"Swing it hard in case you hit it!"
Jimmy you took the words out of my mouth as I was reading this thread. That is exactly what son's travel/hitting coach told all his players.
And for those old timers, we still call it
'take a [sh^t] out house or castle swing'.
'take a [sh^t] out house or castle swing'.
quote:Originally posted by igball:
OK, at the risk of sounding like someone asking Stephen Hawkins why all planets are round, I am curious what people here would recommend to someone who is starting to work with a 9 year old, teaching him how to hit.
What things do you suggest working on? The key it seems to me is given the age (mine too), is having a priority so that he (me) isn't overwhelmed.
Buy the book "Lau's Laws on Hitting" and understand yourself the mechanics of hitting. Once I could understand this then it was much easier to diagnose my son's technique (through video) without paying some hitting coach wannabee.
You are going to get a lot of different opinions on any forum so start with the book above and see if that will click with you.
Also consistent hitting is not just about technique but about timing and pitch selection.
My 10 yr old has pretty good technique but tends lacks the timing and pitch selection to be a good hitter at this point.
Only game experience will help this.
My 10 yr old has pretty good technique but tends lacks the timing and pitch selection to be a good hitter at this point.
Only game experience will help this.
quote:Originally posted by tradosaurus:quote:Originally posted by igball:
OK, at the risk of sounding like someone asking Stephen Hawkins why all planets are round, I am curious what people here would recommend to someone who is starting to work with a 9 year old, teaching him how to hit.
What things do you suggest working on? The key it seems to me is given the age (mine too), is having a priority so that he (me) isn't overwhelmed.
Buy the book "Lau's Laws on Hitting" and understand yourself the mechanics of hitting. Once I could understand this then it was much easier to diagnose my son's technique (through video) without paying some hitting coach wannabee.
You are going to get a lot of different opinions on any forum so start with the book above and see if that will click with you.
Do yourself a favor, don't buy anything from Lau.
Buy The Science of Hitting (it's $16 on Amazon). If you can find a book that describes the mental game or the mechanical aspect of hitting in a better (i.e. it happens) way, then I will pay you. Very simple, straightforward language, written by a career .344 hitter. It's The Bible of hitting a baseball.
quote:Originally posted by Low Finish:quote:Originally posted by tradosaurus:quote:Originally posted by igball:
OK, at the risk of sounding like someone asking Stephen Hawkins why all planets are round, I am curious what people here would recommend to someone who is starting to work with a 9 year old, teaching him how to hit.
What things do you suggest working on? The key it seems to me is given the age (mine too), is having a priority so that he (me) isn't overwhelmed.
Buy the book "Lau's Laws on Hitting" and understand yourself the mechanics of hitting. Once I could understand this then it was much easier to diagnose my son's technique (through video) without paying some hitting coach wannabee.
You are going to get a lot of different opinions on any forum so start with the book above and see if that will click with you.
Do yourself a favor, don't buy anything from Lau.
Buy The Science of Hitting (it's $16 on Amazon). If you can find a book that describes the mental game or the mechanical aspect of hitting in a better (i.e. it happens) way, then I will pay you. Very simple, straightforward language, written by a career .344 hitter. It's The Bible of hitting a baseball.
I bought the Science of Hitting book but haven't received it yet. I will be able to compare this book with Lau's Laws on Hitting. Both books have received glowing reviews on Amazon.
BTW, you can't argue with the success of the teaching method of Lau's Laws as George Brett, arguably one of the best hitters in the game, credits the method.
I also have seen both my younger sons improve their technique because I could finally understand how to hit and convey that to him.
quote:Originally posted by tradosaurus:quote:Originally posted by Low Finish:quote:Originally posted by tradosaurus:quote:Originally posted by igball:
OK, at the risk of sounding like someone asking Stephen Hawkins why all planets are round, I am curious what people here would recommend to someone who is starting to work with a 9 year old, teaching him how to hit.
What things do you suggest working on? The key it seems to me is given the age (mine too), is having a priority so that he (me) isn't overwhelmed.
