Teaching a 9 year old how to hit

I think the main thing at 9 is to make it fun. Take him to local park and throw and hit. He may have wonderful hand eye coordination and it will come to him fast or it may not. Also, sign him up for little league if you have not already.

Good luck and have fun!

Lefty...

As Lefty said above, it's got to be fun. I have a nine year old as well who has played s****r for four years and even with all my background in baseball and hitting instruction he has never really wanted to play. This was fine with us, but this past winter he said he wanted to learn how to hit.

I'm now taking him into the back yard and we're playing whiffle ball games (made up our own rules). Now, I'll come home from work and he'll be waiting in the back yard for the next game. I'm introducing some hitting concepts while we play. He's now receptive to it because he can see the results in action, and it's fun because it helps him beat me.

So yes, make it fun and find ways of inserting some mechanics teaching into the games you play with him.

#1 - Have Fun
(everytime out)

#2 - Encourage & Motivate
(turn his frown's upside down)

#3 - Technique - Cross Line Approach
Line in sand (standing sideways to P)
Perpendicular lines for feet
(Keep in simple)

#4 - Tools
- (Wiffle) Ball on Tee
- Ball on String
- Wiffle Ball Bat
- Shortest - lightest bat possible
- Mommy pitch (or whoever can throw
to hit his swinging bat!)

Stay in touch.

Good Luck

at that age tracking the ball is so so important !! train your son to track from the release all the way to the catcher. FOCUS on the ball is so so important. Just make sure that when he goes to hit his head is on the ball hitting the bat.

Don't worry too much about his mechanics. You can introduce mechanics as he gets older.

1. Make it fun (end it with some type of game)
2. Make sure he learns mechanical basics (hips before hands and things like that).
3. Don't force him.
4. Make sure he knows that even the best fail 7 out of 10 times.
5. NO CRYING IN BASEBALL

Yes, fun is paramount but imo, it is better to learn proper basics when starting so you don't have to break bad habits later.

By the time my son was 9, he had already been playing for 4 1/2 years. I started him on epstein hitting between his 7 and 8 year old seasons.

,Imo hard to beat this system for younger hitters.


I would use small wiffle balls in the garage and my son enjoyed trying to hit me with the balls that he hit. That was much more fun for him than me.

Here he is at 9.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...youtube_gdata_player

Little drill we did when by boy was a squirt. Had "bp" with a kids tennis racket and I tossed rolled up socks when we were inside in the winter. Make sure he holds the racket the way he is supposed to hold a bat, lining up knuckles. In order for him to hit the sock, he had to have a level swing and not roll over. Worked very well.

It all starts with the grip. Make sure you teach him to line up his knocking knuckles. Learning this grip from the very start will be a big help.

quote:

Originally posted by Coach Curt:
It all starts with the grip. Make sure you teach him to line up his knocking knuckles. Learning this grip from the very start will be a big help.

hmmm... as far as I know, only 2 MLB players use a modified version of this grip. The other 748/1198 use something else. (I hate to pick on you, but this door knuckle myth must die)

If this guy does it, I'll teach it.

ironhorse, you couldn't find the other guy?

I think that starting a young hitter out with aligned knuckles is a good idea. It will help them not to roll their wrist. My son still has an issue at times of rolling his top wrist under if he gets lazy with his grip. He is 12 now.

Start with showing him the grip, stance, and keeping the bat back (in proper position), then let him swing away. Like others said, make it fun for him, and as he starts showing more interest in learning, then start showing him correct swing mechanics. I think most importantly at this age is to help them develop good hand-eye corrdination...by playing catch with them, and pitching and soft tossing to them alot. Kids need a lot of one on one time at home to help develop their skills. They throw a lot at baseball practice, but they don't get enough hitting time.

I can't get out much with my 8 and 10 yr old grandsons and practice with them, and my daughter (who is divorced) doesn't have much time, so I got them the Ulimate Hitting Machine. (Soft toss machine sold by Beebe Sports)

They can set it up and use it by themselves and they both love it. Using it almost everyday has definitely made a difference in their hitting.
They don't use it as much now that baseball has started, and they said their coach is looking into getting one to use in his practices.
This is a good machine for young kids to use to practice hitting moving balls.
If you have a place to set a net up in your yard, I would reccomend getting one of these machines.

