Link to my 11 year old son, upcoming 12u. Any recommendations, things that we should be working on this winter???
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlgADNCx1-s
Thanks in advance
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Looks to be a very aggressive hitter for 11 years old ..has a lot going for him already . I would try not having his hands and the bat so far away from his body as he seems to be locking up his elbows too soon . Also maybe try to flatten out his bat a bit closer to his shoulder with the elbows bent . You might find he can generate more and his bat will come thru the hitting zone in better fashion.
It appears to me that he is pulling his bat through with his biceps and wrists. He isn't getting extension through the ball and he has very little separation between upper and lower body, it looks more like a spin to me. IMO, his stride needs to be longer. His feet should be apart about the length of his bat when his front foot lands to give him proper leverage.
Question...is he a pull hitter now?
Question...is he a pull hitter now?
Yes, He hits mostly to the left side and up the middle.
quote:Originally posted by powertoallfields:
He isn't getting extension through the ball
Did you go through the clip frame by frame?
He clearly is extending just fine after the point of contact (and you want extension to happen after the point of contact, not at the point of contact).
quote:Originally posted by John YaYa:quote:Originally posted by powertoallfields:
He isn't getting extension through the ball
Did you go through the clip frame by frame?
He clearly is extending just fine after the point of contact (and you want extension to happen after the point of contact, not at the point of contact).
Yes, I went frame by frame and I don't see extention "through the ball", which means, IN THE DIRECTION OF THE HIT. He is pulling his bat through with his right bicep. On some swings, his right elbow doesn't leave his side until he's in his follow through.
quote:Originally posted by DenJake:
Yes, He hits mostly to the left side and up the middle.
I thought so. I think he may be developing some bad habits that need to be fixed asap. The reason I say that, is that with the batspeed he has and his aggressive nature, he probably has good power at the moment and Coaches will be hesitant to change his swing. It will be very difficult for him to hit outside pitches with this swing and as he moves up, the Pitchers and opposing Coaches will figure it out pretty quick.
I would try to find a good instructor in your area.
kbat2012 made a good point about his head too. Once he starts seeing breaking balls, he will struggle if he doesn't keep his head up straight. You lose visual perspective.
quote:Originally posted by BlueDog:
He needs to find a pattern to synch the upper and lower body....
He needs to figure out how to sequence....
Blue,
I agree. Do you know anyone that teaches that in his area? If not, it may be time for you to put out a DVD. Any chance of that???
Not a bad swing, for an 11 year old. His lower end is working, just not always working with his upper end. Front foot appears to be opening up a little early, thus the balance loss on finish. If he can manage to keep his weight on the inside of his front foot better, he will utilize his weight transfer better. This will allow him to keep his front hip and shoulder working through pitch location.
Contact point is critical, to being able to drive the ball the other way, he needs to let the ball get deeper. This video the soft toss is from out front, move beside the hitter and bring the contact point to behind his front knee, for the outside pitch, after load/stretch,,,, this should help him learn to let the ball travel.
Contact point is critical, to being able to drive the ball the other way, he needs to let the ball get deeper. This video the soft toss is from out front, move beside the hitter and bring the contact point to behind his front knee, for the outside pitch, after load/stretch,,,, this should help him learn to let the ball travel.
quote:Contact point is critical, to being able to drive the ball the other way, he needs to let the ball get deeper. This video the soft toss is from out front, move beside the hitter and bring the contact point to behind his front knee, for the outside pitch, after load/stretch,,,, this should help him learn to let the ball travel.
The problem is that he won't be able to reach the outside pitch with the sweetspot with his current swing. This will be easier to see if they will do front toss with an "L" screen.
quote:Originally posted by powertoallfields:
On some swings, his right elbow doesn't leave his side until he's in his follow through.
And that's bad because..?
You see this same thing in many major league swings, so obviously it's not as bad as you think.
quote:Originally posted by powertoallfields:
I thought so. I think he may be developing some bad habits that need to be fixed asap. The reason I say that, is that with the batspeed he has and his aggressive nature, he probably has good power at the moment and Coaches will be hesitant to change his swing. It will be very difficult for him to hit outside pitches with this swing and as he moves up
Let's see how he hits an outside pitch before rendering a verdict.
Right now, we have no idea how he'll make that adjustment.
quote:Originally posted by powertoallfields:
The problem is that he won't be able to reach the outside pitch with the sweetspot with his current swing.
