifts his stride foot the front shoulder comes up a bit and his hands start to "flatten out" a bit. Then as he strides he is hanging back with way too much weight over the back foot IMO...going frame by frame the hands continue to flatten out before the stride foot is planted. I think shortening the stride and getting the front foot down quick rather than "dipping the toe in the water" may help.
I saw your videos on the other post you had first and my first thought was I bet he's under the ball a lot because of the flattening of the hands. I don't see how with that stride length he can keep the barrel loaded until the stride foot hits. Seems physically impossible to me.
JCG posted:Well take this is a big chunk of salt, as I'm not a coach, just a fellow baseball dad, but I like his swing a lot. However, I do not like the stride. I'd rather see him just pick the foot up and get it down near where it started, like Buster Posey and a zillion other guys. I also really don't like the way that it causes his head to bob around, especially on the first swing. Compare that to Posey too. It's hard to square the ball up when your eyes are in motion.
Thanks JCG. I have had others tell me his head moves and that is caused by this big stride. We will work on it.
sunwalkingvalley posted:I wouldnt grossly alter his swing at this point. I dont see a hitch or anything major. First swing he is way late, get on time. Second swing he swings across the middle and is trying to pull a low and outside pitch. He seems to have tense wrists and hands, clutching the hell out of the bat. Loose wrists are fast wrists. Get the bat out into the hands a little more. Two drills come to mind. BP at about 20-30 feet and throwing fairly hard so he is loading early and is not late. The second one is what I call the Tony Gwynn drill. Soft toss from behind the batter and about 30 degrees to the outside. Batter waits for the ball and hits the ball on the front part of the plate and hits it up the middle. You have to wait, load/explode, and have the bat in the swing plane long to continuously drive line drives into the top back portion of the cage. I like the middle approach on this drill instead of going oppo.
Thank you for that input. I have always thought his grib and hands were too tense. Loose and relaxed up top is key...generates the speed. I like that drill and will work with him on that this weekend.
bigcubbiefan posted:The top swing looks fine to me. Stride isn't as long as in the bottom one. Barrel stays up during the stride. Honestly doesn't even look like the same person. In the bottom swing if you slow it down frame by frame almost as soon as he lifts his stride foot the front shoulder comes up a bit and his hands start to "flatten out" a bit. Then as he strides he is hanging back with way too much weight over the back foot IMO...going frame by frame the hands continue to flatten out before the stride foot is planted. I think shortening the stride and getting the front foot down quick rather than "dipping the toe in the water" may help.
I saw your videos on the other post you had first and my first thought was I bet he's under the ball a lot because of the flattening of the hands. I don't see how with that stride length he can keep the barrel loaded until the stride foot hits. Seems physically impossible to me.
Great insight. Yes he is ALWAYS under the ball and I've seen that with his flattening of his hands. He often does not stick the foot down quick enough and the ball is past him. So timing also a big factor here. How do I work on the flattening of the hands for him?
Cman posted:I'm not a hitting coach, but I did notice he drops his right elbow after loading, which could be causing some bat path issues.
Thanks Cman. Like the other poster mentioned with him flattening his hands and always under the ball that is the "bat path" issue I think that is the biggest contributor to his struggles. This kid was .400 - .500 hitter up through 15U, we made some swing changes to mostly get him to use his lower half, and things have gone completely sideways since then. He is a great defensive catcher and great athlete...dunks a basketball, wiry/strong, but he is a total mess at the plate now and his dream of playing division 1 in college is almost gone unless we get him turned around. Appreciate yours and others advice / suggestions. Thank you
Does he have a hitting coach?
hshuler posted:I’m not a hitting coach either but it looks like his rhythm and timing are off. I don’t think he did anything wrong in the first video. To me, it looks like he just got beat. It happens!
The second video looks like tthe coach threw him a changeup because he’s way out front.
Obviously, it’s hard to make a determination after seeing only two swings.
Here are few more swings with slightly different angles.
Coach_May posted:Does he have a hitting coach?
He was seeing Chris Harrison at MSA in Saline Michigan but otherwise it has been the summer and high school coaches working with them on the swing. Maybe too many things coming at him from so many perspectives
I will send you a PM later today.
Steve Radomski posted:My son is playing high level summer ball before his senior year and struggling horrendously after some swing changes last year. So many swings/misses at good pitches after being a great hitter up until 16U.