The best price for this machine is found here.
www.shop.beebesports.com

At his age, you want to focus on keeping it simple, teaching him the fundamentals, and just having fun. One of the simplest yet most effective drills is hitting off a batting tee. Watch him while he hits and correct his swing if he is doing anything wrong. Don't be too overly critical though or he might not want to play. Take him out to the field and throw to him, play some catch, and let him enjoy the sport. Cheers!

The Doyle Academy came up in another post and I was looking over their site and came across this. The number of players that have found success at the Colligiate and MLB that the Doyles have worked with over the past 30 years, speaks for itself.

http://doylebaseball.com/Coach...TeachingHitting.aspx

quote:

Originally posted by floridafan:
The Doyle Academy came up in another post and I was looking over their site and came across this. The number of players that have found success at the Colligiate and MLB that the Doyles have worked with over the past 30 years, speaks for itself.

http://doylebaseball.com/Coach...TeachingHitting.aspx

Their teaching does not resemble the MLB pattern. Look at the ideal contact picture

Yeah, you sure would not want to be looking at the ball when you hit it, or creating extension as you swing through the ball. And no, you would not want to rotate your core so that your belt buckle was facing toward the mound. And the barrel of the bat should always be below the hands, especially on those high and tight pitches over the inner half of the plate. And pivoting, so over rated. That back leg does not need to turn at all.

Boy, I better let my guy know before anyone sees him swing a bat, no one will want him in the lineup.

I do agree though that the barrel over the hands is situational.

Reading through this thread makes me think that it has been TOO long since many here have tried to teach hitting to a 9 yr. old!

Are shots of MLB'ers Texiera and Boggs really relevant?

Yea, I know some of your sons were hitting 300' bombs at age 10, had been playing for five years and some had mastered Epstein's system by age 6.

If one tried to teach all this advice the kid would be exasperated and thru with baseball by age 12.

As the early posters said; keep it fun, keep it simple. Focus on contact, a decent ready position and achieve to stay balanced during and after the swing.

Oh yea, IMO the most important part would be a big hug and kiss after every session and a trip to get a big ice cream cone!

floridafan-

I would not teach extension at contact. I would not teach barrel above the hands on a pitch in that location. I would not teach pivoting the back foot as it is shown in the picture. Head down at contact is not what most MLB players do (not as much as the picture shows). Instead, they have their eyes down or they are looking straight ahead.

Very good post prime.

Don't teach nine yr. olds how to hit.....Just don't do it!

Vision Training Vision Training Vision Training

quote:

Originally posted by Prime9:
Are shots of MLB'ers Texiera and Boggs really relevant?

As it relates to discussing how a 9 year-old should grip the bat, yes. Read the whole thread. If you don't think teaching the right grip to a 9 year-old is relevant than you shouldn't be teaching.

I am a firm believer in lining up the door knocking knuckles and holding the bat in your fingers. And it is very important to teach this. Some kids might have them slightly offset. Just hold a bat in your hands then hold it in your fingers and then you tell me what you feel. Then line up your door knocking knuckles vs your large knuckles. Tell me what you feel.

If you cant feel it and you can see the difference there is nothing else I can say.

quote:

Originally posted by Coach_May:
I am a firm believer in lining up the door knocking knuckles

Not you too? Will the madness never end?

Why do you find this to be bad? And what do you prefer to teach?

quote:

Originally posted by ironhorse:

quote:

Originally posted by Prime9:
Are shots of MLB'ers Texiera and Boggs really relevant?

As it relates to discussing how a 9 year-old should grip the bat, yes. Read the whole thread. If you don't think teaching the right grip to a 9 year-old is relevant than you shouldn't be teaching.

You will be pleased to know that I'm not teaching. As such, I'm probably not qualified, comparatively, but will stick by my instincts and experiences which have served me (my kids, and those I've coached) well.

Setting the almighty dollar aside on this one, (i.e., I'm not trying to impress Junior's parents so they will keep bringing him and paying me, as is often the case with some "instructors") I still say getting too technical at an early age could be a mistake. Nine year olds still have very small and relatively weak hands. Having them grip a bat firmly, without squeezing it too hard, is a large enough task in itself. I'm merely saying I'd leave GRIP 404 to a few years down the road and focus on the fun stuff and more critical skills; seeing the ball early, relaxed athletic stance, balanced swing to the ball .. etc.

But then again, I would never have considered turning my nine year old over to anyone wanting an hourly wage to play baseball with him..

quote:

Originally posted by Prime9:
Reading through this thread makes me think that it has been TOO long since many here have tried to teach hitting to a 9 yr. old!