You have no way of knowing this. You're just assuming.
Let's see how he hits an outside pitch.
quote:Originally posted by DenJake:
Link to my 11 year old son, upcoming 12u. Any recommendations, things that we should be working on this winter???
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlgADNCx1-s
Thanks in advance
I would spread his feet apart and get a bit more weight shift going (he's a bit too erect) but I would ignore the comments about extension or lack thereof.
His upper body looks quite good.
Also, what's the drop on the bat?
quote:I would spread his feet apart and get a bit more weight shift going (he's a bit too erect) but I would ignore the comments about extension or lack thereof.
His upper body looks quite good.
Also, what's the drop on the bat?
Ok, That sounds like a good idea. I will have him start a little wider.
The bat is a 30/20 so -10 drop.
quote:Originally posted by kbat2012:
Not to be too critical, he'd better keep his head straight and keep his eye on the ball. This could be a very big flaw if it's not corrected at young age.
Thanks...
I saw a couple of mentions about his head and looking at the swing frame by frame you can really see the head tilt. I would guess he doesnt realize he is doing that. I will show him the video this evening and freeze the video at contact so he can easily see what he is doing wrong.
quote:Originally posted by DenJake:
I saw a couple of mentions about his head and looking at the swing frame by frame you can really see the head tilt. I would guess he doesnt realize he is doing that. I will show him the video this evening and freeze the video at contact so he can easily see what he is doing wrong.
His head tilt is normal and is the result of hitting a ball that's lower down in the strike zone.
quote:Originally posted by DenJake:
The bat is a 30/20 so -10 drop.
That helps to explain why he doesn't extend as much after the point of contact.
I would also move him farther away from the garage door so he doesn't have to worry about banging into it on his follow through.
quote:Originally posted by John YaYa:quote:Originally posted by DenJake:
The bat is a 30/20 so -10 drop.
That helps to explain why he doesn't extend as much after the point of contact.
I would also move him farther away from the garage door so he doesn't have to worry about banging into it on his follow through.
Could you explain the above not sure I followed....Because the -10 is heavier , not heavy engough??
quote:Originally posted by DenJake:
Could you explain the above not sure I followed....Because the -10 is heavier , not heavy engough??
He would show more extension after the POC if he was swinging a wood bat or a -3 bat.
Basically, I'm telling you to not worry (that much) about his lack of extension after the POC. To a large degree, it's probably just due to the fact that he's swinging a high-drop bat.
quote:Originally posted by John YaYa:quote:Originally posted by DenJake:
I saw a couple of mentions about his head and looking at the swing frame by frame you can really see the head tilt. I would guess he doesnt realize he is doing that. I will show him the video this evening and freeze the video at contact so he can easily see what he is doing wrong.
His head tilt is normal and is the result of hitting a ball that's lower down in the strike zone.
???????
quote:He would show more extension after the POC if he was swinging a wood bat or a -3 bat.
He could swing a 20 pound sledge or a wiffle bat and the same muscles would be used and the swing would look similar.
quote:Originally posted by powertoallfields:
He could swing a 20 pound sledge or a wiffle bat and the same muscles would be used and the swing would look similar.
Your understanding of physics, and concepts like centrifugal force, is clearly lacking.
quote:Originally posted by powertoallfields:quote:Originally posted by John YaYa:quote:Originally posted by DenJake:
I saw a couple of mentions about his head and looking at the swing frame by frame you can really see the head tilt. I would guess he doesnt realize he is doing that. I will show him the video this evening and freeze the video at contact so he can easily see what he is doing wrong.
His head tilt is normal and is the result of hitting a ball that's lower down in the strike zone.
???????
It's hard to tilt the shoulders as he does, to hit the low pitch, and not tilt the head some.
quote:His head tilt is normal and is the result of hitting a ball that's lower down in the strike zone.
Do you have any clips of a MLB player doing that?
quote:Your understanding of physics, and concepts like centrifugal force, is clearly lacking.
I could say the same about your understanding of swinging a bat, but I won't.
quote:I would ignore the comments about extension or lack thereof.
He is literally "PULLING" the ball across his body and that swing will not work as he moves up. There is simply not enough ability to adjust to good breaking pitches.
quote:Originally posted by powertoallfields:
He is literally "PULLING" the ball across his body and that swing will not work as he moves up. There is simply not enough ability to adjust to good breaking pitches.