Buy the book "Lau's Laws on Hitting" and understand yourself the mechanics of hitting. Once I could understand this then it was much easier to diagnose my son's technique (through video) without paying some hitting coach wannabee.
You are going to get a lot of different opinions on any forum so start with the book above and see if that will click with you.
Do yourself a favor, don't buy anything from Lau.
Buy The Science of Hitting (it's $16 on Amazon). If you can find a book that describes the mental game or the mechanical aspect of hitting in a better (i.e. it happens) way, then I will pay you. Very simple, straightforward language, written by a career .344 hitter. It's The Bible of hitting a baseball.
I bought the Science of Hitting book but haven't received it yet. I will be able to compare this book with Lau's Laws on Hitting. Both books have received glowing reviews on Amazon.
BTW, you can't argue with the success of the teaching method of Lau's Laws as George Brett, arguably one of the best hitters in the game, credits the method.
I also have seen both my younger sons improve their technique because I could finally understand how to hit and convey that to him.
heres a quote from DMAC ..I saved this on my computer from years ago..he and tom guerry saved my second kid from heading down the road to hitting failure..its simple and to the point..its great advice
Here is a quote from Dmac that might (I doubt) clear things up;
"You fellows have kind of lost me. For me, the bat quickness helped by the hands (arms) comes from the running start. The running start comes from tipping the bat and then letting it rip with the hands without stopping to set the bat.........just going from the time the bat reaches it's farthest point in the tip. Here are some clips starting with Ruth and working the way up to the guys of today like Bonds, Guerrero, Soriano and the young teenager Robert Stock.
"When they tip it forward, they go from there.....they don't start, and then set their hands and then have to start again. Much like the running start I have yapped about with maddux for years
"What he is doing is getting more batspeed with less effort.......a running start. It does not need to be explained to a kid at all......just tell him to get his hands away from the body a little, point the bat at the sky, tip it towards the pitcher and then let it rip. If he asks why, you respond by telling him he will hit the ball a lot farther. When he does, there won't be any need to talk about pronation or whatever. If he can't do it, then there won't be any need to talk about pronation or whatever, because it won't matter.
"About 99% of all guys in the big leaguers were not taught the swing. They just found it along the way through emulation, feel or just blind luck. The clip of Williams is great, because he was 48 years old when it was shot and he is ripping the ball and laughing. He is also tipping the bat and then letting it rip. He is also the best hitter who ever walked and had dozens of instructors telling people that he was just a freak and that you should not copy him. They say the same thing about Bonds today, and the only guy who was smart enough to copy him was Robert Stocks dad, and it is paying off. He copies Bond's running start and the kid can hit balls a long way. Everyone else does not copy it because they think it is too hard to do. Mr Oh hit 868 dingers,was 5' 10, weighed 165 and nobody paid attention to his swing in the USA either.
"Last year in September, I saw the Mariners play a 6 game home series and every day I was there early to watch BP. Outside of Richie Sexon who is 6'9", Ichiro hits the ball farther than anyone on that club. He bangs ball after ball off the restaurant in right field which is about 410 ft away. In BP he tips the bat and lets it rip. He is 5'9" and about 160 lbs. In games he does not do it, because with his 3.6 speed, he was taught at a young age to take advantage of it.
"If your kids can run like Ichiro, then they can be dead hands slap hitters, but if they can't, then they better hit like Molitor, Olerud or Brett or better yet, learn to tip it and rip it and they may hit enough home runs and doubles to make their High School coach really like them.
"If you are built like Frank Thomas, you don't need to tip it either. Ted Williams once said that if he could work with Thomas that Frank would hit 80 home runs every year. It never happened.
"Timing it for a good athlete is not hard, what has happened is that nobody has taught it to anybody. What is really hard is setting your bat behind your shoulder, go from a dead start and then expect rotation to bring the bat around and magically hit the ball. That has been taught to many kids.......good luck"
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"Tip it and rip it" - In Memory of Dmac