Are shots of MLB'ers Texiera and Boggs really relevant?

Yea, I know some of your sons were hitting 300' bombs at age 10, had been playing for five years and some had mastered Epstein's system by age 6.

If one tried to teach all this advice the kid would be exasperated and thru with baseball by age 12.

As the early posters said; keep it fun, keep it simple. Focus on contact, a decent ready position and achieve to stay balanced during and after the swing.

Oh yea, IMO the most important part would be a big hug and kiss after every session and a trip to get a big ice cream cone!

Totally agree with this and you can include me in the door knocking knuckle camp. If I'm teaching someone who is new - like a 9 year old or a HS freshman who has never played - I'm going to start with this because it's comfortable to start out with.

If I'm teaching any kid who has a good swing but his door ******** aren't lined up and he's smashing then my coaching is going to be "Atta boy"...."Nice job"...."Keep at it". I'm not going to break what's already fixed.

As the young and new kids grow / get better they may evolve away from the door ******** lined up. If they can still hit then that's fine. If they can't hit then it probably isn't due to them not lined up either. Probably something else is.

I guess k-n-o-c-k-e-r-s is a bad word

I always liked the word myself.

I think its the right place to start with a new hitter. I am not saying they will stay there. Some will eventually get to a point where they feel it where the big knuckles top hand align with the small knuckles bottom hand. Some will end up right in between of those two locations. But I do think its the right place to start for a new hitter for a number of reasons. And I dont post much on the hitting forums because quite honestly if we could all be standing around working together with some hitters at a cage we could learn a lot, teach a lot and have a lot of fun. But on sites like this confusion takes over, pride takes over, and terminology gets in the way.

quote:

I think its the right place to start with a new hitter

You certainly have enough experience doing this and are generally right on. I agree with your comment concerning the hitting forum.

I'm off to see PrimeJr's first summer league game tonight. It's been great having the two of them home working in the cage, lifting, long tossing, running etc .... life is good. Momma is even enjoying all the extra cooking and washing.. lol

quote:

I dont post much on the hitting forums because quite honestly if we could all be standing around working together with some hitters at a cage we could learn a lot, teach a lot and have a lot of fun. But on sites like this confusion takes over, pride takes over, and terminology gets in the way.

Truer words have never been spoken about this site and any hitting site.

quote:

Originally posted by High-Tech Vision Training of Tennessee:
Vision Training Vision Training Vision Training

Excellent baseball man moving to Mt Juliet next week.

Just might be interested in working and providing services in Franklin.
I remember him training on Frozen Ropes and Bill Harrison's performance training methods, and Rick Peterson's 3P Sports.

I remember he was selected on the All-Decade HS Team couple of years ago after spending five years in MiLB before getting TJ.

Experienced with the very young to American Legion.

Are you Interested in chatting?

quote:

Originally posted by Coach_May:
I am a firm believer in lining up the door knocking knuckles and holding the bat in your fingers. And it is very important to teach this. Some kids might have them slightly offset. Just hold a bat in your hands then hold it in your fingers and then you tell me what you feel. Then line up your door knocking knuckles vs your large knuckles. Tell me what you feel.

If you cant feel it and you can see the difference there is nothing else I can say.

The grip is absolutely the place to start. This product (The Bat Jack Grip Trainer) helps with the feel that is talked about through this thread. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...mfu_in_order&list=UL

Teach your kid to swing HARD. 9 year olds love the long ball. We use to say swing from your nose to your toes.

I believe that is great advice. I used to tell the young guys "Come out of your shoes." Look to mash the baseball. Attack the baseball. Never be afraid of missing the baseball. You get three shots at it all you have to do is be right once. It was a way of building confidence and an aggressive mindset. You can always dial a kid back but I think its much harder to dial them up once they get older. JMO but I think there is a lot of good advice in your short comment Doughnutman.

Thanks Coach May. I don't have you guys type of experience in baseball. But I coach LL minors. I have done it for about 10 years. Tons of first time players. My kids strike out but they get a good one every now and then. You know what? They forget about the K's but remember the shots when I see them the next day or years later. The other thing I notice is that the hard swingers tend to play longer than the young contact guys. Extra base hits keep you in the game and developing bat speed at a young age translates well when they get older.

And I have never taught grips. As long as the hands are on the bat and not backwards it works for me.

"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'.

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.

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"
__________________
"Tip it and rip it" - In Memory of Dmac