Do you mean pulling the bat (not the ball)?
So what should he be doing?
Extending more at the point of contact rather than having his elbow bent 90 degrees?
Head tilt on the low pitch is normal, it must be achieved or he will run out of barrel after contact.
quote:Originally posted by powertoallfields:
Do you have any clips of a MLB player doing that?
My initial reaction after watching the video was that he isnt "whipping " the bat thru the zone ..but rather pulling it sort of like powertoallfields mentioned . That is why i thought it might be best to change his starting point to get maximum use of his arms and upper body . Otherwise he might get into the habit of " casting out " with the bat . Needs to gain more " momentum " by having hands starting out closer to shoulder instead of away from body and develop a little bit of a loading mechanism . I believe this will also help in keeping his head on the ball longer . JMO
quote:Originally posted by John YaYa:quote:Originally posted by powertoallfields:
Do you have any clips of a MLB player doing that?
The kid is tilting his head even before the ball is tossed and these tosses are thigh high. Your photo is of a ball that is probably a slow breaking pitch that will be below the knees at contact and he is well out in front of the pitch. I would say he was fooled on this pitch since he doesn't need to tilt to hit this pitch. This photo reminds me of how Adam Dunn swings. If he wasn't so big and strong, he wouldn't even be in the Minors, too many strike outs and for the reason I gave. He has trouble making adjustments to off speed, but they kind of let that stuff slide if you can hit 30 plus HRs. But, hey, it's just my opinion.
quote:Originally posted by John YaYa:quote:Originally posted by powertoallfields:
He is literally "PULLING" the ball across his body and that swing will not work as he moves up. There is simply not enough ability to adjust to good breaking pitches.
Do you mean pulling the bat (not the ball)?
So what should he be doing?
Extending more at the point of contact rather than having his elbow bent 90 degrees?
The movement with the hands and arms to the ball is a linear move. If you were to set up cones at all 4 infield positions you should be able to throw the bat and come very close to each cone. There is no way this boy can do that at the moment. When the hands leave the bat, they should be pointing at the target. Rotation and the weight of the bathead will pull the bat the rest of the way around on a regular swing.
quote:Originally posted by Mr. Nobody:
My initial reaction after watching the video was that he isnt "whipping " the bat thru the zone ..but rather pulling it sort of like powertoallfields mentioned . That is why i thought it might be best to change his starting point to get maximum use of his arms and upper body . Otherwise he might get into the habit of " casting out " with the bat . Needs to gain more " momentum " by having hands starting out closer to shoulder instead of away from body and develop a little bit of a loading mechanism . I believe this will also help in keeping his head on the ball longer . JMO
I agree with the assesment and it would be trial and error with what you propose and it may take some tweeking along the way, but I can see how it would make a quick improvement.
quote:Originally posted by powertoallfields:
The movement with the hands and arms to the ball is a linear move.
Please show me video of a major league hitter that demonstrates this linear move.
take a look at Ichiro's swing
quote:Originally posted by John YaYa:quote:Originally posted by powertoallfields:
The movement with the hands and arms to the ball is a linear move.
Please show me video of a major league hitter that demonstrates this linear move.
Every single one!
quote:Originally posted by Mr. Nobody:
take a look at Ichiro's swing
Everyone know's Ichiro's different; that he slaps the ball because he's a lefty with tremendous foot speed.
How about a regular player who's not a slap hitter.
quote:Originally posted by powertoallfields:quote:Originally posted by John YaYa:quote:Originally posted by powertoallfields:
The movement with the hands and arms to the ball is a linear move.
Please show me video of a major league hitter that demonstrates this linear move.
Every single one!
Please show me a video that demonstrates what you mean..
quote:Originally posted by John YaYa:quote:Originally posted by powertoallfields:quote:Originally posted by John YaYa:quote:Originally posted by powertoallfields:
The movement with the hands and arms to the ball is a linear move.
Please show me video of a major league hitter that demonstrates this linear move.
Every single one!
Please show me a video that demonstrates what you mean..
http://www.recruit.hittingillustrated.com/RunningStart.htm
Watch the direction of the hands as the knob points at the ball. As the upper body comes around with the hands behind the rear shoulder, the hands will go in a straight line as they take the sweetspot to the ball.