Please see the below / attached and let me know your opinion and what he can do to fix it.
https://youtu.be/_NMFII2Mj0Y
https://youtu.be/ggjv_V1NRk8Thank you in advance!
Steve
More struggles in today's games. It is absolutely lunacy as he is missing easy pitches to hit and it is getting to the point that I wonder if a sport phycologist may be more important fixing his swing. I don’t know if it is his eyes but we are having them checked as well in a few days to rule this out. Meanwhile the kid is frustrated beyond belief and cannot believe that helps his approach at each at bat.
Here are few of today’s swings from various angles:
Again - I’m not a professional but he got beat again on the first and second videos. How long has he been toe tapping because he’s not in rhythm?
The goal is to hit the ball out front aka staying behind the ball. His head and chest should be behind the ball at contact.
He is also not keeping his barrel inside the ball so his swing is longer than it should be.
Can you just flip him some soft toss and left him work on hitting the ball middle/oppo? That should help him keep his barrel inside the ball. He should also focus on hitting the ball out front while keeping his balance.
Just a dad here, but after my guy made an adjustment during the season from a veteran coach, he really started to hit. He is now very short and compact to the ball, then a long follow through. A bit counter intuitive, but it works for him. Hit 2 doubles at USA nationals last week. Good luck.
his hands are dropping after he loads....hands drop then proceeds with his swing. have him hold his hands back further and not higher than his back shoulder...this should minimize hand movement during load and keep his hands on the same path of where his eyes saw it when he decided to swing.
BTW, I'm just a baseball dad too, but son had same problem so this is the adjustment made and it worked like a charm
For my kid dropping hands was not a mechanical issue per se, as on the tee and front toss he would not do it, just with live pitching. It was a timing flaw for him both nerves and facing some decent velo. Oddly what helped him was using a machine at the cages. Not seeing a wind up cleaned up his timing as he started earlier and slower.
Every hitter has his own unique stance, swing and attitude. Try other stance, teach your self.
My son was Darryl Strawberry from the left side and Eric Davis from the right side. It provided "visualization" and a "loose" swing.
Bob
Steve I sent you a PM.
"we made some swing changes to mostly get him to use his lower half"
He's not using his 'lower half' at all. His stride movement is not good.
MLB hitters coil their shoulders and hips inward as they go forward.
It looks like someone tried to take away his natural stride and now he toe taps, and coils OUT as he moves forward. When you coil out like this, you begin the swing before the toe touches the ground. At toe touch, notice that his back elbow has already dropped and his rear forearm is already mostly vertical (not good), versus horizontal (good); plus, his front hip is open (not good).
Watch Posey here (0:02-0:07) how he coils in, then at toe touch (0:08) where his rear forearm is.
To fix, simply take dry swings and coil hips and shoulders in and hold until you land. That's it, it's that simple, and it's free. In real swings, you begin to uncoil just before you land, but you don't need to practice this, it happens naturally.
Also, make sure that he begins his stride near when the pitcher takes the ball out of his glove. It seems like he may be waiting until he thinks the pitch is a strike to start moving. Try holding the ball in the cage and ensure that he moves on every throw.
Take videos from the catcher view like this to see how he is progressing (also try to get the pitcher in view so you can see when he starts the stride).
2022NYC posted:For my kid dropping hands was not a mechanical issue per se, as on the tee and front toss he would not do it, just with live pitching. It was a timing flaw for him both nerves and facing some decent velo. Oddly what helped him was using a machine at the cages. Not seeing a wind up cleaned up his timing as he started earlier and slower.
Thanks 2022. We are going to try the machine/cages because as you said he only seems to do it against live pitching.
phillyinNJ posted:his hands are dropping after he loads....hands drop then proceeds with his swing. have him hold his hands back further and not higher than his back shoulder...this should minimize hand movement during load and keep his hands on the same path of where his eyes saw it when he decided to swing.
BTW, I'm just a baseball dad too, but son had same problem so this is the adjustment made and it worked like a charm
Good stuff. To me the hands dropping and the stride/timing are the two things that plague him. We will work like heck to get it fixed. Thanks.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NyWNCrxVzPU
Have a look at Josh Donaldson in this YouTube video..it looks to me like your son's front leg stride is off kilter..
